Studying accounting at home is one approach to learning accounting. Whether you don’t want to drive to attend classes in person or have children and need to be home, you can study accounting at home.
We’re going to explore the exact approach how to study accounting at home so you don’t waste your time. Let’s get started!
Studying Accounting at Home: Where to Start
When it comes to studying accounting at home, the best place to start is by making a plan. Decide what material you need to cover and break it down into manageable chunks. Do you have any prior accounting knowledge or are you starting from ground zero?
Create a study schedule and stick to it as much as possible. This can look like trying to finish a beginner accounting online course in a month, reading an accounting 101 book over a set timeframe or breaking either one of those up into smaller chunks.
There are plenty of resources available to help you study accounting at home. Look for online courses, textbooks, and practice problems. You have access to more information in this day and age to study accounting at home than ever before.
With a little bit of planning and effort, you can easily learn accounting at home. By taking things one step at a time, you’ll be on your way to success in no time.
Should You Use Books or Online?
Books are a great resource for in-depth information, while online resources are better for quick facts, easy answers to questions and video learners.
However, the best strategy is to use a mix of both books and online resources. This way, you can get comprehensive information from books as well as convenience and up-to-date information from online resources.
If you know your learning style then you may know if you are better with videos or books. When you don’t know, try videos first. You’ll be able to listen to concepts and rewind if needed. Just be sure to be an active note-taker for any at-home accounting studying.
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What Do You Learn in Accounting 101?
In Accounting 101, students learn the basic concepts and principles of accounting. This includes an introduction to debits and credits, the income statement, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows.
Any beginner accounting course or intro to accounting book should cover these concepts. Consider these a baseline. They need to be some of the first things you study at home.
By the end of an accounting 101 course, students should have a strong understanding of the fundamentals of accounting. You’ll want to try to get to this same level if studying at home.
What If You Have Questions?
When it comes to accounting, there are a lot of ways to get answers to your questions. You can try searching for accounting questions online and find your answers but we always suggest one better option.
If you’re having trouble finding the answer to your question, you can also try getting an accounting tutor. A tutor is going to save you the most time. It may cost you a bit more but if you are serious about learning accounting then this can be the best option for questions at times.
Making a Roadmap to Learn Accounting at Home
We talked about this in the beginning but having a clear roadmap is something you should do at the start of studying accounting at home. Your roadmap should be able to check off concepts like:
- Debits and Credits
- Assets, liabilities and equity
- The balance sheet and income statement
- The principles of accounting
- Trial balances, general ledgers and journal entries
- Cash basis and accrual basis accounting
This will give you plenty of information to get into but maybe you are already onto more advanced topics.
Knowing Why You Want to Learn
Studying accounting is taxing work. Did you get the joke? In all seriousness, you should know why you want to study and learn. Is it to start a business? Maybe you run a business but want to understand your accounting better.
How about a career change? Whatever the reason, studying accounting at home takes time. It helps to know why you want to learn and keep that motivation up.
For many business owners, in order to improve their business, it is essential to understand how to read a financial statement. While increasing your knowledge is always beneficial, it is especially important to be clear about your motivation for wanting to understand this particular topic.
Doing so will help ensure that you focus on the most relevant information and make the best use of your time.
Perhaps you want to be able to better understand your own business’s finances. Or maybe you’re looking to invest in other businesses and need to know how to interpret their financial statements.
Regardless of your specific reasons, it’s important to have a firm understanding of what you hope to gain from studying accounting and the concepts.
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Improving Your Accounting Skills
If you want to improve your accounting skills, there are a few things you can do. First, learn more advanced topics. This will help you build on your skills and understanding of accounting principles.
Second, ask questions. If you don’t understand something, exhaust your online resources and then seek out a tutor.
Finally, practice what you’ve learned. Don’t be afraid to get a trial of QuickBooks or Freshbooks, play around with the software and get familiar. By doing these things, you’ll be well on your way to improving your accounting skills!
How to Study Accounting at Home: Final Thoughts
Studying accounting at home is possible and there are many resources available to help you get started. You no longer need to drive to an in-person class when you have everything at your fingertips.
Whether you are a small business owner or a mom looking to make a career change, it all starts by taking action now to study accounting and have a clear plan.
