Why Bookkeepers Should Go Back To School: (Part 2 - The Software)
Welcome to Week 2 of our Back to School month. Last week we talked about how to improve your core bookkeeping skills. This week I'd like to focus on the tools we use to get our work done. More specifically, how to get some app-specific training so you can get the most out of the software and services you're using.
Having a good base of bookkeeping knowledge is, well, kind of a big deal, but that alone isn't enough. I often find myself saying that debits and credits are the same, no matter what software I'm using. While that's true, it's a bit oversimplified. It's true that I can pick up most bookkeeping software and quickly figure out how to create an invoice. Most people can. But there's another level you achieve when you truly understand your software inside and out.
Why is this so important?
Great question. I'm glad you asked. If you have to enter a couple transactions into your system, being efficient isn't that big of a deal. As a bookkeeper there are days when I'm entering hundreds of invoices and expenses at a time. If I find a shortcut (keyboard or otherwise) that can shave 5 seconds off of each entry, that's some real time savings by the end of the day. Do that every day, and I've saved myself several hours each week.
What about reports? Maybe you're creating these complicated reports in Excel when your software can do them for you. Sometimes they have a funny way of naming them, so make sure you learn what each one of them does. Good software will also let you customize their reports so they're better suited to your client's needs. A few clicks is a lot quicker than an afternoon creating a report in Excel from scratch. Ok, maybe not as rewarding for you Excel nerds out there, but unfortunately you can't bill your client for your sense of accomplishment.
It also helps out your clients. If all I know how to do is the bare essentials, that's all I'm going to offer my client. When you learn all the bells and whistles provided by your app of choice, you open up a ton of helpful tasks you can use to serve them better. For example, Xero has some half-decent budget tracking. If I didn't know that, or didn't know how to use it, I might not suggest it to my client. Once you have it figured out, you can work with your client to setup a budget. Now each month you can not only show them an Income Statement, but one that shows how they're stacking up against their budget too.
Resources
The selection and quality of app-specific resources really varies from app to app. It's not entirely based on size or popularity either. Sometimes it's front and centre on the company's homepage, other times it's either hidden, available only when you login, or only available if you're a bookkeeper or accountant signed up for their special program. Basically...it's a real crapshoot. Here are some different resources available, so you can become an expert on the software of your choice.
Go straight to the source.
We'll start off by talking about some of the companies and how they help you learn their own software. They each have a blog and a YouTube channel, but some of them have more resources than others. It seems a bit silly (and redundant) to explain each link. They're pretty self-explanatory.
Xero
Xero Small Business Guides
Xero Blog
Xero TV
Xero U
Xero YouTube
Bookkeepers only: If you sign up to their Partner Program, you get access to some exclusive training. You can also get certified with a (paid) course and exam.
edit: thanks to Irvin for pointing out that Xero certification is now free
FreshBooks
FreshBooks Tutorial Videos
FreshBooks YouTube
FreshBooks Blog
QuickBooks
QuickBooks Online Training
QuickBooks Blog
QuickBooks Small Business Blog
QuickBooks YouTube
QuickBooks Online YouTube
Bookkeepers only: Once you're a ProAdvisor, either the paid version w/desktop software or free version for QBO, you get access to lots of extra training, and you can get certified. I discussed these option more in this post about bookkeeper certification.
Kashoo
Kashoo Blog
Kashoo YouTube
Go to a site devoted to education.
Last week I mentioned 2 paid sites that are great for boosting your bookkeeping knowledge. I don't want to repeat my lists, but it would be foolish to leave these two out.
LinkedIn Learning: (formrely Lynda.com) This doesn't have extensive content about bookkeeping software. But what it lacks there it makes up for with great business lessons, and courses on many of the tools you'll be using alongside QBO or Xero.
School of Bookkeeping: Since this site is all about bookkeeping, there are courses on quite a few of the most popular apps and services. They've got courses on QuickBooks, Xero, Excel, Sheets, Sage, Bill.com, and more.
But don't worry, there are more.
ScreencastsOnline: Don and company are masters of screencasts. I've watched several on software I don't even own, and have gone ahead and bought them afterwards. Yes, they're that good. You get a nice overview of both Mac and iOS apps. There are new screencasts available for both platforms each week. It's a paid membership, about $6/month, but well worth the price. Now, this isn't bookkeeper-centric by any means. But I'm pretty sure we don't just use bookkeeping software. If you use OS X or iOS, you'll find something you like.
SkillShare: SkillShare has a huge resources of courses on almost anything you might want to study. It's not as consistent and polished as LinkedIn Learning, but you get a lot of courses that you just wouldn't elsewhere. There are courses on productivity, bookkeeping, and other tools you're likely to use as a small business owner. It's also a paid subscription. You can get 2 months free if you use that link above. (disclaimer: I get a free month when you sign up through that link too)
Find bloggers who are passionate about the topic.
It would be crazy of me (you know, someone who has a blog) to not include a list of people who are writing and talking about this stuff every week. Obviously this isn't a complete list. I try to write about sites I find on a regular basis, so this is just a handful of ones I wanted to highlight today.
homework - If you write about bookkeeping, please connect with me on Twitter. I'm always looking for new blogs, podcasts, etc. that focus on bookkeeping.
Scott Gregory: Scott's site, Better Bottom Line is a great site for all things QB. I've been reading his blog for a long time, and I learn something every week. Plus, the title of the blog is Scott Gregory, QuickBooks Expert. So, it's gotta be good, right?
Michelle Long: Long for Success, Michelle's company, has been a go-to site for years. I remember finding her site years ago. Intuit does a rate survey every 2 years. They post a report about the average billable rates across our industry. It's a great report. Michelle always does a wrap up post when they come out. Here's the post from 2018's Intuit rate survey.
Wow! That was a lot of links. If you have RSI issues, please click through these responsibly.
Ok, so we've strengthened our bookkeeping foundation, and we've become experts in our software. What's next? Next week we're going to talk about running our business. Let's see if we can cram an MBA's worth of training into one post. Stay tuned to find out.
