Top 10 Bookkeeping Books [Updated 2021]
Bookkeeping is the art of recording, storing, and retrieving financial affairs of an individual, company, or a non-profit organization. Below is the list of books for bookkeeping to read in 2021 –
- Bookkeeping All-In-One For Dummies ( Get this book )
- Alpha Teach Yourself Bookkeeping in 24 Hours ( Get this book )
- E to Z Bookkeeping (Barron’s E-Z Series) ( Get this book )
- Full Charge Bookkeeping, HOME STUDY COURSE EDITION ( Get this book )
- Bookkeeping Made Simple: A Practical, Easy-to-Use Guide to the Basics of Financial Management ( Get this book )
- Keeping the Books: Basic Recordkeeping and Accounting for Small Business ( Get this book )
- Bookkeeping the Easy Way (Easy Way Series) ( Get this book )
- Bookkeeping Essentials: How to Succeed as a Bookkeeper ( Get this book )
- Bookkeeping Basics: What Every Nonprofit Bookkeeper Needs to Know ( Get this book )
- The E-Myth Bookkeeper ( Get this book )
Let us discuss each of the bookkeeping books in detail along with its key takeaways and reviews.
#1 – Bookkeeping All-In-One For Dummies
by Lita Epstein
If you are new to bookkeeping, this is exactly what you need.
Book Review:
This book is a combination of 5 books on Bookkeeping – bookkeeping for dummies, bookkeeping kit for dummies, accounting for dummies, reading financial reports for dummies, and accounting workbook for dummies. So you can use this book as a textbook, and you will also learn the basics of accounting. The best part of this book is it is very lucidly written, and there is no technical jargon that will veer you off from your task of self-learning. Many readers who have gone through this book have mentioned that this book is the thing they were searching for. In over 550 pages, this book teaches the readers the lessons they need to learn in bookkeeping with many, many references and illustrations.
Key Takeaways
- This book will teach you fundamentals. That’s why this book is written with the average reader in mind, and the author has taken a detailed approach to explain each concept.
- You will not only learn to deal with your daily finances, but you will also learn about double-entry bookkeeping, managing your taxes, reporting profits, making sense of financial statements, and so on, and so forth.
- This book is the ultimate textbook in bookkeeping.
#2 – Alpha Teach Yourself Bookkeeping in 24 Hours
by Carol Costa
Well, no, you will not learn all of it in a day, but if you keep reading and implementing what you learn from this book, you will be good enough in few short days.
Book Review:
The best part of this book is its arrangement. Now, there are many books in the market. But to appeal to someone who knows nothing about bookkeeping isn’t easy. This book is arranged in a logical order so that you never get confused about the “how” and “why” of bookkeeping. This book is also very comprehensive, keeping in mind the average reader. Every chapter is written in so much detail that one would take around 1.5-2 hours to cover up. And after reading each chapter, you can literally put the lessons into practice and start taking care of your books immediately.
Key Takeaways
- If you want to learn bookkeeping all by yourself, this is the book you should start with. This book is just 368 pages and, at the same time, very comprehensive. This is a perfect book for small business owners.
- If you want to train your staff (who is unaware of how to manage your books, if at all), present her this book and you will save up a lot of costs on training. This book is easy to read and perfect for DIY people.
#3 – E to Z Bookkeeping (Barron’s E-Z Series)
by Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Wallace W. Kravitz
This book can be a good refresher if you already know bookkeeping.
Book Review:
This book can work as a great supplement to any textbook you choose. It is not very comprehensive, but it only highlights the most important snippets of bookkeeping, which you need to use on a daily basis. The best part is this book doesn’t only talk about significant concepts; it also uses lots of examples and loads of useful problems. This book is not written like an instruction manual; rather, this book is written as a workbook to use and implement all that you learn in this book. The only pitfall of this book is a few answers are given wrong. The author/editor needs to look at them to make this book completely error-free and easily digestible.
4.9 (1,067 ratings) 250+ Courses | 40+ Projects | 1000+ Hours | Full Lifetime Access | Certificate of Completion
Key Takeaways
- In this book, you will learn about the journal, ledger, financial statements, special journal entries, and how to apply bookkeeping fundamentals in business scenarios.
