WFH Bookeepers - do they exist...?

shashaela

I'm a Bookeeper trying to get back into work after 9 years absence due to babies,kids etc...
I had hoped this year to go back part-time and looked forward to returning to an office on-site job , but now the reality is I need to work from home. My kids are all school going age and in the last 6 months alone they've been home about 6 weeks on and off, as each time they're a close contact of a confirmed case in school . That's on top of the compulsary closure of schools earlier in the year . So realistically I need a work from home position but there doesn't seem to be any out there! I've
found and applied for 2 in the last 8 weeks! Didn't hear anything back from either !
Do WFH bookeeping positions exist, or do I just forget about it and look for something else I can do from home?

DarceyEllie

Hello there , well done on trying to get back out there. I have a friend doing some booking keeping invoices for a transport company. She works part time from her "mobile home" all through the summer and works from home all the time even pre pandemic. Maybe 10 to 15 hours per week. They are out there alright. It might be worth getting into your car some day and driving around to a few smaller / medium size businesses with your CV. Sometimes these jobs aren't even advertised. Best of luck with it.

scudzilla

Pretty sure that if you had somewhere at home to store your boo's then WFH wouldn't be a problem

shashaela

Thanks for replying. I think that could be something I need to do Alright, even local businesses, where it wouldn't be a struggle if I needed to be on-site for a few hours during school time. Darcey Ellie do you know if your friend is an employee of the company or did she have to set herself up as self employed?
Storage isn't so much the problem, I think companies just prefer to have you on site doing bookeeping, especially if you're a newbie.

Cherry Blossom

shashaela wrote: »

Storage isn't so much the problem, I think companies just prefer to have you on site doing bookeeping, especially if you're a newbie.

It’s a dad joke he’s making. Keeper of books, you need room for all the books your keeping.

shashaela

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

It’s a dad joke he’s making. Keeper of books, you need room for all the books your keeping.

Hahaha that went straight over my head!

DarceyEllie

Hi Again,

I have two friends doing this type of work. Both are employee's of the company. Medium size businesses, both do a bit of book keeping, invoicing, following up on payments , seems very flexible as both have kids so tied to school runs etc. I don't think they are earning mega bucks but it works for family life.

shashaela

Thanks @DarceyEllie that's very reassuring to know. That's kind of what I'm looking for myself, not too bothered on the salary either as it will be 2nd income in the house.
Don't suppose you know if they found their jobs via advertisements? Maybe I'm just going about it the wrong way by searching online job sites!

DarceyEllie

Hi again, i know for sure one of them, drove around in her car one morning with her CV mainly to the smaller / medium sized companies . She got 2 interviews and one job offer as a result. I am not sure re my other lady, if i see her over the summer, i will ask her. Best of luck with it. September would be a good month to pick up something. I am confident you will get something that suits. They are out there alright.

BobbyBingo

WFH Payroll people defo exist so can't see why WFH Bookkeepers wouldn't too..

Sure, you may need to pop in to the office to collect and organise hard copies but that is only a few minutes but does restrict you to places within travelling distance. Most companies now are set up to work remotely on the company server so they will just hook you up with a company laptop and off you go.

The alternative to this is to offer your services to small business people such as cafe owners who are doing it themselves in the evenings or possibly paying an accountant to do it at rates that are much higher and unnecessary so you could approach the smaller 'mom and pop' shops and offer your services. They don't even know they could save time or money by using someone like you to do the bookkeeping so pop in at quiet times, probably about 3pm on a Monday and let them know you're there to help at a price they are willing to pay.

Possible try the weekend markets are those are your customers who are still trying to figure out how things work and would appreciate someone like you to hold their hands with the bookkeeping and let them focus on building the business. They don't have much to do or money to spare so you need to pick up a few of them but word of mouth in that area works wonders.