Bookkeeping is one of the easiest and high paying jobs you can get into without having a very high educational qualification. People are getting into bookkeeping jobs with high school diplomas and GED. But the real question remains, is a bookkeeping certificate worth it?
This blog is all about bookkeeping and bookkeeping certificates. So let’s discover, is a bookkeeping certificate worth it or not.
Table of Contents
What is Bookkeeping?
Bookkeepers are the people who record a company’s day to day financial transactions, debits and credits, making invoices, running payroll. They also manage the general ledger and accounts. Moreover, it is an essential part of the accounting process in a business. Bookkeeper records that data of all the expenses and income of the business makes and organise them in a way that the accounts can turn them into meaningful information.
Therefore, bookkeeping is very important for companies as it files and tracks all financial information in the book, which helps to make important operating, investing, and financing decisions. Without a bookkeeper, a company will be unaware of its financial state and all the ongoing transactions.
In order to become a bookkeeper, here are the responsibilities you must take:
- Recording transactions
- Managing sales invoices, receipts and payments
- Completing Vat return
- Prepare invoices
- Checking company bank statements
- Reviewing and preparing cash flow statements
- Dealing with financial paperwork and filing
Furthermore, a bookkeeper needs specific skills and knowledge. Below are the skills you will need:
1. Organisation
2. Attention to detail
3. Communicating and working with others
4. Administration skills
5. Customer service skills
6. Initiation and decision-making skills
7. Adaptability
8. Mathematical Skills
9. excellent verbal communication skills
10. to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
Is a Bookkeeping Certificate Worth It?
The answer depends upon the education, skills and qualifications you already have in bookkeeping. If you are just starting out in this job with no experience, yes, you will need a certificate. But, if you already have enough experience, education, and skills, then, no, you will not need a certificate.
If you have no previous experience in bookkeeping, and you are wondering how can you get into this career, then you must consider a certificate course. Most importantly, a certificate acts as a plus point for people who are just starting off with their bookkeeping job and careers. But if you already have proven education, experience and skills that you can show in your resume, a certificate is not so important.
Furthermore, if you take an interest in numbers, payrolls and accounting but doing a degree in accounting or business is overwhelming for you. Then, a bookkeeping certificate course can be very useful. It will help you understand the career and if you will enjoy the job and industry.
In addition, it will help you find if you are completely interested in this line. If not, it will save you from wasting time and money on a full-blown accounting or business program. You can complete a bookkeeping certificate course within a year. While joining a degree means spending four years or more in it, which is only worth it when you are ambitious about the career. Like this, a bookkeeping certificate is completely worth it. It is also completely worth it if you are having a change in employment or want to freelance or work remotely.
Mainly the answer varies depending on how much time and money you want to invest in this training and whether a bookkeeping certificate will help you achieve your current career goals.
Why is a Bookkeeping Certificate Worth It or Not?
Now we will explore why is a bookkeeping certificate worth it for you. There are several skills, knowledge and technical skills that a person needs to become a bookkeeper. For example, you need to be good with calculation, organisation, data entry. Additionally, you have to be capable of using the latest bookkeeping software like Quickbooks, Xero, etc. A company looks at the skills and experiences you have with all these.
People can apply for a bookkeeping job right after completing high school. If you are one of those people, then you must need to show the subjects that you completed in your High School. Moreover, it must contain General Mathematics, Accounting, English and subjects that prove that you are educated and capable of taking the job. But there are times just high school qualifications will not be enough. Therefore, you have to take certificate courses that will skill you up in a bookkeeping job, give industry insight and enrich your resume.
If you are a university student and especially a student of business and relevant subjects, then you can do a bookkeeping job as well. As you can do this job remotely or part-time, bookkeeping is suitable for university students. In this case, also you will need a certificate to enrich your knowledge and resume.
But if you acquired a high education and took business or accounting as your major, you will not require a certificate. These programs have courses that give students bookkeeping knowledge and skills to do bookkeeping. Additionally, if you have done an internship or apprenticeship in bookkeeping or accounting, the hiring company is not likely to see any kind of certification. But bookkeeping certification is always a plus point for the job market competition.
What kind of Book Keeping Certification Course You must take?
Is a Bookkeeping certificate worth it? There is one more important thing you must take into consideration to answer the question. It is the quality of the course that you are going to take. The course content plays a huge role to decide if the certificate is worthy or not.
A complete bookkeeping training course will help you get hands-on everything you need to be a bookkeeper. It must cover all kinds of bookkeeping related topics. Like the role you have to play, how to keep books and manage accounts and the skills you will need as a bookkeeper. Here are the things a complete bookkeeping certificate course must help you with:
- Build your foundation on basic bookkeeping concepts, skills and accounting measurement.
- Give you an understanding of the differences between bookkeeping and accounting.
- Teach how to work with different steps of the accounting cycle to create key financial statements.
- Help you with how to interpret and analyse financial statements to make key business decisions.
- Teach you the accounting equation and the basics of financial accounting
- Know how a double-entry bookkeeping system works
- Teach best practices for recording financial transactions that is suitable for a different type of industry and company.
- Familiarise yourself with the most common types of transactions.
- Develop excellent asset and liability management skills.
Companies usually want to hire employees with the following certification
1. Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping
2. Level 2 Certificate in Accounting
3. Level 2 Certificate in Manual and Computerised Bookkeeping
You can also go for bookkeeping software-based courses. These will give you hands-on direction to handle the software and also the job. You can go for a certificate course like
1. Quickbooks Online Bookkeeping
3. Xero Accounting and Bookkeeping
Conclusion
Now it’s time for you to decide that is a bookkeeping certificate worth it or not. A bookkeeping job can be great to get into an accountant career. Therefore, we hope these suggestions helped you to make your decision. You can always start with one of our own courses, Quickbooks Online Bookkeeping to begin your bookkeeping journey.
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