Is Bookkeeping Hard? + Salary and Skills Needed [2023 Update]

Do you want to become a bookkeeper and are wondering – is bookkeeping hard? Or maybe you’re a small business owner and need to get prepared for the end of the financial year?

When you think about bookkeeping, numbers, books, Excel spreadsheets, and taxes, come to your mind.

Sounds kinda complicated!

But is it really that hard to be a bookkeeper?

Having worked in the field for numerous years myself, I can assure you bookkeeping isn’t as difficult as it sounds.

As with almost everything these days, there is software that does most of the work for you. You don’t need to manually calculate it all by yourself.

However, you need to obtain certain skills and abilities to have a successful bookkeeper career.

If you want to find out if bookkeeping is hard to learn, stick around, and I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the life of a bookkeeper.

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Before we jump into the ins and outs of bookkeeping, I want to tell you about my favorite bookkeeping course and why I love it so much.

I recommend this mega bookkeeping course even to my friends and family as it means so much to me!

Not only do they give you in-depth details on how to start your own bookkeeping business, but they also offer multiple courses on how to promote and market your business as well.

They have something for you, no matter what stage of your bookkeeping business you are in.

They have detailed guides whether you are starting, growing, or scaling.

While most of their courses need to be paid for, they have an extremely popular free course run by Ben Robinson, the founder of Bookkeepers.com. (If it is FREE, it’s for me!).

This free course gives you all the basic knowledge you need to become the boss of your own bookkeeping business.

What Is Bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping is keeping records of all financial transactions of a business (or an individual).

These transactions are divided into Accounts Receivables AR (money you receive) and Accounts Payables AP (money you have to pay).

From there, the transactions go into organized and topic-relevant accounts (the so-called charts of accounts) so they can easily be tracked and monitored.

As a bookkeeper, you need to make sure that every transaction has a receipt so that no money is being moved around without proof that a service or a product has been provided.

For example, you cannot pay a vendor without receiving an invoice from them outlining what you need to pay for.

Likewise, no money should be received without having sent an invoice to your customer.

Other responsibilities of a bookkeeper:

Generating invoices to customers
Paying bills on time
Reminding customers to pay overdue invoices
Checking on daily transactions in the bank account
Producing financial reports

At the end of the month, all these transactions which have taken place in the bank account need to be reconciled to make sure no transaction has slipped through.

Based on this reconciliation, you can calculate the profit and loss for this period.

Larger companies even employ dedicated Accounts Receivable bookkeepers (for the customer side) or Accounts Payable bookkeepers (for the vendor side).

Doesn’t sound that complicated, right? Are you pondering on the thought – should I become a bookkeeper?

Is Bookkeeping Hard To Learn?

How hard is bookkeeping – really? Bookkeeping isn’t hard to learn if you have some basic understanding of how a business works and if you’re interested in keeping financial records nice and clean.

Bookkeeping is basically entering data in a bookkeeping software program such as:

Like with everything new you learn, it might take a while to get the hang of the systems you need to use. But once you’re over the hump, bookkeeping is a straightforward task.

Is Bookkeeping Hard?

Not if you have an expert teach you without using all this nonsense gibberish. I’m not sure about you, but I was getting sick of people out there who are trying to sound smart.

I didn’t understand any of the stuff they were talking about!

And that is why I was so happy when I finally came across the Bookkeeper Launch!

These guys helped me so much in getting to understand the task of bookkeeping. Let me tell you a little bit about them.

Bookkeeper Launch is a mega bookkeeping course from bookkeepers.com.

Not only do they give you in-depth details on how to start your own bookkeeping business, but they also offer multiple courses on how to promote and market your business as well.

They have something for you, no matter what stage of your virtual assistant bookkeeping business you are in.

They have detailed guides whether you are starting, growing, or scaling.

While most of their courses need to be paid for, they have an extremely popular free course run by Ben Robinson, the founder of Bookkeepers.com (If it’s FREE, it’s for me!).

This free course gives you all the basic knowledge you need to become the boss of your own bookkeeping business.

How Long It Takes To Learn Bookkeeping

How long it takes for you to learn the tasks of bookkeeping is completely up to how dedicated and eager you are to obtain new skills and abilities.

