26-Year-Old’s Bookkeeping Side Hustle Earns $2,800 a Month

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Kayli Robles, 26, of Bellingham, Washington. Robles is the owner and operator of Robles Bookkeeping, a bookkeeping firm that currently generates approximately $2,800 in gross monthly revenue, or $33,600 annually. She works 40 hours a week as a bookkeeping coach and runs her business as a side hustle. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
The honest answer is that I didn’t have one.  Two months before starting my business, I unexpectedly lost my full-time accounting job. I realized how important it was to build a career on my own terms.

While holding out for the right opportunity, I enrolled in a bookkeeping business program and began building my practice.

A few months later, that same program posted an opening for a full-time coach. I applied and got the job. Today, I coach bookkeeping students during the day and serve my own clients on the side. 

A Facebook ad inspires a side hustle: Robles Bookkeeping

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
I started my side hustle in August of 2025. While scrolling Facebook one day, I saw an ad for a bookkeeping business program that taught people how to start their own bookkeeping business from scratch. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial fire within me that I never knew exactly what to do with. Seeing this ad ignited something in me. I felt called to it. With my accounting experience, all I had to learn was the software and how to get clients. I hit the ground running. 

Getting the side hustle up and running

What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?  How much money did it take to launch?
The business was almost entirely free to launch. I paid $10 for a business license and $12 for a domain name for my website. I also purchased an E&O Insurance policy for $280. But didn’t have to pay for this until I got my first signed and paid client.  

Surprisingly, my first client found me. After getting certified as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor (also free), I was listed on the ProAdvisor directory. A local business owner saw my profile and scheduled a meeting on my calendar. During the meeting, I asked him questions about his business, goals and pain points. After the call, I sent him a proposal, which he accepted.

Hiring Fiverr designers for a website and logo

After receiving the payment from my very first client, I quickly invested the money back into the business. It was important to me to showcase the professionalism of my brand, so I hired designers on Fiverr to upgrade my website and design a logo, and I upgraded to a professional business email address. I also began paying for software. All the tools I use are paid platforms that have free alternatives.  

This business could be run for less than $100 per month, but I pay for tools and services that make my life easier and keep me motivated. For example, I pay $325 per month to use a local coworking space. I also pay a higher annual cost for two pieces of software in particular that eliminate manual task-tracking (Karbon) and streamline my invoicing process (Ignition). Easing the mental burden of tracking so many responsibilities allows me to juggle two jobs without getting overwhelmed.

Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business?
When I started my business, I joined a paid mentorship program (the same program I now work for!).  They offered a free week of training that allowed me to learn everything that I needed to know to launch my business.  However, upgrading to the paid program allowed me to have access to a structured system and support.

Being intentional about recurring financial commitments

If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
In the beginning, I wish I had been more intentional about what I paid for and committed to.  After getting my first two clients, I locked myself into some recurring monthly bills I didn’t need, which I’ve since cut. However, during those months, these purchases led to net losses that could have been avoided if I had taken the time to weigh my options. The financial hardship led to a period of desperation where I almost brought on an unfit client just to turn things around. 

After she pressured me to reduce my fee three times in a row, I realized she wouldn’t even be worth bringing on and said I would not reduce my fee any further. Fortunately, she responded saying it wasn’t going to be a good fit, and I learned a valuable lesson. If I were to go back and do things differently, I would have tried to get creative, using free tools as long as I could. This would have enabled me to see just how far I could go with what I had and prevented some major financial hardships.

Having a willingness to tackle problems as they arise

When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
People assume that bookkeeping is just repetitive data entry, but every client’s situation is unique. Expect things to go wrong and expect to have to research specific circumstances that affect your monthly bookkeeping. Foundational accounting knowledge is incredibly useful and will help you understand why transactions are handled a certain way.

For example, if your client is an ecommerce business, their POS system may integrate poorly with QuickBooks, and you’ll find yourself either researching solutions to problems or abandoning the integration altogether and recording revenue with journal entries and clearing accounts. Or your client may use a payroll system that doesn’t integrate, and you’ll need to learn how to record a payroll journal entry. The real job requirement is more than just learning the software; it’s having the willingness and openness to figure things out when problems arise.

From $400 to $2,800 average a month

How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? What does growth and revenue look like now?
It took two months to land my first client at about $400 per month, and two months later I got hired for a $4,000 bookkeeping cleanup job that brought me my second monthly client at an additional $800 per month.  Between my monthly clients and cleanup projects, it only took one more month to start averaging about $2,000 per month consistently. Today, the business grosses about $2,800 per month and nets an average of $1,977 per month after expenses.

I’m fully committed to my clients’ success, and that’s led them to recommend my business to others and leave reviews. Things have started to pick up rather quickly lately, and I was recently hired for two multi-year cleanups and a large QuickBooks Desktop to Online migration. At this pace, I can realistically see my business growing to the point where hiring becomes an option.

What do you enjoy most about running this side hustle?
I never thought I’d be changing lives through this business, but I am.  Nearly all my clients came to me needing cleanup work done and not knowing how their business was really doing. This caused a considerable amount of stress and fear about the future. After each cleanup job, I could physically feel the weight lifted off my clients’ shoulders when I called them to say the work was done. When they breathed a sigh of relief, I felt a heaviness release from my own body.  These moments where I can help someone feel supported and hear the impact it has on them have been incredibly rewarding, to say the least. 

Digging into the books to answer important questions

What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
Check in with your finances regularly. I highly recommend getting bookkeeping software that makes tracking transactions easy and categorizing everything once a week. The main point is to do it often enough that you won’t neglect your finances. And every month (or more often), sit down with your profit and loss statement. Your finances can help you solve almost every problem you’re facing in your business.  

Besides the obvious ones, like “Where is my money going?” or “Am I profitable?”, you can use your books for bigger questions. For example, dig into your marketing expense line and ask yourself if your marketing spend is generating revenue.  And regularly assess if the purchases you’re making are bringing down your bottom line.  Sometimes, seeing how much you’re spending can make you think twice before that next purchase.

This article is part of our ongoing Young Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being a young business owner.

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Kayli Robles, 26, of Bellingham, Washington. Robles is the owner and operator of Robles Bookkeeping, a bookkeeping firm that currently generates approximately $2,800 in gross monthly revenue, or $33,600 annually. She works 40 hours a week as a bookkeeping coach and runs her business as a side hustle. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
The honest answer is that I didn’t have one.  Two months before starting my business, I unexpectedly lost my full-time accounting job. I realized how important it was to build a career on my own terms.

While holding out for the right opportunity, I enrolled in a bookkeeping business program and began building my practice.