ICB - Computerised Bookkeeping Examinations

[Marky65]

Hi
When all of you qualified bookkeepers out there where in the same position as I am in now, starting my bookkeeping studies, which accounts and payroll package did you use. Is it necessary to use Sage or would one of the other accounts & payroll packages which are often promoted here ie moneysoft, 12pay be sufficient.
Thanks for your help
Mark

[billie1]

I would say for exam purposes use one of the more user friendly packages like moneysoft or 12 pay, if that would be allowed.

[Zeno]

I believe that your goal is to become a self employed book keeper?

If so, then you will not get very far unless you have a working knowledge of Sage.

[Marky65]

Hi Zeno
Yes you are right that is my goal
And I know that you would not have know this and I apologise for not putting in my OP but I do already have a thorough knowledge of Sage/Quickbooks/MYOB it is just that I didn't want to have to buy a product that I may only use once just to pass the exams
Regards
Mark

[Zeno]

Hi Zeno
Yes you are right that is my goal
And I know that you would not have know this and I apologise for not putting in my OP but I do already have a thorough knowledge of Sage/Quickbooks/MYOB it is just that I didn't want to have to buy a product that I may only use once just to pass the exams
Regards
Mark

I am afraid I am not sure how this works with the ICB however it seems to me a bit unusual that they do not specify the software. Are you sure there is not some sort of approved list?

[Marky65]

Yes I am quite sure I phoned them a couple of hours ago. But they told me I could use any of the packages. Hence my OP as I wanted to see what others had used.

[billie1]

I believe that your goal is to become a self employed book keeper?

If so, then you will not get very far unless you have a working knowledge of Sage.

I would have thought if you want to work for a company then sage is important. As a self employed bookkeeper you can work with packages you feel comfortable with and introduce those packages to your clients. These days alot of accountants will support packages other than sage.

[Zeno]

I would have thought if you want to work for a company then sage is important. As a self employed bookkeeper you can work with packages you feel comfortable with and introduce those packages to your clients. These days alot of accountants will support packages other than sage.

Most clients who are currently using software will be using Sage. I admit that this may be slowly changing however if you don't have a working knowledge of Sage then you will be hugely restricting your potential client base.

[Zeno]

Yes I am quite sure I phoned them a couple of hours ago. But they told me I could use any of the packages. Hence my OP as I wanted to see what others had used.

Seems a bit weird to me. How can they evaluate your proficiency when there is not a standard?

[Blackberry]

Most clients who are currently using software will be using Sage. I admit that this may be slowly changing however if you don't have a working knowledge of Sage then you will be hugely restricting your potential client base.

Sorry but I would totally disagree with this.

Yes lots of people use sage, but there are also many people not using it in favour of cheaper, more user friendly packages that also offer better support.

There are very good packages such as Solar accounts and Quickbooks and the online packages too.

I would expect any half decent bookkeeper or accountant to be able to pick up and use any piece of software with a fair amount of competance. After all they all do the same at the end of the day, moving between different programmes shouldnt be an issue.

[Zeno]

Sorry but I would totally disagree with this.

Yes lots of people use sage, but there are also many people not using it in favour of cheaper, more user friendly packages that also offer better support.

There are very good packages such as Solar accounts and Quickbooks and the online packages too.

I would expect any half decent bookkeeper or accountant to be able to pick up and use any piece of software with a fair amount of competance. After all they all do the same at the end of the day, moving between different programmes shouldnt be an issue.

I am not trying to defend or promote Sage here (I know where that would get me...). For the past 20 years, the software available to small business has been predominantly Sage. Yes, we know have other packages (dare I say more suitable ones...) but it will be a long time before these catch up to the target market.

Packages like Solar, Kashflow etc are mainly used by clients who do their own book keeping.

I remain steadfast in my believe that a self employed book keeper will have to have a good knowledge of Sage for the significant future.

[MyAccountantOnline]

I remain steadfast in my believe that a self employed book keeper will have to have a good knowledge of Sage for the significant future.

Sadly I agree.

In my area a lot of the clients who would use a bookkeeper still use Sage so I would certainly say you'd struggle to be sucessful as a bookkeeper if you couldnt use the software.

It tends to be only the smaller clients who dont use bookkeepers who will look at other alternatives which are often much better suited to their needs.

[spencergate]

Sorry but I would totally disagree with this.

Yes lots of people use sage, but there are also many people not using it in favour of cheaper, more user friendly packages that also offer better support.

There are very good packages such as Solar accounts and Quickbooks and the online packages too.

I would expect any half decent bookkeeper or accountant to be able to pick up and use any piece of software with a fair amount of competance. After all they all do the same at the end of the day, moving between different programmes shouldnt be an issue.


I agree with you, Any bookkeeper should be able to pick up any application and get a set of accounts from it.

I currently use Sage, Quickbooks, Kashflow, Winweb(yuk) and Microsoft accounts. I cover this range because some of my clients had already started out trying to do it themselves, and I've picked up using what they started with, some clients want to deal with entering the simple stuff like Sales invoices themselves, leaving me to the more technical journals & bank recs etc.
I also support businesses who do their own bookkeeping but need a helping hand now and then. If I can support more apps, I get more clients.

Sage is only the standard because they had damned good marketing a few years back, and most accountants know the name (like hoover being the generic name of any vacuum cleaner).
But actually it's over priced, and over complicated for what it achieves, IMHO.

