Hi, hoping someone on here can point me in the right direction. Having quit my much loved job after maternity leave I am now working for my other half and one of the aspects of the business he wants me to take over is bookkeeping. To me, perhaps because I know nothing about accounts or bookkeeping he is asking for an awful lot and so I need to try and teach myself and do it fairly quickly. I want to not just be able to do the data entry but properly understand what I'm doing so computerised (to learn the job) and manual (to allow me to understand and thus enjoy the job) courses are what I'm looking for.
I've been having a google around and it's as clear as mud if I should be looking at the institute of bookkeepers, the association of bookkeepers, the AAT or some other body I've yet to discover. Then what is the true difference between providers other than cost (I need distance learning though could attend a venue for infrequent tutorials/exams if absolutely necessary).
Ideally, I want something that will be meaningful straight away but would also allow me to continue studying should I choose to do so when I'm more settled.
Any advice or guidance will be very gratefully received.
Welcome to the world of bookkeeping and this great forum :))))
There will be a lot of feedback from your question from various contributors of this forum who have come from the ICB, AIB and AAT routes. All of which are good, I went the ICB route myself only because at the time, many years ago, it offered the quickest way to a practice licence. For me it was a good stepping stone into the sphere of self employment.
For what you are wanting to do however, I would recommend AAT, mainly due to having now been in practice for some time, feel that this course would offer you a more rounded and indepth teaching of bookkeeping. My daughter completed her AAT through Kaplan and highly recommended this particular provider.... of course there are other providers just as suitable, it comes down to choice and costs, but they are all roughly the same.
Thanks Julie, I really appreciate your guidance. I honestly never knew there would be so much to it - can't believe I'm going into the world of learning again with two young children and on the approach to 40. Must be mad!
Ha Ha, you are not mad Johanna...... after completing an OU degree in my mid thirties, I realised that I wanted to work for myself and set about trying to figure out what I was good at, still trying to figure that one out now !!!!...
Seriously though, going into accounts has been the best move for me. I love what I do, people I meet and the challenges it throws at me, now in my 50`s I am glad I went back to studying, although my degree was not related to accounts, the whole experience did give me the confidence and realisation that you are never too old to try new things.
The AAT do short bookkeeping courses which might be worth looking at to get you started. I began their accounting qualification at the ripe old age of 42, and finished last year (now 45). If you want to go further I recommend AAT as it is a more recognisable qualification.
Julie, I've not done a degree with OU but I have done multiple 10 credit and 60 credit courses as I try to discover what I want to be when I grow up. I think the only thing I want to be when I grow up is a child again! Seriously though, I was thinking of doing their intro to book keeping simply because I know and feel comfortable with OU. Do you think it would just be adding an unnecessary layer of time and finance and I should go straight to AAT?
Christina, thank you. You ladies are really helping. I was pretty confident I would go AAT or OU but hadn't quite wrote off IAB or ICB which I have now done. I now just need to decided between starting with AAT or OU. How did you find the support with Kaplan, did it feel lonely studying? OU are very good at putting students in contact with one another so although you're not in a classroom you do still have some support.
sounds as though you are getting some sound advice above from Julie, Christina and Johnny.
Another vote from me for AAT.
I'm not with AAT myself but I did use Kaplan materials for my qualification and I find their study materials excellent. I espechially like the approach of explain, try it yourself, try it again with a bit more complexity which really drives subjects home.
You will understand the basics of bookkeeping after level II which will take you around 4 to 6 months. The full qualification will take at least a couple of years.
Don't worry about your age too much. I was 42 when I started studying again.
all the best,
Shaun.
-- Edited by Shamus on Friday 15th of April 2016 03:12:50 PM
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I'm not sure whether it has now moved away from its origins but the OU course B190 used to be the same as the AAT ABC bookkeeping course as both used the same set of DVD's (or it might have been CD's) from ETL which was part of the BPP stable so also formed the basis of their introductory courses for AAT, CAT and ACCA.
An introductory course pre AAT that you may wish to consider (espechially as its free!) if ACCA-X.
Don't be put off by the ACCA letters. It's not the professional qualification but rather an introduction to accounting before moving onto FIA, CAT or ACCA qualifications.... Yep, there are a huge number of qualificattions and navigating them can be a nightmare... So lucky that you've got us ;)
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I know what you mean Johanna with the support from the OU, cannot fault them at all.
I agree with Christina, the AAT if a more recognisable qualification and I think at your age (you spring chicken), you would have more scope with gaining employment if you wanted to get back into the 9 - 5 regime. Also, prospective customers recognise AAT as a good sound accounting qualification. My daughter did the distance learning method and was more than happy at the support she was offered from Kaplan.
Forums like this also help a huge amount. What did I say about feedback from your initial question.... this forum is great.
I am lucky enough to live near a Kaplan centre so I did the classroom based course - levels 2 & 3 at the local FE college and level 4 at Kaplan. Have you looked at the AAT discussion forum? http://forums.aat.org.uk/discussions you'll also find support there. It was invaluable to me when doing the project module in level 4, as it is the only one not done in the classroom.
Hi Johanna
Another vote for AAT - would suggest you do the bookkeeping modules to get you started, get an Accountant for year end/tax for your husbands business, and then move on to the AAT Accounting levels if you take to it and want to take it further. Or ACCA-X as Shaun suggests.
Kaplan are good - they provide a virtual classroom type course if you dont want pure Distance Learning. Their notes sometimes leave a bit to be desired in that they feature a few typos, which do leave you thinking I get this bit from the course but am I going barking mad as I just dont agree with their answer - then you find out you were right all along, which is good in that it is really testing you, but annoying and quite frankly there is no excuse for it! My son noticed this and fortunately I was able to tell him he was right and not the revision notes!
