15 Side Hustles For Accountants To Earn Extra Money

Last Updated August 29, 2024 by Davina Kelly

Are you looking for some of the best side hustles for accountants? You’ve come to the right place.

With the cost of living crisis and the rise of inflation, relying on one source of income is risky.

Fortunately, accounting is a highly skilled in-demand job and you can use the skills you’ve already acquired to make money outside of your 9 – 5 job.

As an accountant with over 15 years of experience, I’m sharing my first-hand experience. I’ve come up with these side hustle ideas based on the skills that I and most accountants already have.

So these are practical ways to turn your expertise into extra income

Read on to learn these side hustle ideas along with the pros and cons for each option.

This post is all about side hustles for accountants.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means we will receive a commission if you purchase through our links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

Best Side Hustles For Accountants:

1. Bookkeeping Services

If you work in accounting you can start a bookkeeping business. This is one of the easiest side hustles for accountants. It doesn’t require any additional skills as you will be performing tasks that you already do in your day job. This was the first job I had when I began my career in accounting and the first side hustle I started.

Business owners want to focus on running their business and making money, they don’t have time to manage their books. You can use your knowledge to provide bookkeeping services for them.

This is also a great side hustle if you work in accounting but are not professionally qualified because you don’t have to be qualified to provide bookkeeping services.

Some of the services you can offer as a bookkeeper include:

Record income and expense transactions
Bank reconciliations
Process payroll
Invoice clients
Monthly profit and loss reports
Calculate corporation tax

These are some examples, but the services you provide will depend on the type of business the client has and their needs.

To get started you can look for clients on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. There will be a lot of competition so you will need to stand. To do this you can offer a niche service, for example, you can focus on providing bookkeeping services to influencers.

Once you have a few clients and provide a good service, you can make at least $400 per month.

Pros: You can start making money quickly as it is a service-based business.

Cons: It can be time-consuming. You will need to ensure you are available to support your clients.

2. Freelance Accounting

As an experienced accountant, you can offer freelance accounting services to businesses. You can help them with some of the tasks listed below.

Bookkeeping
Payroll
Financial Analysis
Bank Reconciliations
Balance Sheet Reconciliations
Prepare annual accounts
Complete and file tax returns

If you provide freelance services you have a bit more flexibility. You can work with businesses during their busy season, for one-off projects or you can work with the same client just a few times in the year.

You can niche down if there is an area of accounting you prefer doing. For example, if you enjoy tax preparation you can provide this as a specialist service to your clients.

I would recommend doing this alongside general services like bookkeeping, but it can be your high-ticket service. The earning potential is $500+

To get started you can look for clients on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork or LinkedIn.

Pros: It can be flexible. You can choose to work for a few months at a time or work with clients consistently.

Cons: You will need to ensure you have the time and energy to give the best service to your clients.

3. Teach Excel

One of the most important skills you need to work in accounting is Excel. As Accountants, we use Excel for pretty much everything.

We use it to analyse data, complete reconciliations, record transactions, model data, etc. If you are good at Excel you can help other people improve their Excel skills.

There are so many formulas and functions in Excel that help accountants do their work more efficiently. Learning formulas that can help you complete your work more efficiently is a skill worth investing in.

Excel isn’t just used by accountants, other jobs require Excel skills like Data analysis for example, so you can also teach people outside of accounting.

You can work with clients one to one, host workshops via Zoom, or you can create video tutorials and put them on platforms like SkillShare. You can make $100+ depending on the level you teach.

Pros: Excel is an in-demand skill. If you market yourself well you will get clients.

Cons: It can be time-consuming if you choose the one to one route.

4. Create an Online Course

Creating a course is a great way to make money online as an accountant. You can use your expertise to teach up and coming accountants or teach small business owners how to perform accounting duties.

You can also teach a course on accounting basics, financial accounting, management accounting, payroll, how to use QuickBooks or Xero, etc. Online courses are becoming increasingly popular these days and people would love to learn from a professional.

It will take some work to get started. You will first need to decide which course you want to create, then you will need to break it down into chapters, record it and create the materials to go with it like workbooks.

There are some different options when it comes to selling your course. You could offer it through platforms like Udemy or SkillShare which already have a community. Or you can host it on platforms like Teachable or Kajabi.

However, if you create your website and sell your course independently you will increase your earning potential. You can also create multiple courses covering different topics. With this side hustle you can make $500+ a month.

Pros: Once you have created the course you can sell it repeatedly and make passive income

Cons: It can take a lot of work to create the course, but once you have done the work you can continue to make money.

5. Start a Blog

Starting a blog is another great way to make extra money as an accountant. You could create content about accounting, taxes, setting up a Limited company, etc. Or you could write about personal finance and create content to help people manage their finances.

With the cost of living crisis and inflation rising people will benefit from learning how to manage their finances in the best way possible. You can use your expertise to help them with this.

