Who this track is for
This track fits detail-oriented participants who prefer steady, structured work and want a skill that transfers across every industry and city. No accounting coursework or prior office experience is required. Bookkeeping rewards care and consistency more than charisma.
Eligibility is the same across all five Foundation programs: young adults ages 16–25 who are aging out of foster care, exiting the juvenile justice system, or otherwise disconnected from school and work. Eligible young adults can apply directly, and case managers or partner agencies can refer someone using the same form. Applicants who are not yet connected to a support agency can still apply; our team can connect them with a partner organization for wraparound support. Participants need reliable internet and a computer; the Foundation can help with equipment. Applicants who are 16 or 17 may need guardian or caseworker consent before enrollment.
Format and weekly rhythm
About 24 weeks at roughly 15–20 hours per week, deliberately below full-time so participants can keep a job or handle school, family, or housing obligations while they train. Because the program is fully online, the specific hours in a week are flexible. The weekly cadence and checkpoints are not.
A typical week includes a live or recorded lesson from the track's volunteer educator, a hands-on assignment that builds on the previous week, a short one-to-one check-in with a mentor, and time on the running project that becomes the portfolio. Educators review the work produced so far at checkpoints before the next stage builds on it, so the program is structured rather than self-paced end to end.
What you learn
Each module corresponds to a line in a typical entry-level job posting for this role. Participants get hands-on time with the categories of software used on the job, and the emphasis is on judgment about the work, not only on operating the tools.
Bookkeeping fundamentals
Debits and credits, the chart of accounts, and the monthly close, taught as the logic behind the software rather than as memorized rules.
QuickBooks Online from setup through daily use
Company setup, bank feeds, categorization, and the daily and weekly routines most U.S. small businesses that hire bookkeepers expect. Xero and Wave are covered as alternatives.
Invoicing, accounts receivable, and accounts payable
Issuing invoices, following up on late payments, and processing vendor bills so the business pays and gets paid on time.
Expense tracking and bank reconciliation
Comparing internal records against bank and credit card statements line by line to catch errors, duplicate charges, or fraud before they compound.
Payroll basics
Gross-to-net pay, withholding categories, and pay-run support. This is often the task small-business owners are most anxious to hand off correctly.
Cash-flow management and financial reporting
Producing and reading profit-and-loss statements, balance sheets, and cash-flow summaries an owner or accountant can act on.
Spreadsheets for reconciliation and reporting
Excel and Google Sheets for ad-hoc reconciliation, reporting, and the skills tests many employers give at interview.
Flagging exceptions
Software auto-categorizes most transactions now. The clerk's value is in catching what it got wrong, spotting unusual patterns, and asking the right questions.
Tools used in the track
QuickBooks Online as the primary tool, with exposure to Xero and Wave. Excel and Google Sheets for reconciliation and reporting.
How the 24 weeks are structured
Fundamentals and software
Accounting logic, QuickBooks Online setup, and the daily routines of recording and categorizing transactions. Weekly lessons from a volunteer educator with an accounting or finance background, an assignment that builds on the previous week, and a one-to-one mentor check-in.
Running a working set of books
Participants keep a full practice ledger through several monthly cycles: reconciliations, A/R and A/P workflows, payroll support, and building the three core financial statements. Educators review the books at checkpoints before the next stage builds on them.
Portfolio, skills tests, and placement
Assembling evidence of the work (a completed reconciliation, statements produced from the practice ledger, a write-up of an error found and fixed), timed QuickBooks and Excel practice tests with a mentor, and beginning job placement support. Mentorship continues after graduation.
How progress is assessed
Progress is tracked primarily through the portfolio of work a participant produces, reviewed periodically by the track's educator against the skill areas the program is meant to build. This is closer to how a manager evaluates an employee's output than to a written exam. Readiness to move toward job placement is a judgment call made jointly by the educator and mentor, based on whether the participant's work and interview readiness would hold up with an employer, not a fixed test score.
When a participant falls behind, the first step is a conversation. If the cause is a housing crisis or a new work schedule, the plan is adjusted, which may mean pausing and rejoining a later cohort. If the track is not a fit, switching tracks is an option. Repeated no-shows without contact are the one pattern the cohort model cannot work around.
Program goal and what happens after
Program goal: the ability to maintain a basic set of books and perform entry-level bookkeeping, accounting-clerk, accounts payable, or accounts receivable work.
After completing the track, graduates receive job placement support: staff and mentors help identify openings, prepare application materials, and make direct introductions to employers open to hiring an Azgari Foundation graduate. Mentors stay reachable after graduation. Some graduates also pursue freelance or contract work with mentor support; that is an optional path, not the program's aim.
Enrollment does not guarantee a job, a client, a wage, or any specific income. Individual results vary with effort, market conditions, and personal circumstances. The Foundation will publish program outcomes once a full cohort has graduated.
The job market for this role
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $50,670 (May 2025) for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Overall employment is projected to decline about 6 percent from 2025 to 2035 as software automates routine entry, while turnover still produces about 144,100 openings a year on average. Many employers hire candidates with a high school diploma plus demonstrated skills, especially at small businesses.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, occupational profile (May 2025 wage data; 2025–2035 projections). Median wages describe the whole occupation, including experienced workers, and are cited as context, not as an expected starting wage for a graduate.
Questions about this track
Do I need an accounting degree or prior experience?
No. The program is built for people without prior bookkeeping experience or a college degree, and starts from the fundamentals.
Which software will I learn?
QuickBooks Online is the core, since it is what most U.S. small businesses that hire for bookkeeping use. Xero and Wave are covered so the concepts transfer.
What kinds of employers hire graduates?
Small businesses, outsourced bookkeeping firms, nonprofits, and property management companies all post entry-level bookkeeping openings. Postings may be titled bookkeeper, accounting clerk, A/P or A/R specialist, billing clerk, or junior accountant.
Is the program free?
Yes. Azgari Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 41-2896092), and every track is tuition-free for accepted participants.
Read more in Bookkeeping: the quiet career with 144,000 openings a year and how the five tracks work.