If working from home or sitting in an office with AC or heat and a comfortable chair, sounds good to you, then bookkeeping might be one of those office jobs that you should consider.
Before we come right out and say if bookkeeping is a good job or not, we’re going to take a look at the whole picture, including what they do on a daily basis, the training they need, and how much they get paid.
Is Bookkeeping a Good Job? Let’s Take a Look
Bookkeeping is one of the most popular remote jobs, jobs for moms, stay at home, individuals and people in retirement. The flexibility offered by bookkeeping is truly unmatched and just one of the things that makes it a job highly sought after by people.
Speaking of flexibility, let’s take a look at a day in the life of a bookkeeper.
What a Bookkeeper Does? (A Day in the Life)
So how does a typical day start for a bookkeeper? They’re either working from home or traveling to the office. It’s a pretty quiet job once you get the computer booted up.
Bookkeepers spend their time, reviewing transactions, entering them in, making adjusting entries and running reports for their clients. They might need to reconcile a bank statement, key in checks where a few accounts receivable invoices to see if they have been paid.
You might spend a little bit of your day on Teams meetings calls with clients to discuss their accounting books and records.
Now, if you are a bookkeeper that has their own practice, you’ll have to go out and prospect for a client as well. But if you work for an accounting firm as their in-house bookkeeper, then it is much simpler.
It all depends on how much you want to take on and how entrepreneurial you want to be.
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Bookkeeper Requirements: What You Need to Become One
At this point bookkeeping probably sounds great. A bit of freedom, an office job, and pretty straightforward. To get a bookkeeping job though, you’ll need a bit of background or education and bookkeeping.
Most accounting firms are looking for at least two years of education and bookkeeping. It really doesn’t matter if you’ve done online, education, community college or actual college.
As long as you can prove that you are well-versed in bookkeeping and have used some software like Freshbooks or Quickbooks then you’ll have no issues getting a job. The demand is certainly high at accounting firms for internal bookkeepers, but sometimes you need to approach them.
Is a Bookkeeping Certificate Worth It?
Some people think the key to a bookkeeping job is a bookkeeping certificate. A bookkeeping certificate is well worth it if you are taking classes online or in community college.
Another bookkeeping certificate that is a good demonstration of knowledge is the QuickBooks Proadvisor Courses. Bookkeeping certificates won’t be a make or break that holds you back from a bookkeeping job but they are nice to have.
The more ideal route to take if you are serious about accounting is studying for four years and then passing your CPA. Don’t get too caught up or waste too much money on bookkeeping certifications because at the end of the day that’s not something that will be a make-it-or-break-it for a client.
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What do Bookkeepers Make?
One of the highlights of bookkeeping is how much bookkeepers make for the relatively quick education they have. With bookkeeping hourly pay ranging from $20-$80 an hour, it’s not a bad gig.
You can even earn more once you get experience and then start your own virtual practice. After 1 to 3 years, this is something you can look into that certainly increase your pay if you have the drive. As we mention bookkeeping is very entrepreneurial, but this comes with a little stress.
Bookkeeper Stress Levels: How Are They?
Bookkeeping stress levels can be hard during busy periods like month-end or year-end close. It can also be a stressful job if you have too many clients and the work starts to pile up. The biggest driver of stress is feeling like you can’t get the work done in time.
Generally working for an accounting firm, they will help you manage your workload, but when you’re working for yourself, if you take on too much work. That being said, bookkeeping is not a very stressful job.
Is Bookkeeping a Good Job? Final Thoughts
If we were to compare office jobs, then bookkeeping would be high on the list. Bookkeeping is certainly a good job for those who want to work remotely, do a part-time gig or just get started with a little schooling.
Start learning bookkeeping because if you want to change your career to accounting or finance, this could be your first step!
