Online Bookkeeping Jobs: Learn How To Get Started Today

Did you know that you can make money as a bookkeeper at home, even if you have no experience or degree? Online bookkeeping jobs can be a great way to work from home, and remote bookkeepers are in high demand too. If you’ve been wanting to work from home and want to earn $40,000+ each…

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Last Updated: January 5, 2024

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

Did you know that you can make money as a bookkeeper at home, even if you have no experience or degree?

Online bookkeeping jobs can be a great way to work from home, and remote bookkeepers are in high demand too. If you’ve been wanting to work from home and want to earn $40,000+ each year, bookkeeping could be perfect for you.

As a bookkeeper, you are responsible for helping businesses take care of their finances, such as by tracking receipts and spending. 

This is a job that can earn you over $40,000 a year, with a lot of room for growth. So many different types of businesses are looking for bookkeepers, so this can be a great career option to get started with.

And yes, bookkeeping is definitely a skill that you can learn from home!

What’s great about bookkeeping is that you can learn the skills you need from the comfort of your home, and then you can also work the job at home. It’s very flexible as well.

Entry-level online bookkeeping jobs are excellent for stay-at-home parents, teachers who are off for the summer, college students, professionals who want to make more money on the side of their job, digital nomads, and more.

If you are looking for a new job or even just a part-time work-from-home gig, this may be something that you want to look into. Learning how to become an online bookkeeper can be a great long-term career choice too.

Plus, as an online bookkeeper, you can work from wherever – you just need an internet connection and a laptop.

If you are interested in finding online bookkeeping jobs, I recommend signing up for this free workshop all about finding a virtual bookkeeping job. Here, you will learn how to start a freelance bookkeeping business. You can sign up for free here.

Today, you will learn how to become a virtual bookkeeper, how to find online bookkeeping jobs, how to learn the skills needed to become a bookkeeper, and more.

Content related to online bookkeeping jobs:

What you need to know about online bookkeeping jobs.

 

What is a bookkeeper?

A bookkeeper is someone who helps manage and track the financial side of a business. They will typically keep track of sales, expenses, and produce financial reports.

Those with virtual bookkeeping jobs work remotely from home, and they do not physically need to go into the office. Bookkeeping is an excellent option for remote work because all of a bookkeeper’s work can be done online or with computer software.

If you are a freelance bookkeeper, you may have several clients, or just one. It simply depends on what type of bookkeeping business you want to run.

How To Find Online Bookkeeping Jobs

How a bookkeeper explains the job

If you’re looking for freelance bookkeeping jobs from home, it might be helpful to learn how a professional bookkeeper describes their job. This can give you a better idea of what the work will really be like. I always enjoy hearing people explain what they do in their own words. 

I interviewed a professional bookkeeper in How To Become a Bookkeeper, and I think they described the job best:

“Think of bookkeeping like caring for your household finances… but on steroids.

Every business is required (and should) track every dollar that comes into their business or goes out. In theory, this seems pretty darn easy. In practice, it just isn’t so.

Most entrepreneur/business owner types are excellent at what they do: carpentry, dentistry, carpet-cleaning… you name it. However, most of them are clueless when it comes to tracking their finances. Enter the bookkeeper.

The bookkeeper is the person business owners rely on for accurate financial information. Business owners want to be able to focus on what they are good at, and delegate the tasks they are not so good at. Bookkeeping is a prime example of a task that savvy business owners outsource to others.”

What’s the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?

It’s important to know that bookkeepers are not accountants, although many people confuse the two or think it’s the same job. 

Both are very important jobs and do a great deal to help business owners, but they are not the same.

Accountants are required to have a bachelor’s degree, and many of them complete additional coursework or certifications. Their training is why they are responsible for providing financial analysis and insights.

The work a bookkeeper does may be passed onto an accountant for tax purposes or to help a business owner make larger financial decisions.

Also, you have probably seen the title CPA – that stands for Certified Public Accountant. This is an accounting professional who has completed licensing standards for their state. This is not the case for bookkeepers.

Bookkeepers, however, do not need any specific education or training. That’s why part-time online bookkeeping jobs are great for so many types of people. There are some skills required, like understanding how to create and use spreadsheets or using specific types of software, but these are skills you can learn on your own time. 

Plus, you don’t have to spend four years going to college or paying for a degree to become a bookkeeper.

 

Can I work as a bookkeeper from home?

Yes, bookkeeping is a perfect work from home job! This is because you really only need a laptop or computer, plus an internet connection.

As an online bookkeeper, you can typically work from wherever. I’ve met people while traveling who work as online bookkeepers as a way to work while traveling – it’s just that flexible!

All of the most popular bookkeeping software that you would use is all online, and most companies keep digital copies of financial documents you would need to access online as well, like receipts and payroll.

