When it comes to your business, you want your bookkeeping to be as accurate as possible. While it may seem like a simple part, it is integral to running your business. It needs to be done correctly or else you can undo years of work into your business.
Unfortunately, not everyone is naturally skilled at bookkeeping. But there are ways that you can pick up the required skills, one of them being online courses.
There are many courses online that can teach you everything you need to know about bookkeeping. From the finances of the business to managing your records, there is a lot you can learn that will help you to run your business smoothly.
Ideally, you want to be managing and organizing your business finances from the day it starts, that way you never have to worry about catching up on your records or losing any valuable information.
The earlier you start bookkeeping in your business, the more accurate the information will be.
These courses will teach you how to accurately bookkeep from the beginning of your business, plus they are all free. When running a business, you want to invest every penny you have into it which is why free learning is critical.
All of the below courses will teach you the basics of bookkeeping, with some even delving deeper into the finances of running a business.
1. Association Of Chartered Certified Accountants EdX Courses
This course is run by the ACCA, an association specifically for accountants and bookkeepers. Since they are a professional body you can be assured that they are giving accurate and up-to-date information.
It is a 6-week course, but it is self-paced so you are able to do as much or as little work as you like as long as it is done in those 6 weeks since the course ends on specific dates.
As well as bookkeeping, this course will teach you about other aspects of running a business financially like payroll accounts and business transactions.
They offer quizzes for you to do in order to refresh your knowledge and be assured that you are learning everything correctly.
This course is great for business owners, and those looking into an actual career in bookkeeping.
2. FutureLearn Bookkeeping And Financial Accounting Online Course
This is a 4-week course that is only about 3 hours a week, great for those who don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to an online course.
It will not only help you with bookkeeping knowledge like accounting and balance sheets but also your numeracy skills which are important when dealing with money.
The course offers real-world scenarios where you can apply your knowledge.
While the course is free, you can pay to upgrade it which allows you to have access to the course for as long as you want as well as certificates.
3. FreshBooks Accounting Partner Program
This is a program to help teach you to use the FreshBooks bookkeeping system, but also teach you the basics of bookkeeping.
It is great for small business owners as they offer support on how to correctly handle books.
4. Bench Accounting – YouTube
YouTube is an excellent learning tool with many people uploading easy-to-follow videos that provide lots of relevant information.
The benefit of a YouTube video is that you also have access to the comment section, which offers additional advice or answers to questions you may have.
5. Alison Online Bookkeeping Courses
Alison offers over 1,000 different courses including ones on accounting and bookkeeping. There are 2 levels of courses available to you, introduction and diploma.
Their courses will teach you basic accounting, sales, trial balance, and the basics of accounting.
You are able to show you have completed their course on your LinkedIn profile to show potential employers or partners that you understand bookkeeping.
The free version of the course has advertisements throughout, but you can pay to remove them.
6. BeanCounter Beginning Bookkeeping Tutorial
This course is aimed at business owners and managers but is able to keep learning about bookkeeping interesting. This is through visual aids like videos and quizzes.
As well as bookkeeping knowledge like financial statements, this course will teach you about general ledger journals and how to create one.
You are able to purchase an eBook version of the course so that you can have access to it everywhere.
7. NACPB Bookkeeper Resources
This is a wealth of free resources that can help to enhance your bookkeeping skills or assist you in learning them. Unlike some of the other courses on this list, these resources may also appeal to those who already have a lot of bookkeeping experience and want to learn more.
They offer a live webinar every Wednesday so you can find out about the leading bookkeeping programs and any beneficial skills.
8. Oxford Home Study Centre Bookkeeping Course
This is a 20-hour course that covers 21 topics like the terminology in bookkeeping, trial balance, and understanding statements.
At the end of the course, you will receive a course completion letter with your name on it.
9. Open Learn Introduction To Bookkeeping And Accounting
This is a course offered by the Open University and is only about 8 hours long, meaning you are able to do the whole course in one day. The University also offers degrees in bookkeeping and accounting for people who are interested in the subject.
It will teach you basic numeracy skills like how to effectively use a calculator which is an often overlooked skill. They also focus on double-entry bookkeeping and managerial accounting.
Throughout the course, you are able to track your progress so that you know how much learning you have left.
10. Xero Introduction To Bookkeeping
This is a basic introduction to bookkeeping by the accounting software Xero.
It teaches you the basic terminology and differences between accounting and bookkeeping. You are also able to download a PDF that you can annotate.
11. SBA Learning Platform
This is a very quick course that is only about 30 minutes long but provides all of the basics that a small business owner needs.
You will learn about income statements and how to accurately keep books, which will save you a lot of time in the long run.
After the course, you will receive a certificate from the SBA.
12. Bookkeeping Accounting Course
This is a reasonably short course that is mainly comprised of videos, 11 videos in total.
They are easy to follow and will teach you the basic terminology and the fundamentals of debits and credits.
There is a paid version available to you which further expands on subjects.
13. Accounting Coach
This is a simple-to-understand course that is great for beginners. The website itself is laid out very well with there being a search bar for you to be able to specifically research a certain area.
The course is set out in simple sections, that are further split into sub-sections. There are quizzes after each section so that you can demonstrate the knowledge you just gained.
There is no time limit to the course so you are able to self-pace and learn only when you have the time to do so.
While the course is free, there are features you can pay for like flashcards, videos, PDFs, and certificates.
14. QuickBooks Support
QuickBooks is a very popular bookkeeping software and is usually the first one that most people use.
Their online support not only helps you with their software but also teaches you how to do basic bookkeeping.
They have step-by-step tutorials for you to follow and also webinars on various subjects that you can gain extra information from.
15. MIT OpenCourseWare Introduction To Financial And Managerial Accounting
These courses are older, being from around 2004, so they are a bit dated but a lot of the information is still relevant. You also get access to the lecture notes that provide further information about the subjects.
They teach you the basics of accounting and bookkeeping as well as financial and managerial material.
You are able to choose between undergraduate and graduate courses so you can suit your skill level better.
Final Thoughts
Bookkeeping is one of the trickier skills to pick up when running your own business and is also one of the most underrated. When done right it can save you lots of time and help you run your business more efficiently. If not done right, it can lead to wasted time and money.
The above courses can help you learn and master this critical skill so that you can be managing your books and finances like a professional accountant.
The best part about these courses is that they are free, so you are able to put more money into running your business.
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