FREE · NO EXAM FEE · NO RENEWAL FEE

Become a BizBooks Pro
Certified Bookkeeper

Seven modules of real bookkeeping instruction, a 35-question exam, and a credential number your clients can check for themselves. It costs nothing, and it takes most people about six hours.

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7MODULES
~6 hrsTO COMPLETE
35EXAM QUESTIONS
80%TO PASS

A certification that is actually about bookkeeping

Most software certifications test whether you can find the buttons. That produces a badge that means nothing to the business owner looking at it, because knowing where the invoice screen lives is not the same as knowing when revenue should be recognized.

This program is built the other way around. Every module teaches a transferable accounting concept first — why accrual puts December's electricity in December, why an unapplied payment makes an aging report lie, when a roof is a repair and when it is a capitalized improvement — and then shows you how that concept is handled in BizBooks Pro. Pass the exam and you have demonstrated judgment, not muscle memory.

It is free because certified bookkeepers are how good accounting software spreads. We would rather have a thousand practitioners who can genuinely run a set of books on this platform than collect a $199 exam fee from a few dozen.

What the coursework covers

Twenty-eight lessons across seven modules. Work at your own pace — progress is saved as you go, and you can leave and come back for weeks if you need to.

1

Double-Entry Foundations

The accounting equation, debits and credits, normal balances, turning a plain-English business event into a balanced entry, and why a trial balance that balances still proves almost nothing.

4 lessons · about 45 minutes
2

Setting Up a Company Correctly

Chart of accounts design, cash versus accrual, GAAP versus IFRS, fiscal year end, home currency, and entering opening balances without dropping a year of history into the current month.

4 lessons · about 45 minutes
3

The Sales Cycle

Estimates through invoices to payments, customer deposits as a liability, credit memos versus bad debt write-offs, and cleaning up an accounts receivable aging before you make a collections call you will regret.

4 lessons · about 50 minutes
4

The Purchase Cycle

When to enter a bill and when to record a direct expense, purchase orders and receiving, the capitalization threshold, repairs versus improvements, and keeping contractor payments 1099-ready all year.

4 lessons · about 45 minutes
5

Banking, Feeds, and Reconciliation

Matching downloaded activity instead of duplicating it, using undeposited funds so book deposits mirror the deposit slip, working a reconciliation difference instead of plugging it, and diagnosing a prior reconciliation that has come apart.

4 lessons · about 50 minutes
6

The Month-End Close and Reporting

A repeatable closing checklist, accruals and prepaids, the four depreciation methods and when each fits, and explaining to an owner in one sentence why a profitable month left the bank account lower.

4 lessons · about 55 minutes
7

Running a Multi-Client Practice

Least-privilege role assignment across client companies, using the audit trail as protection rather than surveillance, a repeatable new-client onboarding, and the professional lines a bookkeeper does not cross.

4 lessons · about 40 minutes

What you get for passing

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A credential clients can check

You receive a permanent credential number in the form BCB-2026-K7M4QP. Anyone can enter it on our public verification page and see that it is real, who holds it, and whether it is current. No screenshots, no PDFs that could have been edited.

📍

A listing in the public directory

Opt in and business owners searching for a bookkeeper can find you by location, by specialty, or by remote availability. You control every word of the listing and can remove it at any time without giving up the certification.

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Commissions on referrals

Certification runs through our partner program, so every client you put on BizBooks Pro earns you a recurring commission for as long as they stay. Certification is free; the referral income is the part that compounds.

How it works

1

Create a partner account

Free, takes about two minutes. This is what gates the program.

2

Work the modules

Read at your own pace. Progress saves automatically.

3

Sit the exam

60 minutes, 35 questions, unlocked once every module is done.

4

Get listed

Your credential is issued instantly and you choose whether to appear publicly.

Exam rules, stated plainly

  • Questions35, drawn from a 56-question bank
  • CoverageEvery module is represented
  • Time limit60 minutes
  • Passing score80% (28 of 35)
  • Attempts3, with 24 hours between them
  • Answer orderShuffled per candidate
  • Valid for24 months, renewable free
  • Cost$0

Who this is for

Independent bookkeepers who want a credential that says something specific about their skills, and a channel that sends work toward them instead of waiting on word of mouth.

Accountants and firms onboarding staff. The seven modules are a usable training curriculum on their own — hand a new hire the program and the exam tells you honestly whether it stuck.

Bookkeepers switching from QuickBooks who already know the accounting cold and need the platform-specific half. Modules 1 and 6 will be revision; 2, 5 and 7 are where the differences live.

People early in the field who have the theory from a course or a degree but have never run a full month-end close on live books. That gap is exactly what this program is shaped around.

Questions people actually ask

Is it really free?

Yes. No exam fee, no renewal fee, no upsell at the end. You need a free partner account to enrol, which is also what pays you commission when you refer a client.

Do I have to be using BizBooks Pro already?

No. Roughly half the coursework is platform-neutral bookkeeping that applies wherever you work. You will get more out of modules 2 through 7 with the software open in another window, and a free trial covers that.

What happens if I fail?

You get three attempts, spaced 24 hours apart. After a failed attempt the results screen shows every question, the correct answer, an explanation, and which modules cost you the most marks — so the retake is a study session, not a coin flip.

Is the exam open book?

We do not police it, and we designed the questions accordingly. They are scenario-based — an aging report with a negative balance, a contractor paid partly by check and partly by card — so looking up a definition will not help much. Answer options are shuffled for every candidate, so comparing notes with someone else is no help either.

Does the credential expire?

It stays valid for 24 months. Renewal is free and exists so that the directory reflects people still actively working, rather than filling up with credentials earned years ago and abandoned.

Can I stay certified but stay out of the directory?

Yes. The directory listing is opt-in and separate from the credential. Plenty of bookkeepers are at capacity and want the credential without the enquiries.

How long does the whole thing take?

About five and a half hours of reading, plus the hour-long exam. Most people spread it across a week. There is no deadline once you enrol.

Get certified this week

Create a free partner account, work through seven modules, and come out with a credential your clients can verify and a directory listing that sends work your way.

Start the certification program