Business, Commerce and Management Studies Generic Management

Basic Business Accounting Practices For Beginners Training

SAQA US 116338 | NQF 6 | Credits 9 | Duration 6 Days
From $1,382 per delegate

Description

This course provides a foundational understanding of basic business accounting practices for individuals with little or no accounting background. It covers essential principles such as double-entry bookkeeping, financial statements, and the accounting cycle, enabling learners to record and interpret financial transactions accurately. By the end of the course, participants will be able to apply basic accounting concepts in a real-world business context.

Learning Outcomes

  • Apply the double-entry bookkeeping system to record financial transactions.
  • Prepare basic financial statements, including income statements and balance sheets.
  • Analyze source documents to classify and record transactions correctly.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the accounting cycle from transaction to trial balance.
  • Implement basic internal controls to safeguard business assets.
  • Evaluate the financial position of a small business using simple ratios.

Target Audience

This course is designed for beginners, including new entrepreneurs, small business owners, administrative staff, and anyone who needs to understand basic accounting practices to manage or support business finances effectively.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment.

Course Outline

Day 1: Introduction to Accounting and the Accounting Equation

Objectives:
• Define accounting and explain its purpose in business.
• Identify the elements of the accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity.
• Apply the accounting equation to simple business transactions.
• Understand the role of source documents in recording transactions.

Topics:
• What is accounting? Users of financial information.
• The accounting equation and its components.
• Examples of assets, liabilities, and equity.
• Source documents: receipts, invoices, and vouchers.
• Practical exercise: Recording transactions using the accounting equation.

Day 2: Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the General Ledger

Objectives:
• Explain the double-entry system and its rules.
• Record transactions using debits and credits.
• Post entries to the general ledger.
• Prepare a trial balance from ledger accounts.

Topics:
• Double-entry principle: Debits and credits.
• Chart of accounts and the general ledger.
• Recording transactions in T-accounts.
• Balancing ledger accounts.
• Trial balance: purpose and preparation.
• Practical exercise: Posting and balancing.

Day 3: Cash Transactions and Bank Reconciliation

Objectives:
• Record cash receipts and payments in subsidiary journals.
• Post from cash journals to the general ledger.
• Understand the bank reconciliation process.
• Prepare a bank reconciliation statement.

Topics:
• Cash receipts journal and cash payments journal.
• Posting cash journals to the ledger.
• Petty cash management and imprest system.
• Bank statements vs. cash book.
• Bank reconciliation: identifying differences.
• Practical exercise: Completing a bank reconciliation.

Day 4: Credit Transactions, Debtors and Creditors

Objectives:
• Record credit sales and purchases in subsidiary journals.
• Maintain debtors and creditors ledgers.
• Prepare debtors and creditors lists.
• Understand the purpose of trade discounts and VAT.

Topics:
• Debtors journal and debtors allowances journal.
• Creditors journal and creditors allowances journal.
• Posting to debtors and creditors ledgers.
• Debtors and creditors reconciliation.
• Introduction to VAT and its recording.
• Practical exercise: Completing debtors and creditors lists.

Day 5: Inventory, Fixed Assets and Depreciation

Objectives:
• Record inventory transactions using periodic and perpetual systems.
• Calculate cost of sales and gross profit.
• Account for fixed assets: acquisition, depreciation, and disposal.
• Calculate depreciation using straight-line and reducing balance methods.

Topics:
• Inventory systems: periodic vs. perpetual.
• Recording inventory purchases and sales.
• Cost of sales calculation.
• Fixed assets register and depreciation methods.
• Recording depreciation and disposal of assets.
• Practical exercise: Depreciation calculations.

Day 6: Financial Statements and Closing Procedures

Objectives:
• Prepare an income statement and balance sheet.
• Perform closing entries for temporary accounts.
• Prepare a post-closing trial balance.
• Interpret basic financial statements for decision-making.

Topics:
• Income statement: revenue, expenses, and profit.
• Balance sheet: assets, liabilities, and equity.
• Adjusting entries: accruals and prepayments.
• Closing entries and the post-closing trial balance.
• Analysing financial statements: ratios and trends.
• Practical exercise: Completing a set of financial statements.

Practicals

No practicals for this training.

This course is made up of exercises and case studies delivered alongside the theory — no separate practical sessions are required to complete it.

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course and a final summative test at the end.

Daily Exercises — 30%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 30% to the final total.

Final Test — 70%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 70% to the overall mark.

Final Total
Component Out of Weight
Daily Average (multiple choice) 100% 30%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice) 100% 70%
Final Total 100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

Certificate of Completion

Awarded to delegates who achieve an overall mark of 50% or higher on the Final Total (Daily Average 30% + Final Test 70%).

How it works
  • Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
  • Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
  • You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
  • If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.
Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.

Upcoming Training Sessions
Online training — attend live sessions from anywhere via our virtual classroom.
Start End Delivery Season Price Action
Thu 18 Jun 2026 Thu 25 Jun 2026 Virtual Winter 2026 $1,382 Register
Wed 09 Sep 2026 Wed 16 Sep 2026 Virtual Spring 2026 $1,382 Register
Tue 29 Sep 2026 Tue 06 Oct 2026 Virtual Spring 2026 $1,382 Register
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Fri 31 Dec 2027 Fri 07 Jan 2028 Virtual Summer 2027 $1,382 Register
Thu 20 Jan 2028 Thu 27 Jan 2028 Virtual Summer 2027 $1,382 Register
On-Campus training — face-to-face sessions at our training venues across Africa and beyond.
Showing all 534 sessions across 26 venues
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Fri 19 Jun 2026 Fri 26 Jun 2026 Windhoek, Namibia Winter 2026 $3,424 Register
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Wed 07 Oct 2026 Wed 14 Oct 2026 Your Premises Spring 2026 $1,798 Register
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Mon 18 Jan 2027 Mon 25 Jan 2027 Your Premises Summer 2026 $1,798 Register
Fri 26 Feb 2027 Fri 05 Mar 2027 Your Premises Summer 2026 $1,798 Register
Thu 11 Mar 2027 Thu 18 Mar 2027 Your Premises Autumn 2027 $1,798 Register
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Tue 23 Mar 2027 Tue 30 Mar 2027 Your Premises Autumn 2027 $1,798 Register
Mon 14 Jun 2027 Mon 21 Jun 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,798 Register
Fri 09 Jul 2027 Fri 16 Jul 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,798 Register
Thu 29 Jul 2027 Thu 05 Aug 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,798 Register
Wed 15 Sep 2027 Wed 22 Sep 2027 Your Premises Spring 2027 $1,798 Register
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Mon 25 Oct 2027 Mon 01 Nov 2027 Your Premises Spring 2027 $1,798 Register
Tue 14 Dec 2027 Tue 21 Dec 2027 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,798 Register
Mon 03 Jan 2028 Mon 10 Jan 2028 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,798 Register
Fri 28 Jan 2028 Fri 04 Feb 2028 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,798 Register
Training Discounts
Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% off per 5 delegates, up to 40% for 100+

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