Any bookkeepers on here?

[Southlondonmum76]

Looking for advice please.

I’m looking to retrain. And hoping to start a course in the next few months.

Just wanting to know how many people work for a company or are self employed.
As self employed do you find work easily.

Any other advice very welcomed.

Thanks

Are you dead set on bookkeeping? Its a bit of a declining industry. I work in an accountancy firm and only a few of our clients use bookkeepers now most have moved to using software such as quickbooks etc. There is definitely still work out there for bookkeepers but I'm not sure how long it will last and you have to be able to price very competitively. Obviously that's just my thoughts and I'm not a bookkeeper so some my come along to tell you there loads of work around but just thought I'd give you my observations.

I am not a book keeper, but I am a fully qualified chartered accountant with lots of experience and when I had some time out of my normal workplace I thought I would look for some self employed work (like book keeping) but it is pretty hard to find. Larger companies will have a finance department, smaller ones can probably manage fairly easily with the accounting software that is available and a lot of individuals can do their own too.

I am not saying nobody uses this type of service, but it isn’t something I would recommend somebody specifically gets qualified for with the intention of self employment.

Do your AAT and get experience on the bookkeeping software like Quikbooks and Xero. This will give you better training and pay.

I’m ACA qualified and traditional bookkeeping is dying

I’m a bookkeeper and disagree with pp.

Whilst there’s lots of software out there, you still need someone who knows what they’re doing to input all the information

I’ve been in my current job for 3 years and I’ve come across yet another problem from the time a non bookkeeper was doing the books.

It all seems very simple and straightforward (and for me it is) but to many others they haven’t got a clue

You won’t get the high salaries you can get as an accountant but I’ve been very happy for the last 15 years.

Thank you for your replies and suggestions.

I will look into AAT and go from there.

Maybe I’m just kidding myself but really had hoped this was going to be the change I needed. Single mum, mid 40s, career for elderly parents. So ideally looking for a job I can do from home supporting local businesses.

Maybe this isn’t really doable. But I need to retrain and hopefully start working early 2023.

I think AAT is worthwhile.
I'm a CA/auditor. Yes software is replacing book keepers. But there are still huge swathes of unincorporated businesses / SE people who still have zero interest in using software. Especially people in trades like landscapers, CIS contractors, decorators,garages etc.
In fact there is a whole industry popped up of book keepers who are really just recording transactions into cloud software (Xero certified advisers etc.)

You can't learn everything from a book / course

You really need practical experience before taking on any clients yourself otherwise you would be doing your clients a disservice

I think understanding how double entry bookkeeping works is a good basis for a future, and AAT is a great place to start.
You may find that your future is actually better served in setting up those software systems for small to mid size companies, report writing etc,but understanding where the entries generate is key.
It will depend on your local economy I think, as to what opportunities arise.
You may also be able to work on projects for established companies, for example our local NHS was looking for someone to process expense reports, from home , part time., which would be within that expertise.
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You may not be rich but I think you could create a decent living and work around your other responsibilities.
Good luck