Correct us if we’re wrong, but it seems naturally easier for CPAs and accountants to get online tax prep experience because they are naturally dealing with different technologies that their clients use. For instance, many small businesses have migrated to using QB Online or Xero which have enabled many accountants to get their feet wet with Cloud Accounting software. However, what about Enrolled Agents (EA) or Registered Tax Return Preparers (RTRP)? How will they make the transition into effectively dealing with online individual and online business clients?

Of course, as our previous review of the Intuit Tax Online product indicated, the tax software is now ready for mass adoption in the Cloud. So there is specific Cloud tax software that every EA and RTRP should be acquainting themselves with. Also, there are programs now that are great for making digital tax workpapers which is crucial in the world of tax preparation and representing clients against taxing authorities.

If you are an EA or ETRP and want to make a smooth transition to providing services to your tax clients via convenient and cost-effective Cloud technology, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

Once you decide to start your own accounting business, there will be many ups and downs along the way. It’s important to view your business as a growing, changing, improvable entity rather than just starting it and staying on the same level all the time.

To help make sure you stay on the right track and continue to grow your business, you can study by reading books, keep learning more details about your field in accounting, and always do research on something you’re working on if you aren’t positive about a detail or step of the process.

Continuing to read and study will also help you maintain your inspiration for your business. And you don’t even have to study books about accounting or watch videos on accounting to learn more; you can mix it up a little by reading about small business, finance, and anything else you have a passion about that you can apply to your journey.

You can also continue to gather bookkeeping credentials in order to maintain or enhance your credibility as an accountant. For example, you can get a membership to a professional network of people in your field. I’m going to take a look at two such associations and briefly discuss the benefits of each one.

AIPB: The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers

AIPB is one of the most well-known and widely recognized associations for bookkeepers in the United States. For an annual membership fee, you receive membership benefits and informational updates that will help you and your business. As a member, there are also job listings to take advantage of to help you get more clients.

Membership Benefits:

*  Stay current on accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll tax news with a monthly newsletter called The General Ledger.

*  Access to a members-only phone line for accounting and payroll help whenever you need it.

*  Three free reports: Better Bookkeeping in 15 Minutes, 21 Key Bookkeeping Changes in Current Tax Law, and The Bookkeeper’s Guide to Internal Controls.

*  Membership discounts on continuing education, FedEx shipping services, and professional liability insurance.

*  Certification at a discount so you can put “CB” after your name.

*  Save up to 50% on an introductory membership.

*  Certificate of membership so you can display your professional association where you work.

*  You get your money back but keep the free bonuses if you aren’t satisfied with your membership.

Throughout the web site, you will also find other resources such as a free bookkeepers hiring test, a membership chat area, and informational articles on all things accounting and bookkeeping.

Membership prices range from $39 for a year on special to $180 for three years regular price. The membership fees are reasonable and affordable, and there are a number of perks that go with becoming a member. A professional affiliation is a good thing to have when you own your own business, so this would be a viable option for any accountant.

See AIPB.org for more information.

NACPB: National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers

Of course there are other organizations out there who will do similar things, provide similar credibility, and charge similar prices, so it depends on you which is more appropriate for your business and for you. The NACPB membership also includes a number of benefits and the website states that this organization continuously maintains the integrity and professionalism of its members.

This organization seems to be more devoted to business owners and independent bookkeeping and accounting professionals, so if you’re doing this for your business, it may be a good idea to look over the benefits and credibility of both organizations before choosing one.

Membership Benefits:

*  Free website and email accounts

*  Free training

*  Free directory listing

*  CPE discounts

*  Guidebook discounts

*  Certification exam preparation discounts

*  QuickBooks software discounts

*  Technical support discount

*  Practice management support discount

*  Professional liability insurance discount

The membership requires that you are an owner or employee of a public bookkeeping or accounting firm or practice and that you are not named in any regulatory or criminal suit or claim. The annual membership fee for this organization is $100.

See NACPB.org for more information.

Joining an organization such as these will give you more credibility as an accountant, give you access to information and resources you might not have otherwise, and allow you to look for higher-end job opportunities specifically for members.

There are two routes to choose from when you start. Do you want to do all the work yourself or do you want to use other accounting freelancers to help you? If you want to start off small and grow from there, that seems to be a smart approach. That way you can learn to do the work yourself before asking someone else to do it. As you grow you can hire on accounting freelancers or you can contract out specific work if you’re not comfortable with it (like payroll compliance, etc.). By doing this latter approach, you’ll have more flexibility with respect to the assignments you can take and how you can delegate the responsibilities.

If you don’t have bookkeeping or accounting experience, consider freelancing initially. If you are just getting your feet wet in bookkeeping, however, and need the experience, then there’s no harm in working as a freelancer to get acclimated to the tasks and responsibilities.

If your current employment situation allows you to take clients on the side, that is a great way to get started and begin to increase cash flow and income for your start-up. Think about the other start-up costs too. Do you have a good idea of how much money you’ll need  in order to establish your business or set yourself up in a freelancing capacity?

