Bookkeeping

[StrewthMarge]

Is bookkeeping tricky to learn?

I would like to get back into the workplace and I think starting from scratch is a good idea.

Something practical like bookkeeping appeals to me because it's needed everywhere and is a tangible skill.

I'm 51.

I run my own business bookkeeping, are you good with numbers? I woulod suggest doing a city and gulids course part time such as the below:

www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/business-skills/finance-and-accounting/8991-bookkeeping-and-accounting#tab=information&acc=level2

What do you work as at the moment? Good Luck, I love it!

Not sure it’s a reasonable question, @StrewthMarge! There are probably all sorts of things you can do easily that I would find impossible to learn. No one here can say how you in particular would take to bookkeeping.

What experience do you have of it? There are probably MOOCs on, say Coursera or similar sites, that you could undertake for free and see how you get on.

I guess a better question - as in, one that strangers could helpfully answer - is whether bookkeeping is something that can provide a decent (second?) career, without too many barriers to entry, and within a generally supportive environment.

Bookkeeping has changed a lot in recent years due to 'making tax digital' and a lot of small business owners are realising they can do a lot of it themselves with the likes of quickbooks/ Xero etc.

it's pretty easy to pick up though (speaking as a business owner who now uses Xero instead of using a bookkeeper).

So what you’re saying is that while the OP may not find it particularly difficult to learn, it’s not an expanding area of work, as everyone is doing it themselves?

Would she be likely to make a decent living going forward?

There is still a market out there for bookkeepers but it's a rapidly changing market.

lots of people still need/want someone to do the grunt work of reconciling the bank account with the income and outgoings and sort the VAT every quarter etc. But it's pretty much all done on cloud based accounting software now and is increasingly automatic.

Xero for example, if I receive an invoice via email with a PDF copy of the invoice attached I email it straight on to my Xero accounts, then when I next log in to Xero it's there as an electronic invoice with the PDF attached waiting for me to reconcile with the payment it thinks it relates to from my business bank account (as my business account feed is also synced in Xero).

I'm happy to spend the time every quarter clicking the 'reconcile' button and scanning in invoices etc I haven't received electronically but there are still other people out there who are happy to outsource it.

personally though I would say most work is probably referrals by accountants and many accountants are using Xero over traditional accounting software now.