If you’re looking for a way to demonstrate your skills in QuickBooks, you might be overwhelmed by the different certifications and certificate programs available. You might also have a lot of questions, such as what is the difference between a QuickBooks certification and a QuickBooks certificate program, how do I get a QuickBooks certification, or do I need a QuickBooks certification to get a job. This article aims to provide answers to these questions so you can efficiently choose the right path toward a QuickBooks certification. Keep reading to find out more.
What is QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is a widely used accounting and bookkeeping software package from Intuit. Primarily used by small and medium businesses, QuickBooks helps businesses to track and manage everything to do with their finances. Using QuickBooks, businesses can monitor their cash flow and profits and losses by tracking sales, expenses, customers, and payments. QuickBooks is also often used to create and send invoices, manage the business’s inventory, and manage employee payroll. It also has budgeting, time tracking, and daily task features to keep businesses running efficiently.
QuickBooks helps businesses ensure the accuracy of their records by directly connecting sales channels to QuickBooks and reconciling bank transactions with the information one inputs. The software also has features to help with tax preparation and can be used as a way to collaborate and share documents with an accountant. QuickBooks is a subscription-based service with varied payment tiers that provide access to different features. The different versions of QuickBooks cater to different storage and employment needs as Intuit offers basic to premium plans of its cloud-based QuickBooks Online, a computer-installed QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise version for larger companies, and a version for freelancers and independent contractors called QuickBooks Solopreneur.
Read more about what QuickBooks is and why you should learn it.
What Can You Do with QuickBooks?
QuickBooks software has many different applications and uses across a wide variety of industries. Many small and medium-sized businesses use QuickBooks for its record-keeping features as it was originally designed for businesses without a dedicated accounting department. QuickBooks allows someone to track and categorize many things such as expenses, sales, transactions, and customer, vendor, and inventory lists. This makes QuickBooks a great option for those needing to keep all of their business records in one place.
Additionally, many people use QuickBooks to create and send invoices, manage employee payroll, help prepare their taxes, maintain a budget, and automate tasks. QuickBooks includes features to automate accounts payable and receivable. Many use QuickBooks to automate sending customer invoices or payment reminders or even keeping employees updated on crucial tasks and sending deadline reminders. These features of QuickBooks allow you to increase productivity and maintain efficient workflows so that you do not constantly need to task employees with work that can be done by the QuickBooks software itself.
Not only do businesses use QuickBooks, but QuickBooks is often used by self-employed people like freelancers and independent contractors. QuickBooks offers a specific version of the software called QuickBooks Solopreneur (formerly QuickBooks Self-Employed or SE). Many people find that once they link their accounts, it is easy to import their transactions and the QuickBooks software will automatically work to tag one’s income. Self-employed users will likely need to do a bit of extra work to categorize their transactions more effectively for their own needs, but QuickBooks can do much of the bookkeeping work automatically and make tracking finances easier for individuals.
Certifications vs. Certificates: What’s the Difference?
A certification is a formal document that can attest to the fact that you have gained the necessary knowledge and skills in a certain area. Usually, certifications are related to professional skills you need to know to perform your job and are achieved by passing an exam to demonstrate your mastery of the subject matter. Employers may require employees to achieve certifications in particular subjects to be hired or promoted to a new role. For QuickBooks, it is most likely that certifications would be required for Bookkeepers or Accountants. Even if not required, a certification can signal to an employee that you know how to use QuickBooks software at the professional level.
By contrast, certificates are something often received at the end of a training program. They are not official documents that prove your mastery of a topic, rather, they will show that you’ve successfully received training in a particular subject area. A certificate program might offer a document at the end that “certifies” completion, though it will not be a formal certification unless one takes a sanctioned exam. Completing a certificate program can be the precursor to taking a certification exam and certificate programs, like certifications, can let an employer know that you have the right training or educational background for a job that requires QuickBooks.
Top Certifications & Certificates for QuickBooks
The top certification for Bookkeepers is the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers’s QuickBooks Online Certification. This certification is nationally recognized within the industry and many who have it suggest that it is the most useful for them in terms of marketability and employment. For those looking to become a Certified Public Bookkeeper, you will need to complete the QuickBooks Online Certification exam first along with others that test important skills and principles of bookkeeping.
It is also common for Bookkeepers and Accountants to get certifications from Intuit. Intuit offers three end-user certifications, QuickBooks Certified User Online, QuickBooks Certified User Desktop, and Intuit Certified Bookkeeping Professional. The first two certifications look to test QuickBooks users on their mastery of either the online version or the desktop version of QuickBooks software. The bookkeeping certification will move beyond one’s knowledge of QuickBooks to test one’s overall mastery of bookkeeping and accounting. These certifications are useful for increasing your marketability and showing potential employers that you know how to use QuickBooks or understand professional bookkeeping.
