How Much Does a Bookkeeping Course Cost?

Less than you might expect…or more? Read on!

Bookkeeping, as you know, is a subset of accounting. It is best understood in the context of business — which IS the recording of financial transactions. These transactions include purchases, sales, receipts, and other payments made by individuals or organisations.

If you’re mathematically inclined with an attention to detail, becoming a bookkeeper can be an excellent career path that never seems to lose relevance to the business world.

Non-accredited bookkeeping courses

If you’re not looking to hold formal bookkeeping qualifications, then you don’t need to spend that much. You’ll most likely be able to get most, if not all, the skills you need with thorough research, practice, and the dedication to learn and apply these bookkeeping skills.

There are a number of websites available that offer great breadth and depth of bookkeeping information to the public at no cost.

There are also short bookkeeping courses that you can take — either online or in classroom-based environments that take you through the bookkeeping basics in the span of a couple of days. These can still be quite cheap, and will probably cost no more than a few hundred dollars.

Accredited bookkeeping courses

Planning a career in bookkeeping? You’ll probably need to formalise your qualifications. For beginners, the Certificate III in Accounts Administration with a focus on bookkeeping can be a good starting point.

It runs between 6 and 12 months in most cases and will probably set you back around $800-2000, depending on where you study.

Or, you can jump straight ahead to the Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping! There are no formal entry requirements but it is recommended you complete the Certificate III in Accounts Administration or already have experience as a bookkeeper.

This is a more advanced bookkeeping qualification and it meets the educational requirements to complete Business Activity Statements (BAS) for businesses. The course normally runs for 12 months, depending on the institution you study at.

Your bookkeeping course will likely set you back $1000-3000, dependent on where and how you study the program. Online is frequently cheaper than face-to-face delivery.

How should you study your bookkeeping course?    

How you study is often a matter of personal preference. Taking an online bookkeeping course definitely has a number of advantages over traditional classroom-based learning.

You can learn at your own pace, have a more flexible schedule, course materials are always available to you, and you get to save heaps of time, effort, and money you’d otherwise spend commuting to and from university of TAFE to attend classes.

Online bookkeeping courses do require you to have self-discipline and manage your time – though you need this with any kind of study!

What level of study should you do? 

If you’re only planning to do your own finances or run a very small business, learning some bookkeeping basics on your own or with a non-accredited course will likely give you all the skills you need.

If you’re planning on making a career as a professional bookkeeper, consider doing the Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping. The ability to do BAS statements is a huge boon for you and/or your employer. Even if you’re running your own business, it can be worth taking a course for bookkeeping.

The knowledge and skills you develop can save you a lot of money that could be lost if you make a mistake in recording or reporting; especially when you’re dealing with taxes.

Of course, going on to university education is always an option if you want to develop your skills beyond the scope of bookkeeping alone – but a Cert IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping can make for an excellent foundation.

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Brent Rogers

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