If you’re seeking a job as a bookkeeper, serve as a company bookkeeper or run your own bookkeeping service, seek continuous bookkeeping education and training to keep your skills marketable and in line with current industry and financial analysis trends. Receive additional education beyond your initial training to expand your services into financial analysis, as well as recording.

Whether it’s through an accredited school, bookkeeping web site or bookkeeping vendor, training will help you hone your skills to become a valued part of the financial team. Find ways to become one of the most valued bookkeeping providers by to:

1. Taking classes to earn a degree or certification as a bookkeeper to be more desirable to organizations looking for formal training or experience.
2. Signing up for bookkeeping seminars that focus on specific financial analysis or recording skills to expand your knowledge base.
3. Looking for online bookkeeping educational opportunities to continue your training on the job or if you’re hoping to make a career change.
   

Action Steps
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Enroll in courses to learn bookkeeping basics or become accredited in the field

Complete a formal bookkeeping program that gives you the skills to manage a business' financial records, files and programs. A certification or degree will help you find and take advantage of opportunities in the bookkeeping field or even increase your qualifications if you're seeking a promotion with your current employer.

I recommend: Look for a program that offers a degree or certification in bookkeeping near you through the search engine at Education Portal. Experienced bookkeepers can earn the designation as a Certified Bookkeeper by taking an exam and meeting qualifications provided by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers.

Attend bookkeeping supplier seminars to keep current with financial recording and analysis tools

Bookkeeping workshops can serve as continuing education for career bookkeepers or as focused skills training for business owners who need bookkeeping skills to manage and analyze their own books.

I recommend: Small Business How2 offers a bookkeeping seminar for small business owners to get up to speed with bookkeeping information and provides methods to use financial records and information as part of a business strategy. Find bookkeeping training seminars on the bookkeeping list from Training-Classes.com.

Seek online book keeping education to get more knowledge and experience at your own pace

Seek a bookkeeping online education if you can't take time away from your current job to seek new training opportunities. Self-paced courses let you learn at your convenience, even while working another job. Once you complete your education, you'll be able to transition to your new career seamlessly.

I recommend: Find self-paced and instructor-led online training programs in bookkeeping and accounting through the bookkeeping directory at WorldWideLearn. The listings at Online-Education will help you find a bookkeeping or accounting program that fits your budget and schedule.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When attending bookkeeping training courses, network with other professionals to discover new marketing opportunities like a B2B bookkeeping directory or bookkeeping website. If you're about to launch a bookkeeping service for small businesses, a business directory for bookkeeping or website is an ideal place to advertise.

The need for bookkeeping services has kept pace with the rise in small and home-based businesses. Accurate financial information is necessary to make sound business decisions. Since the number of tax and accounting rules requiring compliance can seem endless and labor-intensive, a professional bookkeeper is indispensable for the small business owner.

The number of bookkeeping providers is as varied as the types of small businesses, so by doing a little research, you can find just the right fit for your firm. Your search could yield a brick-and-mortar bookkeeping vendor listed in a B2B bookkeeping directory, a bookkeeper to work out of your office or a professional who performs your bookkeeping online. What should you look for in a potential bookkeeper?

1. Experience providing bookkeeping service in a business similar to your own

2. A list of verifiable references

3. Business hours that insure their bookkeeping service is available when you need them

4. What bookkeeping services are included in the regular hourly rate

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Search for a traditional bookkeeping firm

Many business owners prefer working with a traditional brick-and-mortar bookkeeping supplier. Being able to drop off your records and personally interact with the bookkeeper is a comfortable way of doing business. For that reason, traditional firms offer convenient drop-off hours and accessible office locations to cater to entrepreneurs who prefer customary business methods.

I recommend: ER Bookkeeping Services specializes in providing quality bookkeeping service for small businesses at affordable rates. Their pre-bundled service packages start at a low monthly fee and include pick-up and drop-off service. Bakersmith Bookkeeping Group is recognized for being available, accessible and responsive. They custom tailor their bookkeeping service to your needs and at your preferred location.

Find a bookkeeper willing to work out of your office

For those business owners who want their bookkeeping done onsite for security or confidentiality, you can engage a professional bookkeeper to perform the work in your office. This gives you the ability to interact with your bookkeeper at a moment's notice and utilize their expertise as needed.

I recommend: The Borden Group offers full bookkeeping service at your convenience with flexible scheduling. They can provide qualified bookkeepers to work onsite. Account Services offers different levels of service to provide ultimate flexibility. They will perform your bookkeeping service remotely or station a professional at your location.

Utilize online bookkeeping for convenience and flexibility

Online bookkeeping is becoming increasingly popular as business owners realize the advantages. Data resides on a web-based application allowing remote access by the bookkeeper, the accountant and the business owner. Financial information can be conveniently retrieved 24 hours a day.

