How to become a bookkeeper with no experience

The Level 2 Bookkeeping Course builds evidence of your work as you learn. Each of the six units ends with a tutor-marked assignment on a real-style set of business records, and the final synoptic assignment has you keep a small business's books for a full month. Your certificate of achievement carries a unique number an employer can verify on the Lift College website.

Our comparison of AAT Level 2 vs a Level 2 bookkeeping certificate course finds the Lift College course the cheaper first step if you have never kept books, and AAT the right choice if an advert you are chasing names it. It also sets out what three months costs on each route and the order to take them if you want both.

Our guide on how to become a bookkeeper in the UK walks through each step from your first course to your first role or client.

• Keep the books for your own business: Get Bookkeeping Basics, an accredited CPD course, 6 modules in about 6 hours, paid once.
• Learn to keep a full set of books for an employer or clients: Start the Level 2 Bookkeeping Course with a 7-day free trial, 90 guided learning hours, typically 3 to 6 months.
• A job advert names AAT or ICB: take that qualification with a provider that registers you with that body. Lift College does not teach AAT or ICB qualifications.

The National Careers Service lists three professional bodies for bookkeepers: the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), the Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers (IAB) and the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB). All three are named by GOV.UK as anti-money laundering supervisory authorities, which matters if you plan to work for yourself. AAT says its Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping has no entry requirements and usually takes around three months. AAT charges its own fees on top of the training provider's fee. The Awarding bodies tab on this hub sets out who awards which qualification.

The routes are not exclusive. AAT sets no entry requirements for its Level 2 bookkeeping certificate, so you can take it after the Lift College course, already knowing the ledgers, VAT and trial balance work it covers.