Please do check in and share your journey from time to time with us! We’re all encouraged when we see a fellow accounting professional growing her business no matter what. Thanks for sharing your next steps.

You are very welcome.

If you plan to serve businesses in the USA, you should use QuickBooks Accountant edition (most small businesses use QuickBooks) and for taxes you have many choices. For the years I was doing taxes (I decided to specialize on the consulting side of my business a few years back and dropped my tax services), I liked working with Intuit’s ProSeries the best. And of course, it integrates perfectly with QuickBooks.

I also wonder what kind of software I might need, if any, for freelance bookkeeping and tax preparation. Thanks.

As you stated, what you need most is REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE! Working at the CPA firm (albeit as an auditor) will give you some eye-opening experience to see the gap between academic knowledge and what really goes on. So that is a good start. From there, my best suggestion is to start taking on a few clients “on the side” to get your feet wet. You could certainly take on the books of a service-based business without getting overwhelmed. The easiest way to find your first client (especially part-time) is to simply let your friends and family know that you want some freelance work to spread the word around. Word of mouth is the quickest free advertising! You might also consider asking for subcontracting/referral work from your CPA firm, if they have small clients that need seasonal year-end work or even those that they might turn away because of now being “worth it” for them. So there’s a few ideas for you.

Point is, as you have already stated, you need to get hands-on experience in the real world. So focus on doing that and you will find your first few clients!

I am kind of a booksmart person but lack experience. I can finish a program fairly fast but applying what I have learned to the real world will be a bigger concern for me. For example, I finished all four sections of the CPA exam within 4 months with high 80s but I am ashamed to say that I don’t know how to use the knowledge in my future freelance accounting business.

What program or what approach will be a better fit for a person like me?

Thank you.

Be sure to check in and let I know about your progress!

The “Uniform Code Test” is just something created by NACPB for their own certification testing. The bookkeeping industry does not require state licensing (other than a local business license like any other business) or required to follow the same kinds of strict standards that CPAs are required to follow in line with the AICPA.

There are two US trade associations for bookkeepers – the AIPB (American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers), which is a non-profit organization and has been around since 1987, and the NACPB (for freelancers) and NBA (for bookkeeping employees), which is about 5 years old and a for profit organization. The AIPB also has a certification program, which has also been around longer and is generally more recognized. There are other certifications, as well, as noted in the article above.

Again, a bookkeeper is not required to have an accounting degree nor certification. Those credentials are more so that YOU can be sure that you have the adequate training to provide competent service to your clients.