How Lily Started Her Bookkeeping Career

How Lily Started Her Bookkeeping Career

Lily left school and wanted to go straight into the world of work. She found that bookkeeping was the right fit for her and started studying our ICB Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping.

ICB award winner and Feefo Platinum Award winner

“My name is Lily Paterson and I’m 18 years old, I left school at 16 as I knew I didn’t want to go to University, so going straight into a job seemed like a better option for me.

I had already achieved good grades, and enough highers that if I did change my mind in a few years’ time, I could change my mind and go into University.

I went to work for a Hotel management company in their accounts department which is what got me started with bookkeeping and where I first met Fiona (my current employer).

Lily

Fiona left the management company a few months after I started. Then, after 8 Months of working there I decided it wasn’t the right place for me. Although I enjoyed the work, it became too much pressure as I had never worked full time in that kind of environment before. From there I contacted Fiona and I started to work with her at ‘Shed Accounts’ on a temporary basis.

I was planning to spend the summer in Italy working as an au pair and travelling, however I decided that travelling alone wasn’t quite right for me.  I’ve always been a nervous flyer but after having a scary experience when going on holiday with friends just a few weeks beforehand, I decided I definitely wasn’t ready to do that alone!

‘I jumped at the chance to join Shed Accounts and to study ICB’

Fiona then offered me a permanent position at Shed Accounts and the chance to study with ICB, so I jumped at the chance. I’ve now I’ve been there for just over a year it was just like fate…

Bookkeeping is something I just kind of fell in to; I’d never even heard of it until I got my first job where I learnt how to do it on the job, but it just fits perfectly for me. In school I’d always enjoyed, and been good at Maths and Business Management, especially finances so now I’m doing a mix of that every day and learning more and more.

‘Tutors would reply quickly so I was never stuck’

Once I started permanently at ‘Shed Accounts’ I was offered the chance to do the Level 2 certification of accounts and bookkeeping to become qualified and become an associate member of the ICB to help my understanding of the job. I did this through Training Link and it was really easy to get through with it being all online and just in my own time. The tutors were also a really great help as that’s something I had never really experienced before, and I found it super useful having someone I could always ask even the smallest of questions and they’d reply quickly so I was never stuck (which is something that might have put me off in the past).

Now it’s time to study payroll too!

Going forward, I’ve started studying to get my Payroll Diploma so I have more skills to offer. In the future I hope to become a full member of the ICB and to further my knowledge of the industry as a whole.

Fiona has a lot of experience so is a great mentor; we’re always signing up for courses or webinars to expand our knowledge and keep up to date with any changes – Continued Professional Development is really important at Shed Accounts!

Shed Accounts is a small practice in the Highlands of Scotland offering bookkeeping and payroll services. We enjoy working remotely but are happy to go to places of work initially for consultations and intermittently where required, as we like to help each individual client in the way that best suits them.

Based in Inverlochy, Fort William, we pride ourselves on building excellent client/bookkeeper relationships and are available to support you and your business with bookkeeping and payroll. AML regulated bookkeeping practice, Licensed by The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.

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ICB Self-Employed Package

Perfect if you want to work as a self-employed bookkeeper. When you pass the exams you can apply for your ICB Practice Licence.

  • ICB Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping
  • ICB Level 3 Certificate in Bookkeeping
  • ICB Level 3 Diploma in Payroll Management
  • ICB Level 4 Self-Assessment Tax Returns

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