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Studies & Degrees in Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is the day-to-day recording of an organisation's financial transactions: sales, purchases, receipts and payments. The bookkeeper keeps the records complete and accurate; accountants and auditors then use those records to prepare, analyse and check the accounts. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks as workers who compute, classify and record data to help organisations keep complete and accurate financial records.

The work is now done almost entirely with software. According to the BLS, bookkeepers enter transactions into accounting software, record cash, cheques and vouchers, assign costs (debits) and income (credits) to the right account, produce reports such as balance sheets and income statements, and reconcile any differences they find. Some keep the complete books of an organisation; others handle one task, such as accounts payable or receivable.

What students learn

A bookkeeping course teaches double-entry recording with debits and credits, the ledgers, bank and account reconciliation, the trial balance, payroll, basic tax and the use of accounting software. The certificate courses of schools in the directory show the usual mix. The Accounting Certificate of Roxbury Community College in Boston, for example, is taught over two semesters and includes two courses in principles of accounting, income taxes, computerised accounting and business law.

Qualifications and levels

  • Short professional qualifications. In the United Kingdom, the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) offers three short bookkeeping qualifications that take from two to 12 months to complete: the Level 1 Award, the Level 2 Certificate, which goes up to trial balance standard, and the Level 3 Certificate for experienced bookkeepers. Holders of the Level 3 Certificate can apply to become an AAT bookkeeping member (AATQB).
  • College certificates. Community colleges in the United States teach bookkeeping inside accounting certificates. The Accountancy Certificate of Bucks County Community College has 39 credit hours and covers financial and managerial accounting, finance, business law and tax accounting. In Canada, Camosun College offers an Advanced Certificate in Accounting and Finance that takes two years full-time.
  • Vocational training in Spain. Spain has no separate bookkeeping diploma. The subject is part of the Técnico en Gestión Administrativa, an intermediate vocational training (FP) qualification of 2,000 hours, with modules such as Técnica contable (accounting technique), Tratamiento de la documentación contable (processing of accounting documents) and Operaciones auxiliares de gestión de tesorería (treasury operations). Applicants need the Spanish compulsory secondary education certificate, an equivalent or higher qualification, or must pass an entrance exam.
  • Certification for working bookkeepers. The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers runs the Certified Bookkeeper (CB) programme. It is not a beginners' course: candidates should be working bookkeepers or have one year of college accounting or the equivalent.
  • Degrees. Students who want to go on to accounting or auditing take a bachelor's degree in accounting or business. The BLS notes that, with experience and additional education, some bookkeeping clerks become accountants or auditors.

A school's own certificate is not the same as a state-recognised qualification or a professional body's award. Ask each school what recognition its bookkeeping course has.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 11 active schools for bookkeeping. Five are in the United States, and Canada, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Zimbabwe have one each. The US schools include Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania, Roxbury Community College in Boston, Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama and Belmont Technical College in Ohio. Elsewhere the list includes Camosun College in Victoria, Canada, UIBS / Barcelona Business School, the Rome campus of the Swiss School of Management, the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo, and Warnborough College, a distance-learning provider with colleges in Canterbury and Dublin.

Bookkeeping rules are national. Accounting standards, tax and payroll differ from country to country, so it is best to study in the country, or under the standards, where you plan to work. Most courses in the directory are taught in English.

Careers

Bookkeepers work in the accounts departments of companies of every size, in accounting and tax firms, and on their own account for several small clients. In Spain, the Ministry of Education lists roles such as administrative assistant, collections and payments assistant and treasury clerk for holders of the Gestión Administrativa diploma.

The official outlook in the United States is negative. Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks held about 1.5 million jobs in 2025, and the BLS projects employment to decline 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, because software has automated many of their tasks. It still expects about 144,100 openings each year, all of them to replace workers who move to other occupations or leave the labour force.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting?

Bookkeeping is the recording of transactions and keeping the ledgers accurate. Accounting uses those records to prepare and interpret financial statements, and usually requires a degree or a professional qualification.

Do I need a degree to become a bookkeeper?

Usually not. The BLS states that US employers generally prefer candidates who have a high school diploma and have completed college courses in related subjects such as accounting. Professional certification is not usually required.

How long does a bookkeeping course take?

The AAT bookkeeping qualifications take from two to 12 months. College certificates take longer: the Roxbury Community College certificate is planned over two semesters, and the Spanish vocational diploma has 2,000 hours.