Hi all, I qualified AAT about 9 years ago at a local college on a part time basis, couldn't get work that would pay enough to support the family etc and so continued working in a factory working continental shifts. Now the kids have grown up and I have loads of spare time due to the work pattern I wish to start book keeping, working from home to start with.
The question is where to start, how to start, what software package etc. Does the software package you use have to be the same one as the accountant? what sort of client would be best to start with?
If your bookkeeping experience is limited or none, you might still be faced with the same problem you encountered after qualifying. In other words, a compromise between immediate rewards and gaining experience. Self employment is easier when you already have practical skills and any bookkeeping without them is likely to be low rewarding and/or difficult to obtain.
Voluntary work is certainly one option and many organisations are always on the look-out for someone with your technical knowledge. I started voluntary tax work after twenty six years and don't regret it for a second. I did though, already have an outlet for the enhanced skills I picked up.
One-Man-Bands tend to want a One-Stop-Shop for their tax and accountancy requirements. The kind of work you'd need to work from home around the regular shift pattern is likely to be via local accountants. The AAT pass will stand you in good stead if you were to contact several local practices but the trade-off I refer to could mean your offering a low hourly rate.
There are some on here I can think of who have had great success starting a practice from roughly the position you're in now. Use the Search function for say, "starting" and you will find real life stories that will give you an idea of the opportunities and problems you may encounter.
