I'm 32, and work as a retail manager in South Wets London. I earn a decent salary (50k) but do 13 hour days and need a change to allow me to spend more time with my family.
I would consider myself intelligent and numerate. I have a degree in engineering and have just completed a distance learning degree in retail that my employer paid for.
I am am in a position where I can take a salary drop whilst working less hours.
My plan is currently to complete a home learning course through Home learning college, costing £2000 and taking a year to 18 months. This completes levels 1,2, and 3 with IAB. From there, I would look to set my self up as a self employed bookkeeper.
My questions are:
1: Does the above sound feasible?
2: Upon qualification, would work be fairly forthcoming? On the service it seems that it is.
3: Are rates of £12-15/ hour for employed work, and £20/hr reasonable for self employed work?
i would be looking to work in the region of 15-25 hours a week.
Hi Andrew
I just want to touch on the Home Learning College side of things for now (as Im off out shortly!) - have you checked their reviews? I mean independent reviews, as opposed to the ones on their own website and even one that is on here (see below)!! I wasnt impressed and certainly wont be using them, but thats not to say you shouldnt, Im just suggesting that you check it out thoroughly.
There are a few really good and heartily recommended trainers on here - Ideal and Premier (come on guys help me out here as Im rubbish with names and my head has turned to jelly in the last two months).
I would say it's feasible. When you say is work forthcoming, it really depends what you mean. Nobody is going to beat a path to your door, you are going to have to market yourself incessantly! And of course that's all unpaid hours and that's the nub of it really I think, even if you had 15 hours paid at £20 per hour (achievable), you still need to consider all the non fee producing hours that you will have to put in. Going self employed is very different from working for someone, suddenly all those interruptions cost you money, all those client meetings trying to get the work are unpaid. However if you think you will be happier earning a third of what you currently get then I would say do it but don't be under any delusions that you will be inundated with offers of work.
If you decide to go via the employed route, it may be worth looking at AAT. there are many discussions on here about this and the general consensus is that AAT is more recognised in the employment arena.
As for the home learning college side of it, they appear to be good - I had a hunt around and certainly on trustpilot they seemed to have plenty of good reviews. I spoke to them today and they seemed very knowledgable. However I'm certainly open to better options, and I'll have a look at ideal and premier later this evening.
I am fairly used to unpaid hours to be honest, I get paid for 7.5 and do closer to 12 plus a break so 4 unpaid a day is standard! Would you think I would be able to find work bookkeeping from home, ie remotely? I'd be happy to visit clients if I need to, and living in SW London (wimbledon area) there are thousands of businesses not too far away, but I'd really want to get away from going into work 9-6 in an office!
I haven't looked at the AAT route. My initial plan was to complete the IAB levels 1,2,3, and then if I was really enjoying it then do further study towards formal accounting qualifications, perhaps through AAT. Are you suggesting that that may be not ideal and to stuff through AAT from the outset?
Someone with your abilities should look at the chartered accountancy qualifications with the following bodies:
ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA
ICAS is a Scottish accountancy body
ICAI is the Irish accountancy body
You might want to have a look at AAT/ICB/IAB materials to see if they are easy enough to digest for you.
Have a look on their website. Do your research first. I`m sure others will give you a lot information to consider if you`re interested.
AAT is a body of accounting technicians, which is just a synonim of book-keeper. The AAT accounting qualification gives you a solid foundation level of understanding for further accountancy studies. The training is not very difficult, but it surely takes a long time to qualify. I`m in my third year doing my AAT qualification, but I`m a Hungarian migrant.
The two other book-keeper bodies are the ICB and IAB.
You might want to check ICB as well, they seem to appeal to people who want to be self-employed. I can`t say much about IAB, but I`m sure it is very good.
but going down any those paths commits you to 5 to 10 years of study to pass the exams, plus you need to gain suitably supervised experience to gain membership, plus you need to get a training contract in order to be allowed to practice.
I think that for Andrews needs IAB or ICB should suffice (he makes no mention of wanting to find a job, only be self employed).
Andrew, also take a look at the current offerings from Ideal Schools and Training Link to compare back to the quotes that you have had so far. Those two are ICB rather than IAB but its basically all the same stuff just painted a different colour.
Where things change are where you are looking for employment (you need a minimum of AAT) or require future exemptions from higher studies (IAB wins over ICB as it's recognised by Ofqual).
kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
The one time that I say that ICB would be OK and an ICB member tells me that I'm wrong, lol.
So that would dictate AAT for which one should look at the likes of Premier Training or Eagle Education.
AAT will normally take 2-3 years although it can be completed faster. Overall its a cut down version of ACCA geared towards providing a quality service to smaller entities and is often the starting point of many who move up to the higher qualifications.
If you go down that route you can practice as a student (provided that you make no reference to any affiliation to the AAT) but if you move up to MAAT (which is an Accountant level qualification) you cease to be able to practice unless you jump through some hoops such as having your experience signed off by a suitably qualified accountant and having a backup plan in place for your clients.
All the best,
Shaun.
p.s. amended just to add how long (approximately) AAT would take to complete.
-- Edited by Shamus on Friday 12th of December 2014 08:56:29 AM
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Welcome to the forum, great salary but long hours means no personal time and there has to be a balance between work and leisure although by starting out as a self employed Bookkeeper will be hard work, first you have to get the qualifications and then you will need to find clients.
I have mentioned on here many times the newly qualified Bookkeepers who tend to do well are the ones who get themselves out and about by networking.
IAB and ICB are the two main bodies when it comes to Bookkeeping, of the two I would suggest doing some research before committing to a course.
Both have websites so have a look at the two and see what they can offer you as a member once qualified, I know the ICB have regular meetings throughout the course of the year which ends with the Bookkeeping Summit in Oct/Nov each year.
I know that once you are qualified to ICB Level 4 you can move to AAT at Level 3 so there is room for CPD. I am no expert on IAB so others on here may offer advice but you can have all the advice in the world and it will eventually become confusing. It is well known on here I am a supporter of the ICB as I represent their top training provider Training Link, however I do know that the ICB is not always what the student is looking for so again I implore you to do your research and certainly not listen to someone or company that is trying to sell you something. Call the awarding bodies and have a chat with them about what it is you are hoping to achieve and get a feel about which body is right for your personal agenda.
It is feasable but its all about networking with accountants and also other events that have local small businesses going to them.
I don't advertise anymore because I don't need to, I am turning work away and being picky as I can now do this.
It takes a long time to build up relationships and networking is not a quick fix. For instance I met a potential client at the beginning of this year, had meeting etc and kept in contact, it is only now all those months on that we are going to get together again and hopefully start doing some work together. It all does take time. £20 per hour is a reasonable rate, you may get more in London perhaps? I don't know London rates.
If you can afford the time get AAT it will be worth it in the long run.