If you have acquired a good deal of bookkeeping experience though and you want to set up a company, you’ll need to think about how you want to establish it. Also, you’ll want to talk to your insurance agent as well for accounting professional insurance.

Owning a bookkeeping business can be demanding and will no doubt necessitate that you work a steady stream of long hours. So, before you decide on becoming a freelancer or setting up your own business, think about what you can handle as far as a work load. Smart planning will help you get a successful start with your own online accounting company.

image credit bestjob4tomorrow.com

http://www.freshbooks.com/accountants/ – FreshBooks Certified Beancounter – you can join their FreshMap and have get showcased to over 5 million FreshBooks users. This directly helps connect potential new clients with their nearest FreshBooks Certified Beancounter

http://www.bill.com/for-accountants/certification -  Become a Certified Bill.com Expert and Guru – the Bill.com Expert Certification course provides an in-depth exploration of Bill.com’s advanced features. There’s also a Guru Certification program as well.

Please let us know about more out there and we’ll add them to this blog post.

That is a great question. We’d like to follow up with some more questions below and will be posting more blog posts in the near future exploring which choices you should be making to get bookkeeping clients quickly.

First: What’s your mission as a cloud accountant?

• How profitable do you want to be?
• Do you want to manage workers or do you want to do all the work yourself?

Second: Who are your ideal clients?

• Do you want local bookkeeping clients?
• Do you want online bookkeeping clients?
• Do you want online payroll clients?

Third: What specialty or focus do you want to have?

• Do you want to focus on a specific industry? (Like technology, medical, legal, services, manufacturing etc.)
• Do you want to be a specialist in cloud accounting?
• Do you want to provide services to start ups, growth or mature companies?

Fourth: Marketing Mediums

• Do you have a website yet? If not, why not?
• Do you go to networking events?
• Are you asking for referrals?
• Do you use direct mail to local businesses? Is it effective?
  
• Are you sending relevant newsletters to your current client base?

Stay tuned for our guides to help you make the right decisions now which will have a huge impact on your future in cloud accounting.

image credit lankaorix.com

According to Sageworks, the number TWO profitable industry is ‘Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services’. The Net Profit Margin for us is 21.2%. The only industry higher is ‘Oil and Gas Extraction’ with 24.1% Net Profit Margin.

Why is the accounting industry so high? I believe Libby Bierman, the Sageworks Analyst has a great takeaway, “A commonality of several of the top industries by profitability is that they are service based. Accountants, lawyers and real estate agents, for example, don’t have to purchase inventories or invest in much equipment, so revenue dollars just have to cover payroll and overhead expenses, allowing these companies to achieve above average margins.”

I think there is a niche accounting group, the Cloud Accountants, that attain higher profit margins. The reason is because overhead can be minimized by scaling back on office space because most clients want to work virtually with their accountants now. Also, the overhead itself is lower because Cloud Accountants leverage technology to keep costs lower and the savings can be passed on to clients (while cloud accountants maintain a high net profit margin).

In our course, we teach you how to keep your net margins high. We teach and support the best ideas in the Cloud Accounting community that is building around our Certified Professional Cloud Accountant designation.

Small businesses. And more. The market is wide open and small businesses are moving to the cloud in droves. Is Cloud Accounting a right choice for them? Yes!

Cloud Accounting is Ideal for:

• Service-based companies ready to leverage technology to increase their efficiencies and effectiveness
  
• Businesses with multiple owners and/or multiple offices (like attorneys, franchisors/franchisees, Internet entrepreneurs, and doctors)
  
• Small business owners with demanding schedules outside of the office
• So many more
  

Key Benefits

• Simplify the accounting via integrated accounting, payroll and tax solutions
• Client gets to focus on growth and profitability
• Ability to set up a customized dashboard view of vital statistics/metrics
• In-depth collaboration with external advisors, focus on adding value
  
• Remote access from any mobile device with an internet connection, such as smart phones, Androids, iPhones and/or iPads
• No software programs or “back-ups” to install or update; always working with latest and greatest technology
• Optimized scalability for growing (like hiring new employees or integrating CRM software)
  
• Initial (and critical) step to becoming paperless
• Constantly available information with ability to implement tiered access control measures
  
• Total data recovery and security protection provided by the best in the industry
  

Get certified as a cloud accountant so you can provide these benefits to your accounting clients. We know from experience that the most common first question will be about internet security for cloud accounting so be prepared with our course.

photo credit dnec.org

The following is from one of the most recent graduates of the Certified Professional Cloud Accountant designation (she will be featured soon in her own post):

This coming week I’m planning on following up on your courses regarding the marketing aspects and will be actively seeking new bookkeeping clients. 

Thank you for taking the time to put together the Cloud Accountant Certification Course, and for keeping the price affordable.  I learned much and am looking forward to using my new found knowledge.