Accounting Fundamentals

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.

Lesson 1
Welcome to Accounting Fundamentals! In this first lesson, you'll learn all about account classifications, debits, credits, and T accounts. You'll learn the difference between a liability and an asset, and you'll find out how to determine an owner?s equity.

Lesson 2
Here's where you'll begin your hands-on accounting practice: You'll start by creating an imaginary company for which you'll be the accountant. You'll learn how to analyze your company's transactions to determine which amounts go into which accounts, then you'll create your company's own General Ledger forms and post a few transactions into those accounts. You'll also prepare a Balance Sheet to prove your accounting equations.

Lesson 3
Now that you have an understanding of the functions of the General Ledger, you're ready to move on to the next phase of recording transactions: the Journal. In this lesson, you'll learn how to enter transactions into an 11-column journal and then post or transfer those amounts into appropriate General Ledger accounts.

Lesson 4
In this lesson, you'll learn all about Accounts Payable--money that you owe your vendors and suppliers. You'll practice journalizing cash purchases and purchases on account, and you'll get hands-on practice transferring those purchases to their corresponding Accounts Payable Ledger accounts.

Lesson 5
In this lesson, you'll learn about Accounts Receivable, which is another name for money owed to your company by its customers. You'll learn how to journalize and post those sales on account, how to enter charge sales into the journal, and how to transfer the information into an Accounts Receivable Ledger.

Lesson 6
It's payday! This lesson will teach you how to determine gross pay, deductions, and net pay. You'll learn how to prepare a payroll, write payroll checks, and how to prepare and maintain accurate payroll records.

Lesson 7
In this lesson, you'll learn all about banks and banking services: You'll learn the proper way to write checks, make out deposit tickets, and reconcile your company's checking account with the bank statement--skills you'll find valuable in both your business and personal life!

Lesson 8
This lesson will teach you how to prepare a Schedule of Accounts Payable and a Schedule of Accounts Receivable. These reports can be used to compare the amount of money your business owes its creditors with the amount of money your customers owe your business.

Lesson 9
In this lesson, you'll prepare a worksheet showing the net income or net loss for the fiscal period. The worksheet will show all income and expenses for the fiscal period as well as the assets, liabilities, and owner?s equity account balances.

Lesson 10
In this lesson, you will learn how to prepare various reports that are vital to the well-being of your company. You'll learn how these reports can be used to make sound financial decisions in the next fiscal period. You will discover how to put together an Owner?s Equity Statement, an Income Statement, and a Distribution of Net Income.

Lesson 11
In this lesson, you'll prepare for the end of the fiscal period by adjusting your asset account balances to accurately reflect the assets remaining at the end of the year. You will also find out how to journalize and post adjusting and closing entries to bring your company's General Ledger up to date.

Lesson 12
In our final lesson, we will prepare a Post Closing Trial Balance report to ensure that all of our debits and credits in the General Ledger balance out in preparation for the new fiscal period.