West Des Moines Community Schools Community Education

How do you keep track of the day-to-day financial transactions of a business? Whether you are looking to advance in your career, or you’re an entrepreneur, (or maybe you are a part of a family business), this course will help you if you are looking to understand the numbers. The Basics of Bookkeeping course will help you understand, and know how to record, every penny that comes into your business and every penny that goes out of your business. This course shows you how to create a chart of accounts that meet your needs. All of the money you spend, and all of the money you earn, have a place to go. How do your record them? What are debits and credits? What do the numbers mean? How do I label accounts? Even if you outsource your bookkeeping needs, you should still have a basic understand of what happens with the money earned and the money spent. No one should be blind to his or her finances! In this course you will learn where the numbers go, and why! You will learn the bookkeeping terminology as well as what it means to keep track of the numbers. At the end of the cycle, what do the numbers mean? The Basics of Bookkeeping will show you how to keep track of the numbers and why! To progress through this course you will: Read the print readings. Have the option of accessing the online readings. Listen to the audio presentation for the Unit and view the slides. Have the option of taking a self-quiz to see how much you have learned. Engage in written online discussion with your instructor and other participants. The content (readings, audio lectures, slides) and self quizzes are accessible for the entire course, so you can work ahead, or go back and review again, at your convenience. Discussion: The discussion for each unit lasts one week. All comments are made in writing and can be made at any time of the day or night. Your instructor will log into the discussion area at least once a day and answer questions, make comments, and respond to comments by you and the other participants. We encourage you to make 2-3 comments each day to maximize your learning and enjoyment of the course.

In this course, you will learn about the accounting equation and the five categories involved in every business (Assets, Liabilities, Owner’s Equity, Revenue and Expenses). Every financial transaction falls into one or more of these categories. Learn how to create a chart of accounts that meet the needs of your business. You will learn how double entry bookkeeping works and the process of recording debits and credits. This course will show you how to identify, analyze and record transactions using journal entries under the cash basis accounting method. To progress through this course you will: Read the print readings. Have the option of accessing the online readings. Listen to the audio presentation for the Unit and view the slides. Have the option of taking a self-quiz to see how much you have learned. Engage in written online discussion with your instructor and other participants. The content (readings, audio lectures, slides) and self quizzes are accessible for the entire course, so you can work ahead, or go back and review again, at your convenience. Discussion: The discussion for each unit lasts one week. All comments are made in writing and can be made at any time of the day or night. Your instructor will log into the discussion area at least once a day and answer questions, make comments, and respond to comments by you and the other participants. We encourage you to make 2-3 comments each day to maximize your learning and enjoyment of the course.