How do I Become a Certified Bookkeeper?

The specific regulations for becoming a certified bookkeeper will vary depending on your locality, but many places require a few of the same things. To become a certified bookkeeper, many professional organizations require you to have bookkeeping experience, to have a passing grade on an examination and to sign a code of conduct document. Some localities might also require some sort of bookkeeping course to be completed as well. This certification might make you a more viable candidate for bookkeeping jobs and might also earn you a higher paycheck than if you did not have certification.

Generally, bookkeeping experience is required if you would like to become a certified bookkeeper. Many areas allow you to complete your experience either before or after the certification exam, possibly making it easier to find employment to gain such experience. Be sure that you have checked your specific certification program for work experience requirements, because some require full-time work and others will accept part-time or freelance work.

An examination is usually administered to determine whether a person is ready to become a certified bookkeeper. Usually given in a testing location, each exam covers various bookkeeping tasks. Many times, if the test is not passed the first time, you are allowed to schedule retests to pass your certification. These examinations might cover things such as adjusting entries, depreciation, payroll, error identification and error correction. Test preparation booklets are often available for free — sometimes in a format that can be downloaded from the Internet — in order to help a student become more familiar with the layout and material of a bookkeeping certification exam.

Many certification agencies will also require you to sign a code of conduct. This basically states that you will always act in an ethical manner and that you will uphold accepted accounting procedures. This might seem like a small thing, but it is always important to act in the most professional and ethical manner when handling the financial affairs of others.

Some certification agencies require that you have coursework to go along with your certification exam and work experience in order to become a certified bookkeeper. This coursework can do a great job of explaining bookkeeping procedures and of giving you lots of valuable resources and information. Classes might be taught online or in a traditional classroom setting, making it easy for you to decide which one fits your needs. Check with your certification agency to determine whether this training needs to be completed before, during or after your certification exam.