How To Become A WFM Bookkeeper (With No Experience!)

Bookkeeping is one of the most popular and profitable work-from-home small businesses.

It boasts a combination of low overhead requirements and a high hourly rate, making it very popular among those who would like a simple way to start working from home.

Specialties, such as bookkeeping with Quickbooks, are accessible to those with no previous experience.

If you’re looking for a new career online, then being a virtual bookkeeper may be the best choice for you. The good news is that you don’t even need experience to begin.

You can start with nothing more than existing skills and a deep desire to learn.

You will develop most of the relevant abilities on the job.

This article will give you detailed and actionable advice on how to become a WFM bookkeeper with no experience.

What Does A Bookkeeper Do?

Bookkeeping, as the name suggests, involves maintaining the financial records of a business.

A bookkeeper oversees a company’s financial data by keeping accurate data for accounts receivable and payable, daily ledger entries, payroll information, and regular reconciliations.

Bookkeepers can also alert management if they notice trends or issues in financial information.

The primary responsibilities of a bookkeeper include the following:

• Paying bills
• Sending invoices and collecting payments
• Updating financial records
• Checking records for accuracy
• Creating financial reports
• Posting credits and debits to the right accounts
• Inputting financial data into accounting software

A bookkeeper’s general job is to monitor the financial data for the company.

The duties can vary depending on the needs of the client or employer.

They can take on many different responsibilities, including paying employees, ensuring payment of invoices, and creating reports for management.

The Differences Between Bookkeepers and Accountants

Quite often, bookkeeping is confused for accounting.

However, the two are not quite the same.

This difference is essential because accountants typically need extensive education and certification, but bookkeepers do not.

Accountants work on specialized tasks, such as preparing tax documents, reconciling budgets, or auditing finances.

Accountants also carry out other duties, including the ones below:

• They organize your financial records
• They help your business to comply with both state and federal laws
• They audit your company’s financial records
• They can act as consultants to your businesses, evaluating your financial records and advising on ways to save money.

Accountants are heavy lifters.

They audit your company’s financial statements and ensure that your company complies with different laws and regulations.

They do not handle the day to day details of a business’s finances.

They don’t deal with accounts receivable or payable or pay wages and bills.

All of these are the bookkeeper’s duties.

Due to their work’s specialized and legal nature, accountants have strict licensing requirements, and they need to have years of education.

Since bookkeepers do not need certification or licensing, it is easier to become a bookkeeper with no experience than to start an accounting career.

What Skills Does A Bookkeeper Need?

A bookkeeper needs to have a wide range of skills to excel at the job.

They include, but are not limited to, the ones below:

• A bookkeeper should have basic computer literacy and operate various accounting-related software, such as Quickbooks, FreshBooks, or Microsoft Excel. Most WFM bookkeeping jobs involve the use of programs like Quickbooks.
• A bookkeeper should also have a solid foundation in math. Since they will be dealing with numbers daily, they should be able to perform basic arithmetic.
• A bookkeeper should be able to pay attention to detail. Their job heavily depends on their ability to keep comprehensive and accurate records. Therefore, they should pay attention to detail to avoid making errors and recognize the mistakes made by others.
• A bookkeeper should have good communication skills. Depending on their work scope, they will regularly communicate with colleagues, clients, superiors, and vendors. They will also periodically prepare financial reports. They should have the ability to communicate numerical data in a simple format.
• A bookkeeper should be a person of high integrity. Bookkeeping involves maintaining, analyzing, and reporting on confidential financial information. It also involves access to a company’s finances. A bookkeeper should have the integrity to keep confidential information confidential, as well as to be transparent about records and guard against the misuse of organizational funds.

How To Get Started Without Experience

While you can become a virtual bookkeeper without experience, it is advantageous to get some education in relevant courses.

There are still employers out there that require bookkeepers to have some postsecondary education with coursework in accounting.

That said, you can still get hired with nothing more than a high school diploma. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, entry-level bookkeepers do not have postsecondary degrees.

You can get certified in accounting software such as Quickbooks if you do not have a math or accounting-related degree.

Education

It is easy to know how to become a WFM bookkeeper with no experience.

As mentioned earlier, much of your work will be to maintain financial records, not advise a company on them.

As a result, you will likely have most of the skills required for an entry-level job, such as basic arithmetic, attention to detail, and communication skills.

You will gain most of the more technical skills and experience while on the job or by learning a program such as Quickbooks on your own.

Where To Find Remote Bookkeeping Jobs

As a bookkeeper working from home, you will work remotely for the most part.

Any company stands to gain a lot from the services of a virtual bookkeeper.

That said, there aren’t any specific companies out there that routinely hire bookkeepers.

Instead, you will have to hunt for a job on various remote hiring sites.

As long as a company is remote-friendly, it should be possible to get a job as a bookkeeper.

There are many sites where you can look for work-from-home jobs as a bookkeeper.

One example is Indeed, where you will find that the page on remote bookkeeping job opportunities is updated daily.

Another is FlexJobs.

FlexJobs protects practitioners from scammers by auditing each listing to make sure it is entirely legitimate.

It will cost you a monthly fee as a job seeker, but it will also give you peace of mind.

There are many other job boards you can check on the internet, as well as forums where people discuss job opportunities.

You can also reach out to hiring managers on social media sites such as LinkedIn.

This gives you the opportunity to pitch your services directly to the person making the hiring decisions and make a personal impression.

Become A Freelance Bookkeeper Today

You can also easily freelance as a virtual bookkeeper by signing up for freelance marketplaces, such as Fiverr and Freelancer, which allow you to keep tabs on the freelancing bookkeeping opportunities posted there.

These can range from short-term gigs lasting a couple of weeks or months to long-term projects that can transition into full-time work.

To succeed as a freelancer, you will have to be more deliberate about the niche you want to specialize in.

For example, some bookkeepers only work with medical companies, while others are very good at bookkeeping for tech professionals.

Whichever niche you pick, focus on providing value, especially for the first few clients, since they will be more likely to refer you to others that way.

With the right approach, you can quickly learn the skills needed to become a bookkeeper with no experience.

credit: Pexels