How to get AAT qualified in the UK

What AAT actually is

AAT is the Association of Accounting Technicians. It awards bookkeeping and accounting qualifications that employers in the UK recognise, and it is the route most people take into accounting without a degree.

You register as a student with AAT directly, you sit computer-based assessments at an approved assessment venue, and AAT issues the qualification. A tuition provider like Mai Studies teaches you the subject and prepares you for those assessments. Mai Studies is independent: we are not AAT and our own certificates are Mai Studies completion certificates, not AAT awards.

Which level should you start at?

Most people start at Level 2 if accounting is new to them, or Level 3 if they already keep books at work and are confident with double entry.

• Level 2 — the foundation: double entry, day books, control accounts, the accounting equation, costing basics and business admin.
• Level 3 — the step employers notice: final accounts for sole traders and partnerships, VAT, management accounting techniques and ethics.
• Level 4 — the professional level: drafting financial statements, budgeting, financial performance and an optional specialism.
• A separate bookkeeping route exists if you want the bookkeeping certificate rather than the full accounting qualification.

How the assessments work

AAT assessments are sat on a computer at an approved venue. Most are marked by computer, with some human-marked written tasks at the higher levels. Many can be booked on demand rather than waiting for one exam sitting a year, which is why a steady study rhythm beats cramming.

The exam fee and the AAT student membership fee are paid to AAT and the assessment venue, never to your tuition provider. Always check the current fees on AAT's own website before you budget.

A study plan that works for people with jobs

The learners who finish are almost never the ones with the most spare time. They are the ones who study in small, regular blocks and test themselves constantly.

• Six to eight hours a week, split into short sessions, is enough for one level over a few months.
• Read the lesson, then immediately answer questions on it. Reading alone gives you a false sense of knowing.
• Work timed practice papers at full length before the real assessment, so the clock is not a shock.
• Keep a mistakes list. Re-attempt the same question type a week later until it stops appearing on the list.

How Mai Studies helps, and what it costs

Our practical bookkeeping and accounting programmes teach the subject with full written lectures, worked examples, diagrams, practice questions with explanations, marked assignments and timed mock papers. Every lesson also reads itself aloud, so you can study while commuting.

Membership is £29 a month or £290 a year and opens the included library. Specialist programmes carry their own fee from £49 with twelve months to complete. If cost is the barrier, apply for a full fee waiver through scholarships or open access.