Bookkeeping - AAT Level 1 Award

What the course is about

With the other learners in your class, you will gain the necessary skills to carry out a range of basic day to day manual and computerised bookkeeping routines and activities.

This is an accredited course designed to provide you with the underpinning knowledge and skills to take the next steps into a Level 2 qualification. You will undertake an assessment in manual bookkeeping and gain a Level 1 Award but also study the principles of computerised bookkeeping throughout your course.  

Good bookkeeping is essential business maintenance.  In short, a bookkeeper keeps track of monies coming into and out of the business.  By maintaining accurate financial records, bookkeepers help small, medium and micro businesses:

• Prepare for year-end tax and VAT returns
• Keep on top of day-to-day cash flow
• Efficiently run their finances.

Please note that skills for year-end tax & VAT returns are not covered in this course. Traditionally, bookkeepers kept paper records of business transactions. Today, a bookkeeper's tasks are diverse and highly sophisticated, requiring skilled knowledge. The introduction pathway is pitched at level 1 and is made up of 5 themes:

• Introduction to Bookkeeping
• Keep double entry records and prepare a trial balance
• Prepare reconciliations
• Introduction to computerised accounting
• Set up a computerised accounting system and process data

With regular attendance and home study, by the end of this course you will;

• Understand the basics of double entry bookkeeping
• Understand bookkeeping terms
• Recognise source documents and understand their purpose
• Understand the basics of VAT
• Understand the purpose of the trial balance and petty cash and bank reconciliations
• Use the journal
• Record transactions in a double entry bookkeeping system
• Prepare a trial balance
• Reconcile the petty cash balance
• Prepare a bank reconciliation statement
• Understand the basics of computerised accounting
• Understand accounting terms
• Set up a computerised accounting system
• Process transactions, sales, receipts and payments
• Reconcile the balance on the bank current account
• Generate reports

This course provides an introduction to the skills and underpinning knowledge of financial record keeping, giving you the necessary skills to record financial transactions in a double entry, manual, bookkeeping system, using commercially available computerised accounting software. You will develop the necessary skills to assess your own competence in carrying out a range of basic day-to-day computerised bookkeeping routines and activities. You will develop the necessary underpinning knowledge and skills to assess your understanding of the importance of maintaining accuracy, security and integrity, in performing any bookkeeping tasks.

A variety of learning activities will be used on this course, including tutor presentation and demonstration, practical application of skills, individual and group work, discussions, Q&A, internet research, individual research and project work. Where relevant, your learning will enable you to develop skills and knowledge required for work. There may be vocational specialist guest speakers, or employers, invited to share their skills and experience.

Regular home study will be necessary to successfully complete this course. You will be supported to develop good study skills. Your tutor will also support you to improve your English and maths skills alongside your learning of your vocational subject. This will include assessing your current skills and planning learning activities related to your subject that are designed to develop your skills in these areas. To support this, you may undertake some e-learning modules, where appropriate, as homework.

If you have declared at enrolment that you are unemployed, you may be invited to meet with an Information, Advice and Guidance Officer or employability member of staff, to identify other learning opportunities that will support you to secure employment or improve your employment prospects. We highly recommend that you engage fully in any other learning opportunities that we help you identify.

This is a vocational course providing you with a pathway into Level 2 qualifications, and the cost of it is subsidised by public funding. You will be required to complete all the necessary coursework/assignments by the given deadlines.

Please note if you do not successfully complete the course within this academic year, you will not be able to repeat it at the subsidised fee.

You will take a Level 1 qualification at the end of this course in manual bookkeeping. Your tutor will provide full information about this during the induction.