What training for book keeping, to then progress to Accountancy one day?

NannyV

Hi, I was thinking about training to do book keeping from home, mainly for Childminders as I was working as a Childminder before having my 3rd son so have a little experience of the accounts.
My local college offers a City and Guilds book keeping level 1, then 2 and 3 course, each being 12 weeks costing £220 each.
I am wondering if its worth this route or not though, paying for the courses is a lot, I would need quite a few clients to make up for that cost alone ..... and it would have to be done evenings/weekends as I have 3 young children, 2 of which are not yet in pre-school so it can't be done in the day, but maybe its worth doing the courses over the next year and then becoming a book keeper once the kids are at pre-school, or just taking on a couple of clients while Im setting up.

Im also wondering if the City and Guilds can be used towards maybe becoming an accountant with a firm one day? Im not sure if I have the brains for that yet though!
Are there any alternative courses to the City and Guilds? I quite like the idea of going to college to as tutors for help etc. but maybe an online one would be cheaper/means I don't need a babysitter ....

Any advice?

Pennywise

A more rounded qualification would be AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) which covers book-keeping, but also payroll and VAT, and accounts preparation, tax returns, etc. Many local colleges do courses but it will take 2/3 years to pass all levels. Once you have AAT, you can be a "member in practice" which allows you to have your own small accountancy practice. If you want to go higher, onto, say Chartered, I think having the AAT makes you exempt from some of their exams.

saintjammyswine

Pennywise wrote: »

A more rounded qualification would be AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) which covers book-keeping, but also payroll and VAT, and accounts preparation, tax returns, etc. Many local colleges do courses but it will take 2/3 years to pass all levels. Once you have AAT, you can be a "member in practice" which allows you to have your own small accountancy practice. If you want to go higher, onto, say Chartered, I think having the AAT makes you exempt from some of their exams.

Agree although some colleges offer 'fast track' AAT which puts them back to back with some overlapping units starting at Level 1 up to Level 4. Is very intense but faster and sometimes cheaper than doing them all seperately.

The college may be able to help with any funding available as well.

NannyV

Thanks for your replies, I searched the college courses and some AAT ones came up starting at level 2 up to 4 I think but it didn't give prices as starting from Sept. Will keep an eye on that one

AP007

http://financial.kaplan.co.uk/trainingandquals/accountancy/aat/pages/aat-distance-learning-prices.aspx

Holy_City

Just google cambridgecollege
Or cambridgeinternationalcollege

It's a distance learning college hope that will help.
This college runs all sort of business courses including bookkeeping and accounting, HR, marketing etc from certificate,diploma, degree and MBA level.
Just have a look.

National_Careers_Service

Hi there, how are you getting on with your search for courses? I see you’ve already had some useful suggestions! It may also be worth considering contacting some of the awarding bodies to find out more about recognised basic accounts or bookkeeping qualifications that are available at levels 1 to 3. In addition to the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and City & Guilds there’s the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB), International Association of Bookkeepers (IAB), OCR, ABC Awards, Edexcel EDI and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) – all worth a look.

I suppose finding a suitable course is only part of your research so I wonder if I might be able to add a few nuggets of information and maybe one or two thought provoking questions to help with your exploration.

I can certainly understand why you’re interested in finding out more about becoming a Bookkeeper; this new career direction offers flexible hours, the chance to work from home and you have the added bonus of having a really good insight into how things work from your ‘potential customers’ point of view. A great place to start from! Whilst you’re looking into the courses it might be worth thinking about the points below:

When thinking about becoming self-employed it’s worth doing a bit of digging, a little detective work to find out how viable your new idea is. For example; doing some research into the number of potential customers and the levels of demand in your area will be time well spent. I wonder; do you still have contact with fellow child-minders in your area? They could prove to be a valuable resource. Here are few questions you might want to keep in mind to help get the ball rolling;

· Of the child-minders you know, what percentage do their own ‘books’ i.e. what’s the market for this?

· If a child-minder uses a Bookkeeper how often would they use one and how much are they charged?

· Could you provide an alternative service that advises child-minders on completing their own paperwork?

I’m really curious to know more about your interest in bookkeeping and accountancy. Do you have a natural ability to solve problems and love working with numbers for instance? Is this something you’ve been thinking about for a while or did you get a flash of inspiration whilst working as a child-minder? Sorry to ask so many questions!

Just to return to the point you made about taking this new career idea even further into the future and becoming (for example) an Accountant. There are a number of roles that might tick the boxes on your career wish list so I thought you might find this link to the Financial services job family on the National Careers Service website useful to keep as a resource to help with your research. It contains information on the qualifications, study routes and entry requirements for careers such as Accounts clerk (Bookkeeper), Tax adviser, Private practice accountant and many more that may inspire you! Of course, any further research you do could lead to you deciding not to pursue one idea but there may be some pleasant surprises. Some fresh ideas you haven’t thought of yet. Like I always say it’s just as important to close a door as it is to open a new one!

I hope this information is helpful and good luck

Suarez

Pennywise wrote: »

Once you have AAT, you can be a "member in practice" which allows you to have your own small accountancy practice.

That's incorrect. You have to have 1 years full time work experience before you can become a member in practice.

morgwick

NannyV wrote: »

Hi, I was thinking about training to do book keeping from home, mainly for Childminders as I was working as a Childminder before having my 3rd son so have a little experience of the accounts.
My local college offers a City and Guilds book keeping level 1, then 2 and 3 course, each being 12 weeks costing £220 each.
I am wondering if its worth this route or not though, paying for the courses is a lot, I would need quite a few clients to make up for that cost alone ..... and it would have to be done evenings/weekends as I have 3 young children, 2 of which are not yet in pre-school so it can't be done in the day, but maybe its worth doing the courses over the next year and then becoming a book keeper once the kids are at pre-school, or just taking on a couple of clients while Im setting up.

Im also wondering if the City and Guilds can be used towards maybe becoming an accountant with a firm one day? Im not sure if I have the brains for that yet though!
Are there any alternative courses to the City and Guilds? I quite like the idea of going to college to as tutors for help etc. but maybe an online one would be cheaper/means I don't need a babysitter ....

Any advice?

When operating as a bookkeeper (qualified or not), even just for one client or family member, you must ensure that you register with HMRC and Money Laundering Regulations. You have to pay for this which is £110, otherwise you could receive large fines!

JamesT81

Agree with the prior posts about AAT, which is a more rounded and as a result (IMO), more useful qualification. It can also be a good stepping stone (I got intermediate which helped in getting a job where they paid my CIMA training for me).

Completing the last stage of AAT does give you exemptions for the entry level of all the accountancy qualifications I know of (five for CIMA), in a similar way to a relevant degree.

Also as previously said do check your market. Small businesses (such as nurseries) generally would benefit from their services. Childminders might not have their scale (I don't have that industry specific knowledge).

Most of all, GOOD LUCK!!