I recommend: TAD Accounting gives you an added layer of protection by handling the bookkeeping and leaving the cash handling in your office. They have 95 years of experience so you can be assured of high quality bookkeeping. MKG Accounting Services gives you the freedom to access your accounting information from anywhere at any time with your password-protected access. Their bookkeepers are available to your 24/7.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers bookkeeping website gives you access to accounting forms, tax forms, IRS publications and computer templates that every small business owner needs.

Bookkeeping is a necessary part of any business. It is the process of tracking your sales and expenses and is how you know whether you are making a profit or not. The bookkeeper uses a chart of accounts to identify the assets, liabilities and owners’ equity. After establishing this, the bookkeeper lists the accounts in a ledger and leaves room for new accounts as the business expands.

Deducting the liabilities from the assets is the way to determine owners’ equity. Once the bookkeeper does this, she than uses a journal to keep track of the business's day-to-day operation. Journal entries record every transaction the business makes on a daily basis, and mainly involves expenses and revenue.

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Asset

An asset is something you own, such as cash, a car, a building or accounts receivable. It can even be something intangible, such as a reputation or the intellectual rights. In terms of bookkeeping, however, most assets are tangible, i.e., can be assigned a value.

I recommend: Accountz gives a glossary of accounting terms, which includes assets and the different types of assets. Sweet Haven Publishing Services covers the basics of setting up a chart of accounts and more information on assets and their two forms: current and fixed.

Accounts payable (AP) or liability

A liability, or accounts payable, is something you owe, such as a mortgage or a car payment.

I recommend: Investopedia provides a definition of an accounts payable or liability with some examples.

Owners' equity, capital or equity

Owners' equity or capital is the value of what the owner has invested in the business.

I recommend: AccountingAide.com has a sample statement of owner's equity.

Ledger

A ledger has a list of all a business's assets and liabilities, each on its own page.

I recommend: Bookkeeping Services India gives additional information on the general ledger. Accounting System Basics provides more information on the general ledger.

Revenue or income

Revenue or income is the money a business makes. Revenue comes from the sale of inventory or the money you earn from fulfilling contracts.

I recommend: So You Want to Learn Bookkeeping offers a formal definition of revenue or income, an informal definition, and an additional explanation.

Expense accounts

Expenses are the cost s associated with doing business. These include advertising, salaries and the cost of inventory or equipment purchases.

I recommend: Accounting Glossary offers a detailed account of what an expense account is and how you handle them in a business.

Every business owner needs a way to keep track of finances, which is why figuring out some way of bookkeeping is crucial. Whether you decide to depend on someone else for your book balancing needs or pick up a program online, bookkeeping is important to every company. That means you need to provide a spot for it in your budget, and finding out bookkeeping pricing and costs will help.

There are plenty of options for bookkeeping, both online and elsewhere. You can base your decision on how much time you can devote to bookkeeping, or how much money you can afford to pay to have someone else do it. Consider the costs of the following options:

1. Purchase software to help you balance your books.
   
2. Find a bookkeeping supplier online who can work for you part-time.
3. Consider the costs of learning bookkeeping yourself.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buy bookkeeping software online

If you just need some direction when it comes to keeping track of your company's books and don't want to go through the B2B bookkeeping directory for a service, consider buying a bookkeeping program. You can balance your books on your own time with bookkeeping software, and it is typically affordable, ranging from $50 to almost $400, depending on what you need it to do.

I recommend: Intuit, QuickBooks' parent company, sells software for $160 to $390, with prices depending on software capabilities. Big E-Z Bookkeeping software helps you track the basics of your business and costs about $50.

Obtain pricing for a bookkeeping service

If accounting is not your forte, you can request pricing for part-time bookkeeping services. Bookkeeping providers can work from their home or some other remote location other than your office. Their pricing is usually based on how much time is required for your business, so decide how much help you need before requesting a quote from bookkeeping providers. They typically cost anywhere from $70 to $250 monthly.

I recommend: SB Suite is a bookkeeper that handles your finances through the Internet or phone calls, and costs about $70 per month for bookkeeping online. Agape Tax, Accounting & Computer Services costs $100 to $250 per month, depending on the services needed.

Take an online book keeping class

If you want to save money in the long run, learning how to balance your own books is probably best, especially if you enjoy math. You can either take a few short courses online or get an entire degree for bookeeping online. If you go through an Internet college, expect to pay about $700 to $800 for a series of online courses leading up to a degree.

I recommend: Penn Foster offers a degree in Bookkeeping online for $700 to $800, depending on when you pay for it. U.S. Career Institute costs about $700 for an online degree.