Going Self Employed

George Tse

Hello

I qualified with the AAT in 2009 NVQ level 4. I have been searchoing for job and I am finding it hard to get one that requires no previous work experience.

Now I am considering going self empliyed and working from home doing some bookkeeping and mainly tax, now I need some advide :

1, Will I need any extra qualification apart from the AAT NVQ 4, do I need to go self employed ?

2, What software, if any, would be best to use if working from home and doing the work I stated above ?

3, Are there any websites that will help me start out being a self employed accountant ?

4, How would I go abouts looking for work after I have established everything ?

That is all I can think of right now if I have anymore questions I will add to the thread.

Help would be great

Kind Regards

George

Dcollins

Experience is really important, but I know it's frustrating when you struggle to find appropriate work. To gain experience could you volunteer to help any local charities with their bookkeeping? Could your current employer allow you to spend, say, one day a week in the accounts office? It would take a while, but maybe you could build on that.

If you have no experience in bookkeeping and tax work you'll probably find it much more difficult than you'd imagine. But to answer your questions:
1. ATT is useful for tax, but really it's experience that you need,
2. Software has been discussed here previously, so you'll find lots of info if you search the forum,
3. Accountingweb has a start up practice group,
4. Don't wait until everything is set up - start looking for work as soon as you know it's what you're going to do - just make sure you've got your MIP licence, insurance and HMRC agent code(s).

Think about it carefully though. There's a good reason why employers want people with experience, and you don't want to have to change your login name to Stressed-Out Jesus.

Good luck

George Tse

O.k thanks for the reply. I am currently not working, I have been out of work since December 2010 where I worked at my family fast food business but that closed down and ever since then I cant find a job .

I went on holiday for 6 weeks to relax myself and now I am commencing my job hunting and finding it very hard to get one that does not require work experience. Even the most basic bookkeeping jobs requires some kind of experience so you can guess how stressful it it!

Charities ? I never thought about them, what kind of charities would need a bookkeeper could you name some of possible so I have a idea of where to start looking.

Thanks

Gentle Jesus

BCASL

I too would recommend charities, many of them will snatch the hand off, of someone with your kind of accounting knowkledge. It is a great way of getting experience. Try searching the Charities Commission website http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ and then search for charities local to you. I know of many people that have done voluntary work for a charity or two and then went on to get a paid job afterwards.
Happy hunting and good luck

George Tse

BCASL wrote: »

I too would recommend charities, many of them will snatch the hand off, of someone with your kind of accounting knowkledge. It is a great way of getting experience. Try searching the Charities Commission website http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ and then search for charities local to you. I know of many people that have done voluntary work for a charity or two and then went on to get a paid job afterwards.
Happy hunting and good luck

hey man thanks for the reply, yeah I will take a look at that site you gave me. I just have to get myself back in to the right state of mind so i can focus 100% on job hunting again thanks once again

George Tse

ok I used http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ and put my post code in and I found like 400+ charities ????, do i go through them all and phone then lol ?

Raging Pineapples

Well with that much choice, maybe pick one you like. Kind of like donating, most people donate to charities they feel especially strongly for, rather than just picking any old one, and offering your services is a kind of donation.

So if you feel strongly about the fight against cancer, for instance, maybe look for charities like Cancer Research or Marie Curie. That kind of thing.

Then yeah, just phone, or even just turn up if they're nearby. But be sure to let them know you mean to help with the accounts function, otherwise they may see you as just a regular volunteer and get you balancing the books on the top shelf instead of balancing the books of the business, lol.

George Tse

ok thanks guys, i will take a look, what is the best thing to say to then when i phone them up or go in to see them ? how would i open up to make a good impression that I want to volunteer for them ?

Raging Pineapples

You're MAAT! You are a mountain! You'll find the right words and do well, I'm sure of it, but the way you present it will be unique to you. You'll likely fluff it up the first few times, if you're anything like me, so start by contacting the charities you don't really want to work with, and then work your way up the list. By the time you get to the ones you actually want to work with, you've got into the swing of it.

That's about as much help as anyone can give - these kind of situations will crop up all the time as a MIP, I'm sure, so you'll do well to get used to them now. Hope it goes well!

George Tse

Raging Pineapples wrote: »

You're MAAT! You are a mountain! You'll find the right words and do well, I'm sure of it, but the way you present it will be unique to you. You'll likely fluff it up the first few times, if you're anything like me, so start by contacting the charities you don't really want to work with, and then work your way up the list. By the time you get to the ones you actually want to work with, you've got into the swing of it.

That's about as much help as anyone can give - these kind of situations will crop up all the time as a MIP, I'm sure, so you'll do well to get used to them now. Hope it goes well!

hehe thanks for the post yeah first tho i think i will send my cover letter nad cv to all the accounts firms i find in the phone book then contact my local voluntary centre and ask them if they can help me to start of with. After that i will directly contact them myself