Working an accounting job can be very stressful, especially as tax season rolls around.
While the pay is modest, sometimes a side hustle can be beneficial to help keep your finances on track.
In this post, I’ll explore the best side hustles for accountants, how to make passive income as an accountant, and much more. Let’s get started!
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Best Side Hustles for Accountants
If you love numbers and want to make extra money, check out these side hustles for accountants, CPAs, and tax professionals.
Start a Bookkeeping Side Hustle
Bookkeeping is the most obvious side hustle for any accountant of CPA. Because you’ll use your accounting skills to complete the work, it can be a great way to make some extra money.
With a bookkeeping side hustle you’ll get paid to complete bookkeeping for businesses who need help. With this side hustle, you’ll be tasked with recording all transactions for the business and maintaining the general ledger for the company.
Pricing your bookkeeping services can be challenging. Some accounting professionals will charge an hourly rate while others might charge a monthly retainer for their work.
The average bookkeeping salary is roughly $45,000 but many bookkeepers might not possess a college degree. For CPAs or accountants with a college degree, this number can exceed $73,000.
This can help you when pricing your services. You’ll also need to consider the costs when completing bookkeeping work. Will you need accounting software or other accounting related products to get your work done?
It’s reasonable to charge anywhere from $20 to $50 per hour for your services or more for more experienced accounting professionals.
To get started, it’s a good idea to create a website to promote your services. You can then connect with local business owners who might need help with their accounting.
You can also browse freelance sites to find additional work.
Complete Tax Returns
Tax season can be a stressful time for many accountants. But with this stress comes a great opportunity to make extra income by completing tax returns for individuals and businesses.
Tax returns are have a deadline of April 15 each year and you can face penalties for not having yours completed in time.
For individuals, the average cost to have your taxes done by a professional is around $220. This means that you could make a few hundred dollars for each tax return you file. As a professional accountant, it could take you anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete a simple tax return making this a very lucrative side hustle.
Start a Blog
Blogging is a great side hustle for accountants to make additional income. While this digital side hustle will require some time to become profitable – it can eventually become a full-time gig for some bloggers.
The cost to start a blog is minimal and your income potential is tremendous.
You might be thinking you have to start an accounting blog, but that’s certainly not the case. You can start a blog about anything that you’re interested in to make a side income.
To start a blog, you’ll need to acquire a domain name for your site. This can be purchase for around $10 annually by using a platform like Namecheap.
Next, you’ll need to purchase hosting for your blog so you can upload files and manage your content. I recommend using SiteGround. They offer affordable pricing and extremely fast services making your blog fast and reliable.
Subsequently you can install WordPress on your blog completely free of charge. This will make uploading blog posts simple and fast.
Finally it’s time to start producing content and promoting it to the world.
Blogging can be very time consuming in the first few months, but it can be tremendously rewarding for those who stick with it.
To grow your blog traffic, you’ll need to find traffic sources like SEO, social media, or email marketing to utilize.
Once your blog starts to gain traffic, you can make money from it through display advertising (consider Mediavine!), affiliate advertising, or publishing sponsored content.
This is a great way to make money with a laptop or computer if you have an internet connection and a little free time.
Deliver Food with Doordash
If you’re looking for a side income in addition to your accounting job, driving for Doordash can be a good way to make money with a truck or car.
With this side hustle, you’ll get paid to deliver food directly to customers in your spare time. One of the best things about this side gig is that you can work your own hours on your own time.
The amount of money you can make will depend on your city but it’s possible to make over $25 in some cases. It’s even possible to make $500 a week with Doordash if you put your mind to it!
Sign up to become a driver below to get started!
Deliver Groceries with Instacart
Delivering groceries is another good way to earn money after work whenever you have a few hours.
Just like Doordash, Instacart allows you to make money by delivering groceries to customers.
It’s possible to earn over $20 per hour with the side hustle, making is an awesome option to make money over the summer.
Create your free account below to get started!
Find a Data Entry Side Job
Data entry is one of the best side hustle ideas for accountants because it’s simple and you’re probably used to filling in spreadsheets as an accountant.
You can find work on freelance sites like Upwork or Fiverr. It’s possible to make anywhere from $10 to $20 per hour for your time.
Start a Podcast
Podcasting is a fun side hustle you can do to make more money in your free time.
If you’re looking for a passive side hustle, podcasting is a good option to earn money while sharing your knowledge with others.
Starting a podcast will require a few tools and pieces of equipment to get started. You’ll need a microphone, audio editing software, and a computer with an internet connection.
