Training & Development › Operations & Project Management › Basic Bookkeeping
OPERATIONS & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Basic Bookkeeping
Keep clean, reliable books for a small organization
Why It Matters
Small businesses and nonprofits often hand bookkeeping to whoever has time, and problems surface at the worst moment: a grant report, a loan application, or tax season. Missing receipts, miscoded expenses, and unreconciled accounts cost money to fix and erode trust with funders and lenders. Staff who understand the basics keep records current, catch errors early, and give the organization's accountant or board a clear picture of where money actually went.
Course Description
Practice drives this course. Participants work through a sample month of transactions for a fictional small organization: recording sales or contributions, paying bills, coding expenses to a chart of accounts, and posting entries to a simple ledger. They then reconcile a bank statement, track down discrepancies, and see how those entries feed a basic income statement and balance sheet. Discussion covers document retention, separating personal and business funds, tracking restricted funds for nonprofits, and when a question belongs with an accountant. Concepts are taught independent of any one software product, so participants can apply them in a spreadsheet or the system they already use. Each participant leaves with a monthly bookkeeping checklist adapted to their organization.
Key Focus Areas
Participants explore and practice:
Debits, credits, and the logic of double-entry recording
Setting up and using a practical chart of accounts
Recording receipts, bills, and payroll entries consistently
Reconciling bank and credit card statements each month
Tracking restricted funds and supporting documents for nonprofits
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
Record common transactions to the correct accounts in a ledger
Reconcile a bank statement and resolve discrepancies
Organize source documents so each entry can be traced
Follow a monthly bookkeeping checklist to keep records current
Who Should Attend
Small business owners and entrepreneurs
Nonprofit administrators and office managers
Administrative staff taking on finance tasks
Program staff who handle petty cash or purchasing
Delivery and Customization
Examples, scenarios, and activities are adapted to your audience and goals. Delivery is available in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format, as a standalone session or as part of a series. Format and length are agreed during scoping.
Related Courses
Budgets and Financial Reports · Operations & Project Management
Entrepreneurship Fundamentals · Sales, Marketing & Business Development
Archiving and Records Management · Administrative Excellence
Bring Basic Bookkeeping to your team
Tell us about your audience and goals. We will follow up to scope objectives, format, and timing.