Home Complete List of Side Hustle Ideas Bookkeeper
$40-$100 per hour
Manage financial records and accounts for businesses.
| Time to First Earnings | 2–4 weeks | |
|---|---|---|
| Work Location | Remote | |
| Startup Costs |
$0–$500
|
|
| Licenses & Certifications |
RequiredNone |
Optional- AIPB Certified Bookkeeper- NAIPB Bookkeeper Certification |
If you’re looking for a remote side hustle with a lot of flexibility, one worthwhile and potentially lucrative job you can do from home is bookkeeping.
This is the practice of keeping track of a company’s financial records, and it’s an integral part of running any business. If you have good organizational skills, a keen eye for detail, and you don’t mind doing a bit of math, it can be a good way to earn some money on the side.
Unsurprisingly, as a bookkeeper, your responsibilities will center around a business’s financial records. You’ll keep track of:
Keeping accurate records for businesses helps them create financial forecasts, identify weak points in their business plans, and budget accordingly. It’s also legally required—companies need to know how much money they’re making (and spending) so they can pay their taxes correctly and stay in the IRS’s good graces.
You may have read other articles that lump accounting and bookkeeping together. However, while accountants and bookkeepers both deal with finance, the actual tasks they perform are quite different.
Accounting generally requires more training and education than bookkeeping. Correspondingly, accountants also usually command higher salaries.
Accountants and bookkeepers use many of the same software programs to perform their duties, although some of the functions on these programs won’t be useful if you’re “just” bookkeeping.
Here’s a brief list of bookkeeping’s pros and cons to help you decide whether this is a gig you’d like to learn more about:
In contrast to accountants, who are usually expected to have college degrees, you don’t need any formal credentials to become a bookkeeper. That’s particularly true if you want to work on a freelance basis rather than look for a traditional job with a company.
That said, most employers and clients will expect you to have at least a high school diploma or equivalent, and if you do happen to have a degree in finance, accounting, or a related field, it will give you a significant advantage. Again, it isn’t necessary—it’s just helpful.
There are several professional bookkeeping certifications that you can get. As with a degree, you don’t need them, but they can make you a more competitive candidate for jobs, although they cost money (and will set you back by quite a bit).
The most prominent bookkeeping certifications in the US are offered by the organizations in the table below.
| Organization | Price of certification (non-members) | Price of certification (members) | Price of membership (optional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) | $862 for courses and the exam | $1,077 for courses and the exam | $200 per year |
| American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) | $584 total - $60 registration fee - $324 for preparatory materials - $200 for the exam | $479 total - $25 registration fee - $254 for preparatory materials - $200 for the exam | $39 per year |
Again, while these certificates demonstrate your skills in bookkeeping, they’re not essential. It’s up to you whether or not you want to acquire them, but they probably aren’t worth forking over that much cash for unless you want to pursue bookkeeping as a full-time career instead of a part-time side hustle.
Although you don’t need formal credentials to start a bookkeeping operation, you do need several skills to actually do the job. The most important ones are:
Bookkeepers use special software to track financial data. If you’re employed by a business, they’ll provide it for you; if you’re a freelancer, you may need to invest in one or more of these programs yourself. Either way, you need to be familiar with how bookkeeping programs work and capable of using them efficiently.
Popular bookkeeping software suites include:
QuickBooks is probably the most commonly used program in both bookkeeping and accounting. If you pick up QBO and get good at it, it won’t be too hard to pick up other programs later on if you have clients that prefer them.
Freelance bookkeepers earn $40–$100 per hour on average. Traditionally employed bookkeepers generally earn a bit less (in virtually all industries, freelancers charge more than salaried workers because they don’t receive benefits and have less job security).
Note that you don’t actually have to charge on an hourly basis. Many bookkeepers do, but some prefer other pricing structures, such as charging a flat rate for a month of service, or for completing a particular project.
Regardless of exactly how you set your rates, you’ll probably earn a modest income when you first start out, but if you’re willing to stick with this side hustle, your earning potential will increase. This is especially true if you add other, specialized skills to your quiver. If you venture into financial analysis or accounting, for instance, you can—and should—charge more.
If you want to start a bookkeeping side hustle, there are two avenues you can pursue:
Freelancing means working independently, potentially for more than one company at a time. As a freelancer, you’ll be in control of when and how often you work and won’t have to answer to a supervisor, although you will ultimately be accountable to your clients.
The downside of freelancing is that it’s less stable than traditional employment. Independent bookkeepers have to hustle to find jobs, which can be stressful and time-consuming.
There are several popular online marketplaces that connect freelancers with clients, including:
The competition for work on these websites can be stiff, and not all of the jobs on them are paid well, but these can still be good places to cut your teeth in the beginning.
The AIPB also maintains their own job board, which sometimes features freelance gigs.
Additionally, you can try approaching potential clients directly. This can be nerve-wracking, but it often leads to more lucrative opportunities. Consider directly emailing small businesses in your area, or putting out feelers on your personal and professional networks to see if you know anyone who’s in the market for freelance bookkeeping services.
If you have reservations about going solo, you can also look for traditional employment as an in-house bookkeeper with a company. This won’t give you the same flexibility that you’ll have as a freelancer—you’ll probably have to work a fixed schedule—but it will get you better job security and a steadier, more reliable income.
If you see bookkeeping as a side hustle rather than a full-time career, look for employment with a smaller company. These are more likely to be open to hiring part-time bookkeepers, since their finances tend to be less complex and require less time to manage.
Search for work on these job boards:
Here again, you may also be able to find work on the AIPB’s job board or by asking around in your community.
Finally, consider looking on the subreddit r/Bookkeeping—not only can you get more insight into bookkeeping and speak with seasoned pros, but you may also be able to find job opportunities there.
Regardless of which approach you take, bear these tips in mind to boost your chances of landing bookkeeping gigs:
