Learn how to use balance sheets to control your personal finances in this free online basic accounting course.

This course lays out the basic features that define a balance sheet. We then explain its purpose and show you how to balance one. A balance sheet is a basic accounting tool used to calculate how much cash, assets and liabilities are currently in our accounts. It is a very useful mechanism used to control both personal finances and business accounts.

Anybody who wants to stretch money to go further should know how to work through a basic balance sheet as they are an excellent way to summarize your personal finances before making decisions. We use examples of balance sheets to compare case studies of buying a house to renting one before delving into topics such as assets, liabilities, equity and ‘marking to market’ (MTM).

This basic accounting course is of interest to anyone who wants to learn about balance sheets and how to use them to organize their personal or small business finances. Balance sheets are particularly important when deciding to invest in property or take out a loan so sign up to take tighter control of your money and future.