Accounting Resources for County Offices
Guidelines for CAST Trainers

Training New Bookkeepers

It is imperative that CAST Trainers be informed of new Bookkeepers immediately so that initial contact may be made to determine current accounting skills and to acquaint the Bookkeeper with the standard accounts and procedures for maintaining a good accounting system.

• Establish good communications with your Regional Director's Administrative Associate for information on newly-hired County Bookkeepers. 

• Send an introductory or welcome email message to the new Bookkeeper and offer an invitation to schedule a get-acquainted meeting by phone or in person.

• Review the Letter of Agreement with the new Bookkeeper to determine what QuickBooks features need to be learned and schedule dates for learning opportunities.

• Organize the topics for small chunks of learning, depending on the Bookkeeper's familiarity with the accounting system.

• Arrange for a good learning environment or E-Learning experience by consulting with the Bookkeeper and County Program Director in advance.

Learning Objectives.    Bookkeepers will be able to:

1. describe accounting responsibilities for self, county program director, and council.

2. create an account under the Chart of Accounts

3. create a class

4. create and maintain records for vendors, customers, and employees

5. construct and print a check transaction

6. construct and print a deposit transaction

7. create and print an employee paycheck and tax and benefit liability checks

8. prepare quarterly and annual tax reports

9. explain detailed and summarized reports

10. design detailed and summarized financial reports

11. verify monthly accounting data and reconcile with bank statements

12. enter annual budget data and generate appropriate budget reports.

13. export QuickBooks reports to Excel

14. transfer funds between classes or between bank accounts

15. perform general software updates and payroll updates

16. perform frequent QuickBooks Backups.

County Bookkeepers who accrue income and expense transactions may use the accounts receivable and payable features of Quickbooks.

1. Create an Invoice transaction and follow-through with Received Payment and deposit transactions

2. Create a Bill and follow-through with Bill Payment and check transactions.

3. Design reports for accounts receivable or payable transactions.

Special Aspects of One-on-One Training
Principles of Adult Learnng, adapted from One-on-One Training by Bob Pike, Lynn Solem, and Dave Arch, Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2000.

Bookkeepers must be viewed as Individuals.
    Self-Concept - acknowledgment of the trainee's feelings, values, attitudes, and expectation.
    Comfort Level - both physical and psychological levels of comfort with the training situation.
    Past Experience - an acknowledgment of the trainee's past experiences.

Bookkeepers Want to be Involved in Their Own Learning

Review the Letter of Agreement and determine the trainee's current skills.  Determine what they already know.  Invite the trainee to schedule convenient learning opportunities for various QuickBooks components.  

Encourage the trainee to use the accounting manual procedures as a reference tool.

What Bookkeepers are Taught Must be Perceived as Useful

Information provided to the trainee must be practical and relevant.  
    > What trainees learn and use immediately will be retained best
    > Immediate use satisfies trainee's' "need to know."

Stress the importance of learning accounting or QuickBooks skills and how it is relevant to the job.   Long delays in applying new learned information will result in loss of retention.

Bookkeeper's Learning Sessions Must be Reinforced

Reinforce learning by:
   > building in opportunities for the trainee to receive feedback.
   > offering feedback that is positive, specific, and constructive.
   > providing time for practice.
   > not assuming that learning has taken place.

After the trainee has practiced a concept, present a similar scenario and ask the trainee to perform the task.

Followup with a trainee a few days after learning session.  Schedule additional topic sessions, as needed.

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