Mathematics was always your favourite subject and you pay a lot of attention to details? Have you ever thought about becoming a bookkeeper so you can work in the financial industry? Well, if you are from Houston and if you think this might be something that fits your preferences, keep on reading and find out what you need to know and do in order to offer bookkeeping services for companies in Houston and how you can deepen your knowledge by doing QuickBooks training sessions that are also in Houston. It is important to know all the important aspects about this field before choosing to work in it. 

What Are Bookkeeping Services and What Does the Job of Bookkeeper Entail?

An agency that offers bookkeeping services in Houston, or all around the world, deal with the practice of tracking and recording of all the financial transactions of a company. Basically, a bookkeeper regularly summarises the financial activities of a business into reports and tracks how it is doing while also performing tasks such as paying bills, preparing tax returns, providing strategic advice, invoicing and monitoring key performance indicators. 

Xero mentions a bookkeeper duty ‘Bookkeepers are responsible for providing accurate, up-to-date financial information about a business. They’re always taking the pulse of a business. Most often, their reports go to business owners and managers to help them make decisions. Some bookkeepers, however, are actually involved in strategy development. Bookkeepers may also share some jobs with accountants, such as the preparation of annual financial reports and tax returns.’

As a bookkeeper you have the possibility to work however you want. Many bookkeepers work full-time schedules in an office but there are also opportunities to work part-time in an office, or remotely as a part-time or full-time employee. You can also choose to work as a freelancer and own a bookkeeping business that allows you to work for multiple businesses. Therefore, when talking about working as a bookkeeper you have the possibility to choose how you want to work. 

How to Become a Bookkeeper?

If you are still interested in this field, here is how you can become a bookkeeper and gain the necessary qualifications. Even though bookkeeping is a very serious domain, most employers do not require college degrees and you can still get the job if you gained your skills through certifications or courses, in some cases even with on-the-job training. 

First of all, you have to earn your high school diploma or your GED (General Educational Development test). Then you will have to get an undergraduate degree. As mentioned before, a formal college degree is not always required for becoming a bookkeeper, but having one may boost your hiring potential and it can also strengthen your resume. Usually, bookkeepers have an associate degree in accounting, finance or related fields. 

Once you have the diplomas you will have to search for an internship or a job that can teach you how everything is done to gain experience, this is called on-the-job training. Gaining professional experience will bring you more opportunities to work in this field and will strengthen your resume so that employers will have an idea about your skills and knowledge. 

This is not a mandatory step, but you should consider getting a certification to deepen your knowledge and improve your skills. This way you will be on a continuous evolution and employers will be more interested. 

What Does QuickBooks Training Represent?

Best Colleges has a short definition for the QuickBooks program mentioning ‘QuickBooks is one of the industry leaders in business accounting and bookkeeping software. Small- to mid-size companies use it to track their income and expenses, complete payroll, and maintain their financial health.’

Therefore, QuickBooks training, for example in Houston, represents some sessions where you learn and get ready to get a QuickBooks certification that you can use to your benefit when you want to get a job. This program is popular in areas like Houston and that is the reason why it will represent an advantage for you and your career in bookkeeping. Understanding a program like this one means you can use the most out of the software to its full potential, thus this knowledge will help you stay relevant and competitive in the bookkeeper job market. 

How Can a QuickBooks Certification Help You in Your Bookkeeper Career?

A QuickBooks certification can help you become an expert in using this program for keeping the financial records for the company that you work for or even for your own. With it you will have a deeper understanding of his features such as payrolls, preparing tax returns, invoicing and so on and everything will be done more easily and quickly while also avoiding risks. And as a bonus, getting a certification of any kind will increase your credibility for an employer. 

For example, if an employer in Houston wants to hire a bookkeeper and cannot choose between two people with the same experience, he will choose the one that also has a certification because it represents an advantage. The most common certification is gained with QuickBooks training. 

Therefore, it will open up new professional opportunities for you such as financial management, consulting and so on. This certification will definitely help you optimize your financial activity and become an expert in this domain. 

Conclusion

Based on all of the aspects mentioned above, choosing to offer bookkeeping services is a justified choice because it can bring a lot of advantages. First of all, you need to gain some professional experience by searching for an internship or a job that will want to train you. Then a certification will boost your work opportunities increasing your credibility for an employer. In Houston are a lot of possibilities to get a certification in the QuickBooks program, this being an ideal solution for you. Once you have the experience you can choose how you want to work, on-site or remote, part-time or full-time, employed or as a freelancer collaborating with many companies and so on.