Financial Literacy and Record-Keeping for MSMEs
Keep simple records, read your own numbers, price for profit, manage cash and credit, and deal with lenders and GRA with confidence.
What you'll learn
- Separate business and personal money and pay yourself a fixed allowance
- Keep a cash book, sales and purchases records and check them against receipts and mobile money statements
- Read and prepare a simple income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement
- Cost a product properly, set a profitable price and calculate your break-even point
- Build a three-month cash flow forecast and act on the shortfalls it shows
- Manage debtors, creditors, stock and working capital so cash does not get trapped
- Compare loan offers by working out the real cost of flat and reducing balance interest
- Register with GRA, understand the main taxes a small business meets and keep the records that support them
Who this course is for
- Owners of micro, small and medium businesses who want to understand their own numbers
- Market traders, artisans, food processors and service providers preparing to apply for a loan
- Managers and family members who keep the books in a small business
- Start-up founders who want good money habits from the first day
- Business advisers and NGO staff who support MSMEs
Course content
8 sections · 42 lessons · 7h 12mStart here: welcome to Financial Literacy and Record-Keeping for MSMEs 3 lessons · 15 min
Module 1: Your money, the business's money and why records matter 6 lessons · 53 min
Module 2: Basic bookkeeping that fits a busy day 6 lessons · 59 min
Module 3: Reading your own numbers 6 lessons · 57 min
Module 4: Costing, pricing and break-even 6 lessons · 1h 2m
Module 5: Managing cash, credit and working capital 6 lessons · 1h
Module 6: Loans, taxes and simple tools 6 lessons · 1h 3m
Final module: putting your numbers to work 3 lessons · 1h 3m
Before you start
- No accounting knowledge needed, only basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
- A notebook and a calculator (a phone calculator is fine)
- Access to Excel or Google Sheets is helpful for some exercises but not required
About this course
Many small businesses in Ghana are busy every day and still cannot say whether they made money last month. Sales come in through cash and mobile money, the owner pays school fees from the till, customers owe, suppliers are chasing, and the bank asks for records that do not exist. This course fixes that, step by step, in plain language.
It is written for owners and managers of micro, small and medium businesses: traders, food processors, salons, workshops, caterers, pharmacies, farms and service firms. You do not need any accounting background. If you can add and subtract, you can do everything in this course.
You will start by separating business money from personal money, then set up a cash book, sales and purchases records and a way to check your mobile money statements. You will learn to read an income statement, a balance sheet and a cash flow statement using the example of a real-looking Kumasi bakery. You will cost a product, set a price that makes a profit, work out your break-even point, build a three-month cash flow forecast, and manage the people who owe you and the people you owe.
The last module covers borrowing: how banks and microfinance companies assess you, and how to compare a flat rate with a reducing balance rate so you are never fooled by a low-looking number. It also explains GRA registration and the taxes a small business meets, and how to choose between an exercise book, Excel and an app.
Every calculation is worked in cedis. You finish with a personal 30-day action plan for your own business.
Your instructor
SkillsPillar Faculty
Practitioners and trainers in strategy, public service, enterprise and workplace compliance
SkillsPillar courses are written by practitioners who have trained graduates, managers, public servants and business owners across Ghana. Every course is built around real situations, practical tools and activities that test judgement, not memory.
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Frequently asked
How do I pay for a course?
Pay securely with MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash, AT Money, Visa or Mastercard through Hubtel. You get access straight after payment.
How long do I have access?
For life. Once you enrol, the course stays in your account and you can learn at your own pace, including any updates we make.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. Finish every lesson in a course and a certificate is issued automatically. Each one has a QR code and a public link employers can use to check it.
Can I learn on my phone?
Yes. Everything works on a phone, tablet or computer, and your progress follows you between devices.
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