If numbers are your thing, you may want to consider a career as a bookkeeper.
Online bookkeeping courses typically teach you how to prepare income statements, balance sheets, prepare your payroll, and so much more.
On the plus side, there are a number of amazing courses to choose from – which could also be the downside – how do you choose?
Here are some of our favorite courses for aspiring bookkeepers.
Table of Contents
Top 5 Online Bookkeeping Courses to Sign Up For This Year
1. Accounting Foundations: Bookkeeping – LinkedIn Learning
- Cost: One-time payment of $29.99 or $34.99 per month for access to additional courses
- Duration: +-2 hours
- Qualification: Shareable certificate of completion
Many people searching for online bookkeeping courses only want to learn the basics and if you’re one of them, this course from LinkedIn Learning is ideal.
Students will learn about financial statements, balance sheets, income statements, and cash flows, as well as all the steps in the bookkeeping process, including analyzing transactions, debits, and credits and learning about revenues and dividends.
Students also get access to exercise files, quizzes, and mobile learning to accelerate the learning process.
This beginner-level course is listed as the starting point for LinkedIn Learning’s Become a Bookkeeper six-course bundle. Upon completion, you can move on to Finance Essentials for Small Businesses or take a course on some of the best accounting and bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks.
All of the courses in this series are designed to help business owners build a profitable company or get you started in the bookkeeping sector.
2. Financial Accounting Fundamentals – Coursera
- Cost: $49
- Duration: 14 hours
- Qualification: Certificate of completion
Financial Accounting Fundamentals was developed by the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. No prior bookkeeping knowledge is necessary to start the course, and the program is flexible.
This course forms part of the Growing Your Business Specialization bundle on Coursera. Students will learn how to create financial records, income statements and record transactions accurately. The program also aims to teach people how to assess the financial health of a company and avoid common pitfalls.
The video content, quizzes, and test will help you test your knowledge along the way.
The course is 100% online and taught in English but has Arabic, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese subtitles.
Learners need to register on Coursera to get access to the course, but this also means they can take advantage of a 7-day trial.
3. How to Start a Bookkeeping Business – Udemy
- Cost: $84.99
- Duration: 2 hours
- Qualification: Certificate of completion
Udemy is a great place to start if you’re thinking about starting your own bookkeeping business. The platform offers an excellent course that tells you everything you need to know about the process.
The course consists of on-demand video content and six downloadable reading resources. Udemy gives users full lifetime access to the materials once they pay the fee.
By taking the How to Start a Bookkeeping Business course on Udemy, students will discover what it takes to start and run a bookkeeping business and how to successfully onboard new clients.
Upon completing the course, you will have a strong understanding of relevant bookkeeping techniques. However, this is not a course for beginners – you will need to befamiliar with QuickBooks.
Those who want to learn on Udemy but need to start from scratch can consider the Basics of Bookkeeping course, a comprehensive and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) accredited course.
4. Intermediate Bookkeeping – edX
- Cost: Free to audit; Between $50 and $300 to get a certification
- Duration: 6 weeks
- Qualification: Verified certificate
edX was created by MIT and Harvard and offers an excellent selection of online bookkeeping courses. The Intermediate Bookkeeping course is one such example.
The course is designed to build on existing beginner qualifications and take your bookkeeping skills to the next level.
Students will delve into various accounting concepts and principles, accounting for partnerships and learn how to correct common errors.
This edX course is prepared and taught by lecturers from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, making it perfect for those preparing for the ACCA exam.
To get started with the course, you’ll have to create an edX account, which is a straightforward process. Once you register, make sure to check when the next Intermediate Bookkeeping course starts as dates change throughout the year.
5. Formal Financial Accounting – Coursera
- Cost: $79
- Duration: +-10 hours
- Qualification: Certificate of completion
This course is brought to you by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is taught by a leading accounting professor.
Ideally, you should only consider Formal Financial Accounting after you’ve taken beginner and intermediate courses in the same bundle, or if you already have substantial knowledge of bookkeeping principles.
The course focuses on advanced accounting topics such as T-account, credit, debit, and teaches you how to interpret even the most confusing financial statements.
The entire course is in English, but learners can take advantage of French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic subtitles. After completing this course, you will be one step closer to becoming a skilled bookkeeper.
Are There Any Free Online Bookkeeping Courses?
When it comes to online bookkeeping courses, free versions are available. If your goal is to learn how to do basic bookkeeping for your small business, then taking a free course on a reputable platform can be beneficial. However, usually, there are limitations to consider.
Some websites may offer online bookkeeping courses that are partly free to give you a taste of what you can get if you pay for the full course.
Others platforms may let you work through the entire course for free, but you won’t receive a certificate or any formal qualification.
While free bookkeeping courses can be beneficial, paid courses are generally more worthwhile, especially if you are serious about a career in bookkeeping.
Which Online Bookkeeping Course Is Right for You?
Online learning has never been more accessible nor more exciting. If you’re ready to dive into the world of bookkeeping, consider one of the courses mentioned above.
However, if you don’t feel you’ve found the right course just yet, you can always browse for more options on the Coursary website.