Bookkeeping Course

Lesson 1 • Core Financial Vocabulary

Introduces essential terms: assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, and expenses. Precise vocabulary use is required for every topic that follows.

Lesson 2 • What Bookkeeping Is and Does

Defines bookkeeping, distinguishes it from accounting, and explains its business value. Establishes the conceptual baseline for all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 3 • Source Documents and Evidence

Identifies invoices, receipts, bank statements, and contracts as the evidence base for every entry. Proper document handling prevents errors and supports audits.

Lesson 4 • Business Entity and Financial Periods

Covers the entity concept and the fiscal period assumption that underpin accurate recordkeeping. Students learn why mixing personal and business finances distorts records.

Lesson 1 • Debits, Credits, and Account Types

Explains how debits and credits affect each account type using the normal-balance rule. This framework is the engine behind every journal entry in the course.

Lesson 2 • The Chart of Accounts

Introduces the numbered account list that organizes all financial data. Students design a simple chart suited to a small business.

Lesson 3 • Posting to the General Ledger

Transfers journal entries to individual ledger accounts to track running balances. Students trace a transaction from journal to ledger and confirm accuracy.

Lesson 4 • The Trial Balance

Compiles all ledger balances to test whether total debits equal total credits. Students identify and correct common posting errors using the trial balance.

Lesson 1 • Sales and Accounts Receivable

Records credit sales, customer payments, and sales returns using proper debit-credit logic. Accurate receivables tracking directly affects cash flow visibility.

Lesson 2 • Purchases and Accounts Payable

Covers recording inventory and expense purchases on credit, plus supplier payments. Students manage the payables cycle from invoice receipt to payment.

Lesson 3 • Cash Receipts and Disbursements

Introduces specialized cash journals to efficiently record high-volume cash inflows and outflows. Students post column totals to the general ledger.

Lesson 4 • Payroll Transactions

Records gross pay, statutory deductions, and employer contributions as journal entries. Students understand how payroll affects multiple liability and expense accounts.

Lesson 1 • Internal Controls for Cash

Introduces segregation of duties, authorization limits, and physical safeguards for cash. Strong controls reduce fraud risk and improve record reliability.

Lesson 2 • Understanding Bank Statements

Explains bank statement components: deposits, withdrawals, fees, and interest credits. Students match statement items to the cash book before reconciling.

Lesson 3 • Electronic Payments and Bank Feeds

Addresses reconciling digital transactions, direct debits, and automated bank feed imports. Students apply the same reconciliation logic to electronic environments.

Lesson 4 • The Reconciliation Process

Walks through the step-by-step method to reconcile book balance to bank balance. Students complete a full reconciliation worksheet with realistic data.

Lesson 1 • Why Adjusting Entries Are Necessary

Explains accrual accounting and why some revenues and expenses are not captured by daily entries. Students identify which accounts require adjustment at period end.

Lesson 2 • Preparing the Adjusted Trial Balance

Updates the unadjusted trial balance with all adjusting entries to produce the adjusted version. Students verify that debits still equal credits before proceeding to statements.

Lesson 3 • Prepaid Expenses and Unearned Revenue

Records the expiration of prepaid costs and the earning of previously deferred revenue. Students calculate and post both types of deferral adjustments.

Lesson 4 • Accrued Revenues and Expenses

Records revenues earned but not yet billed and expenses incurred but not yet paid. Students post accrual entries and understand their reversal in the next period.

Lesson 1 • The Income Statement

Organizes revenues and expenses to calculate net income or net loss for the period. Students format both single-step and multi-step income statements.

Lesson 2 • Notes and Disclosure Essentials

Explains the purpose of financial statement notes and key disclosures required for clarity. Students draft a simple accounting policies note for a small business.

Lesson 3 • The Balance Sheet

Presents assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific date to show financial position. Students classify accounts correctly and verify the accounting equation holds.

Lesson 4 • Statement of Owner's Equity

Shows how net income, drawings, and capital contributions change equity during the period. Students link this statement to both the income statement and balance sheet.

Lesson 1 • Reversing Entries and Period Startup

Explains optional reversing entries that simplify recording accruals in the new period. Students decide which adjustments benefit from reversal and post them correctly.

Lesson 2 • Post-Closing Trial Balance

Verifies that only permanent accounts remain open and that debits equal credits after closing. Students confirm the ledger is ready for the next accounting period.

Lesson 3 • The Full Accounting Cycle Overview

Maps all steps from source document to post-closing trial balance as a continuous cycle. Students see how each prior chapter fits into the complete workflow.

Lesson 4 • The Income Summary Account

Uses the income summary as an intermediate account to consolidate revenues and expenses before closing to capital. Students post all four closing entries in sequence.

Lesson 1 • Inventory Systems: Perpetual vs. Periodic

Contrasts continuous perpetual tracking with end-of-period periodic counting. Students select the appropriate system based on business size and transaction volume.

Lesson 2 • Cost of Goods Sold Calculation

Derives COGS using the beginning inventory plus purchases minus ending inventory formula. Students link COGS to gross profit on the income statement.

Lesson 3 • Inventory Costing Methods

Applies FIFO, LIFO, and weighted-average methods to assign costs to sold and remaining units. Students calculate ending inventory and cost of goods sold under each method.

Lesson 4 • Recording Inventory Purchases

Posts inventory acquisitions, freight-in, purchase discounts, and returns under both systems. Accurate purchase recording is the foundation of reliable cost data.