Becoming self employed

[GariHarris]

I am an AAT member and have worked in industry for 5 years. I would like to become self employed but don't know where to start. Is there anyone who has taken this leap. Having never worked in practice I'm a bit concerned about not knowing what steps to follow in doing someones 'books.' What is expected of me? I would be very grateful if someone could give me some advice.<BR><BR>Thanks<BR>GARI HARRIS

[LesleyH]

Gari<BR><BR>I, too, am taking this step in January, and am hoping to find support and resources from the AAT website, this forum included. Your first step should be to become a self-employed member of the AAT, as this gives you further information on the professional indemnity insurance, etc that is a requirement. Contact them - they are very helpful.<BR><BR>As you are presumably not Chartered, you cannot audit accounts, and are limited to small companies under £2m t/o. If you are looking to do the books for small local companies, you should be able to find your niche. <BR><BR>Charge outs I am finding a little more problematic - I don't know what is a sensible rate to quote as I don't know what is involved. Any advise from anyone here would be appreciated. I've had quotes from local chartered accountants in the region of £650-£700, so I'm going to pitch slightly lower, but offer a more 'on the ball' service including quarterly management reports. Selling on benefits rather than price....<BR><BR>Software - it appears SageLine 50 is used regularly in practise - the Finance Manager version allows multiple companies. You still need to buy software for payroll, tax returns, management accounts etc - this product appears only to generate basic accounts and VAT returns. If anyone there has any further recommendations - please let us know. I think it is possible to become a Sage reseller as well, but do not know if this is a worthwhile sideline - I guess if nothing else, it gets your clients onto software that is compatable with yours.<BR><BR>Premises - if you are using your own house (as I will) ensure the phone is answered professionally - I've yet to train my family ;-)<BR><BR>Marketing - you are selling firstly a solution and secondly yourself. Pitch your services as an answer to their problems and yourself as a professional. AAT is recognised professional qualification, difficult to achieve and should carry a lot of weight.<BR><BR>That's as much as I can give you at the moment - as I say, I am in the process of becoming self employed next year. Maybe we should stay in touch and help each other out??<BR><BR>All the best,<BR>Lesley

[GariHarris]

Hello Lesley,<BR><BR>Thankyou for your reply it was very useful. You have confirmed some of the thoughts of been having on preparing to go self employed. I too would like to become self employed in the new year. I am very keen and I will keep you posted with any ideas or thoughts I think you'll find useful. Are you working in practice at the moment or are you in industry. My fear is that I havn't got enought experience in this area.

[LesleyH]

Hi Gari<BR><BR>I am in industry too. I'm working for a large multi-national, so not much 'hands-on' work with actual accounts, although I did used to be a management accountant for a smaller firm so I know how things 'hang together'. It's a bit of a leap in the dark for me too, but I think we should stay in touch. You can email me off board at lesley.hutchings@pfizer.com - this will change in the new year to my own company's email address. You might want to think about company structure too - will you be sole trader or Ltd Co? I've gone for Ltd Co for the peace of mind of not losing my house if all goes pear shaped, plus there are tax benefits for earnings in the lower bracket (divis up to £10,000 are tax exempt). If you go for Ltd co, try www.cheapformations.co.uk to search on your name, then see whether you can get a comparable domain name (try Simplynames.co.uk) - even if you never get around to building a comprehensive website, it'll be more impressive to your clients to have an email from gari@yourcompany.co.uk rather than a hotmail account or equivalent. At the end of the day, first impressions count....<BR>Also, I went for a name starting with A (Adept Accounting) as I thought that I may be higher up the list when potential clients look in Yellow pages or equivalent.<BR><BR>Glad to have been of help - stay in touch as I'm sure we can help each other and make a success of our businesses<BR><BR>All the best <BR>Lesley<BR>

[KrisP]

Hi, hope people are still reading this thread so I get a reply.<BR><BR>I to am considering becoming self employed during the 1st Quarter 2006 due to redundancy and would appreciate any advice people would have to offer who have already become self employed. As with most people my biggest worry is experience, I am qualified MAAT and part qualified CIMA but only really have experience in Accounts Payable for large companies.<BR><BR>Any advice on getting started, gaining experience, what type of services to offer, what to charge etc would be much appreciated.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR><BR>Kris.<BR>

[Tahir]

I am working on a part time basis as self employed offerring basic bookeeping, VAT returns and completing self assessments. I'm Finding it difficult to build up clientel, I have advertised in the local papers and handed out business cards to several individuals and businesses, but don't seem to be getting a good response. <BR><BR>Can anyone advise on the best route to advertise and get a good response ?<BR><BR>

[BirchCooper]

I have been a member in practice for nearly 4 years now. When I started, I tried advertising every where, such as Yellow Pages, newspapers etc but received little response. I then started attending networking breakfasts, lunches etc and met lots of people over a period of time, I then started gaining clients as people started to get to know me. Recommendations started to follow and things started to snowball from there. You have to be patient, people have to get to know you and gradually people will recommend you.<BR>You could also try the business link supplier matching service which is free. Try surfing and looking for free directories, that list accountants etc and post your details there. Try setting up a simple website. Consider joining your local Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses as well as any local business clubs - all of these things worked for me!<BR><BR>Good luck!