- This book also comes up with quizzes at the end of each chapter which helps you judge how much you have learned and assists you in handling bookkeeping in business functions.
#4 – Full Charge Bookkeeping, HOME STUDY COURSE EDITION
by Nick J. DeCandia CPA
If you want to read a bookkeeping manual without putting in a lot of hours, this book is for you.
Book Review:
This book acts as a bridge between bookkeeping knowledge and bookkeeping functions in a job. If you want to be hired for a bookkeeping job, read this book, apply its lessons, and the job would become much easier for you. But this book is not a textbook, and you will be disappointed if you want that sort of comprehensive detail of every concept. So read this book once you are thorough with all the bookkeeping concepts. As per the readers, this book is also not for advanced bookkeepers. It’s for those who have knowledge in bookkeeping and who are at beginner or intermediate level. However, this book does a good job and provides many forms, schedules, and a brief overview of every topic.
Key Takeaways
- This book provides checklists like “new job checklists,” “master calendar,” etc. and also all forms a bookkeeper would need while maintaining the books of a company.
- This book is organized in a proper way – the first 112 pages are arranged to include bookkeeping concepts and appendices, the next 40 pages are kept for study outline, and the final 20 pages are articulated to test the readers on the concepts. This book is short and serves the purpose of learning and applying professional bookkeeping.
#5 – Bookkeeping Made Simple: A Practical, Easy-to-Use Guide to the Basics of Financial Management
by David A. Flannery
If you’re scared of numbers, this book will aid you in understanding bookkeeping.
Book Review:
This textbook on bookkeeping is approached from a different point of view. It will teach you bookkeeping in a way so that you can understand the basics of financial management. This book has received mixed reviews. The main pitfall of this book is “typos” and “wrong answers.” But still, this book is a good book for people who would like to understand the basics and ease their way up to financial management. This book should be read as a supplementary and not as a textbook. The author has good ideas about bookkeeping and financial management, but the layout should be improved. This book will teach you a complete accounting cycle, and it is comprehensive enough to master math in bookkeeping and accounting.
Also, check out this – Learn Basic Accounting in Less than 1 Hour.
Key Takeaways
- You will learn about assets, equities, journal entries, adjustments in accounts, preparing financial statements, petty cash statements, payroll, partnership, and finally, how to close the books.
- Many teachers have used this book as their textbook and created practice tests for their students. This book is pretty good in terms of representation of fundamentals, but it is still recommended as a reference book.
#6 – Keeping the Books: Basic Recordkeeping and Accounting for Small Business
by Linda Pinson
As the title suggests, this book is perfect for small business owners.
Book Review:
If you are looking for a book for your start-up/small business, grab this book and start learning. This book will teach you step-by-step on how to keep books without being too bogged down. This book is not for advanced bookkeepers and specially written for those who need to help in learning bookkeeping from scratch. From the first chapter to last, it will handhold you and will show you basic journal entries, ledger entries and teach you the basic bookkeeping system. However, you can’t expect too much from this book. You will not learn much about finance/accounting here. This book is an introductory course just for people who have no ideas about bookkeeping/accounting.
Key Takeaways
- This book is not only useful for small businesses, as an individual, but you can also read this book and teach yourself basic bookkeeping.
- The scope of the book is limited; that’s why it’s focused on delivery. From preparing journals, ledger, analyzing financial statements to setting up a bookkeeping system, planning for taxes, you will learn all the basics you need to learn. Plus, you will also get a fundamental knowledge in cash accounting, accrual accounting, and independent contracting along many work-sheets, forms, and formats.
#7 – Bookkeeping the Easy Way (Easy Way Series)
by Wallace W. Kravitz
Amid the many “how-to-do-bookkeeping,” this one stands out.
Book Review:
How a beginner learns better? When she is presented with short lessons, easy to understand language, and a way to implement immediately what she has been learning. This book will do exactly that. Written in short chapters, this book will teach you the double-entry bookkeeping system like no other in the market. Before you ever use Quickbooks software, this book is a must. Without understanding fundamentals, no software will be able to help you. This book also covers topics like merchandising/retailing, which makes it more comprehensive. If you want to learn the fundamentals of bookkeeping, this book is a must-read.
Key Takeaways
- This book is not only applicable for beginners; you can also read through this book if you know bookkeeping and want to use this book as a refresher course.
