I’m a QuickBooks® Training and Troubleshooting Expert. I got my start as a bookkeeper with the first version of QuickBooks® (in DOS). My boss at the non-profit asked me for reports that didn't just come right out of QuickBooks®, so I quickly learned to push the software to its limits. That was my first bookkeeping job and I was fortunate to receive hands-on training from a patient trainer.

For those starting out, I advise you to make sure you have a solid background in the debits and credits of accounting and understanding a balance sheet, and then go on to take the QuickBooks® ProAdvisor Certification Exam. Then find your niche. The best niches are the ones you enjoy being in the most. If you like coffee shops, hit retail and good luck to you. If you grew up in construction and something about dirt and concrete makes you happy, there is plenty of room for QuickBooks® construction experts. Same goes with architecture, art, or any other type of business that works on QuickBooks. If you’re too ADD to focus on something, focus on on your favorite geographical area (seriously).

Large governmental organizations are using QuickBooks® to manage aspects of their finances, and of course lots of small companies use it too. I’d focus on the larger clients right now, making sure they have remote back-up systems that will restore their QuickBooks® data within an acceptable time frame in the event of disaster, and helping them to update internal procedures for fraud detection and electronic security. There are also a lot of Mac users out there crying for QuickBooks® help, add-on applications such as QuickBooks® Point of Sale, shopping carts, inventory management, and time billing, needing integration with QuickBooks® financial software.

There is so much work to be done in the constantly-moving and ever-expanding field of QuickBooks® consulting that there is much to be gained for QuickBooks® consultants who team up together. It's that philosophy of specialization through collaboration that has made The QuickSource has been so successful at helping so many people on QuickBooks® for so long.