Manual levels I & II - The Book-keepers Forum (UK)

tina · Member

Manual levels I & II

kjmcculloch · Guru

Tina,

Take a look at 'Business Accounts' by David Cox. It has everything you need to get you through level 1 and 2 including lots of question and answer sessions.

There's a copy on ebay here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Business-Accounts-Osborne-Business-By-Cox-David_W0QQitemZ390102022545QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Fiction_Books?hash=item5ad3e47991&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_1254wt_960

Kris

tina · Member

Hi Kris

Thanks for the info, just looked on ebay, r u sure that is all i'll need, it's not that i'm completely useless, a bit dissapointed with only getting 94% on comp level II, especially considering what i know some have got on this forum, just find it hard to believe that 1 book can do what some distance learning colleges plus others have said about needing to pay for 6 lessons with assignments to do and a tutor to phone or email for help and the £200+ fee. Can this really get me good results on manual exam level I & II.

Thanks

Tina

Alison · Senior Member

Hi Tina

94% Merit on ICB exams is very good, you should not be disappointed, think you were only 1% away from a distinction (if it is still the same as 2008 I got 95% Distinction on my level 2 computerised and 94% Merit on my level 3 computerised (took the exam a month apart).

I too think Business Accounts by David Cox is good (I used this when I was planning on taking the level 3 manual ICB, I had bought the course from Ideal School and there were some things in the course I understood better from the Business Accounts book then the coursework lessons provided by Ideal School - I never got passed the 2nd lesson because by that point I was doing it decided to change to IAB instead.

Alison

gazal · Veteran Member

Hi Tina
I have been tutoring in bookkeeping for many years and off the shelf books are cheap but do not follow any particular path. If you prefer to just buy a book I would strongly suggest a manual which has been aproved by the awarding body. This way you know that it maps to the exam and qualification. The ICB exam now includes data protection and money laundering so I doubt a book off the shelf would cover this.
If you need tutor support then by all means sign up with a training provider but the two names you have mentioned are complete opposites. HLC will charge double the price for the same course available from companies like Training link, Ideal Schools or kaplan because they use sales representatives to visit your home, and they have to be paid along with the marketing team. There is a list of approved providers available on the ICB web site in the where to study section, plus the Kaplan book is available to purchase for around £25.
When checking out providers watch out for the hidden costs. Make sure exam fees, mock exams and even p&p is included. You would also need to check out what hours the tutors work and if they are full time plus what sort of pass rate they achieve with the exams.
Good luck with your studies.

gazal · Veteran Member

Hi Alison
Ideal Schools use the same workbooks for ICB and IAB whch can cause problems. I have heard that the courseware and support is not too good.

Alison · Senior Member

Hi Gazal

I was thinking about using Ideal Schools for IAB - they were helpful when I asked questions, but I did find the coursework a little confusing so maybe I will find a different company for the IAB but thought it might just be me being thick, but if you heard that the coursework not too good it might be Ideal school not writing it clearly.

Thanks

Alison

tina · Member

Hi all

Thanks for your responses, am not sure what to do now, not saying I neccessarily need tutor support, I suppose i could ask some of you on the forum if i get stuck, you all seem to be so helpful and supportive. I do need a course which will give me an ICB qualification. Have looked on the ICB website, so many providers! Would the Kaplan book be able to give me good grade on level I & II manual, and yes Alison, only 1 mark away form distinction still, higher would still of been nice though.

Tina

gazal · Veteran Member

Hi Tina

tina · Member

Hi gazal

From personal experience would you reccomend using to study manual levels I & II for the ICB

Tina

Terri · Senior Member

I studied manual level 1 and 2 and computerised level 2 through a distance learning provider (one which I wouldn't recommend to others as it was expensive and the material isn't very good) . I am starting to study my level 3 using the ICB recommended Kaplan text book and see how I get on with that. If I feel that I need more support then I am going to study via Ideal Schools as four or five people have recommended them to me. With me, studying via distance learning and getting feedback from a tutor has helped my confidence and I feel that if I had just used the Kaplan books I would have struggled with confidence having no one to tell me that I was doing it right. It is a personal decision.

By the way, I got 94% for my computerised level 2 also and I was a little gutted and it is a shame that we don't get to find out where we lost the marks. Still a pass is a pass and you should be proud of yourself

Terri

gazal · Veteran Member

Hi Tina
The Kaplan book has been approved by ICB and it is the same book used by Kaplan for their courses.
If you do need a tutor that will answer your questions daytime, evenings and weekends and an all inclusive package Training Link are streets ahead of the listed providers, and also have a price promise plus free retakes on exams. I provide support for tutors and also train them up so I do get a lot of feedback.
Have a look at them but alternatively the Kaplan book should get you through with a bit of extra work.
Training Link use a dedicated web site for Sage and ICB Bookkeeping courses and are the only provider using Sage 50 Accounts Pro for the ICB Computerised Bookkeeping courses and Sage 50 Payroll Pro for the ICB Payroll Management Diploma. All the others use Sage Instant Accounts and Payroll which is of no use to a professional Bookkeeper.
www.book-keeping-courses.co.uk

Not sure of the url for Kaplan Publishing as I have never used them but you could Google it.

tina · Member

Hi Terri

I also think its a shame not to know where we lost the marks, might of been useful to find out for future reference. Still trying to decide best route/course to take, thanks for advice.

Tina

tina · Member

Hi gazal

When you say the Kaplan book should get me through with a bit of extra work do you mean looking things up & asking members of this forum or help & advice!

Tina

gazal · Veteran Member

Hi Terri
ICB will give you feedback on your exam but they charge £20 for it, so although you are thinking correctly that you need to know where you went wrong is it worth £20? Marks can be lost for not putting the details in for a transaction, for example when dealing with wages you need to enter what the payments are for as well as using the correct nominal. Nominal codes are also a big area where marks are lost. Writing off a bad debt is common because most students make an adjustment for the VAT where this should not be done until agreemant has been reached with HMRC. Bank Rec is also a problem where students show transactions after the statement date. I have marked that many assignments on this I could spend all day writing about it.