50+ Software Certifications You Can Get as an Accounting Professional – Accountants Accelerator

It’s not enough for accounting professionals to simply know their debits and credits. Having a deep knowledge of accounting software is also required, and software certifications help to measure that skill in individuals to some degree.

Software certifications serve a couple major purposes: they help educate accountants on the software they use, and they can help clients determine which accountants have invested time in training and passed a certain level of knowledge.

There are dozens of accounting software certifications to choose from, depending on your job or client requirements. We’ve listed all of the ones we know below and grouped them into two major areas: core accounting systems and all others.

Accounting software certifications (Core systems)

1. Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor
2. Advanced Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor
3. Certified QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor
4. Advanced Certified QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor
5. Certified QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions ProAdvisor
6. Certified QuickBooks Point of Sale ProAdvisor

Intuit offers several software certifications for its QuickBooks product line of software applications. For its two main QuickBooks options, Online and Desktop, it offers certifications at two levels, including Advanced. Free training in many forms – self-study videos, webinars, and live classroom training in selected cities — is provided for all certifications. Each certification requires an 80% pass rate on an exam.

QuickBooks Online certifications are here: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants/training-certification/

QuickBooks Desktop certifications are here: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/accountants/desktop-training-certification/

7. Xero Certified Advisor
8. Xero Payroll Certification
9. Xero Migration Certification

Xero offers three certifications on its software. The first one is the core certification which covers skills in the main product. A Payroll certification is offered covering the payroll product, and the Migration certification demonstrates expertise in choosing the right conversion tools and methods to bring new clients onto Xero from another software.
https://www.xero.com/us/partner-programs/partners/partner-education/certifications/

10. Zoho Books Advisor

Zoho Books Advisor program is tied in with being a reseller for them. Find out more about Zoho Books Advisor here: https://www.zoho.com/us/books/accountant/

11. Sage 50 Accounting—Canadian Edition Certifications
12. Sage 50—U.S. Edition Certifications
13. Sage 50cloud Accounts Certification
14. And dozens more

Sage not only has certifications for each of its products, it also has multiple levels of certifications for each one, ranging from level 1 – User to Level 4 – Application Specialist. In addition, some of the more complex packages have several specialist certifications available.

http://sageu.com/en-us/home.html

15. Intacct Accounting Specialist
16. Intacct Implementation Specialist

Sage Intacct software provides two certifications. They are only available to Sage Intacct partners.
https://www.sageintacct.com/become-partner

17. NetSuite Administrator Certifications
18. NetSuite User Certifications

Oracle NetSuite offers five certifications for NetSuite Administrators and two certifications for Users.
http://www.netsuite.com/portal/services/training/suite-training/certification.shtml

19. SAP Certifications

SAP offers several certifications for its software components, including ERP and finance software certifications. This page shows all SAP certifications, some of which are not relevant for accounting. https://www.sap.com/training-certification/certificate.html

20. Deltek Certifications

Deltek offers a couple of certifications for its ERP software, but there wasn’t much information about them on their site. I suspect you need the software license first; then you will have access to the certification and training.
https://www.deltek.com/en/learn/blogs/talent-management/2017/08/3-minute-read-validating-product-expertise-through-certification

Did I miss any other core accounting software? Let me know in the comments below.

Accounting software certifications (Apps)

21. Bill.com Expert Certification
22. Bill.com Guru Certification

The Bill.com Expert Certification is seven hours of software training with CPE. The Bill.com Guru Certification is available to Bill.com Accountant Program Members and has you focus more on the practice management side of offering Bill.com with planning and marketing content.
https://www.bill.com/for-accountants/training/

23. Certified Associate – Expense Administrator
24. Certified Professional – Expense Configuration
SAP Concur offers two levels of certification for Concur users. You can find out more here.

http://www.concurtraining.com/certification

25. Certified Receipt Bank Partner

For accountants using Receipt Bank, there is training that leads to a certification.

26. Hubdoc Advanced Certification
27. Hubdoc ProAdvisor Certification
28. Hubdoc-Xero Partner Certification
29. Hubdoc-Bill.com Guru
30. Hubdoc QBO MasterClass

Hubdoc offers five certifications depending on how you use their technology. Each one consists of videos and exams and takes less than one hour to complete. Sign up here:

https://learn.hubdoc.com/

31. TSheets Certified PRO

TSheets provides accountants with a TSheets PRO designation. The course is a series of videos and short exams that you can do on your own time.
https://blog.tsheets.com/2018/accountants-bookkeepers/certified-tsheetspro

32. Certified A/R Automation Advisor

InvoiceSherpa offers the above certification after you join their partner program.
https://www.invoicesherpa.com/partner.html

33. Expert Advisor Live Plan

Live Plan offers an Expert Advisor certification. In addition to watching webinars and competing an exam, it also requires you to set the software and renew your certification annually. Expert Advisors get listed in a directory, so there are marketing benefits too.
https://www.liveplan.com/strategic-advisors/certification

34. CashFlowTool Certification

Finagraph offers the FCA which test on both the software and a knowledge of financial ratios and what action to take based on their values. There is a study guide, videos, and a 20-questions exam.
https://www.cashflowtool.com/training

35. Acctivate Consulting Partner Program and Certification

Members of the Acctivate Consulting Partner Program are certified by means of a multi-tier educational program. This certification process is administered using several delivery methods: remote training, live training, and “hands-on” practical experience. Acctivate is an inventory management system.
https://help.acctivate.com/start/planning/

36. Certified Customization Consultant

Method CRM is a CRM system that connects with QuickBooks as well as an engine that can be customized and integrated with other systems. You have to become a Method Partner before you can get certified.
https://www.method.me/partners/program-details/

37. Plooto Certified Pro

Plooto, which is a payment system, offers the Plooto Certified Pro, a 30-minute online training.
https://www.plooto.com/promotion/certified-pro

38. Basic User Certification
39. Guru Certification

AeroWorkflow offers two levels of certifications. The first one takes 2-3 hours and the second one takes 5-6 hours. AeroWorkflow is a practice management system.
https://www.aerocertify.me/

40. ProfitCents University Certified Advisor

Sageworks offers the ProfitCents product which is a benchmarking and financial dashboard tool. Their ProfitCents University offers a Certified Advisor designation.

https://www.sageworks.com/business-advising/ProfitCents-University/

41. Funding Gates Certification

Finding Gates is an A/R collections app. Certification is 4 hours with CPE and the only one I saw a price tag on of a whopping $899.
https://www.fundinggates.com/partners/certification/

42. Clio Certified Consultant

Clio is practice management software for law firms. You must be part of their partner program before attaining the certification.
https://www.clio.com/partnerships/certified-consultants/

43. CosmoLex Accounting Partners
44. CosmoLex Certified Consultants
45. CosmoLex Migration Partners