To get started you will need web hosting, which will allow you to store all of your data and files on the internet. Bluehost is a good option to get started. You will also need a domain name and a platform. Your domain name is your web address, for example, www.yourblogname.com. The platform is where you will create your blog, the most popular ones are WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and GoDaddy.

If you want to set your blog up the right way I highly recommend this affordable eBook The Treasure Map To Blogging Success in 30 days. It provides a profitable roadmap to help beginners understand how to start a blog and make money step by step.

To monetize your blog you can make money through adverts, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts. You could also sell digital products or offer services. For example, you could offer bookkeeping or one to one services to small businesses.

A blog is an amazing way to start an online business and grow a presence. Your blog is yours, you own it so your earning potential is limitless. You can earn anywhere from $500 – $10,000 once you start gaining traffic.

Pros: You can share ideas, be creative and improve your writing skills.

Cons: It will take time to start earning money. In the beginning, it will be a lot of work without pay, but once you start gaining traffic it can be lucrative.

6. Sell Templates or Printables

Another side hustle for accountants is selling templates or printables online. As an accountant, you have a lot of options. Here are some examples.

Budget templates/planners
Payday checklist
Invoice templates
Net worth tracker
Debt payoff tracker
Savings challenge printables

If you want even more ideas you can search on Etsy or Pinterest. My mind has been blown by the demand for templates and printables to help people manage their finances.

Creating the templates will be easy as these are things you use in your day job so you will know the level of detail you need to include. The key to making sales is the way you design your listing photos. This is what will grab people’s attention.

Don’t worry if you are not a graphic designer thanks to platforms like Canva designing your graphics is easy. I have zero graphics experience and I have been able to design some decent images using Canva lol

You can create the trackers using Excel and for the printables, you can use Canva or Adobe. To get started you can sell them on Etsy. This is an easy way to get started and it is a very popular marketplace. Or if you already have an online presence, you can market your templates to your audience. The earning potential is $100+ per month.

Pros: This is a great way to make money online using skills that you already have and it is scalable.

Cons: There are no cons

7. Start a YouTube Channel

YouTube is an amazing platform, there are so many people who have created channels sharing their knowledge and experience in many different areas.

You can use your expertise to create videos on topics related to finance like accounting, and taxes, or personal finance-related topics like saving and investing. Your videos can teach people how to understand these topics in a digestible way. To stand out you will need to figure out your unique selling point and weave it into your content.

I know it may seem like YouTube is over-saturated, but you can still create a successful channel. People like to learn from people, especially people who have expertise in a particular area.

For example, in the last year, there is a YouTube creator called Nischa who has blown up. She is an accountant and on her channel, she shares her knowledge and experience to teach others finance-related topics in a way that is easy to understand.

To make money from YouTube you will need to either have 1,000 subscribers or 4,000 watch hours on long-from videos in the last year. Once you reach this threshold you can monetise your channel. You can also make money from ads, affiliate marketing and sponsorships. The earning potential can range from $100 – $5,000 depending per month on how many views you get.

Pros: It can be a fun creative way to help people. You could also market your products to your audience.

Cons: It can take time to build up your channel and start making money. But if you are consistent it will pay off.

8. Create An eBook

You could create an eBook teaching accounting basics step by step, tax preparation, or how to create a budget. This is another great way to make money online as an accountant.

Creating an eBook will take some work in the beginning. You will need to choose what you want to write about, create your chapters, and lay it out in a clear concise way.

But once you have created it you can sell it continuously. That is one of the great benefits of having a digital product, you create it once and continue to make passive income.

You can use platforms like Canva and Adobe to create your eBook, as I mentioned earlier you don’t need to be a graphic designer to use it.

Another option is to create an eBook on something else you are passionate about. You can sell it on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). It is pretty easy to get started with KDP, once your eBook is completed you can upload it to KDP and make it available for sale.

To maximise your income you can create multiple eBooks on different topics and become a self-published author. The earning potential is $200+ per month.

Pros: This can be another way to help other people which can be rewarding and you will make passive income.

Cons: Aside from the time it will take to make the eBook there aren’t any cons.

9. Tutoring

Tutoring can be a great side hustle and also a way to add value. As an accountant, you will have a lot of knowledge in finance and accounting, which makes you the perfect candidate for tutoring.

You can tutor up and coming finance students or professionals to help them understand the fundamentals of accounting. You can also provide tutoring with a professional accounting body like ACCA or AAT. Or you can help students to prepare for their exams. Preparing for exams can be tough, but having help from someone who has successfully passed their exams can make all the difference.

If you have a few repeat customers you can make $300+ on the side. You can do this face to face or via Zoom.

Pros: It can be fulfilling to help others progress in their career. You can set your own rates and make good money.

Cons: It is time-consuming and you will get better results if you do it in person.

