You can set up basic small business accounting records in a spreadsheet, though this is more tedious, prone to manual errors, and time consuming than a comprehensive small-business accounting software. At the very least, you'll want to track expenses and income in a secure cloud-based platform.

Bookkeeping can be a surprisingly profitable business. That's partly because bookkeeping businesses don't have a lot of barriers to entry or even a lot of startup costs to worry about. All you really need is some bookkeeping experience, access to accounting software, and a way to market yourself to prospects.

Yes, a bookkeeping business can be very profitable. In fact, ZipRecruiter reports that the national average income for an independent bookkeeper is $56,100, though some report income as high as $122,000. The cost of doing business is relatively low, mostly related to bookkeeping software, so profit margins are high.