Growing your podcast can take some time with more than half of podcasts failing in the first few years of starting.
But if you can stick with it you can make a large income from your efforts. For example, Dave Ramsey’s podcast brings in over $10 million annually.
Podcasts can make money through a variety of methods including show sponsors and affiliate marketing.
Check out the video below to learn more about starting a podcast!
Start a YouTube Channel
Starting a YouTube channel is a great side hustle for anyone looking to make money online.
YouTube has over 1 billion users, making it one of the most popular websites worldwide. With so many people searching on YouTube, it makes total sense to start publishing videos as a creator.
There are plenty of accounting YouTube channels that make a significant amount of money helping others.
For example, if you’re a CPA, creating videos about how to prepare your taxes could be a good idea.
Every time you create and publish a new video, it has a chance to rank on YouTube as well as other search engines like Google to bring in traffic.
To make money with this social media giant, you have a few options. One of the most popular methods is utilizing affiliate marketing to promote offers and products that you recommend. You’ll earn a small portion of each sale you help to facilitate. There’s no risk with affiliate marketing making it a great choice for anyone looking to make extra cash.
Another option is through YouTube ads. To qualify for this, your channel will need to reach certain thresholds shown below.
Some YouTubers have made millions from their channels making it one of the best side gigs for accountants.
Make Money Taking Surveys
Taking surveys is a simple way to make extra cash without much effort. While you likely won’t make a ton of money taking surveys, it’s an easy way to make quick money.
One of my favorite things about taking online surveys is that it can be done whenever you have a few minutes and you can complete them from anywhere in the world making it a win win for your wallet.
Most people can make anywhere from $3 to over $25 per survey when using some survey sites like Opinion Outpost or InboxDollars.
As a bonus, most survey sites will offer you free money just for signing up. Who can say no to that!?
If you’re looking for a way to easily make money online without any special skills, consider giving online surveys a try!
Related: Best Apps That Give You Free Money
Rent Out Your Space
Renting out your space on a site like Neighbor.com is a great way to make money without having to do anything.
With this platform you can rent out any free space you have in your home including closet space, garage space, or parking space.
The amount of money you can make will depend on your city but it’s possible to earn a few hundred dollars each month.
Offer a Tax Planning Service
Tax planning is another option for accountants to make extra money. This is different than completing tax returns or bookkeeping.
With this side gig you can help business owners and individuals how to prepare for their tax bill and strategies they can use to lower their taxes.
As a tax consultant you’ll need to be very familiar with the tax laws so you can legally help people and small businesses prepare for their taxes.
Become a Social Media Influencer
Social media can be a goldmine to make money as an affiliate marketer. With this side gig you’ll be to understand how to grow social media accounts before you can start making money.
Once your accounts start to gain traction, you can promote affiliate offers to start monetizing your efforts. It’s possible to make $10k a month with this side hustle simply by understanding how to do social media marketing.
Work as a Tutor
Tutoring can be another good option to use your accounting specialties to make money.
Because there are many people taking accounting classes, there’s always demand for people who can help teach the principles of accounting.
The amount of money you can make will depend on your experience but it’s possible to make over $50 an hour tutoring for accounting.
Work as an Adjunct Professor
Teaching accounting on the side is a great way for many accountants to grow their income and expand their knowledge in the industry.
There are many professor jobs at local colleges you can find to make additional cash after work.
The pay structure is different than other side gigs on the list. Many adjunct professor are paid by the number of courses they teach. It’s common to earn a few thousand dollars for each course you hold.
If you’re looking for a side hustle you can start with no money, this is for you!
Pet Sit with Rover
Pet sitting is one of the easiest ways to grow your income for just about anyone, including accountants.
With this side hustle, animal owners will pay you to watch over their animals while they are away on vacation or traveling for work.
The amount of money you can make will depend on the city you live in and the number of pets you’re watching.
It’s possible to make $100 a day pet sitting in some cases.
If you’re looking for work, I recommend using Rover to instantly get connected with people in your area needing pet sitters. Create your account below to get started!
Drive for Uber or Lyft
Driving for a ride hailing service like Uber or Lyft is an easy side hustle for people with a day job like accounting.
While the average salary for drivers is nothing insane at around $54,000 annually, it’s an excellent way to earn money whenever you have free time.
As a bonus, most ride hailing services will offer additional pay during peak hours when demand is high. This can be an even better opportunity to make extra income in addition to your day job.