10. Complete Tax Returns

Small business owners usually need help with completing their tax returns. They either don’t have the time to do it, or they don’t know how to do it.

The everyday person gets overwhelmed when thinking about tax returns. They panic because they don’t want to make a mistake or be fined for late filings.

You can help small businesses and provide this as a service. You can work with clients to prepare and file their tax returns and also calculate their corporation tax. With this service alone you could make $250+ but if you included extras like getting their books up to date you could charge more.

Pros: This service is in demand so you will get clients.

Cons: If you have more than one client you could be very busy during the same period. If you manage your time well you will avoid being overwhelmed.

11. Consulting

If you have experience in many areas of accounting you could also offer consulting services. You could help small businesses with specific problems like developing systems to manage their finances.

You can use platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork to find clients. As I mentioned earlier you will need to ensure that you stand out to get clients.

For your service you could charge $1,000 upwards, if you have multiple clients you can make some good money on the side.

Pros: You can help businesses by providing a tailored service. You can also learn a lot from working with businesses in different industries.

Cons: It can take up a lot of your time.

12. Virtual Accounting

If you prefer to solely work online you can become a virtual accountant. You can offer accounting services remotely to clients all over the world.

This is also a great option if you travel or change locations, as you will always be able to reach your clients from anywhere.

Remote accounting has become more popular over the years as it is more cost-effective. You can offer tailored services to help clients solve problems or you can help them to manage their finances.

You can find clients on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, Indeed, and Zip Recruiter. If you have social media platforms like Facebook you can let your followers know you are looking for clients. The earning potential is anywhere from $500 upwards depending on the services you provide.

Pros: You can work from anywhere in the world.

Cons: As with all service-based businesses it is time-consuming.

13. Help Setting Up

As an accountant, you can help entrepreneurs set up their business. You can help them set up the correct company structure, create a budget, and manage their cash flow and overall finances.

You can offer this as a tailored service alongside bookkeeping and make at least $250+

Pros: You can help to get business started in an efficient way and help them avoid making costly mistakes.

Cons: It is time-consuming and it can be hard to scale.

14. Financial Advisor

You can use your expertise as an accountant to offer financial advice to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

You can look at their numbers and advise them on how to be more tax-efficient, maintain their cash flow, how to invest, plan for retirement, etc.

This type of service is usually long-term so you can have a handful of clients and make good money on the side. The earning potential is $500+

Pros: You can help small businesses and entrepreneurs make smart financial decisions which can save them money.

Cons: It can be demanding on your time and energy.

15. Review CV’s (Resume)

Reviewing CVs is a great way to help accounting students and professionals secure jobs. When you apply for jobs your CV is the first thing an employer will see so it needs to be really good.

As an accountant, you will have experience with applying for jobs and going through the interview process so you will understand what recruiters are looking for. You can use this experience to offer a service.

You can charge a fee to review CV’s in a certain amount of time. For example, you could charge $25 to review a CV for 30 mins. You can review the CV, add notes and suggestions to improve and send it back.

To upscale you can hold workshops to walk through how to create a CV that stands out or you can create an eBook with tips and common mistakes to avoid. If you have a few clients you could make at least $200.

Pros: This can be a very rewarding side hustle and it will make you feel good to know that you have helped someone secure a job.

Cons: Aside from the time it takes to review a CV, there aren’t any. This option isn’t too demanding on your time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Make Money Online As an Accountant?

To make money online as an accountant you can offer services such as

Virtual Accounting
Bookkeeping
Tax Preparation
Consulting
Teaching

All of these services can be offered online, you don’t need to meet clients face to face. You can set up your calls via Zoom.

You could also sell Excel templates or budget printables online to make even more money. The great thing about being online is that you can work and make money from anywhere in the world.

How Can Accountants Earn Extra Money?

As an accountant, you can earn extra money using any of the examples I have listed in this post. All of them will earn you extra money.

If you specialise in one area of accounting you can use any of the options in this post but make them niche. For example, if your area of expertise is Tax you could help students study for their tax exams and sell templates to help small business owners calculate their taxes.

Passive Income Ideas For Accountants

Passive income is my favourite income. You put in the work upfront and continue to earn money while you sleep. Here are some passive income ideas for accountants.

Investing in the stock market
Ad revenue from YouTube or a blog
Rental property income
Online Course
Printables
Selling Excel templates

Final Thoughts

There are many side hustle options for accountants, you need to think about which option is the best fit for you and your lifestyle. Managing your time well is an important factor when starting a side hustle, you need to be organised and plan ahead.

For example, if you have a demanding full-time job side hustles like selling an eBook or templates and printables might be better options for you. Or if you choose to do bookkeeping you can work on the weekends.

It is also important to build an online presence so that you can build an audience, create content and eventually create products based on their needs. Once your audience has built trust with you they will buy from you.

Have you found these ideas helpful? Which side hustle sounds the best to you?