Before we look at how to become a Bookkeeper, let us have a quick look at what a Bookkeeper is and what they actually do for a business.
Simply put, a bookkeeper is someone who prepares your accounts, documents and daily financial transactions. But let's investigate further shall we?
What is the Difference Between Bookkeepers and Accountants?
While bookkeepers record daily transactions, accountants use the information compiled by a bookkeeper to produce financial reports. On the other hand, Accounting is more subjective and calls for a specially qualified interpretation, like helping you understand when it’s time to incorporate, or filing your taxes to get the best return possible.
Bookkeeping is straightforward and transactional. Bookkeepers offer a literal look at where you stand financially at the moment. Accountants take that financial data and help you see the bigger picture and the path your business is on.
What do Bookkeepers do Every Day?
Bookkeepers are responsible for recording every financial transaction in your general ledger using double-entry bookkeeping, which means they keep track of a company's daily finances, but that's not all. Bookkeeping takes meticulous analysis and just enough legal know-how. After all, bookkeepers will help a business survive an audit by making sure the financial records are in order and all deductions are legal.
Typically bookkeepers are responsible for preparing four key financial statements:
- Profit & Loss statement, which shows your revenue and your expenses over a specified time period.
- Balance sheet, which is just a snapshot of your financial position at one point in time.
- Cash flow statement, which is a record of the cash and cash-like equivalents entering and leaving your company.
- Statement of changes in equity (also called a statement of retained earnings) which shows how your share of capital, reserves, and retained earnings have changed in a reporting period.
Some other important tasks that Bookkeepers undertake as part of their day-to-day role at a work:
- processing invoices and payment receipts
- completing VAT returns
- preparing income statements
- ensuring the accuracy of financial records
- using accounting software to generate financial reports
- keeping track of an employer's daily transactions
- preparing the books for the accounting team
- processing payroll
Becoming a bookkeeper could be a great career path for you if you're highly organised and enjoy working with numbers. To succeed in this profession at a great firm, it's necessary to build a strong skill set and learn how to use popular accounting software. It might be a good idea to take a QQI-level course so that you gain the necessary skills.
What Course Should I Take if I Want to be a Bookkeeper?
Technically you could take any QQI level 5 or 6 Business course to learn the soft and administrative skills required to be a bookkeeper.
What are 'soft skills'?
Soft Skills are the interpersonal skills that people need in order to do well in their jobs. This can mean having the ability to work well in teams, manage time, and multitask.
"The two words 'information' and 'communication' are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through."
- Sydney J. Harris
What Are Administrative Skills?
Administrative skills are the skills that increase office productivity by consolidating time-consuming administrative tasks into one role. The most common skills include keeping projects on track, using computer programmes such as Excel, PowerPoint, Word, email etc..., scheduling meetings and filing expense reports.
But what if you really want to stand out? what courses should you take then?
Courses That Will Make Your CV Stand Out When Applying for a Bookkeeping Job
Your most valuable tool to get to an interview is your CV, and when it comes to your CV there are 2 main areas that the people hiring will look at before everything else:
- Previous experience
- Education/Qualifications
Even though any business or accounting course will gain you the soft and administrative skills you want, the following 3 are bound to make you stand out from the crowd:
- Fundamentals of Accounting and Finance (DBS Online Diploma) - The meticulous analysis in Fundamentals of Accounting and Finance is run wholly online and provides students with introductory knowledge to four key finance and accounting areas. These are Finance management, Financial accounting (including Sage), Management Accounting and Business management and administration.
- Business Management and Advanced Bookkeeping Course (Wicklow-FE) - This course is designed for those who would like to work in a supervisory role in a business. The course builds upon previously acquired skills to increase our student’s management ability.
- Bookkeeping & Payroll (UCD online Diploma) - This course was created for you to learn hands-on bookkeeping and payroll skills and see how sound financial management can support decision-making in small and medium-sized businesses. Discover the essential concepts, terminology, and legislation that frame this mission-critical role.
Reasons to Become a Bookkeeper
If being a Bookkeeper sounds good to you but you just need a couple more reasons to convince you why it's the right option for you over accounting then consider the following reasons.
Less time spent in college. To become an Accountant of any level (let's not even talk about becoming an auditor) you at least need a Bachelors Degree, possibly a Masters. That's a minimum of 3-5 years in college compared with 18 months to become a Bookkeeper, less if you do it online.
It's a regular 9 to 5 job. One thing you hear a lot of accountants saying is they have to take working lunches and spend a lot of time travelling. As a bookkeeper, you work normal company hours.
It pays pretty damn well! Considering that the hours are better and you don't have to spend as long in education you actually don't earn that much less than an accountant. The average salary for a bookkeeper is €34,659 per year in Ireland.
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