A ONE day training course is being held to help small businesses in Worcestershire with their bookkeeping and accounts systems.

The event at Broadwas village hall, near Worcester on Tuesday, March 24, is being organised by Trish Gorton of Malvern-based Swift Systems Professional Organisers and will centre on the Sage 50 Accounts programme.

"By the end of the seminar candidates will understand the basic functions of Sage 50 Accounts, from navigation through to creating and amending various records, getting started with opening balances and controlling user access," said Dr Gorton. "They will also be familiar with the Sage 50 Accounts interface, setting up a package to suit their own business needs, including VAT codes, chart of accounts and their financial year, as well as understanding how to create customer and supplier accounts, set up bank accounts and customise the nominal ledger."

The course is to be taken by Worcester accountant Sharon Freeman, who will teach attendees how to install Sage 50 on their computers and instruct them on everything they need to know for the day-to-day bookkeeping of small and medium size businesses.

Dr Gorton, a member of the association of accounting technicians, added: "We will be offering a unique training day and tailor made packages and software which aren’t provided at most other Sage courses. Every candidate will be awarded a Sage certificate at the end of the day, which will demonstrate a basic understanding of the functions of Sage 50 Accounts, enough to be able to cope with the demands of running a business. From entering sales and supplier invoices to clearing them by paying and receiving money into the bank account on Sage, they will be familiar with the processes which build up their accounts ready for their year-end to be completed by your accountant."

A full and detailed description of the training course - which runs from 9.30am until 4.30pm - will be provided to candidates two days before the event. Further information from Sara Pryce on 01886 884724 or 07815096694. Two more Sage certification courses will be held later this spring, covering settings, access rights, the chart of accounts, creating customer supply records and safeguarding data.