Training programme
Bookkeeping Essentials for Small Business
Six weeks of evening sessions teaching owners and administrators to keep books that stand up to an accountant, a lender or a tax review.
What you will be able to do
- Record daily transactions consistently against a sensible chart of accounts
- Reconcile bank and cash positions monthly and find the difference when they disagree
- Produce a trial balance an accountant can work from without rebuilding it
- Keep supporting documentation in a form that survives a compliance review
Curriculum
5 modules
1. The chart of accounts
Setting up a structure that fits the business, before a single transaction is recorded.
- Account categories
- Naming conventions
- Common structural mistakes
2. Recording transactions
Double-entry in practice, worked through the transactions the business really has.
- Sales and receipts
- Purchases and payments
- Petty cash discipline
3. Reconciliation
Proving the books against the bank every month, and diagnosing a difference rather than forcing it.
- Bank reconciliation
- Timing differences
- Investigating variances
4. Documentation and audit trail
Keeping the evidence that turns a record into a defensible position.
- Invoice and receipt filing
- Retention requirements
- Digital record-keeping
5. From ledger to statements
Closing a period and producing a trial balance an accountant can build on.
- Period-end adjustments
- Trial balance
- Handover to the accountant
Who it is for
- Owner-managers keeping their own books
- Administrators who have inherited the bookkeeping
- Businesses preparing to bring bookkeeping in-house
Prerequisites
- Comfortable with basic arithmetic and spreadsheets
Related
Other programmes on this track
Personal Finance Foundations
A practical two-day programme covering budgeting, saving, debt and planning, built around decisions participants face every month.
- Duration
- 2 days
- Modules
- 4 modules
Financial Literacy for Teams
An in-house programme that helps staff manage their own finances and understand how their work connects to the organisation's numbers.
- Duration
- 1–3 days, scheduled around shifts
- Modules
- 3 modules
Tax Compliance for SMEs
A focused programme on what a registered business must file, when, and how to keep records that make each return straightforward.
- Duration
- 3 days
- Modules
- 4 modules
Get started
Ready to enrol, or still deciding?
Tell us where you are and what you want to be able to do. We will confirm whether this programme is the right fit before you commit.