Teach CPA Exam Study Classes
The CPA exam is known for being extremely difficult, with only around 50% of students passing.
Offering CPA exam prep can be a good way to use your accounting skills to make extra money.
Try Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is a great side income that just about anyone can start to make money.
No, you don’t need to be an expert writer or English major to get started.
Beginner writers can make anywhere from $.10 to $.25 per word written and more experienced writers can make upwards of $1 per word. That means a 1,000 word blog post could net you $1,000 fast!
To find clients as a freelancer, you can use sites like Upwork or Fiverr but it’s usually better to network with other writers and work directly with publishers. Try reaching out to them to find work – you’d be surprised how many businesses are searching for writers.
Start an Ecommerce Business
Opening an online store can be extremely profitable and a superb way to grow your income.
However, there are also many challenges that come with e-commerce. The logistics of the business can be overwhelming at times, especially for first time entrepreneurs.
Understanding how to manage inventory, customer service, and shipping can be stressful put aside all of the marketing that needs to be implemented for people to find your store.
Check out this video to learn more about starting an online store!
Start a Small Business
Becoming a small business owner is a great option for any accountant looking to make more money and become a full-time entrepreneur.
There are plenty of profitable small businesses you can start for $1,000 or less.
For example, starting a pressure washing company is a simple business that can make a great income.
While around 90% of start ups fail, if you use your accounting knowledge to manage your finances correctly, you’ll have a much stronger chance of succeeding.
Write Business Plans
Having knowledge of how businesses and corporations work can come in handy when starting a new business.
With many entrepreneurs not knowing what should go into a business plan, they often lean on accountants and other business management experts for help.
It’s possible to charge anywhere from $250 to over $1,000 per business plan you help construct but you can set your own rates depending on your expertise.
Work as a Forensic Accountant
Working as an accounting consultant can be a great option to make additional money.
Forensic accountants work to find fraud, money laundering, and other illegal financial activities within companies.
Most forensic accountants are hired by industry accounting companies that conduct audits on other companies.
You can also work on your own and find clients by creating a website and networking with others in the industry.
Working as a forensic accountant can pay well. Many of these specialty accountants can make over $50 per hour for their time.
Passive Income Ideas for Accountants
Passive income has become extremely popular over recent years because of the flexibility it provides. If you’re an accountant looking to generate passive income, give these ideas a try!
Invest in Real Estate
Investing in real estate with Fundrise is an excellent way to earn passive income as an accountant.
It’s possible to make a few hundred dollars each month from your investments – which is a great income to keep your budget in check.
While there are several methods of real estate investing, I recommend Fundrise for those with a full-time job. Fundrise takes the stress out of real estate investing by managing properties completely so you don’t have to do any work.
As a bonus, Fundrise will give you $10 completely free to invest so there’s no excuse not to get started. Sign up below to open your free account!
Invest in the Stock Market
Growing your money in the stock market is another excellent way to make passive income from your money.
By using an app like Acorns you can invest in index funds, ETFs, mutual funds, and other stock market investments in just a few taps.
As a bonus, you’ll get $10 in free stock when you create a new account with the link below!
Sell Online Courses
Creating and selling an online course can be a great option to make passive income while you sleep.
With this side gig, you can start generating extra income for each course you sell.
To get started, you’ll need to create a website for visitors to purchase your course. You’ll also need to select a platform to host your course. If your course contains videos, you could use something like Podia.
Next, you’ll need to find a way to promote your online course so you can generate sales. I recommend using affiliate partners and Facebook ads so you can get started quickly and run a profitable business.
Looking for more help selling online courses? Check out this video for more help!
Advertise on Your Car
Want to make money without having to work? Advertising on your car is one of the easiest side gigs to earn money just by driving your vehicle as you normally would.
By using a platform like Stickr you can make an extra $50 a day just by driving! Sign up below to get started!
Publish an eBook
Self publishing a book can be a lucrative way to make residual income as an accountant.
Thanks to platforms like Amazon publishing you can now easily publish your eBook for sale without needing a fortune to get started.
Writing a book can take some time but it’s a great way to make money online and build your income.
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Final Thoughts on Making Money as an Accountant
Working as an accountant can be a rewarding career financially, but a little extra cash can never hurt. That’s where a side hustle comes into play.
There are plenty of side hustles for accountants to grow their income and some of them can even become a full-time job.
Between working as a bookkeeper, delivering food, or even starting a tax prep service – you have plenty of options.
So what’re you waiting for? Start growing your income today!
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