Intuit has a different certification for bookkeeping and accounting professionals called QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor. This certification not only signals mastery to prospective clients but allows Accountants and Bookkeepers to earn official badges that will be visible to QuickBooks users and to become listed in Intuit’s online Find-a-ProAdvisor directory. Some bookkeeping jobs, especially at the junior or entry-level, will require this certification, though most jobs will only require Bookkeepers or Accountants to have several years working with QuickBooks. The cost of QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certification is free with a QuickBooks Online Accountant account and many find it more useful to get this free certification from Intuit than the costly QuickBooks Certified User certifications.
If you are looking only to receive training in QuickBooks or to receive training before taking a certification exam, then you should consider a QuickBooks class or certificate program. Noble Desktop’s QuickBooks Bootcamp offers comprehensive, hands-on QuickBooks training from a live instructor. One can also find free video tutorials for QuickBooks essentials and low-cost certificate programs from providers like Udemy, Coursera, and LinkedIn Learning. ONLC Training Centers offers regular QuickBooks classes and those geared towards certification with both instructor-led and self-teaching options. In addition, there are accounting and bookkeeping certificate programs that will frequently include QuickBooks training or training in other accounting software, either run by online education providers or through community colleges and national universities.
Should I Get Certified in QuickBooks?
Bookkeepers or aspiring Bookkeepers should consider pursuing certification and licensing from the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers. Entry-level or beginning Bookkeepers may not need this certification but most professionals working in bookkeeping find it useful and suggest it does help with employment. Accountants can pursue their own industry-specific Certified Public Accountant license which will not require knowledge of QuickBooks, in particular. Accountants should still consider some kind of QuickBooks training, especially for those working with self-employed individuals and small businesses.
There are a few other reasons to consider certification in QuickBooks. Some employers will want to see that one is at least certified as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. This is a free certification so for those already using QuickBooks Online Accountant or who want a quick, cost-effective certification this is a great option. This certification can improve one’s resume, aid marketability, and make it clearer to potential employers that you know how to use QuickBooks.
For those not in accounting or bookkeeping, certification will be less important as you’re less likely to apply for jobs where an employer will want to see this kind of official document. It can still be a good idea to receive QuickBooks training through a certificate program. Someone who wants to use QuickBooks for their small business or to help manage the finances of other businesses should consider taking a class or full certificate program to learn comprehensive use of this sometimes difficult-to-master software.
How to Get Certified in QuickBooks
To get certified in QuickBooks, first one should determine which certification to pursue. After determining whether to go for the certification offered by Inuit or the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB), it is a good idea to take a class, study, and work through practice tests to prepare for the certification exam/s. Both Inuit and the NACPB offer their own training classes to prepare those interested in taking their certification exams, however, the Intuit certification exams can be taken without enrolling in their training. Other universities and training facilities can help prepare someone for a certification exam or even administer the exam itself.
For the NACPB exam, there are specific steps one will need to take to become certified. First, interested test-takers will need to complete a pre-assessment test, then take the QuickBooks Online Fundamentals course, and finally take a post-assessment test. Only after successfully completing these steps can one take the certification exam. The NACPB also specifies that with proof of having completed equivalent training, one can be waived from taking the QuickBooks Online Fundamentals course. In this case, it would be a good idea to check with the NACPB before enrolling in a training program or course to make sure it meets their standards.
Learn QuickBooks with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop
Noble Desktop offers expert in-person and live online training for those interested in learning QuickBooks. Noble Desktop’s classes all include expert, hands-on guidance, small class sizes, and free retake options and many classes offer both part-time and full-time options so that one can find the QuickBooks or finance class that works best for their schedule. For fast and comprehensive training in QuickBooks, consider enrolling in Noble Deskop’s QuickBooks Bootcamp which teaches students everything they need to know about how to use QuickBooks to track and manage a business’s finances. This bootcamp uses hands-on training to teach students the basics of QuickBooks like configuring a company profile, working with customer, vendor, and inventory lists, and invoicing and processing payments as well as the more advanced management and customization features. Noble Desktop offers this bootcamp live online from any location and it can be taken in person at Noble Desktop’s training facility in New York City.
Noble Desktop also has accounting classes and bootcamps which are a great option for anyone interested in developing their skills or learning more about finance and accounting. The Intro to Financial Accounting & Financial Statements class uses hands-on exercises to teach students the fundamentals of analyzing financial statements and reports. After completing this introductory class, students can progress to the Intermediate Financial Accounting class which teaches more complex topics like earnings per share and deferred taxes. For those who want a comprehensive, accelerated class that tackles both beginner and intermediate topics of accounting, consider the Financial Accounting Bootcamp which teaches everything students need to know in two class sessions.
Noble’s finance and accounting classes are great for those who want to grow their financial literacy beyond learning about QuickBooks. These classes are also useful for those interested in turning their knowledge of QuickBooks into the first step to becoming a Bookkeeper or Accountant. If this is something that interests you, you can learn more about the career path of an Accountant by reading Noble Desktop’s comprehensive guide to accounting, a free resource that covers essential information about accounting and how to learn the skills necessary to make this one’s career. For those who want to work in finance in some capacity but are not entirely sure which direction they want to go in yet, Noble Desktop’s guide to finance is a useful way to read about different career options.