Ben Robinson helped me learn bookkeeping QUICKLY.

I bet you are as busy as me, so check out these 3 free classes. They were so easy to get through. I just kept going and was done with the course in no time.

The bookkeeping classes are made for beginners and are simple to understand. I couldn’t wait to complete another chapter!

Skills of A Bookkeeper

How hard is it to become a bookkeeper?

If you want to be successful as a bookkeeper, you need to have certain crucial skills:

Having attention to detail
Being reliable and trustworthy
Being able to work on your own
Adhering to deadlines
Being able to concentrate without getting distracted
Being interested in lifelong learning

As a bookkeeper, and especially if you run your own business, you don’t have a boss who tells you what to do.

Therefore you have to be organized, and it’s your responsibility to serve your client in a timely manner without making any mistakes.

If you do make mistakes, you need to own up to them and do everything possible to fix them promptly.

Your clients are the ones who pay for the roof over your head and the food you eat.

So you need to be able to help them and solve their problems. You should be easy to work with, have good communication skills, and be approachable.

You also need to be up to date with the current rules and regulations as well as financial laws to avoid any problems down the track.

Salary Of A Bookkeeper

Is bookkeeping a good career choice? In terms of earning money, it certainly is.

Depending on what state and city you live in, you can earn between USD 20.47 and USD 28.58 per hour as a bookkeeper. The national average for a bookkeeping salary is USD 42,981 per year.

Having your own business, you can set your own rate, which can be higher (but keep in mind what other bookkeepers charge their clients so you don’t scare away potential clients).

If you work with a client for a long time or do some extra work for them, you can increase your hourly rate over time.

Challenges Of Being A Bookkeeper

Is being a bookkeeper hard? Some days will be harder than others and there will be challenges you have to face.

It all depends on what kind of clients you have and how messy or organized their books are when they hand them over to you.

The client will reach out to you to help them bring order into their chaos. In certain circumstances they need this to be done pretty quickly.

So you have to be able to work accurately under time pressure.

It’s on you to prepare their books for tax time or other audits their business faces.

Benefits Of Being A Bookkeeper

Becoming a bookkeeper is a popular career choice and here’s why:

Bookkeepers are in high demand
Clients are recurring as financial records need to be held up to date
You can work remotely
Bookkeepers can work for a company or have their own business
You can cut down on expenses if you work in your own home
You can claim some of your business expenses back on tax

Bookkeeping For Beginners: How To Start A Business (Without Experience!)

Is it hard to become a bookkeeper and even more important – is it hard to start a bookkeeping business? Not if you know what you’re doing!

Let me show you how you can start your own bookkeeping business in just 5 steps!

1.Obtain Your Skills

The skills are the most important thing if you want to have a successful business!

The Bookkeeper Launch is an in-depth bookkeeping course that teaches you all the skills you need to become a successful bookkeeper. They also teach you how to start a business..

But that’s not all! Ben Robinson, the founder, helps you to promote and market your business as well!

If you don’t want to feel discouraged before you even start, you should highly consider taking these 3 free classes. Because I get it, starting your own hustle can be extremely overwhelming and you need someone who guides you through it.

Ben makes bookkeeping for beginners VERY easy! And he’s super friendly too!

Is Bookkeeping A Profitable Business? What Can You Earn?

2.Make A Business Plan

Now you have all the bookkeeping skills, you should sit down and make a plan.

Consider the following questions and think about them when making your plan:

How many hours per day / how many days per week do I want to work?
What kind of clients do I want to work for?
Do I want to specialize in a certain type of bookkeeping?
Do I want to work as a freelancer for a bookkeeping firm?
What do I need to get started? E.g. work space, office supplies, skills, etc.
How much do I want to charge my client?
Do I want to charge per hour?
Or do I want to charge a fixed rate per task/project?