 

What does an online bookkeeper do? 

As a bookkeeper, you may be completing tasks such as:

  • Recording financial transactions
  • Categorizing and organizing financial information, such as filing receipts
  • Producing financial statements
  • Bank statement reconciliation
  • Budget management
  • Creating financial reports
  • Handle invoices
  • Cash flow management
  • Manage payroll

And more. The online part simply comes from the fact that you are working remotely and not going into an office. 

But the exact tasks you do depend on what your clients or company is looking for.

 

How much do online bookkeepers make?

Pay for online bookkeepers varies just like the type of work they do varies.

This is because it depends on how many hours you put towards it each week (do you want to work part-time or full-time, for example), what you’re doing to grow your business, and more.

As an online bookkeeper, you may be able to earn around $40,000 or more each year. This is typically around 12-16 clients. Per hour pay may range anywhere from $60-$100/hour.

It’s not uncommon for a bookkeeper to make approximately $300 a month for one client, and that’s working around 4-5 hours a month total.

 

Can I be a bookkeeper without a degree? How do I become a virtual bookkeeper with no experience?

There are definitely online bookkeeping jobs with no experience needed, and you don’t need a degree to get started either.

That being said, you will need to learn how to do this job correctly, and one way is to take an online course. Yes, that means that you can learn how to become a bookkeeper with no experience.

The skills you may need as an online bookkeeper may include:

  • Organization skills – As a bookkeeper, you need strong organization skills to organize and categorize numbers. Organization skills are also a must when you are working with multiple clients.
  • Understand numbers – Now, you don’t need a degree in finance, but you should at least be comfortable with numbers and be willing to learn how to correctly do a company’s bookkeeping. Most bookkeepers use fairly simple math.
  • Attention to detail – As a bookkeeper, you will be dealing with a company’s financial details, which means that you need to be able to pay good attention to all of the different details.

With training, you can learn how to become a bookkeeper, how to find bookkeeping clients, and how to run a bookkeeping business.

I recommend checking out this free How To Become An Online Bookkeeper Workshop to see if this interests you.

 

Who hires online bookkeepers? 

Typical clients for a virtual bookkeeper are usually small to medium-sized businesses.

Many business owners have no idea how to track their finances, and this is where a virtual bookkeeper comes in!

As an online bookkeeper, you may be working directly for a company full-time, or you may have many smaller part-time clients. It simply depends on what type of business you want to run, or if you want to be a full-time bookkeeping employee for a company.

 

What companies hire online bookkeepers? 

There are many different places to start when it comes to finding online bookkeeping jobs. These include:

  1. Fiverr – For freelance bookkeeping jobs, Fiverr.com can be a place to start for entry level bookkeeping jobs. You would be posting your bookkeeping services on this website, sort of like an advertisement for your bookkeeping business.
  2. UpWork – With UpWork, you can find beginner bookkeeping jobs. At the time of writing this post, they had 954 bookkeeping jobs posted on UpWork.
  3. Flexjobs – Flexjobs.com lists bookkeeping jobs. I did a quick search and found 11 pages full of different bookkeeping jobs that they have listed.
  4. Craigslist – By searching available jobs and gigs, you may find bookkeeping jobs. Local businesses need bookkeepers too!
  5. Indeed – Indeed lists virtual bookkeeper jobs, and even goes a little more in-depth and lists the salary range as well.
  6. Ziprecruiter – Ziprecruiter has 13,334 online bookkeeper jobs currently posted on their website.
  7. Belay Solutions – Belay Solutions hires for remote positions, such as bookkeepers. Job duties include paying client’s bills, bank statement reconciliation, budget management, and more.
  8. Accounting Prose – This is a bookkeeping and payroll company that hires virtual bookkeepers.
  9. Intuit – Intuit (Quickbooks) hires Quickbooks Live Bookkeepers to help small businesses manage their finances. The jobs they offer are typically around 20 to 40 hours each week.
  10. Accounting Department – This is a website that hires bookkeepers as full-time W2 workers, with benefits. The company is virtual, but they ask that you live in the United States.
  11. Bookminders – Bookminders hires part-time work from home bookkeepers. You may be working for small business or non-profit companies. They do require a bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years of experience in the finance field. Plus, while it is a remote position, you do need to live within 45 miles of a local Bookminders’ office (so that you can attend training and client meetings). Current offices are located in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, King of Prussia, Cherry Hill, Annapolis, D.C., and Austin.
  12. Backyard Bookkeeper – Backyard Bookkeeper hires bookkeepers for anywhere from 10 to 30 hours a week (it’s up to you). You can work from your home, but you may have to visit clients occasionally as well. This is a part-time bookkeeping position that pays around $16 to $24 per hour. You do need to be a resident of Utah.
  13. Guru – This is a job board where you can list your bookkeeping services.
  14. Remote.co – This website lists remote bookkeeping jobs from individual companies or with consulting firms.

