[Tono23]

Good Day All- it has been months that I have not contributed to the A71 Forum; it has been missed. Life has thrown an unexpected curveball; I was laid off from a mid-tier firm and I have been actively applying to jobs for past 3 months, but no luck with an interview.

At 33, I moved back in with my grandmother, void a real estate contract (was going to buy a house) applied for unemployment and am ashamed! Additionally, I stopped studying for the exam; food and debt took priority from my savings. Plus my Becker subscription expired. Unemployment provides so much, its’ not enough for cost of living. In a blink of an eye, they (the partners) took my life away! Other colleagues were let go as well from this prestigious mid-tier public accounting firm.

All that being said, I despise this feeling! The feeling of someone having the power to take away your job, income, and benefits. Is there job security anymore?!

I am heavily considering starting my own accounting/tax practice. But I do not know where to begin. I am certain of the type of entity I would establish, which would be an LLC. How to attract clients? Work from grandmas house? How do I learn payroll accounting? I only know the 1040s. what accounting software to use? Quickbooks? How to purchase liability insurance for the LLC? My own health insurance? How much to charge for services?

I want to recoup my lost wages 60-70k and be happy!!!

As a side note: I found a local cpa that would “advise” me on this undertaking of mine for $175/hour.

My experience includes 4 years as a staff accountant (i.e., JEs, bank recs, p&l reports) and 1.5 years as an auditor.

I thank you for yuor time and feedback!

Have a safe Independence Day!

[aamdavis9]

That completely stinks Tono- Sorry to hear. It takes bravery to openly share that. My 2 cents are that you put off starting your own company. I think it would be wise to submit resumes like crazy even if it isn't your ideal job to have a stable source of income first. Once you are settled and have some more stability I would resume your journey of taking and completing the exams. Once you get your CPA more doors will be opened to where you should easily be able to find employment to your liking or better yet have the skills necessary to stand out to potential clients if you do choose to start your own business. Maybe not exactly the news you wanted- but that is what I would do in your situation. Given that you have 5 yrs acct'ing/audit experience I would imagine you should at the very least be able to find another staff level role. Best of luck in your pursuits.

[Missy]

I'm not sure you're quite ready for such an endeavor especially without payroll or tax experience. Best case with your experience and no license you'd be looking at providing bookkeeping services between $20-$40/hr depending on your location and competition. At first most of your time will not be billable as you're building your business. Remember to recoup a 70k salary you're going to need over 100k in revenue by the time you figure health insurance at 100% outside of a group plan, self employment taxes. Also remember the hours to build a new business make audit look like a vacation, there's no flex time or vacation to be taken, no sick time or bereavement time until you're very well established. Find a full time job, finish the cpa then consider it when you can have a much higher billable rate.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[fsugirl2005]

Hi Tono. I have been where you are and it does indeed suck. I opened my own bookkeeping practice back in 2008 and started on a website called Elance. I found clients there but I ended up going back to work full time while still doing my business part time. Long story short, I ended up in a specialized field and just stuck with it. Over time, I charged more and more per hour. Elance(now Upwork) is a global website(contractors from all over the world) but don't lowball your rate. Because I specialized in a specific field, I charged $30+ per hour. Provided handsomely for me and my little one. After I got many clients from the site, I told my boss that I wanted to drop down to a contract position and she agreed. After a while though, she needed a full time employee. At that point, I was ready to go anyway.

I continued to charge my $30+ hour rate and I ended up finding this accounting firm from up north who hires contractors on the site. That ended up turning into a full time accounting management position(I average about 50 hours per week). They liked me because I'm the only one who knew the software that one of their large clients required. Now, I make about $80K a year and own my own house. It took about 8 years to get where I am now. Some people get there rather quickly if they can land a nice corporate position. I went a long time only making $12-$15 per hour. My college grades sucked because of medical problems so I struggled to find good jobs.

So my advice to you is, #1)Please keep your head up and don't get discouraged. I am a single mom so I had many discouraging days because $15/hr doesn't go a long way when you have rent and a kid. #2)Do keep sending out resumes but while you wait on that dream job to come through, check out Upwork.com. If you have an industry specialty, try seeking out clients that need your specific service. Mine was the real estate/property mgmt industry so I got a lot of clients. #3) Be patient. The money doesn't roll in just like that but it's a start. #4) Do not lowball your rate on that site. If you command $35/hr, you charge that. A lot of companies that frequent that site are put off by those who lowball but seem to have much experience. #5)If you don't know Quickbooks desktop and moreso QuickBooks Online, I suggest you sign up for a subscripton and start teaching yourself how to use it. Then, get the certification which is pretty simple but a little time consuming. #6)People on the site go on looking for auditors. If you have audit experience, that may be a way for you to get your foot in the door. I'm not sure if rules apply though in regards to auditing a company that is not in your state.

It is not necessary to have payroll or tax experience. For payroll, I had my clients use QuickBooks Online Full Service Payroll so I didn't have to do anything with filing taxes or anything like that. I just plugged in the hours and boom, the employees got paid. I'm an employee of my own company so I have to process payroll for myself. I hate doing taxes. I really do.

Doing bookkeeping work should not be beneath you when you need money. I never understood why some people think bookkeeping is for losers. I did bookkeeping for many years. I have to tell you, it paved the way for me to know how to run a company's accounting department from beginning to end. Heck, I've worked with auditors who don't know crap about the accounting cycle yet they are auditing someone's books. Believe me, don't knock bookkeeping.

I hope what I said has helped you in some way. You are not alone believe me but it's tough out there. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

AUD - 10/21/16 (75----07/2010 expired)
FAR - 10/28/16
BEC - 11/2016
REG - 01/2017

Using Gleim CPA Review, Ninja Audio, Ninja Book

[fsugirl2005]

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AUD - 10/21/16 (75----07/2010 expired)
FAR - 10/28/16
BEC - 11/2016
REG - 01/2017

Using Gleim CPA Review, Ninja Audio, Ninja Book

[Tono23]

Thank you all for opining. I spent my time applying to all opportunities that presented themselves. Furthermore, should I feel guilty for not studying? Again, my Becker has expired, I have no NTS, my creditors are sending their bills. Shamefully, unemployment income provides so much; I at times withdraw from my emergency fund to make due. The job search continues….

Thank you!

[Author]

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