5 Best Certificate Programs for New Bookkeepers (2026)
If certificate programs new bookkeepers is on your radar, this short guide cuts through the noise. Here is what is worth knowing, and how to put it to work today.
Key Takeaways
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- Bookkeeping can be an excellent career choice.
Bookkeeping can be an excellent career choice. Most businesses need someone to keep track of their financials, and with remote work on the rise, bookkeepers can easily work for clients from anywhere in the world.
In fact, we ranked remote bookkeeping as one of the best online jobs, thanks to its combination of scalability, flexibility and earning potential.
There’s no educational or certification requirement to work as a bookkeeper. However, there are certain situations in which you may want to consider getting a bookkeeping certification, or at least taking a course to buff up your skills.
In this article, we’ll take a look at…
- When bookkeeping certifications make the most sense.
- The four broad types of bookkeeping certifications.
- The top five specific certifications to consider.
And then we’ll answer a few of the most frequently asked questions about bookkeeper certification.
Table of Contents
ToggleDo You Actually Need a Bookkeeping Certification?
There is no legal or professional requirement to complete a bookkeeping course or certificate program to work as a bookkeeper.
However, a bookkeeping certificate offers some advantages:
- Higher pay. As a general rule, employers will pay you more if you’re certified. As a freelancer, certifications can help differentiate you from other providers so you can win more clients and charge higher rates.
- Improves your skills. Courses and certification programs are not just about credentials , they help you gain knowledge and ensure that you have the skills necessary to succeed in the field.
- Some employers require it. While there’s no general certification requirement, numerous employers only hire certified bookkeepers.
You may not need a bookkeeping certification if…
- You have a four-year accounting degree. Accountants learn the bookkeeping basics, so if you have that degree, you probably don’t need bookkeeping certification.
- You have a lot of bookkeeping work experience. If you’ve been working in the field for years, earn a living you’re satisfied with, and have no trouble keeping up with industry changes, you may not find certification worth the time and money.
- You’re interested in doing bookkeeping as a side hustle. If your goal is to work on a part-time, freelance basis for small clients you find on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, you may do just fine without certification.
The Four Types of Bookkeeping Certification
There are four broad types of bookkeeping certification.
Note that the terms “certification” and “certificate” are not interchangeable.
- In general, a bookkeeping certificate represents proof of education, such as the completion of a specific bookkeeping course.
- A bookkeeping certification shows that you meet industry standards as set by a professional organization, and most likely that you passed a standardized exam.
Bookkeeping courses typically give you a certificate, but they almost never provide certification. This is key, because it means that if you decide to enroll in a course, you should look for one that prepares you for a certification exam.
1. Professional Certification
Professional certification is administered by organizations within a given field. For example, the most widely-recognized certification in the bookkeeping industry is the Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) certification offered by National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers.
This type of certification is widely accepted as proof of basic competency. Earning one means you’ve met rigorous standards pertaining to bookkeeping skills and knowledge, have worked in the field, abide by a set of ethics and code of conduct and continue to keep up with industry trends and changes.
Thus, putting one of these on your resume can offer a huge boost to your prospects and negotiating power. That said, these may require continuing professional education to ensure you stay up to date on the bookkeeping industry.
2. Proficiency Certification
Proficiency certifications demonstrate mastery of specific bookkeeping procedures or software programs. One example is the Quickbooks ProAdvisor certification, which shows that you’ve demonstrated the ability to use Quickbooks at a certain level by passing a test.
In the next section, we’ll go into more detail about three leading proficiency certifications: Quickbooks, Xero and Freshbooks.
3. Third-Party Certification
There are numerous online bookkeeping courses, and most of them offer a certificate upon completion to show that you finished the course. Frequently, these certificates are branded as a certification, and they can be helpful on your resume. They’re certainly better than nothing.
However, they can be expensive and they aren’t backed by a professional organization. That means that some employers may find them to be valuable while others do not. As a rule, they do not carry the same weight as professional certification when meeting with clients or interviewing for jobs.
Ultimately, it comes down to name recognition. Your prospective employ
Final Thoughts
The bottom line: a little research on certificate programs new bookkeepers goes a long way. Compare your options, watch for seasonal offers, and never pay full price when a better deal is one click away.
Originally published at thewaystowealth.com.
Bradley Schnitzer
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