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Bookkeeping and payroll classes: Feature Article
In 2006, there were more than 2.1 million jobs in 2006 that were held by bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. But the best part about this is that these jobs were available in every industry. Because of how large this occupation is and how fast it is growing there are plenty of job openings and they even include numerous opportunities for temporary and part-time work. But the thing about bookkeeping and accounting is that in order to get into this industry you are going to need to have at least some basic training, but what exactly you need to have is going to depend on the company that you are working for.
Here is a brief overview of the type of training and education that you need for bookkeeping and payroll.
- Most employers require that you have to have at least a high school degree, this is the minimum requirement. But having some college or even an associate degree in business or accounting is being required more and more for accounting positions.
- If you plan on getting promoted in payroll, bookkeeping or accounting you should plan on getting your bachelor's degree so that you can have a higher chance of getting promoted.
- Once you have been hired you can usually receive on the job training. How you get this is through the guidance of a supervisor or another more experienced employee so that you can learn company procedures
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- In some cases you will get some formal classroom training such as training in specialized computer software.
- You should also have experience in a related job and working in an office environment.
- When it comes to getting hired employers are looking for people who can use computers and who have knowledge of word processing and spreadsheet software is a plus
- You should also be very detail oriented, careful, and orderly so that you can avoid making mistakes and so you can spot errors made by other people.
- Because you are going to be coming into contact with confidential material employers are going to want to hire you if you are discreet and trustworthy.
- You also want to have good communication skills because of how much work you will be doing with customers. But most important of all you are going to want to have a strong aptitude for numbers.
- Another thing that is a huge plus for a job in this industry is getting your certification. Being certified shows that you have the skills and knowledge that is needed to carry out all of the bookkeeping functions, including overseeing payroll.
- To become certified you need to have at least 2 years of bookkeeping experience, pass a 4 part examination and adhere to a code of ethics. There are classes that you can take at several colleges and universities to prepare for the certification process, some even offer courses online.
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Helpful Resources:
1. Bookkeeping and Payroll Accounting Courses and Descriptions
This website provides you with information that you are going to need to have if you are thinking about taking a class in either bookkeeping or accounting so you can brush up on skills or even get a degree.
2. Career as a self employed book keeper 3. Free and Affordable Distance/Online Accounting Courses - Payroll 5. Bookkeeping Courses Online Leading to Qualifications Accredited by IAB 6. Bookkeeping Training Certification Training 8. Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks 9. Bookkeeping and Payroll Accounting Training Programs 10. Get Bookkeeping and payroll skills you need at Academy of Learning |
Before you decide on which classes you should take you should get a better idea of what is involved with the bookkeeping position and the payroll position. For the most part the classes that you need to take are going to apply to both of these positions, but what you do after you take the classes is going to depend on which job sounds better to you. Here is a look at bookkeeping and payroll accounting.
- Bookkeeping - this role is important because businesses need to keep track of all of their day to day financial transactions. What a bookkeeper does is they record and organize of all of those transactions into the correct log book so that they can help the business understand what money is coming in and what money is going out. In most cases the log books are electronic and use an accounting software program. In some cases bookkeepers will be asked to prepare charts and reports for upper management.
- Payroll Accounting - this is an important position because of how much money companies end up paying out for employee compensation. This section can include more than just your standard paycheck so many companies will offer a position that specializes in strictly payroll. These people keep track of the financial logs that include employee bonuses, overtime pay, workers compensation tracking, maternity pay, tuition reimbursement, and many other employee benefit programs. But this position can also be in charge of time card collection and attendance tracking in addition to everything else that is included.
So if you have decided that you want to obtain a job in this growing sector of the job industry then you are going to need to take some classes to get you started. Not to mention that enrolling in these classes is going to make it a bit easier to obtain a job in this very competitive industry. Here is a look at some of the places that offer affordable bookkeeping and payroll classes, in some cases the classes that are offered might even be free.
Penn Foster
This place offers classes that are affordable and that you can take from the comfort of your own home. But the best part is that the Bookkeeping Program that they have designed is made to help you learn quickly and conveniently. In this program you will get hands on experience in preparing balance sheets and income statements. But you will also learn about assets, liabilities and owner's equity. Other classes offer training in the basics of the general journal, ledger, and the T account; revenue, expenses, and trial balance; payroll accounting; accounting systems, and wholesale accounting.
Payroll Accounting
The course that this place offers is designed to introduce the people who take it to the cost of labor and all of its related payroll taxes. This is a great class to have any payroll specialist take because it shows you how in some companies payroll costs actually represent more than one-third of the operating costs of the business. But the course also teaches you that the employer is liable for meeting reporting requirements and for the money that is withheld from the employees' wages or salaries and for payroll taxes, in addition to teaching you what those requirements are. The class focuses on the liabilities, the records and control requirements of payroll accounting.
Payroll Wage and Hour Training and Certification Program
The best thing about this program is that it is given to people in easy terms that most people can understand, meaning in plain English. But it includes the descriptions of the various requirements, processes and procedures that are required in order for you to be in compliance with the requirements of payroll accounting. But it also includes numerous examples, administrative tips, and interactive question and answers to help provide you with insights into the compliance requirements. It also offers you a test that you can take to earn a "Certified Payroll Wage and Hour Administrator" designation, which is completely optional. But this program also qualifies for eight hours of PHR and SPHR re-certification credits. Here is a list of other courses that are offered for re-certification credits, beginning training or certification:
- Payroll Compensation and Taxation
- Payroll Operations
- Payroll Reporting
- Payroll Management
Payroll 101
This is a free course that is offered by Intuit, if you decide to use their payroll software. But even if you don't you can still get access to most of what they have to teach you. This course teaches you about the various payroll responsibilities that are required by government agencies, including federal, state, and local government agencies. Some of the things that this course goes into detail about are withholding amounts from your employees' compensation to cover income tax, social security, Medicare, and other payments. This course is designed to help you become familiar with the basic concepts of payroll management and introduce options that are designed to help make the process easier.
So, you want to learn Bookkeeping
This is an online course that is offered to anybody who wants to take it free of charge. All that you need to have in order to learn from this course is the desire and self discipline needed to teach yourself bookkeeping. This course is made up of sequential online bookkeeping lessons. These lessons are designed to cover the bookkeeping language, terminology and definitions. But they also teach you the bookkeeping systems, debits and credits, and double entry bookkeeping. The harder lessons are going to cover financial statements, how business transactions are properly analyzed, recorded and summarized; property and property rights; the accounting equation; cash and accrual basis of accounting; the general ledger and journals; types of business activities; types of business organizations and everything else that you need to know and understand when it comes to bookkeeping. The main way that this course teaches you things is through reading and examples, but it also includes quizzes that you can take to test your knowledge.
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