Accounting and finance · Level 1 to 2, anyone new to keeping books
Bookkeeping, journals and the subsidiary books
Double entry taught as a system that has to balance, not a rule to memorise.
- 1modules
- 3.0CPD hours
- 75guided minutes
- Freealways
About this course
Bookkeeping is not data entry. It is a closed system in which every transaction has two sides, and the whole point of the design is that if you record only one side, the books will not balance and the error announces itself.
This course teaches the system rather than the software: the accounting equation, debits and credits and why the words mean the opposite of what a bank statement suggests, the day books, the ledgers, and the trial balance that proves the arithmetic without proving the judgement.
What you will be able to do
- Apply the accounting equation to any transaction
- Record transactions using correct debits and credits
- Explain the purpose of each day book and ledger
- Prepare a trial balance and say what it does and does not prove
Modules
Assessment and certificate
Knowledge check after each module and a final assessment at 80 per cent, with unlimited attempts.
A free digital certificate with a verification code that any employer can check, plus an entry on your CPD record.
Questions
Does a balanced trial balance mean the accounts are correct?
No, and this is the most useful thing to understand early. A trial balance proves only that debits equal credits. It cannot detect a transaction omitted entirely, one posted to the wrong account of the right type, or a compensating pair of errors. It proves arithmetic, not truth.
Do I need accounting software to learn this?
No, and learning it without software is an advantage. Software hides the double entry behind a form. When it produces something odd, the people who can fix it are the ones who know what it was supposed to do underneath.