- This book is not only recommended by accounting/bookkeeping professionals but also CPAs and business owners who often need to train their subordinates in bookkeeping.
- This book can be a perfect partner if you take a class and use this book as a textbook.
#8 – Bookkeeping Essentials: How to Succeed as a Bookkeeper
by Steven M. Bragg
It’s not a book for the beginner, but for those who are already practising bookkeeping professionally.
Book Review:
So if you are a beginner, do not start with this book. However, if you are an integral part of a team and doing bookkeeping on a regular basis, then this is the book that can guide you and help you become a better book-keeper. Every bookkeeper knows the feeling of being compared with a data entry operator. This book will help you understand your tasks and make you feel important about your job. This is an excellent book if you want to go to an advanced level and understand the pros and cons of bookkeeping. Readers have not only liked this book so much, but they also use this book for reference and for creating SOP manuals.
Key Takeaways
- You will not only learn the rules of thumbs that you can apply quickly, but you will also learn practical techniques to analyze, evaluate, and solve daily issues in bookkeeping and accounting.
- In this age of constant change, this book will help you pinpoint what you should look for, what to solve, and how to solve them.
- Along with that you will get loads of examples, ratios, charts and explanations.
#9 – Bookkeeping Basics: What Every Nonprofit Bookkeeper Needs to Know
by Debra L. Ruegg & Lisa M. Venkatrathnam
If you want to learn “bookkeeping for non-profits”, this book should be the first book you should read.
Book Review:
There are very few books on non-profit bookkeeping. But among all, this book stands out. According to the readers of this book, it is a great resource for people who don’t have any background in bookkeeping/accounting and who would like to start/run a small non-profit. With the use of this book, you can set up a bookkeeping system and solve all of your bookkeeping issues. Moreover, this book is written in a very lucid language, and the concepts are chunked down in smaller parts so that you can understand better. This book will also help you if you apply for a position in a non-profit as a bookkeeper. Just read this book, learn the concepts, and start applying what you learn. You will be good to go.
Key Takeaways
- Many non-profits don’t have the funds to hire a trained bookkeeper to take care of their books. This book will save you cost and teach you how you can take care of your books in your spare time.
- Along with fundamentals and concepts, you will also receive accounts receivable and accounts payable register, general ledger & financial summary form, and also grant tracking form.
- This book is pretty short compared to other bookkeeping books for non-profits. It is just 128 pages, and you can read it as you go along and apply what you learn when you have time.
#10 – The E-Myth Bookkeeper
by Michael E. Gerber, Roberts Debbie, and Peter Cook
This book will teach you how to start a bookkeeping business without any hassle.
Book Review:
Till now, we have only looked at books that allow you to be good at bookkeeping. But this book is different. This book will teach you how to start a bookkeeping business if you are interested. Readers have mentioned that this book is the most practical book for self-employed bookkeepers. This book has outlined a system for building a bookkeeping practice from scratch. And you can read this book in two ways. First, you can read it as a textbook, reading, highlighting the important areas, and implementing the most relevant ideas. Second, you can read it as a reference system. You can read a chapter, implement the ideas, and then go back, read another chapter, and do the same. No matter whatever method you choose to read the book, this book is an invaluable resource to build a bookkeeping business from the start.
Key Takeaways
- This book is a comprehensive guide on bookkeeping practice. If you read one book on bookkeeping practice, this is it.
- This top bookkeeping book is very easy to read. And it is full of practical advice. The authors are experts in the field and know what they’re talking about.
- With this book, you can take your bookkeeping business to its next level. Read this book as your go-to-guide and implement all that you learn. And you will see that your bookkeeping business is thriving within months.
Among these 10 bookkeeping books, you can pick up any book that you like. But if you are new to bookkeeping, start with the basic books that we have mentioned. Otherwise, you can start reading any advanced or focused books from the above list. Learning is pretty easy when you have the right resources. Don’t you think?
<< Get this book >>
Other Recommended Books
- Bookkeeping Careers
- Accounting Books for Beginners
- Top 10 Books of Data Analytics
- How to Create Bookkeeping in Excel?
AMAZON ASSOCIATE DISCLOSURE
WallStreetMojo is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
