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• # 95506
• Tue 10 Dec 2013 01:49 PM

Hello all,

I am coming towards the end of the Manual Bookkeeping level 3 course and have 20+ years of Bookkeeping experience under my belt.  

My concern for setting up on own is that I have limited payroll experience.  I have only run a payroll for 5 people while covering a Bookkeepers maternity leave a couple of years ago.  I have always worked in companies who have a specific Payroll Department and have only picked up the payroll from a month/year end analysis point of view.

Does anyone think that this lack of experience will hold me back when I become a self-employed Bookkeeper? If so, should I take the ICB Payroll course?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Helen

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• # 95512
• Tue 10 Dec 2013 03:51 PM

Thanks very much for your reply.

I thought this would be the case so, as you say, I will have to think about which type of clients I will be aiming at and decide whether the payroll course will really benefit me.  

Thanks again,
Helen 

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• # 95521
• Tue 10 Dec 2013 07:59 PM

Just to clarify, you can be self employed as a bookkeeper with a practice licence and not offer Payroll as one of your services if you aren't qualified in it. You don't need to have payroll to get your practice licence. I haven't found that it's held me back in the last three years. 

It all depends on the type of client you want and what services you want to offer. 

I only took the payroll qualification to complete the set of level 3 qualifications. I'm not really planning to offer it but at least now having passed it I know I can if I need to. 

Before now I have had a friendly payroll bureau to whom I would send potential clients wanting payroll but in reality this has only happened once in 3 years.

The problem that I see is that a payroll bureau will charge a tiny amount for a small payroll where I would need to charge substantially more to make it worth my while. This would price me out of the market. If I happen to pick up a client that needs payroll as well as other services then that's fine but I won't be offering it as a stand-alone service.

• Bruton Young Bookkeeping
  
  

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• # 95529
• Wed 11 Dec 2013 09:56 AM

Thanks Clare, 

I do know a local lady who does Payroll so I could, if necessary, point clients in her direction. I don't want to pay another few hundred pounds for a course if it's not going to really benefit me.  I do have basic Payroll experience but I don't have the confidence to offer this as a specific service. 

I will see how things go and should I feel I'm being held back by not offering Payroll then I will have to invest in the course and gain some more practical experience.




 

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