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Female Bookkeeper

How to Become a Certified Bookkeeper

Jennifer Newmann

Published: | Last Updated:

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Bookkeepers occupy one of the most valuable roles in a company, serving as that company’s financial manager. If your numbers skills and financial thinking have interested you in a career in bookkeeping, here’s everything you need to know about becoming a certified bookkeeper.

What Do You Need to Become a Certified Bookkeeper?

To become a certified bookkeeper, you need:

  • A GED or high school diploma
  • An undergraduate degree
  • A credible bookkeeping certification
  • On-the-job experience or similar training

Steps to Become a Certified Bookkeeper

Step 1: Earn a High School Diploma or GED

A high school diploma is the minimum educational requirement for bookkeeping. However, candidates with a college degree are more competitive in the job market and more appealing to employers.

Step 2: Obtain Your Undergraduate Degree

An associate degree in accounting provides the entry-level skills needed to land your first bookkeeping job. A bachelor’s degree in business is optional but further strengthens your candidacy.

What will you learn in a bookkeeping degree program? An undergraduate bookkeeping curriculum typically covers:

  • Payroll and taxation
  • Financial statements and accounting
  • Business analytics
  • Communications, law, and ethics
  • Critical thinking and digital marketing (useful for freelance bookkeepers)

Step 3: Earn Your Bookkeeping Certification

After completing your degree, the next step is obtaining a bookkeeping certification, a third-party, non-accredited credential that proves you’ve passed a knowledge exam.

Which certifications are available through NACPB? The National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) offers four certifications:

  • Bookkeeping Certification
  • Accounting Certification
  • QuickBooks Certification
  • Tax Certification

Some bookkeeping programs, such as Bryan University’s Associate Degree in Accounting, cover the fees for two NACPB certification exams and prepare students to pass them.

Step 4: Gain On-the-Job Experience or Complete an Internship

Internships, paid or unpaid, at financial, accounting, or tax firms provide hands-on experience working alongside professional bookkeepers and accountants. This practical training strengthens your resume and accelerates your readiness for the workforce.

How to Apply for Bookkeeping Jobs

Once you have your certification and degree, you’re ready to enter the workforce. Potential job titles include:

  • Certified bookkeeper
  • Freelance bookkeeper
  • Tax preparer
  • Payroll clerk
  • Billing clerk
  • Accounting assistant
  • Accounts payable or accounts receivable clerk

What industries hire bookkeepers?

Bookkeepers are needed across virtually every industry, including:

  • Retail and service businesses
  • Non-profits and startups
  • Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs)
  • Production and manufacturing facilities
  • Government agencies
  • Business consulting firms

Tips for applying:

  • Update your resume with your degree, certifications, and any internship experience
  • Leverage personal and professional networks
  • Attend industry networking events
  • Take advantage of career resources offered by your college or university

Which Bookkeeper Certification Is Best?

With so many certifications through the NACPB to select from, how can you choose which ones to pursue?

Think of your future career aspirations. For example, if you’re interested in performing financial entries for a company, make sure you earn your Bookkeeping and/or Accounting Certification.

Should you already be knowledgeable in QuickBooks or you plan to use QuickBooks for your job, then you should try for the NACPB QuickBooks certification. This will also prove to job candidates and future clients alike that you’re a QuickBooks pro.

Or perhaps you want to also be able to help clients with their taxes. In this case, you’ll be interested in the NACPB’s Tax Certification.

How Hard Is the Certified Bookkeeper Exam?

If you’ve completed a quality bookkeeping program, the exam is very manageable. To help you walk into the exam with the full breadth of knowledge here is more information about the exam itself.

The NACPB certified bookkeeper exam includes 50 multiple-choice simulations and questions. You must answer 37 questions out of 50 correctly to earn a score of 75 percent if you want to pass.

You’re given two hours to take the exam, which is an open-book test.

The topics covered on the exam are as follows:

  • Financial statements and closing procedures
  • Deferrals and accruals
  • Payroll reports, deposits, and taxes
  • Payroll payments, records, and computations
  • Cash
  • Accounting for cash payments, accounts payable, and purchases
  • Accounting for cash receipts, accounts receivable, and sales
  • Closing entries and managing a post-closing trial balance
  • Adjusting your worksheets
  • T-account business transaction analyzation
  • Business transaction analyzation

Once you purchase the exam (or your online college such as Bryan U does so for you), you have a full year from the purchase date to take your exam. Should you fail the exam, you can buy a retake exam.

Is Being a Certified Bookkeeper Worth It?

Yes. While certification is not legally required to work as a bookkeeper, earning at least two certifications provides significant career advantages.

Makes You a More Credible Job Candidate

When applying for a job in any industry, you want to do everything you can to make yourself look like the most shining candidate. For aspiring bookkeepers, having a bookkeeping certification is certainly one way to achieve that goal.

Hiring managers will be impressed that you took the extra time, expense, and initiative to pursue your certification(s).

Although having certs alone will not get you hired, if you combine certification with a strong college background and a variety of accounting skills, you have a greater chance of finding a great bookkeeping job.

Proves Your Expertise

You can’t argue with a certification, as it proves your proficiency in an area. If you have bookkeeping certifications in targeted niches within your industry such as taxes or accounting, this might allow you to branch out and expand your work responsibilities.

Could Help You Earn More Money

Speaking of such, climbing the career ladder can be easier with a bookkeeping certification. The certification proves that you’re willing to go above and beyond what your job entails.

Plus, with your growing knowledge and expertise, you could get promoted, which means a bigger paycheck.

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