Below is a screenshot of online bookkeeping jobs that I found on UpWork.

how to find online bookkeeping jobs on Upwork

I scrolled through all of the websites above, and there are many, many different options when it comes to finding online bookkeeping jobs.

 

Which bookkeeping course is best? 

If you’re interested in becoming a bookkeeper, you may want to take a course to jumpstart your career, and the most popular online bookkeeping course that I know of is Bookkeeper Launch

The course is around 60 hours long and over 12,000 people have taken this course!

Bookkeeper Launch teaches you how to start your own online bookkeeping business from scratch.

This course will teach you how to find bookkeeping jobs from the very beginning, how to set up and market your business, actual bookkeeping skills (such as how to prepare financial statements and other tasks you may be doing for businesses as a bookkeeper), and the course is perfect for anyone who is brand new to the career.

The course is self-paced too, which means that you can take the course as quickly or as slowly as you would like.

This bookkeeping course also comes with:

  • Unlimited email support
  • Live weekly question and answers sessions
  • Support group with over 6,000 students

This course also has a 30-day guarantee. So, if you are not 100% happy with the course, you can get a refund.

I have heard great reviews about this bookkeeping course from many of my readers, and I know of many people who have found bookkeeping jobs because of what they have learned through this training.

 

Is it worth it taking an online bookkeeping course?

Yes, I definitely think that taking a bookkeeping course is worth it.

The course mentioned above teaches you bookkeeping skills, as well as how to create and set up your bookkeeping business.

This is extremely valuable information, especially for someone new to the topic of bookkeeping, as you will learn exactly what to do and what not to do.

This can save you hours and hours of time, as well as eliminating any guessing as to how to correctly run a bookkeeping business.

 

What are the pros and cons of bookkeeping?

As with any job, there are pros and cons to becoming an online bookkeeper.

Positives of becoming a bookkeeper:

  • It’s affordable to start a bookkeeping business, as all you really need is a laptop or computer and an internet connection.
  • You can work from home or while traveling.
  • You can create your own schedule, which can be great if you are a stay at home parent or if you simply want to be in charge of your own hours.
  • You get to decide who your clients are and who you work with.

Negatives of becoming a bookkeeper:

  • Although you may be able to create a flexible schedule, there still may be deadlines for you to follow. This is all dependent on the client.
  • You will need to learn bookkeeping skills in order to be helpful to your clients.
  • It is still a job, of course 🙂 This means that you will still have to work. It is not a get rich quick scheme.

As you can see, there are many great positives of becoming a bookkeeper.

 

How do I become a virtual bookkeeper?

I recommend reading How To Become a Bookkeeper to learn more about how to become a bookkeeper.

To see if you are interested in becoming an online bookkeeper, I highly recommend first signing up for a free workshop all about finding a digital bookkeeping job.

Here, you will learn how to start a freelance bookkeeping business. You can sign up for free here, and this is a great introduction for someone who is thinking about starting a freelance bookkeeping career.

A very quick step-by-by process of becoming a bookkeeper may include:

  1. Learn bookkeeping skills, such as how to organize financial transactions
  2. Understand how to use bookkeeping software, such as QuickBooks
  3. Create your bookkeeping business, which may include creating a simple website that displays your bookkeeping services, making business cards, and more
  4. Finding your first bookkeeping client
  5. Getting paid.

You can do it!

 

How to find online bookkeeping jobs

I hope you enjoyed today’s article on how to find online bookkeeping jobs.

As you can see, there are many different ways to find online bookkeeping jobs, from working for a company full-time, to managing several clients while running your own business.

The pay and the hours can vary, so it simply depends on what kind of virtual bookkeeping business that you want to create and run for yourself. Everyone is different, so choose what is best for you!

Are you interested in finding online bookkeeping jobs? What other questions do you have on how to become a virtual bookkeeper?


Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Author: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Hey! I’m Michelle Schroeder-Gardner and I am the founder of Making Sense of Cents. I’m passionate about all things personal finance, side hustles, making extra money, and online businesses. I have been featured in major publications such as Forbes, CNBC, Time, and Business Insider. Learn more here.

Like this article?

Join the Conversation

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Laza A

    Thank you for the interesting blog. Would laws and regulations be a hindrance for online bookkeepers from outside America and Europe as they are different from one country to another?

    1. Hey Laza,

      Different countries will have different rules when it comes to bookkeeping and taxes.

      It all depends on where you are wanting your customer base to be.

  2. Liam

    Yes, you can make money as a bookkeeper at home, even if you have no experience or degree. You can learn the skills you need from home and work the job at home. It’s a flexible job that can earn you over $40,000 a year.