Bookkeeping is the process of recording, storing, and retrieving financial transactions for a business, individual, or non-profit. Bookkeeping skills are used to generate the flow of information for other roles like accountants, auditors, financial analysts, and tax managers, thus opening various career paths. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 1.7 million bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks were employed in the United States as of 2023. Learning bookkeeping is crucial because it equips individuals with essential skills for accurate financial record-keeping, which is vital for businesses to operate efficiently. It ensures the business's financial health, streamlines audits, and improves decision-making transparency.

Bookkeeping Classes Near Me: Best In-Person & Virtual Courses

Bookkeeping is the process of recording, storing, and retrieving financial transactions for a business, individual, or non-profit. Bookkeeping skills are used to generate the flow of information for other roles like accountants, auditors, financial analysts, and tax managers, thus opening various career paths. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 1.7 million bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks were employed in the United States as of 2023. Learning bookkeeping is crucial because it equips individuals with essential skills for accurate financial record-keeping, which is vital for businesses to operate efficiently. It ensures the business's financial health, streamlines audits, and improves decision-making transparency.

Top In-Person & Virtual Bookkeeping Classes

Bookkeeping Courses at NYC Career Centers

NYC Career Centers is a technology and programming educational team that provides classes in New York City in person and online using their innovative video program. You can learn multiple skills with this team, including Python, machine learning, graphic design, web design, and various computer programs. NYC Career Centers also provides job placement and interview assistance, meaning you should feel more comfortable transitioning to a new job. This way, they can help you achieve your dream of becoming a skilled accountant.

QuickBooks Online Level I

• Price: $229
• Duration: 6 hours
• Locations: NYC, Live Online

QuickBooks Online Level I is a popular class at NYC Career Centers that integrates easy-to-follow course descriptions that help you build the important foundation to start using QuickBooks. Lessons cover topics as diverse as setting up a company file, customizing your settings, interacting with vendors, connecting with customers, creating budgets, producing reports, and providing excellent customer service. Though that might seem too much for six hours, your skilled professor will ensure everything makes sense for you. 

QuickBooks Level I

• Price: $229
• Duration: 6 hours
• Locations: NYC, Live Online

QuickBooks Level I teaches important accounting skills that make using this program much easier. For example, you’ll learn about entering your income and expenses, adding bills, producing new accounts, generating and examining your financial reports, and checking all your data to ensure accuracy. This beginner-friendly course builds the foundation to master QuickBooks and gives you the prerequisite to transition to the Level II QuickBooks class discussed below. Finish both to get the QuickBooks education that you need.

QuickBooks Level II for PC

• Price: $229
• Duration: 6 hours
• Locations: NYC, Live Online

QuickBooks Level II for PC expands the previous course, covering more advanced topics that will ensure you become a QuickBooks pro. For example, you’ll learn about job costing, sales tax management, inventory, and payroll tracking. Furthermore, your teacher will also discuss creating customer invoices, paying bills, managing reports correctly, and generating graphs and charts that improve your accounting management. In this way, you should be more than ready to jump into an accounting position or take care of your finances. 

Bookkeeping Courses at ONLC Training Centers

ONLC Training Centers is a tech-educational team providing an in-depth array of professional courses to help you improve your career. It provides several locations around the nation where you can get in-person training. However, ONLC also offers virtual courses that can make your learning experience more affordable and enjoyable. Here, you can learn about Adobe Creative Cloud, Python programming, Java languages, cybersecurity, project management, business analysis, and even QuickBooks.

QuickBooks Desktop Introduction

• Price: $695
• Duration: 2 days
• Locations: Several (see school website)

QuickBooks Desktop Introduction provides a unique introduction to QuickBooks that can help you improve your skills and master the basic steps before moving to more advanced topics. For example, you’ll learn about handling the software properly, master creating invoices and reports, work on processing payroll, and track inventory properly. As importantly, you’ll learn how to set up banking transactions, manage income flows, and much more. After completing this class, you can move on to other ONLC QuickBooks courses to improve your skills.

QuickBooks Desktop Beyond the Basics

• Price: $695
• Duration: 2 days
• Locations: Several (see school website)

QuickBooks Beyond the Basics is a unique training program that builds on the lessons from the previous class and helps you master the fundamentals of QuickBooks more effectively. You’ll not only learn how to handle customer payments but practice making deposits, learn how to handle bills, set up high-quality bank account transfers, produce detailed reports, create customized templates, and import large reams of data. This support should make it easier for you to upgrade your accounting correctly and ensure that information gets shared effectively. 

Bookkeeping Courses at Certstaffix Training

Certstaffix Training is a skilled computer and IT educational company that helps students like you improve your tech-related skill set and transition into a promising career. While it provides multiple QuickBooks courses, it also includes Python, Excel, Adobe, and SQL classes. You can also learn about database management, in-depth web design support, and more. While some in-person courses are available at Certstaffix, they typically provide most of their learning opportunities online, which can help people in isolated areas learn effectively.