3.Gather All Of Your Supplies

Think of all the things you need to be able to carry out your work such as:

Laptop
Monitor
Mouse, keyboard, wrist cushion support (you’ll be sitting A LOT so make your space as comfortable as possible)
Adjustable desk
Office chair
Headset
Notebook, pens, etc.
Printer, printing paper
Internet
Bookkeeping software
Business cards
Business email account
Business phone

4.Register Your Business

This is the more boring part of starting your business but you can also look forward to finally being your own boss and choosing what is best for you and your business:

Register your business name & structure
Get a tax ID
Get insurance
Open a company bank account

5.Find Clients

First, get your name out through family and friends or anyone whom you happen to chat with. Other ways to promote your business:

Create your own website so people can find you through Google
Facebook groups
Local newspapers
Local directories (like the Yellow Pages)
Social media channels
Distribute your business cards and flyers at offices, shops, universities, etc.

If you struggle to find clients, Ben Robinson from Bookkeepers.com is the right person to help you with this!

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What’s The Difference Between Bookkeeping vs. Accounting?

Are you wondering if accounting and bookkeeping are the same thing? Or what is bookkeeping in accounting? The two are similar (and that’s why a lot of people mix them up), but there are some main differences between the two jobs.

Difference Between Bookkeeper And Accountant

An accountant usually starts as a bookkeeper and then works their way up through more studies and qualifications.

A bookkeeper records the day-to-day financial transactions of a business, whereas an accountant looks at the bigger picture based on these journal entries.

An accountant reviews and analyzes the profit and loss, prepares tax return papers, and conducts general audits.

Can A Bookkeeper Become An Accountant?

Bookkeepers and accountants work hand in hand, and an accountant couldn’t do his job without the bookkeeper. Soooo . . . Is accounting hard?

If you are a bookkeeper and absolutely love numbers and analysis, then that’s a good start to becoming an accountant.

Your company might promote you if you stand out in your role as a bookkeeper.

If you want to work independently as an accountant, you will need to hold a certification that is equal to a bachelor’s degree. This is not as easy as doing a simple course in bookkeeping.

FAQs to Is Bookkeeping Hard

How Many Clients Can A Bookkeeper Handle?

Curious about how many clients a bookkeeper can handle? This depends on how many days per week you can work and how quick you are at your job. On average, 20-30 clients is a number a bookkeeper should be able to handle.

You can always hire another bookkeeper to help you out so you can have more clients and earn more money.

Is Bookkeeping Right For Me?

Wondering if bookkeeping is right for you? Bookkeeping is the right career choice for you if you have great attention to detail, are reliable and trustworthy as well as organized and disciplined.

As a bookkeeper, you need to be able to work by yourself and communicate well with your clients. You should also commit to lifelong learning to stay on top of the current rules and regulations.

How Can I Make Bookkeeping Easier?

So, how can I make bookkeeping easier? Bookkeeping can be made easier by being organized and prepared. Here are a few tips to follow:

Don’t mix business and personal expenses
Keep all receipts
Use an Excel spreadsheet or an accounting software
Keep track of transactions regularly to avoid backlog
Familiarize yourself with financial laws

Is Bookkeeping A Side Hustle?

Wondering if bookkeeping is a side hustle? Bookkeeping is a super flexible side hustle that can be completed from anywhere worldwide.

You can work from the comfort of your home and communication with your clients will be over email or phone.

If you want to expand your side hustle, bookkeeping can easily be turned into a full-time business.

Is It Hard To Get A Bookkeeper Job?

Curious whether it’s hard to get a bookkeeper job? It isn’t hard to get a bookkeeper job if you know where to look for them and how to sell yourself.

Bookkeepers are in high demand due to a company not having the time, resources, or lack of knowledge to keep up with their data entry and receipts filing.

Final Thoughts On Is Bookkeeping Hard

Is bookkeeping hard? I hope I have taken away your concerns on this question.

Every time you start with something new, the tasks and skills you need to master can seem daunting. But as time goes on and you gain more experience (from a bookkeeping expert), your self-confidence grows, and the work gets easier.

As long as you have a passion for learning, upskill yourself regularly, and show interest in sorting out finances, I promise, bookkeeping isn’t going to be a big hurdle for you.

The demand for bookkeepers is also high, so you won’t be having problems getting a job or finding clients.

I wish you lots of success in becoming a great bookkeeper!

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Is Bookkeeping Hard? + Salary and Skills Needed [2023 Update]

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