Course description

QuickBooks Online can take a lot of the work out of bookkeeping, but only if it's set up well and used the same way every week. This course takes you from a new QuickBooks company to confident month-end routines, with VAT and Making Tax Digital explained in plain words for UK businesses.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, and each one ends with a short, practical exercise. You follow Adunni, who runs an embroidered workwear business in Melksham, as she moves her books from a spreadsheet into QuickBooks and works through her first VAT quarter with help from her bookkeeper, Nwanneka: the opening invoice entered without its VAT, the duplicate supplier, the bank rule that tried to code a payment she needed to match, the insurance coded with VAT, and her first Making Tax Digital VAT return. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, example answers and a cheat sheet, plus checklists, a chart of accounts sheet, import files, sample invoices, bills and bank statements, VAT workings and a month-end routine.

What you'll learn

• Getting started: what QuickBooks Online does, the UK plans in general terms, the bookkeeping words you need, finding your way around safely and planning your start date.
• Setting up your company: business details, the financial year and accounting method, the chart of accounts, opening balances and invoice settings.
• Customers, suppliers, products and services: adding and importing them, default accounts and VAT codes, and keeping your lists tidy.
• Sales: invoices, estimates, receiving payments, credit notes, recurring invoices and calm, organised credit control.
• Purchases: supplier bills, paying them safely, everyday spending without a bill, receipt capture and the aged creditors report.
• Bank feeds and reconciliation: connecting your bank or uploading a statement, matching and categorising lines, transfers and drawings, bank rules and reconciling to the penny.
• VAT: VAT codes, setting up VAT, Making Tax Digital for VAT, preparing, checking, submitting and paying a return, and cash accounting and the Flat Rate Scheme at a general level.
• Reports, payroll and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: the profit and loss report, balance sheet, trial balance, aged reports and VAT reports, an overview of payroll, and quarterly updates for Income Tax.
• Working with others and routines: users and roles, security, working with your accountant, a month-end routine, year-end, records and exports, and fixing common mistakes.
• Final project: a full month of bookkeeping for a painter and decorator from the practice files: invoices, bills, bank lines, reconciliation, reports and VAT figures, checked against model answers.

Who it's for

UK sole traders, small business owners and junior bookkeepers who are new to QuickBooks Online, or who've started using it and want to be sure they're doing it right. You don't need any bookkeeping experience: Section 1 explains the words you'll meet. You can follow along in QuickBooks' sample company, a practice company or your own books.

What this course is, and isn't

This course shows you how to use QuickBooks Online for everyday bookkeeping. It isn't tax, accounting or legal advice for your business: rules and figures change, so check the current guidance on GOV.UK and talk to your accountant or HMRC before you rely on anything. QuickBooks changes its screens from time to time, so the lessons describe what each feature does rather than exact menu paths. Payroll is covered as an overview only.

What will I learn?

• Set up a QuickBooks Online company for a UK business, with the right financial year, accounting method, chart of accounts and opening balances
• Add and import customers, suppliers, products and services, and keep the lists tidy
• Create estimates, invoices and credit notes, record payments and chase overdue invoices calmly
• Enter supplier bills and everyday spending, capture receipts and pay suppliers safely
• Connect a bank feed or upload a statement, match and categorise transactions, use bank rules with care and reconcile to the statement
• Choose the right VAT codes, set up VAT, and prepare, check, submit and pay a Making Tax Digital VAT return
• Understand cash accounting, the Flat Rate Scheme and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax at a general level, and what QuickBooks payroll involves
• Read the profit and loss report, balance sheet, trial balance and aged reports, and use them to check your books
• Give your accountant and others the right access, run a month-end routine, prepare for year-end and fix common mistakes
• Complete a full month of bookkeeping from practice files and check it against model answers

Frequently asked questions