QuickBooks Desktop Edition: Basic

• Price: $435
• Duration: 1 day
• Locations: Several (see school website)

QuickBooks Desktop Edition: Basic teaches you the fundamental skills to master this accounting software. You’ll get help from a certified professional who understands the essential operation of QuickBooks on a deep level. They’ll help you understand things like managing sales, reporting income correctly, producing invoices, checking credit, and tracking payable accounts. This one-day course will prepare you for using QuickBooks in a desktop environment. You can also take QuickBooks Online Edition: Basic to learn the same lessons. 

QuickBooks Desktop Edition: Advanced

• Price: $435
• Duration: 1 day
• Locations: Several (see school website)

QuickBooks Desktop Edition: Advance takes the lessons you learned in the previous course and expands on them. For example, you’ll learn about more complex topics, such as sales tracking, inventory management, job cost adjustments, using graphics and charts, producing payroll tracking guidelines, and filling out tax forms. Your professor will give you the inside scoop that you need to master these concepts, including real-world and hands-on lessons that make your education more accessible. In this way, you should more effectively master QuickBooks.

Bookkeeping Courses at New Horizons

New Horizons provides in-depth training support for various fields, including IT, leadership, business, and tech. Furthermore, they can help you master programming languages, graphic design, web design, general coding skills, project management, and cybersecurity. Over the years, they’ve built many classes, including some QuickBooks programs that take only a few days to complete. Finishing these classes should help give you the insight you need to master this beneficial program. 

Get Going With QuickBooks

• Price: $790
• Duration: 2 days
• Locations: Several (see school website)

Get Going With QuickBooks helps prepare you for this software by teaching you the fundamental skills necessary for its application. The first hour or so focuses on familiarizing yourself with its interface before creating invoices, tracking expenses, managing payroll, setting up sales forms, merging bank accounts, and generating financial reports. This two-day course works you through these steps quickly but accurately. It provides the necessary information to emerge with a more intensive understanding before moving on to advanced courses.

Keep Going With QuickBooks

• Price: $790
• Duration: 2 days
• Locations: Several (see school website)

Keep Going With QuickBooks provides you with a more in-depth understanding of this software, including how to set up budgets, perform advanced accounting tasks, produce more in-depth reports, manage your inventory, and handle payroll more effectively. You’ll also learn how to create personalized forms and templates and adjust them properly to ensure they can work in multiple situations. In this way, you should have the support you need to master this program and the help required to become a skilled accountant or personal finance manager. 

Bookkeeping Courses at NYIM Training

NYIM Training provides computer training in New York and beyond using their high-quality online training program. This firm also has locations in New Jersey and Connecticut, which you can try if you live near these areas. Classes cover diverse subjects like finance, design, business, technology, and practical skills. You’ll learn how to use QuickBooks to manage various accounting issues and ensure you’re on-task by working directly with your professor. Each teacher is certified to ensure they provide the best experience. 

QuickBooks Online Level I

• Price: $229
• Duration: 6 hours
• Locations: NYC, Live Online, NJ, CT

QuickBooks Online Level I gives you the basic skills necessary to begin using QuickBooks for business or personal accounting. For instance, you’ll learn about essential core features of QuickBooks, such as setting up files, managing bank transactions, and working with vendors. Just as importantly, you’ll learn online components with QuickBooks, including how to operate and share information online and essential details of your digital transactions. When finished, you’ll have a completion certificate to use when looking for new jobs.

QuickBooks Level I

• Price: $229
• Duration: 6 hours
• Locations: NYC, Live Online, NJ, CT

QuickBooks Level I provides a unique and effective class that teaches you the basics of using this accounting software. For example, you’ll master setting up company files, creating account charts, recording receipts, tracking disbursements, reconciling bank accounts, and producing reports. As importantly, you’ll learn about bill handling and payroll, including setting up sales receipts and invoices. These steps can help you transform your business by putting your accounting in your hand and streamlining its operation for efficiency.

Bookkeeping Courses at City Lit

City Lit, based in London, is an adult education institution offering over 5,000 unique short courses, both in-person and online, throughout the year. Catering to an array of interests and abilities, the establishment provides learning opportunities in various disciplines, such as performing arts, languages, visual arts, music, history, digital media, and more.

Short Introduction to Bookkeeping

• Price: $189
• Duration: 12 hours
• Locations: Several (see school website)

City Lit's Short Introduction to Bookkeeping course provides students with a basic understanding of bookkeeping principles and practices. In this course, students will learn how to keep accurate financial records, understand fundamental financial statements, and gain essential bookkeeping skills.

Key Information about Learning Bookkeeping

When learning bookkeeping, individuals will delve into diverse topics such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, banking reconciliations, payroll processes, and financial statement preparation. While bookkeeping certainly does require a solid understanding of basic math, attention to detail, and problem-solving skills, it is a subject that beginners can approach, albeit with a fair amount of study and practice. The time it takes to master bookkeeping can range from a few months to a couple of years, depending on the learner's prior experience with financial concepts, how frequently they practice, and the complexity of the materials or course they are undertaking. A foundational understanding of basic mathematical concepts and being comfortable with data analysis will be beneficial before initiating Bookkeeping. From a technical perspective, learners should have access to a computer equipped with bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks or Excel, which can be downloaded from their official websites upon purchase or subscription.

