Hi Ben
I would suggest you consider doing just the AAT exams. Probably levels 3 & 4 would be the only ones required if you have already been studying at these levels - worth doing the skills test on the AAT website to see what it suggests as to a course level, but then use this as a steer for the exams. You will need a training company for a couple of the exams, but the rest you just need an exam centre as they are marked as you do them. Well they are until September time when all changes with the way they test what you know.

I know the exams cost a fair bit so this might be what is preventing you doing them, but if you want a job in the industry, without doing the ACCA or indeed as you progress through the ACCA then you are more likely to get one with the AAT under your belt. Im sure you will have read commentary on here and you only have to look at the job adverts to see that this is the case. Also - getting a job in an Accountancy practice to then progress your studies and training with the ACCA is not so easy without exams and without experience so having studied AAT it would be a shame not to have those letters after your name which could get you that opened in practice.

Day to day - thats a tough one as every single client is different. If you are just working at one company then a lot of it will be driven by the actual job you are taken on to do. Eg in some firms you will have layers of staff within the finance office/department with a Finance Director in charge, but you could also work for one where you have to do and know everything and report to the owners, with no finance director in place.

During your AAT you will have come across part of a module that expects you to put a list of tasks into priority order as and manage your workflows. All probably seemed a bit basic at the time, but in the event you work on your own you will still have to use such skills to manage the workpile.

Examples of deadlines  and some possible outcomes if late (randomly, sorry its not structured as Im still busy but having a 5 minute break!)  Note some of these are moveable depending on the size of the business. Eg Bank recs - some businesses do on a daily basis!

Daily/weekly

• Issuing sales invoices in a timely fashion (or the company wont get paid in a timely fashion). Enter into software
• Check and enter purchase invoices into software (if you dont keep up with this, it could impact on your VAt return not being correct, suppliers placing you on stop)
• Raise queries to suppliers as paperwork received/deal with queries from customers as they occur 
• Pay cheques/cash in (bank goes overdrawn and Bank stops payments if not done in timely fashion)
• Payroll - collate info for weekly workers/process payroll and advise HMRC/ensure payments are made to staff  
• Chase outstanding paperwork from owners/directors/other departments

Fortnightly

• Undertake a Bank reconciliation (you may need to do this weekly if there are a lot of entries/close eye needed on cashflows)
• Petty cash check and reconciliation and keying of entries (if done irregularly its harder to correct mistakes, find out about theft, run out of cash etc)

Monthly

• Send customer statements  (if not you wont get paid!)
• Credit control  (if not you wont get paid!)
• Check incoming supplier statements -  raise instructions to pay via Bacs/online or issue cheques (if not done in a timely way you will be placed on stop and not get your supplies so worst case you have nothing to sell)
• Collate expenses
• Payroll - collate info for monthly workers/process payroll and advise HMRC/ensure payments are made to staff
• Make payments of PAYE tax and NI to HMRC
• Produce management accounts/compare to forecasts

Quarterly

• VAT returns - submitted quarterly. Eg VAT return say 31 May - you get until 7th of July to submit and pay (unless its paid by Direct debit in which case you get an extra few days to pay). To produce the VAT return you need to have keyed all entries relating to that quarter.
• Produce management accounts/compare to forecasts

I hope this gives you an idea of some of what is required and the possible impact of things not being done.  There is loads more, but like I say, dependent  on the type of business/industry/size/staffing levels etc

Morning Joanne 

Its the one Shaun recommended. it's called Wondershare PDF element.  https://pdf.wondershare.com/pdfelement/

I used to have a free one on my old computer which was really good, and I was going to recommend it at the time.  Unfortunately, it now contains malware (my version didn't for some reason)