Can a bookkeeper make 100k? (2024)

FAQs

Can a bookkeeper make 100k? ›

More experienced bookkeepers might set their sights higher to something like $100,000 a year in earnings. To double your income from $50,000 to $100,000, you also double the number of hours you work each week. In other words, at this income level, your bookkeeping work will become more like a full-time job.

But it's true—it's absolutely possible to give yourself a six-figure salary with a bookkeeping business.

Once you've mastered finding clients for your bookkeeping business, there will come a time when you need to hire extra help, such as a subcontractor. Typically, a bookkeeper can handle 20 to 30 clients on their own. But when you're approaching or exceeding 50 clients, it's time to hire some help.

Average salary

Freelance bookkeepers set their own rates and often charge an hourly rate of $40-60. If a freelance bookkeeper has multiple clients and works full-time, they frequently earn more than the salaried bookkeeper's $35-40,000 per year.

Those in the bookkeeping field can be fairly confident that the work they do will always be needed. In fact, bookkeeping is one of the oldest jobs in recorded history.

Bookkeepers earn a median annual salary of $45,860, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, a bookkeeper's salary varies depending on their education, location and level of experience. The BLS projects employment for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks to decline by 6% by 2032.

The Role of the Accountant

Accountants typically oversee the bookkeeper and may perform billing, make general ledger entries, review accounts payable activity and reconcile payroll. A mid-level position in the accounting department, accountants report to accounting managers, company controllers or financial directors.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects -6.2% employment growth for bookkeeping accounting and audit clerks between 2022 and 2032. In that period, an estimated 108,300 jobs will be lost. Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks wear many hats.

Bookkeeping, like any profession, can have its stressful moments, particularly during tax season or end-of-month reconciliations. Effective bookkeepers often establish organized systems and adhere to a consistent routine to manage workload and deadlines.

To help answer some of your burning questions, take a look at a few average rates: The average hourly wage for a bookkeeper in the U.S. is $22 per hour. CPAs typically charge $200 – $250 per hour. Top bookkeepers in major cities may charge $500 per hour (or more).

What is the bookkeeper rule? ›

Rule 1 (Bookkeeper Rule). The number of sequences with n1 copies of l1, n2 copies of l2, ..., and nk copies of lk is (n1 + n2 + ... + nk)!

You can expect to work about 3 hours per week per client on their bookkeeping services. However, the total number of hours you work and the number of clients you need to reach different income levels will depend on the size of the client's business and the monthly retainer you charge them.

Bookkeeping is the score board for business performance. This means that business owners need to know how well (or poor) they're performing each month. Highly profitable. According to Inc Magazine, bookkeeping is the #1 most profitable side-hustle / business.

While you can get started with an entry-level bookkeeping job without any certification, certificates can help you get higher-paying jobs. The average salary for a certified bookkeeper is around $55,000 per year, and the average salary for a non-certified bookkeeper is around $45,000 per year.

Some disadvantages include time-consuming, mentally exhausting, technological disruptions, liability issues, work overload, client dependence, and costs. But I would argue that the biggest downside to bookkeeping is how much time it takes to get the work done.

A CPA salary usually reaches the high five figures, and senior CPAs in management can earn a six-figure salary.

The short answer is that you will need to service between 15-20 clients each month in order to earn a $100k yearly salary. This varies based on how big the client is and how much you charge each month. To help you picture different scenarios, I created a client calculator spreadsheet that you can download below.

Therefore, if you plan to scale your accounting and bookkeeping, you need engaging, factual, and persuasive content to reach out to more clients. Apart from just writing about the services, you need to understand the various blogs created on the topic, and most importantly, you need to optimize your content.