AAT – Introduction to Bookkeeping

This course introduces students to both manual and digital bookkeeping systems, focusing on their documents, processes, and basic principles such as double-entry bookkeeping. It covers how digital systems are automating some bookkeeping stages and teaches the verification of financial documents like invoices and credit notes. Students will practice recording these documents in various daybooks and ledgers, understanding that the process is similar whether using manual or digital methods, though the specifics can vary by system.

The course also touches on handling prompt payment discounts (PPD) through credit notes, a method mandated by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the UK, where this course also discusses VAT—an indirect tax applicable in the UK and similar taxes abroad. Additionally, the course covers entries in cash books and petty cash books, including their integration into the ledgers.

Finally, students will learn to ensure the accuracy of transactions, reconcile statements with ledger accounts, and manage payments and receipts, gaining skills to handle both manual and digital bookkeeping systems effectively.

Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this subject, you should be able to:

1. Understand how to set up bookkeeping systems
2. Process customer transactions
3. Process supplier transactions
4. Process receipts and payments
5. Process transactions into the ledger accounts