Bookkeeping Classes - Hands On Learning

As mentioned on the Home Page, the testimonials found on the ZAP Accounting Software Website represent the experiences and opinions of "The Great Guinea Pigs".

Most of you will never imagine how much time many of them spent helping with the full development of the ZAP Accounting Software template and the educational material.

The Great Guinea Pigs were not the only people who were approached to try the software.

A comparable amount of people who need it dearly were approached, but they simply wouldn't allow their hands to play with the keyboard before their brains "understood why" it was the Panacea they truly needed.

With them we'd start out with words and understanding as we did with the rest, but we could never find a good place to shift to the keyboard for an experience.

As they verbally dug we had responses to all their questions, but we could never get them to shift from the mental plane to the physical experience that would "show them" that which only experience provides.

If the prospects wanted to talk more before touching the keyboard, it seemed as if they wanted to dig until they could find a feeling of overwhelm or a perceived flaw they could use to satisfy a "make no progress" contract.

Trying to "convince the mind" that a spreadsheet template can beat out a multi-billion $ software company with a 40 year head start is a waste of time.

Hands on Learning is a Recipe for Success!

The people who are willing to invest 30 to 60 minutes of hands on time with the software with a trusted coach after a 20 to 30 minute intro chat did the best. Any more than 20-30 minutes of intro dialogue and it became more of a mental exercise that slowed or even blocked the positive learning process.
In under 30 seconds the users can have a functional file template open in read only in a browser with a full years worth of demo data available for review. This is done with their hands on a keyboard and a coach telling them what to type and click to get to the Bookkeeping Software Landing Page on the ZAP website. The ability for the user to go from putting their hands on a keyboard to looking at a populated file template in under 30 seconds with no logins required seemed to surprise many of them in a positive way and their ears had to be open to get the job done for step 1.
A 2 to 4 minute skim through the demo-data-populated-file with a coaches guidance to avoid deep diving is recommended No more than 2 to 4 minutes. The goal is to get them engaged with the software in a direction that will lead towards using the file for their own use. They can come back to the demo file later for a lot more mental stimulation and learning.
Shifting the users from observer to participant by asking them to go through the file download and script file connection process helped get them into the flow of following directions easily. The download and connection process is relatively straight forward but not remotely intuitive. Few if any will have any experience with the process so they will all need detailed, click by click instructions to skate through this part with ease. It was a bit surprising how many "non-programmers" were interested in seeing the script file and pondering the idea they might be able to learn a bit about coding.
During the file download and connection process there is an "authentication process" which can raise concerns about privacy. This is where a "trusted coach" comes in. Now is not the time to stop and discuss the privacy systems related to this. There is plenty of written material and a few videos which go into that in detail which can be reviewed later.
Making proper file copies and giving files various names seemed to be a good introduction to the organization required to manage DIY Software. This was included and skipped in various introductions. Taking the time to include it without a lot of explanation seemed to be the best. It let them know there was some organizational overhead required but no deep dives into the what's and why's. Naming files but omitting the relocation of files to various folders seemed to work best. That got overly complex.
Allowing for another 2-4 minute file skim here was good. This time you will be telling them what data they are going to remove to make the file their own.
Requiring the new users to remove the existing demo data is critical to rapid learning. If there was a button that did this (which could be created), much learning would be lost. Most will learn subtle and important keystroke moves during this process with a good coach.
The ability to retrieve, download and configure the file for their own banking data, presuming they have some, really connected them with the potential to ease their bookkeeping stress. The initial download and configuration process for the raw Transactions worksheets takes the longest, but they all pickup on the cell mapping quickly. Sometimes taking over the keyboard and allowing them to watch the cell mapping is needed to keep the flow going. This is the part that will be the toughest to manage in a group class.
Once their own data for checking account or a credit card is entered into the statements worksheet and the journal, allowing them to see the lights turn on the statements page and allowing them to categorize a few transactions so they can view an income statement quickly is key.

From there it's time for a break for the day and a summary wrap up conversation.

They got a good glimpse of it all and most of them are already over the confusion curve. They all realize it will take a bit of time to master, but they feel comfortable with the process and the solution.

Before the Balance Sheet, this was the end of the training period and they were all really off and running easily with little additional support. After the Balance Sheet was added, it required two to three times mroe educational time to get them fully configured and up to speed, BUT everyone who took the time to do it got it with clarity.