At Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, Canada, Basic Elements of Bookkeeping Certificate is offered as a certificate in Accounting programme. The programme runs for 7 months, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English.
At a glance
Degree:Certificate
Field:Accounting
Duration: 7 months
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
We have no tuition fees on record for this programme yet.
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Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Basic Elements of Bookkeeping Certificate is a part-time, non-credit program delivered entirely online over approximately seven months through VIU's Cowichan campus continuing education division. The self-paced, asynchronous format combines weekly assignments with a final project, and students must achieve a minimum grade to earn the certificate. Coursework builds foundational bookkeeping knowledge progressively, covering journalizing transactions and posting to ledgers, preparing financial statements and year-end adjustments, calculating sales tax and payroll, and handling merchandising, manufacturing, partnership, and corporate accounting scenarios, along with inventory management and asset disposal. Later in the program, students gain practical experience with computerized accounting tools, including Sage 50 Accounting and QuickBooks Online. No prior bookkeeping experience is required to begin the foundational units, though the computerized accounting components carry their own prerequisites. The program suits small business owners, staff of non-profit organizations, and employees looking to upgrade their job skills, offering a practical, flexible route to bookkeeping competency without requiring in-person attendance.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: VIU's Cowichan campus publishes no formal admission requirement for the Basic Elements of Bookkeeping certificate as a whole; entry is set course by course. Basic Elements of Bookkeeping Levels 1 and 2 state plainly that "no bookkeeping experience is required." The SAGE 50 Accounting Level 1 and QuickBooks Online Level 1 courses ask for Computer Basics or equivalent, keyboarding skills, and some prior bookkeeping experience, and recommend completing Basic Bookkeeping Levels 1 and 2 first; students who have not taken those courses must instead provide proof of prior bookkeeping experience and get instructor approval before enrolling. No English-language test score is published for this program, and no interview, portfolio or age condition is stated on the page.
Application Details
Start Date:Fall and Spring
Application Deadline:Domestic (Canadian) applicants apply through EducationPlannerBC; Vancouver Island University sets no institution-wide equal-consideration date, and its admissions FAQ states deadlines vary by programme, with applications for most academic programmes opening 1 October in the year before a September start. VIU publishes no general closing date for that window; applicants are directed to each programme's own page for its own deadline. International applicants use the same portal; VIU publishes no international-specific institution-wide date either, and several health programmes (Practical Nursing, Nursing Unit Assistant) are stated as not currently open to international students. Each programme's own page carries its own Start Date, Deadlines, and Additional Application Details table for the 2026-27 cycle, and admission for programmes without a stated window is treated as ongoing/rolling until the intake fills. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