I have a shout out for First Intuition (winner on here - see the Bookkeeping Hall of Fame tab at the top of the page). Have a gander at their website and give them a call - they dont bite!
I only started in this lark about three years ago - and fell into it completely by accident in my late 40s, so its never too late.
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
You will get lots of great advice on here as well.
As an introductory course, have you thought about the AAT level 2 certificate in Bookkeeping? This is the first two units from the main level 2 accounting qualification, you get a recognised qualification. If you find you like it you can do the remaining 3 units to get the level 2 certificate in accounting. it is a low cost, low risk entry into the AAT.
Nick
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Nick
Nick Craggs FMAAT ACA AAT Distance Learning Manager
Thanks for the advice everyone. I signed up to ATT level 2 via premier. I had planned to go with Kaplan but found them quite unresponsive (if they're not responding when I'm giving them money I wouldn't trust when I'm not). Books arrived yesterday and study commences today - all very scary and exciting.
Thank you all so much, it's nice to know that even though I'm not going to a classroom there's still lots of support,
Jo
good luck with the course, remember where we are if you get stuck with anything.
Just one little thing, that's AAT, not ATT, the latter one being a tax specialisation qualification.
One peice of advice with learning bookkeeping and accounting, don't look at the size of the book, think only in terms of one page at a time. Set yourself realistic targets remembering that no matter how many hours there are in a day you will not take anything in if you study for more than four of them.
Always set aside one day a week where you do no study at all.
Looking forwards to chatting as you progress through your studies,
all the best,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Hi. I have been sitting on the sidelines reading a lot of info on this forum over the last few months and mopping up all of the great advice and info. Thanks all.
I have decided to opt to study AAT bookkeeping qualifications. This will help in my current job and also hopefully help me to expand and take on other projects in the future. I have had a look around the different training providers. Currently can't decide between Ideal Schools and First Intuition....any advice as to which would be best for distance learning?
:)
If youve been reading - you will know the drill by now ...can you add your first name to the signature bar (via edit profile) and a bit about what you do now/where based blur blur blur
First I - all the way! Nick (who has posted above) is actually one of the trainers as opposed to someone selling you a course.
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Thanks Joanne. Logged onto PC and it showed me the section to add in those details as I registered in my mobile it looks slightly different. At the moment I pretty much do filing/recording/reception work as well as a bit of number crunching and analysis. A real mix to be honest. Bit I'm keen to study to further my knowledge and career.
On the PC I now see Nick's post with the FI logo in the signature.
Hi. I have been sitting on the sidelines reading a lot of info on this forum over the last few months and mopping up all of the great advice and info. Thanks all.
I have decided to opt to study AAT bookkeeping qualifications. This will help in my current job and also hopefully help me to expand and take on other projects in the future. I have had a look around the different training providers. Currently can't decide between Ideal Schools and First Intuition....any advice as to which would be best for distance learning? :)
Hi Walter, IDEAL don't do sales staff either. Why not give both colleges a call and get a feel for who you're dealing with and how they can help you progress. Good luck
Brian and I are friends and he is exactly right. Ring both training Providers, see what is right for you. No two peoples requirements are the same.
both ideal and first intuition offer distance learning where you can start any day of the week so there is no need to rush into a decision.
Brian McVean wrote:
sillybook wrote:
Hi. I have been sitting on the sidelines reading a lot of info on this forum over the last few months and mopping up all of the great advice and info. Thanks all.
I have decided to opt to study AAT bookkeeping qualifications. This will help in my current job and also hopefully help me to expand and take on other projects in the future. I have had a look around the different training providers. Currently can't decide between Ideal Schools and First Intuition....any advice as to which would be best for distance learning? :)
Hi Walter, IDEAL don't do sales staff either. Why not give both colleges a call and get a feel for who you're dealing with and how they can help you progress. Good luck
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Nick
Nick Craggs FMAAT ACA AAT Distance Learning Manager
I started on ICB with Ideal Schools (I think Brian was my tutor but that was a few years ago). I opted for ICB as I needed to get started working asap on a self employed basis, I gave up work after maternity leave. I manged to get the full level 2 and 3 and Payroll, self assessment within about 9 months and got my practice licence.
I'm now studying for AAT with First Intuition (Nicks my tutor). FI had a lot of good reviews and I could get the 24+ loan to cover costs upfront. I skipped level 2 and found the first few exams very easy as I've covered it before, but I'm aiming to increase what I offer to more accounting/companies returns.
They are both good learning providers and I don't have any complaints about either :)
Lyndsey
Join the club, I'm in my early 40's with 2 children. Although I do have an accounts back ground I have had a 10 year gap in experience so have decided to do the AAT book keeping qualification to get me up to date and refresh forgotten processes. With the end goal of having my own practice. I am doing mine through Distance learning college. The books are great, the on line element is a little frustrating at times especially the end of Chapter quiz's, but overall I have not felt that I have lost out on anything from this. The AAT website was a good source of providers and I contacted them all. Prices do vary a lot but ultimately they are all AAT approved so take some time and work your way through them until you find the right one for you. It took me weeks if not months to make a final choice, but happy with mine. Good luck with which ever path you follow.
Seriously though, I was thinking of doing their intro to book keeping simply because I know and feel comfortable with OU. Do you think it would just be adding an unnecessary layer of time and finance and I should go straight to AAT? 
...can you add your first name to the signature bar (via edit profile) and a bit about what you do now/where based blur blur blur