[Marky65]

Hi Guys
I am sorry if this sounds a bit pedantic but would it be possible to get this thread back on to my original OP being which package should I use to take my computerised ICB exam. I didn't expect it to become a debate on which package should be used to do clients accounts and which one bookkeepers should have experience in or not.
Thanks and apologies if I have offended anyone.
Mark

[spencergate]

Sorry Marky :)

I've read thru the ICB stuff, and that doesn't specify, so I guess you should use whatever you are comfortable with/can afford.

I think people here are just concerned about you future career prospects.

[MyAccountantOnline]

Hi Guys
I am sorry if this sounds a bit pedantic but would it be possible to get this thread back on to my original OP being which package should I use to take my computerised ICB exam. I didn't expect it to become a debate on which package should be used to do clients accounts and which one bookkeepers should have experience in or not.
Thanks and apologies if I have offended anyone.
Mark

I'd sadly say it has to be Sage :(

[spencergate]

Nicola, It doesn't have to be. If the ICB don't say it has to be, it doesn't have to be.

Why should Marky pay for Sage if he doesn't use it anyway.

[Mattonella Tile Studio]

The ICB exam is set up to be done with Sage. The past papers and answers have all been done using sage, the questions are worded with sage in mind, and the disk that you have to preload has been compiled with sage instructions (although I presume it must be compatible with other software if ICB don't specify).

For ease of exam I'd use sage.

[wood1e2]

Seems a bit weird to me. How can they evaluate your proficiency when there is not a standard?

You don't get tested on your ability to use one package or another, you get tested on the output.

So if the creditors/Debtors control is incorrect or the Audit trail, or the P&L or the Balance sheet then they mark you down.

I would always recommend taking manual exams, as nowing accounting fundamentals, will be more beneficial in the long run than knowing one accounting package or another.

Knowing what you want to achieve makes using an accounting softare package easier... as they are all much of a muchness...in that if you are familiar with one you can figure out others.

[MyAccountantOnline]

Nicola, It doesn't have to be. If the ICB don't say it has to be, it doesn't have to be.

Why should Marky pay for Sage if he doesn't use it anyway.

Just my opinion.

The majority of sucessful bookkeepers I see know, and use Sage, extensively, and most clients I see who employ a bookkeeper use it hence I think its wise to use/be able to use it.

Once Marky has completed his exams he can use something better.:)

[Blackberry]

My wife is ICB qualified and used Quickbooks so use whichever package your most comfortable with - your being tested on your ability to get the required reports out so as long as you can do this you'll be fine.

One thing to consider is if you intend to be a self employed bookkeeper use a package that will suit you in this role. Its all very well people saying use sage but you can only run a limited number of clients on it without it becoming very expensive.

Quickbooks or Solar on the otherhand allow you to create as many client companies as you want so you only pay out for the initial licence.

[wood1e2]

Use whichever package you fill most comfortable on. If you can't afford or don't want to buy that pacakge, down a free trail of one and use that. :)

[wood1e2]

PS I was obviously a little slow with my comment, apologise for repetition of other postings.

[Zeno]

I feel I still have not got my point across. I am not advocating that Marky or anyone else should use Sage either in his exam or practice.

I am just stating the fact that Sage is required knowledge in the book keeping game.

While I agree that the mechanics of the software packages have a lot in common, there is much specific to Sage. I am sure we have all had to sort out messes from accoutants/book keepers etc who thought they could pick it up easily?

[wood1e2]

While I agree that the mechanics of the software packages have a lot in common, there is much specific to Sage. I am sure we have all had to sort out messes from accoutants/book keepers etc who thought they could pick it up easily?

That is the problem with SAGE, has it own way of doing things!! But then that discussion is for another day :)

Sage is the market leader and until such times every sees the light, bookkeepers/accountants will have to keep using it.

[Dillan1601]

Hi Marky65
I completed the ICB computerised exams and payroll diplomaexam last year and they were in Sage software. You do not have to have the most recent version as i was asked which version i have access to and at the time it was V11.
Best wishes with your exams.

[Dillan1601]

Hi Marky65 i forgot to add that when you sit the exam you are given a disc of data to restore into your software hence why they ask which version of software you have. You are not examined on setting up the company data from scratch however you must know basics such as adding debtors, creditors, emloyees etc

[Julies bookkeeping]

Hi I took my exams last year with sage, I have versions 13 to 15, The set up was for version 12 or below, I borrowed an old version 10 instant, there are usually lots of the older versions on sale at ebay.

I used current version for the payroll, though I am sure somewhere it does say please state which version is used.

I would recommend you use which ever software you are most comfortable with and good luck

[Alison Jones]

Hi

I did the Payroll Diploma last year. Because I did not want to pay out for the up to date software I used an older version and spent a little time updating it to the right settings for the year the exam was, was really worried after sent exam in for marking if I had updated all the settings correctly, must have been ok as got 99%, it can be done the settings changed but would not recommend it if you have access to the correct version for the year your exam is based on.

For the accounts think you should use the software you are most comfortable with, most people do use Sage but it is not compulsary, it is the outcomes, the reports that are important and does not matter which software you use to produce them.

Alison

[TraceyAnn]

Hi I am a member of the ICB and have both manual and computerised bookkeeping qualifications - the computerised was with SAGE and I am currently doing the level III payroll diploma whih again is SAGE. I am a self employed bookkeeper and mainly use SAGE as well as other packages depending on the client.