Side business scenario
How to start a freelance bookkeeping business on the side
Quick answer
To start freelance bookkeeping on the side, decide which services you'll offer, practice on a sample month of books, and price a monthly package that covers self-employment tax. Most bookkeepers learn on the job, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics says certification isn't usually required. Preparing tax returns for pay is a separate job, and it needs an IRS PTIN.
Where you're starting from
This page is for one situation: you're good with numbers, you have a full-time job, and you want to keep the books for a few small businesses in your evenings, until the clients pay as much as the job. Here is what that involves, from the sources.
-
Who does the work
- There were 1,532,400 bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerk jobs in 2025, and the median pay was $50,670 a year in May 2025.
- Employment is projected to fall 6% from 2025 to 2035, because software has automated many of the tasks. About 144,100 openings are still projected each year, all of them to replace workers who move on or retire.
-
How people get in
- Entry requirements vary: some employers want college courses in accounting, and others hire with a high school diploma.
- Bookkeepers typically learn on the job, sometimes with formal training on bookkeeping software.
- Certification isn't usually required, though some bookkeepers earn one to show their skills. The BLS points to CareerOneStop, a Department of Labor site, for information on certifications.
-
Tax on side income
- A part-time business counts as being in business for yourself, and you have to file a return once your net earnings from self-employment reach $400.
- Self-employment tax is 15.3%: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, on top of income tax.
Checked October 27, 2026. The Bureau of Labor Statistics page was last modified on August 27, 2026, and the IRS self-employment pages were last reviewed on June 27 and September 27, 2026. For your own tax questions, ask an accountant or a tax professional.
What usually goes wrong
Bookkeeping around a job tends to stall in the same few places. These are the common ones.
-
The books turn into tax returns.
A client who likes your monthly reports will ask you to do the return next. The IRS says anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation must have a valid PTIN, renewed each year. Decide before your first client whether returns are part of your service, and if they aren't, say so in writing and point clients to a tax professional.
-
The price leaves out your own taxes.
As a freelancer, you pay the full self-employment tax of 15.3% on your net earnings, the Social Security and Medicare share an employer would otherwise split with you, and income tax on top. A rate copied from an employee's hourly pay comes up short. Price a monthly package from the hours a client's books really take, and ask an accountant what to set aside.
-
The home business rules get skipped.
The U.S. Small Business Administration says the licenses and permits a business needs depend on what it does and where it is, and zoning ordinances can still apply to a business run from home. Check your state and city before you send your first invoice, not after.
Sources checked October 27, 2026. The IRS PTIN page was last reviewed on October 15, 2026. Rules differ by state and city, so confirm them with your own state's business site.
How LeapSteps helps
LeapSteps puts the business's next step on the same list as your workday: a milestone months out, a step for the coming weeks and one task for tonight.
Example goal
- Long-termReplace my salary with freelance bookkeeping
- Mid-termSign 3 monthly clients by spring
- Short-termGet my first paying client
Today's taskFinish the sample monthly report
We wrote this example ourselves. In LeapSteps you write the long-term goal in your own words. Tap Generate on the mid-term or short-term step and AI drafts three options; keep one, edit it or write your own.
The screenshot is the app's draft for this goal, with its first option for each step kept as generated. It made three recurring clients the April milestone and started with emails to 20 local businesses offering a free check of their books. Our example keeps the three clients, and starts with a sample report instead, because an owner who can see a clean month of books has something concrete to say yes to.
Then link this week's tasks to the short-term step. They sit on Today next to your work tasks, and a task that ends in a weekday, like "Send the October report Thursday", is due that day. Late tasks stay on Today and show how late they are, so a busy month at work doesn't lose the business. Evenings go further when each task has a set time: our guide to time blocking shows how to give the week's tasks their own slots. When the first client signs, tap Done on the step: it moves to Steps achieved, and you can tap Generate for the next one. For licenses and insurance, our plan to start a cleaning business walks through what a business on the side has to check.
Your first week, in seven short tasks
Each takes 30 minutes or less, so they fit around a workday. None of them signs a client yet.
- List the services you'll offer, and the ones you won't20 min Preparing tax returns for pay needs a PTIN, so decide now whether returns are in or out.
- Keep a practice month of books for a made-up shop30 min It shows you how long a month takes, and it becomes the sample report you send to owners.
- Price a monthly package from those hours30 min Leave room for the 15.3% self-employment tax and the time spent on email and fixes.
- Write down 10 small businesses you could ask20 min Start with people who already know you: your hairdresser, a cleaner, the café you go to.
- Message 3 of them about the package20 min Offer the sample report and one sentence on what a month with you includes.
- Check your state's and city's rules for a home business20 min Licenses depend on what you do and where you are, and zoning can apply to a business run from home.
- Set up an invoice and a sheet for every payment15 min You file once your net earnings reach $400, so track them from the first invoice.
In LeapSteps, add each one in a few words and link it to the goal's short-term step, so the week's work shows under the goal it serves.
Questions, answered
Do I need a certification to become a bookkeeper?
Not usually. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says certification isn't usually required, though some bookkeepers earn one to show their skills. Entry requirements vary: some employers want college courses in accounting, others hire with a high school diploma, and most bookkeepers learn on the job. Freelance clients can't see your training, so a clean sample report and a reference from your first client often count for more than a certificate.
Can I do freelance bookkeeping while working full time?
Yes, if you keep the work small at first. The Internal Revenue Service counts a part-time business as self-employment, so the income goes on your return once your net earnings reach $400. Many small businesses need their books done once a month, which fits around a job better than daily work does. Start with one or two clients, set the day each month's report is due, and check your employment contract for rules on outside work before you sign anyone.
Do I need a PTIN or a license to start a bookkeeping business?
A PTIN only if you prepare tax returns. The IRS says anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation must have a valid PTIN, renewed every year, so keeping the books alone doesn't need one. Business licenses are a separate question: the U.S. Small Business Administration says the licenses and permits you need depend on what you do and where you are. Check your state's business site and your city or county office before your first invoice.
Can LeapSteps plan my bookkeeping business?
It keeps the business moving; the decisions stay yours. LeapSteps is our app. Write the business as the long-term goal, then tap Generate on the mid-term or short-term step for three AI-drafted options, or write your own. You can give it an area of focus, like "pricing" or "first clients". LeapSteps doesn't know your state's rules, what local businesses pay or what you should charge, so check those with the sources on this page. What it does is keep this week's tasks on the same list as your work, and move each finished step to Steps achieved, which helps in the weeks when the day job takes most of your evenings.
Plan your bookkeeping business in LeapSteps
LeapSteps keeps a business on the side moving in the evenings you have, one client and one monthly report at a time, on the same list as the job that pays the bills. LeapSteps is out now on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows.
Get LeapSteps
Free to start. Pro comes with a 7-day free trial.
Keep going
- Goal guide How to achieve your goals The method behind every plan here: start with today's list.
- Side projects Building something on the side A shop, a studio or a service. Know exactly what to work on tonight.
- Goal plan Start a photography business Weekends only, from portfolio shoots to your first paying clients.
- Guide Time blocking Give each task a set time on the calendar, with room for the day to go wrong.