Can I do my own bookkeeping?
Yes, you can do your own bookkeeping if your transactions are simple, few (under 30 per month), and you understand double-entry basics. It stops being practical when volume grows, complexity increases (multi-currency, payroll, VAT), or the time you spend on it exceeds the cost of hiring someone.
DIY bookkeeping works for a solo consultant with 10–20 monthly transactions: a few invoices, a few bills, one bank account. Free tools like Wave or a spreadsheet handle this fine. The question is not whether you CAN — it is whether you SHOULD, and the answer depends on the opportunity cost of your time.
Every hour spent on bookkeeping is an hour not spent selling, delivering work, or resting. If your effective hourly rate is €50/hour and bookkeeping takes 6 hours a month, the real cost is €300 — not counting the mental switching cost of context-shifting between running a business and categorising expenses. An AI bookkeeper like Nika handles invoice entry from $0.40 per invoice, freeing that time.
The breaking point is usually 30–50 transactions a month. Below that, DIY is fine. Above it, the time cost exceeds what a bookkeeper or AI tool would charge — and the risk of errors grows with volume.
Related questions
What do I need to do my own bookkeeping?
A system (software or spreadsheet), a separate business bank account, a habit of recording transactions regularly (weekly, not yearly), and basic knowledge of double-entry or cash-basis accounting. Most accounting software has a learning curve of 5–10 hours to get started.
How long does DIY bookkeeping take?
A simple business (20 transactions/month) takes 2–4 hours monthly. A complex business (100+ transactions) takes 8–15 hours. The time grows non-linearly with transaction count because reconciliation and error-fixing scale faster than data entry.