# setting up a parttime bookkeeping business



## Buds (13 Jan 2011)

hi, 
I was thinking of setting up a parttime *bookkeeping* business and was wondering what peoples taughts are on this area. I am a qualified accountant and have a full time job but wages are not great and area i am in is insolvency which does not involve your normal bookkeeping and accounts preparation. I want to keep my debits and credits uptodate plus i could do with the cash.

I have already bought business cards online but i have not included my professional body on card for obvious reasons and have went to yalwa.ie and add.ie to place free adverts. is €20-30 per hour too much or...

i would be grateful with further tips from people in the area on pitfalls and how to cleverly market your business at low cost


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## BetterBiz (14 Jan 2011)

There are a number of low cost ways you can use to promote this kind of business. First lreach out all of the people you know already and mention that you are setting up - they may have contacts that need your services.

Alos I would get online setting up a website and optimising for people already searching for bookkeeping services - best to start fishing where people actively looking for your service. You can then build out an online prescence using social media to reach out to people.

In terms of pricing you will need to do a bit of research but I think people might prefer a set fee per  month approach rather than an hourly rate - but that is up to you to identify.

Good luck with it.


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## T McGibney (14 Jan 2011)

Buds said:


> hi,
> i have not included my professional body on card for obvious reasons



Just for your own sake, you should take special care to ensure that you are not breaking any of your professional body's rules in the course of setting up your new venture. If they discover for example that you are running a 'practice' without registering with them, or having professional indemnity insurance, they could make life very difficult for you.


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## Buds (14 Jan 2011)

I am aware of that fact.I am not running going to be running a "practice",its a bookkeeping service and i will assist people in accounts preparation but the client is going to be signing off on all tax forms and letters.i am not going to advertise the fact i am an qualified member either.it seems mad you spend years trying to qualify then when you do any joe soap can offer bookkeeping service but the person who has qualifed has to thread carefully.


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## J.Ryan (14 Jan 2011)

Buds said:


> I am aware of that fact.I am not running going to be running a "practice",its a bookkeeping service and i will assist people in accounts preparation but *the client is going to be signing off on all tax forms and letters*.i am not going to advertise the fact i am an qualified member either.it seems mad you spend years trying to qualify then when you do any joe soap can offer bookkeeping service but the person who has qualifed has to thread carefully.


 
Read and understand your body's defination of carrying on public practice (for your own sake), one of the bodies I belong to has already started circularising members to ascertain if they are engaged in book-keeping, as IAASA has asked them for this information, extract from the email below.

"Dear Member,

*Are you currently providing any of the following services ;*
· *External accountancy services including book-keeping*
· *Taxation services*
· *Trust and company services*

If you do, you may need to register with the ........ for supervisory purposes under a new Anti Money Laundering Directive.

The EU 3rd Anti Money Laundering Directive has been transposed into Irish law, with general effect from 15th July 2010 by the Criminal Justice (Money) Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (the Act).

The Act provides for the supervision of all “*designated persons*”. Please click here for details of designated persons.

“Designated persons” coming under the supervision of the ........include those members who are auditors, external accountants, tax advisers or trust company service providers.

Those members currently holding .... practising certificates will continue to be supervised under the Institute’s Quality Assurance programme and will not need to register for this purpose.

*Non practising certificate holders currently providing accountancy (including book-keeping) taxation and trust and company services may be required to register with ourselves. *

The Institute is obliged to register such members and supervise them for the purposes of the Act.

The Institute is currently conducting an exercise to assess the nature of the regulatory impact on the Institute and when completed the Institute will determine how it will resource the area. A formal registration process is under development.

If you currently provide such services please notify the Professional Standards Department of the Institute outlining the nature of the services that you provide by *13th August 2010*. If you have any queries please contact us.

Kind regards,



*......*
Quality Assurance Executive "


Who will be preparing the letters & the returns?





If you are not going to advertise that you are a qualified member, what will be your selling point, why should people hire you?


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## Buds (16 Jan 2011)

because i have a good repututation and if you do a good joband you are relatively cheap, word of mouth spreads.....i will look that up on my bodys website and ring them if needs be.I will help them prepare the returns and letters on their own headed paper.self assessment is allowed.


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## PaddyBloggit (16 Jan 2011)

Correct me if I'm wrong but ....

if you're going to be helping them sort their books surely it's not 'self-assessment'??


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## Buds (17 Jan 2011)

yes i will correct you i am guiding them in fullfilling "their" own tax returns.they are signing the form not me whereas a tax agent signs on their behalf and acts on their behalf when dealing with revenue. the difference is i wont be.


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## PaddyBloggit (17 Jan 2011)

thanks for the correction!


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## T McGibney (17 Jan 2011)

Buds said:


> ... whereas a tax agent signs on their behalf.



If there are really any tax agents out there who routinely sign tax returns on behalf of their clients, they need their heads examined.


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## Buds (17 Jan 2011)

You can sign on their behalf but you must put word "agent" after one's signature but i completely agree with you


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## Paddy199 (17 Jan 2011)

So your a financial consultant? Are they not meant to register aswell?


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## J.Ryan (17 Jan 2011)

Buds said:


> because i have a good repututation and if you do a good joband you are relatively cheap, word of mouth spreads.....i will look that up on my bodys website and ring them if needs be.I will help them prepare the returns and letters on their own headed paper.self assessment is allowed.


 
ACCA Rules

read this: 

Bookkeeping = fine. 


Quote:
The recording of basic accounting data up to and including the preparation of accounting records to trial balance stage
(aa) bank accounts
(bb) cash
(cc) sales ledger and purchase ledger
(ii) Payroll
(aa) wages
(bb) PAYE, National Insurance deductions
(iii) VAT or its equivalent. 
Tax return is NOT ok. Preparing a tax return for the client to sign themselves is NOT ok. Advice on how to prepare a tax return is not ok! 

Here is the definition of public practice:

Quote:
(a) accepting an appointment as an auditor; and/or
(b) signing or *producing any accounts or report or certificate or tax return *concerning any person's financial affairs, whether an individual sole-trader, an unincorporated body or a firm, in circumstances where reliance is likely to be placed on such accounts or report or certificate or tax return by any other person (the "third party"), or doing any other thing which may lead the third party to believe that the accounts or report or certificate or tax return concerning the financial affairs of such a person have been prepared, approved or reviewed by the practitioner; and/or
(c) holding oneself or itself out, or allowing oneself or itself to be held out, as being available to undertake the activities referred to in (a) and (b) above (*and allowing oneself to be known as a, or a firm of* "Chartered Certified Accountant(s)", "Certified Accountant(s)", "Chartered Accountant(s)", "*Accountant(s)"* or "Auditor(s)" *or any similar description or designation standing for any such description in the context of the practitioner's business* shall be regarded as an example of such a holding out); and/or
(d) holding oneself out, or allowing oneself to be held out, as a sole proprietor, partner or director of a firm, or designated member or member of a limited liability partnership, where public practice is carried on.


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## Buds (17 Jan 2011)

Paddy 199 I am whatever you want to call me...J Ryan thanks for clearing this issue up.


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## Paddy199 (18 Jan 2011)

Are CAI rules similiar?


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## J.Ryan (18 Jan 2011)

I would imagine so.


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