Sage Certification - The Book-keepers Forum (UK)

Peasie · Expert

Sage Certification

attilabenko · Guru

Hi Peasie,

ICB will give you a level 2 certificate in computerised bookkeeping, it will not say sage on it, especially as you can use whatever software you want to pass the exam.

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Hi Peasie,

the price of the courses fluctuates greatly on Amazon.

I've got them all in my save for later list at the moment whilst I wait for them to drop again. The level three now at £145 was available for a while at £24! Level 2 went down to £32 but fool that I am I was waiting for it to fall further then it whooshed up to £90 followed by a jump to £145.

Not much good to you at the moment but worth adding to you save for later list as you get a daily update on the prices whenever you log in the Amazon (currently I've got 108 books sitting in my save for later list).

As for the content of the courses. It's not quite the full version of the software as several of the reports referred to in the training materials are missing. But, to the best of my knowledge all of the reports required for the ICB exams are available.

Beyond reports everything that I've needed so far has been there in fully working form.

There's certainly a quantum leap between my V10 line 50 financial controller and the V14 that I've got on 180 day trial.

Note that if you install the software on another machine the clock restarts on that machine so hypothetically you could just keep installing the software on different machines during your studies.

Have fun and talk later,

Shaun.

Peasie · Expert

Going back to my other questions, if I am able to pass the ICB levels 1 and 2 is it likely that levels 1 and 2 are the same level with sage. I know it is two completely different beasts we are talkign about, I'm just interested in the rough levels.

The Sage Work books on the sage website include the exams as well so whatever I bought them for on Amazon I'd still have another £50 to add on to that price.

I think I'm spending too much time looking at courses and other options when I should be spending the time revising. Although I don't want to continue until my assignments are marked.

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Hi Peasie,

no, the one's on Amazon also include the Sage certification which is why they were a real bargain when they were below £50 for the exam, the text books and the 180 day trial.

For a start point just look at this one on Amazon (ISBN 1906048177). You can just about make out if you enlarge the pic that in the circle on the right hand side the last line states Sage Certification.

Of course, there are three courses and each one only certifies that stage, but that is exactly the same as the ones that you are looking at on the Sage site.

All of the others are on there on Amazon as well. It's just the waiting game of waiting until they drop to a ridiculously low price (I did post on the site the last time that happened, don't know if you remember the Quick, quick to Amazon now thread).

Peasie · Expert

Shamus wrote:

All of the others are on there on Amazon as well. It's just the waiting game of waiting until they drop to a ridiculously low price (I did post on the site the last time that happened, don't know if you remember the Quick, quick to Amazon now thread).

Interesting. I do remember that thread - just that at that time it didn't really concern me. But lately I've become a bit obsessed with all this learning.

Pity I wasn't this obsessed 30 years ago when I was at school. I was asked by my career guidance teacher what I wanted to do when I left school. I never knew then. 30 years on and I might have an idea.

Rhianrach · Expert

Peasie wrote:

Shamus wrote:

All of the others are on there on Amazon as well. It's just the waiting game of waiting until they drop to a ridiculously low price (I did post on the site the last time that happened, don't know if you remember the Quick, quick to Amazon now thread).
Interesting. I do remember that thread - just that at that time it didn't really concern me. But lately I've become a bit obsessed with all this learning.

Pity I wasn't this obsessed 30 years ago when I was at school. I was asked by my career guidance teacher what I wanted to do when I left school. I never knew then. 30 years on and I might have an idea.

I know that one all too well, I wanted to be a bus driver, wink

, my 3 year old wants to be a puppy and the 6 year old wants to work in a pound shop. evileye

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

My experience of the careers adviser at school was, due to me being a groom at the time (pocket money job) asking me whether I had thought about a career as a jockey!

Being over six foot tall so not exactly jockey material my response was to ask him whether he had contemplated any career other than careers adviser!

Wella · Expert

Peasie wrote:
...................But lately I've become a bit obsessed with all this learning.

Pity I wasn't this obsessed 30 years ago when I was at school. I was asked by my career guidance teacher what I wanted to do when I left school. I never knew then. 30 years on and I might have an idea.

Sounds like we had a similar, mis spent youth Peasie!! Never liked school (it didn't like me much either) and I never had the opportunity to go to uni (can you hear the violins yet?)

I spent 32 years following a career I sort of fell into. It wasn't all bad but it certainly wasn't a calling. It did keep the wolf from the door though. Gave it all up in 2003, tried my hand at teaching for a couple of years but that was more soul destroying than anything I had ever done before. (I now feel sorry for some of my teachers!)

I spent less than two minutes with my careers advisor and cant you just tell?

Bill

Wella · Expert

Shamus wrote:
................
Being over six foot tall so not exactly jockey material my response was to ask him whether he had contemplated any career other than careers adviser!

But you make a good cowboy!

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Morning Bill,

don't know why but it always puts clients off as they hear the jangle of spurs as I walk in!

Wella · Expert

Never did John Waynes career any harm (or The Village People)

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Don't even go there as a theme for the next change of Avatars!!!

Actually, a cowboys / girls one wouldn't be too bad... Well, apart from the fact that it would be a mad scrum for either Wayne or Eastwood.

I'm definitely the man with no name after removing my last name from the site at the first mention of being sued for a posting!

Wella · Expert

The original Gene Autry, if you are wondering

Also quite liked the idea of a Jimmy Stewart character

Cant wait to see if some one puts up Calamity Jane

I did the same as you and removed some of my details, I never put my DOB on here anyway, it all seemed a bit to much info. Didn't want to make it too easy to nick my indentity

-- Edited by Wella on Monday 7th of June 2010 11:12:24 AM

LadyofLedger · Newbie

I've recently bought the boxed set of all 3 SAGE self certification study workbooks and I've completed level 1 and taken the exam (and passed

) About to start on the Level 2 now.

Each level is around 12 hours of study and has 4 work books, a 180 day special trial version of SAGE along with some work files that you restore when completing certain exercises and the SAGE certification access codes to take the exam. The exam is totally independant of the course and takes an hour to complete. The only thing the course teaches you is how to use SAGE - it doesn't try to teach you book keeping - it gives you general hints and tips regarding book keeping, but no where near the depth that the ICB level II course gives you (well - the manual level II book keeping course anyway!)

The level II ICB computerised course doesn't give you SAGE accreditation. Although it's geared towards using SAGE when you do the exam - you can use any software you like, so it's only intended to be a test of your ability to use 'computerised' software rather than SAGE itself. Also, from personal experience, its also pretty essential to have studied the manual level II coursework to fully understand what you're actually doing in the computerised coursework too.........but that's another story!

Hope this helps...