Good Afternoon

With an AAT l3 qualification you could join the ICB as an Associate and put AICB after your name. You could also get a practise licence and open your own bookkeeping business. The ICB payroll course is excellent and Training Link have a fantastic course that also gets you loads of Sage 50 payroll certificates as well (costs £430). The ICB qualification lets you put PM Dip after your name and you would also be covered under their licence.

If you want to go for the employment option then the only answer is the CIPP - Premiere Training do a course for about £800.

If you want the cheapest possible punt (with a good prospect of passing)  then do the Sage 50 Payroll course (all the manuals, workbooks, certification and software for six months) on ebay about £150 and then study the HMRC stuff online. Or the real cheap option read the HMRC stuff, use the 12pay express free licence and get an ICB payroll mock exam for both options.

 

Regards

Trevor

That is worth considering.however i need the icb membership,practice licence and the payroll knowledge. I won't be eligible for full membership upon qualification due to lack of experience with aat. That is why I want to set up shop to gain the experience. I know that this sounds foolish to be self employed w/o much experience, but I do not find employment(because of myself)a better option than trying my luck. It is a good period to try since end of jan. is coming.

Thanks Mark. I haven't encountered groupon yet! What about the quality of the online course? On reviewcentre.com, some people criticised the quality of some of their courses.

I am holding off on the Ideal course as the Sage 50 one is £499 and doesn't include any Sage certification. I know it includes a full version of the software - but isn't payroll software usually licensed annually and I don't know many self employed bookkeepers that can afford to use Sage 50 - They usually go for 12pay or Moneysoft.

Regards

Trevor

Hi Trevor,

 

Our course is slightly more expensive due to our software policy, which has always been to provide students with something tangible that can be continued to be used upon completion of training and, indeed, removing any time constraints during their training. Not everybody gets to use their new skills immediately after qualifying and we provide the opportunity for continued practice, well after studies are completed. Regarding the ongoing licensing yes, this is an option, but not essential as you can update the software parameters annually, which the training covers.

No problem Trevor, only if their is a legislative, structural change in the software would an update from sage be required. Also, re any possible ongoing costs, discounts are always available if you look in the right places 

When operating professionally, I would advocate whatever software suits your own personal requirements. From my own experience, many students (not all) work with accountants helping with their bookkeeping and payroll services. This is a great source of business for the self employed bookkeeper. In these instances I believe it is massively beneficial to have access to the most widely used software, which happens to be Sage 50, which we offer with our bookkeeping and payroll training.

 

Theresa, who kindly contributed earlier, may be one who offers services using different packages. It pays to keep your options open 

That's the employers choice, but who actually accredits Sage Certification?

I don't know Brian - But got a fist full of Sage 50 accounting certificates .... If I was going for employment, I would want Sage 50 payroll certification or better still a CIPP Payroll Technician Certificate  !!!

Regards

Trevor

Brian - Its not a marmite question ! Most people that undertake distance learning ... are not sure what the journey is and how it will end ... They seek a wage ! ... whether it be self employment or working for a company. As you say Sage 50 is an Industrial Standard that employers/accountants want. They expect you to be proficient and ready to rumble .... So we need to show them we can ..... Thats for you guys to help us do this ......

As you say the first post was from Richard2013 who simply wanted to offer a payroll service from his bookkeeping practice ..... ERGO see my first post ...

 

Regards

Trevor

And we do offer that to our students, Trevor and have done for over 30yrs. When I got involved in this thread I didnt want to, nor do I have the time to, get into an online game of tennis, so this is my final post. If ICB is the qualification for Self Employment and CIPP is the only way forward for employment (ERGO see your first post), where does this leave Sage Cert?

 

Richard, I wish you well with whichever route you take

I won't argue your facts - but - I would point out Sage is asked for only because of its historic position in the market place, it's a name people know to ask for and given the inertia in the market place it is a given that a high percentage of the posts requiring it actually need a full overhaul of all their systems. In most of the circles I frequent it isn't considered the best tool for the job. Don't get me wrong, I'll be learning it but I'll also learn the QB offering and any other software I can get my grubby hands on.

As to the exams... am I the only one who worries that it is only accountants and professional bookkeepers who have to take these qualifications? The average payroll bureau (and I know a few) is run by someone with no payroll qualification past the fact that they can afford which ever software they run! Now some of these are excellent outfits who have bothered to learn their subject, even if they have only done so in an informal manner, but the number of 'payroll specialists' I come across - all legally offering their services - who know less about the subject than my cat and couldn't calculate a manual return if their lives depended on it are legion! Bad enough when RTI came in but now we have the added issues inherent with AE it's going to be a nightmare!

Thank you. I'll consider it in addition to ICB's Payroll Diploma. I suppose we're talking about the same thing anyway, since Payroll Management Course for £19 with Online Academies is only thing you can find on groupon when searching for "payroll". The offer's there until december 17, so no need to rush on my part.

 

richard2013 wrote:

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So, I'm back having fun only a bookkeeper/accountant could enjoy/understand.

 

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 Does it involve Excel?

Hi Shaun

My fun does involve excel at times. I like to experiment with excel to gain or refresh knowledge.
I used to despise excel in high school as it used to be taught in class and it made it think it was useless.
Now, I feel that excel laughs at me and excel knows that I think it's a wonderful tool to use for work.
Even if all the work I carry out on excel is business planning and testing of accounting things, such as stock control and the like.

Bingo and all the wine they offer ain't doing me any going regarding replying to previous questions.

 

Have a nice day or evening and all the best wines on offer
Richard