Career Paths & Job Outlook for Bookkeeping

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the overall employment of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks is projected to decline 6 percent from 2021 to 2031. Entry-level salaries for roles using bookkeeping vary considerably, but the median annual wage was $45,000 as of 2023, as per BLS. For more experienced roles utilizing bookkeeping, Payscale reports that the average salary for a Senior Bookkeeper in the United States is $50,000. Various roles, such as accountants, financial managers, payroll clerks, and even small business owners, utilize bookkeeping to track all financial transactions, prepare financial reports, handle payroll, and ensure all financial records are accurate and up-to-date.

What Can You Do With Bookkeeping?

One can manage and maintain the financial health of a business by using bookkeeping skills. With this, one can keep accurate records of all financial transactions and use that data to make informed business decisions. For instance, people can create financial statements such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, which are crucial for assessing a company's financial standing and performing financial analysis. 

Moreover, with tools like QuickBooks, Xero, and Sage, people can automate the bookkeeping process. These software applications provide features such as inventory management, payroll processing, invoice creation, tax filing, and financial reporting. They also provide access to other integrated apps and services like time tracking, payment processing, and e-commerce. Bookkeeping also involves the usage of spreadsheets (e.g., Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets) for recording transactions, creating charts, and performing calculations. Spreadsheets are flexible, easy to use, and allow users to create custom templates for various financial records. 

Advanced bookkeepers might also use a programming language like Python and libraries like pandas, NumPy, and matplotlib for data manipulation and analysis. They could also use SQL for managing and retrieving data from large databases. Skills required to do or create bookkeeping effectively include attention to detail, understanding of accounting principles, familiarity with the used software or tools, and basic data analysis skills. For instance, an individual can create a quarterly financial report using QuickBooks by inputting data about sales, costs, and expenses. The software can then calculate profits or losses and portray this on a generated balance sheet or income statement.

On the other hand, businesses can set up their payroll systems using Xero, where they can regularly input employee work hours, calculate gross wages, make necessary deductions, and establish direct deposits. In conclusion, bookkeeping is vital for businesses. It allows the creation of detailed financial statements and records, automated bookkeeping processes, and data analysis, all of which are crucial for the growth and success of a business.

Top Bookkeeping Tools For Beginners

1. Microsoft Excel: One core tool in bookkeeping, Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program from the Microsoft Office suite which allows you to organize, format, and calculate data with formulas using a spreadsheet system broken up by rows and columns.
2. QuickBooks: QuickBooks is an accounting software package developed and marketed by Intuit. This tool is handy for small to medium-sized businesses, offering on-premises accounting applications and cloud-based versions that accept business payments, manage and pay bills, and payroll functions.
3. FreshBooks: FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting software service designed for owners of small businesses. It allows invoicing, time tracking, expense tracking, and project management.
4. Zoho Books: This is an easy-to-use accounting software for small businesses to manage their finances and maintain their cash flow. It offers automatic bank feeds, collaborative client portals, online payments, invoice tracking, reconciliation, and expense tracking.
5. Wave Accounting: Wave Accounting is a free, cloud-based accounting software that offers a suite of financial services, such as invoicing, payroll management, and finance management, amongst others. It's designed specifically for small businesses and freelancers.
6. Xero: Xero is a New Zealand public software company that offers a cloud-based accounting software platform for small and medium-sized businesses. Its features can help manage your cash flow, invoicing, payments, reporting, and more.
7. Sage 50cloud: Sage 50cloud is a set of accounting and payroll products developed by Sage Group aimed at small and medium enterprises. It offers accounting, payroll, customer relationship management, business intelligence, and more functions.
8. MYOB: MYOB, Mind Your Own Business, is an Australian multinational corporation that provides tax, accounting, and other business services software to small and medium businesses.
9. AccountEdge: AccountEdge offers full-featured accounting software for small businesses. It allows you to manage your finances, inventory, sales, and more all in one place.
10. Kashoo: This simple cloud accounting solution helps small business owners do bookkeeping independently. It offers the ability to create customized invoices, track expenses, generate insightful reports, and more. The software can be accessed on any device, anytime, anywhere.

Bookkeeping Comparison to Other Tools & Fields

People who use bookkeeping often venture into related fields like accounting and financial management, drawing from a similar knowledge base. Knowledge of how to use tools like Excel and QuickBooks is also common among bookkeepers since computerized bookkeeping has become prevalent in recent years. While bookkeeping focuses on the daily documentation and categorizing of financial transactions, accounting takes a broader view, interpreting, classifying, analyzing, reporting, and summarizing financial data. On the other hand, financial management has a more strategic view, planning and controlling an organization's financial resources, but still closely intertwined with both bookkeeping and accounting.

Bookkeeping Advantages

Bookkeeping stands out for its essential role in maintaining accurate financial records, a critical aspect for any business or organization, which allows for efficient daily operations and accurate financial reporting. It provides individuals with a unique understanding of the financial workings of a business, making them invaluable assets to employers. Professionally, bookkeeping offers job stability and growth opportunities, given that every enterprise requires bookkeeping services regardless of its size or nature.