This Level 1 qualification introduces the role of a bookkeeper and the underpinning knowledge to identify and carry out simple different bookkeeping activities, such as income and expenditure, profit and loss, and assets and liabilities. It also offers an introduction into the role, and the benefits and risks associated with bookkeeping software.
There is no need for any prior accounting or bookkeeping knowledge. It provides a solid grounding for students before moving on to the Level 2 qualifications.
The Level 1 Award in Bookkeeping offers students the opportunity to develop practical bookkeeping skills. This qualification may help students to move on to further study in either accountancy or bookkeeping with AAT, offer a route into employment or be of interest to those already in employment. This qualification will particularly suit those learners who have had minimal work experience or those who need some additional support to progress. This may include 18 year old learners seeking tangible and finance-specific skills, adults seeking to validate their existing skills to enter into or progress in their career, or learners who would like to test their abilities before progressing further with AAT.
Why choose this qualification?
The Level 1 Award in Bookkeeping is a short qualification valued by employers in a range of industries. Learners should choose to study Level 1 Award in Bookkeeping if they wish to develop an understanding of the basics of manual bookkeeping. Learners completing this qualification may wish to pursue careers in finance or business in either the private or public sectors. This qualification creates a strong foundation for further study with AAT in either accountancy or bookkeeping. This qualification will usually take around 8 /10 weeks to complete. The course ends with a formal AAT exam, taken at the College.
What does the qualification cover?
This unit introduces students to the role of a bookkeeper and simple bookkeeping techniques while providing an understanding on why it’s important to keep accurate and up to date financial information in business. Students will learn how to identify a range of bookkeeping transactions including income, expenses, and profit and loss, as well as gaining an understanding of the benefits and risks associated with bookkeeping software and the importance of ethical behaviour.
Topics include
Understand the role of the bookkeeper.
This includes the need to produce timely and accurate work and to follow ethical principles.
Understand financial transactions.
Students will learn underpinning theory including how to identify assets, liabilities, income, expenses, capital profit or loss, and the differences between trading for cash and trading on credit.
Process customer and supplier transactions.
Students will be introduced to the dual effect of transactions. This is a fundamental underpinning concept for double-entry bookkeeping and will support students who go on to study bookkeeping at Level 2.
Process receipts and payments.
Students will also develop the skills to process customer and supplier transactions, enter receipts and payments into the cash book and check amounts against the bank statement in preparation for bank reconciliation
Understand the benefits and risks of using accounting software to complete bookkeeping tasks.
Students will learn the role that software can have in bookkeeping and the benefits and risks that different types of software may bring. They will explore the differences between cloud accounting software and traditional accounting software and learn about the importance of software security and the steps that can be taken to keep data secure.
What will this qualification lead to?
The skills developed by studying this qualification will give learners a solid base from which to seek employment with greater confidence or enable them to progress to the next level of learning. The skills developed in this qualification can lead to employment in junior or supporting administrative roles in companies across a wide range of sectors, for example;
- trainee bookkeeper
- accounts administrator
- billing/payments administrator/coordinator
- accounts junior
- accounts receivable/payable assistant
- procurement and finance assistant
- assistant cashier.
The skills developed in this qualification may also underpin those developed further in the following Level 2 qualifications:
- Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping
- Level 2 Certificate in Accounting
