How to use this course
Free accounting course in English, Spanish and Portuguese: clear theory, worked journal entries, the rules of every country in the Americas and step-by-step practice in GoSoft.
Welcome to the GoSoft accounting course. It is free, open and requires no sign-up. It is designed for three audiences at once: students starting from zero, professionals who want a refresher or to move their practice to a modern system, and GoSoft users who need to understand what the system does behind each screen.
- How the course is organized and the best order to read it.
- The difference between manual accounting and the automatic accounting GoSoft books from its modules.
- Who the two sample companies used in every screenshot are.
How it is organized
The course moves like a good university program: fundamentals first, then practice, and analysis at the end. Each module builds on the previous one.
| Module | What you learn | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| 01 · Fundamentals | Accounting equation, double entry, accounts, accounting cycle and standards | Everyone, especially beginners |
| 02 · Setting up the books | Company, country, business units, cost centers, chart of accounts and taxes | Whoever sets up a company in GoSoft |
| 03 · Manual accounting | Receipt, payment, transfer and adjustment vouchers | Accountants and bookkeepers |
| 04 · Automatic · Real estate | Properties, contracts, payment plans, collections, reversals and commissions | Developers, builders and land sellers |
| 05 · Automatic · Trade and industry | Purchases, sales, inventory, commissions and withholdings | Retailers, distributors and manufacturers |
| 06 · Treasury | Cash, banks, reconciliation and FX differences | Treasury and finance |
| 07 · Fixed assets | Registration, depreciation, custody and disposal | Accounting and administration |
| 08 · Books and financial statements | Journal, ledger, trial balance, financial statements and VAT books | Everyone |
| 09 · Taxes and closing | Tax returns, withholdings, closings and accounting health | Accountants |
| 10 · Management and analysis | Budget, ratios and management dashboard | Managers and owners |
| 11 · Resources | Practice cases and a glossary in three languages | Everyone |
| 12 · Accounting by country | One page per country, from Canada to Argentina | Everyone |
Manual and automatic: two roads to the same book
All accounting ends in the same place: the journal. What changes is who writes the entry.
- Manual accounting. You (or your accountant) write the voucher line by line: which account is debited, which is credited and by how much. It is used for expense payments, loans, adjustments, capital contributions, closings and anything that does not come from a module. Covered in Module 03.
- Automatic accounting. You record a business operation —the sale of a lot, an installment collection, a merchandise purchase— and GoSoft books the entry by itself, with the accounts you configured. There are two families of modules, each with its own course module:
- Real estate (Realty): property sales on installments, collections, interest, arrears, reversals and commissions. Module 04.
- Trade and industry: purchases, sales, inventory, salespeople commissions and withholdings. Module 05.
Understanding double entry lets you audit what the system does. A good accountant never trusts blindly: they review the entry each operation generated and know how to fix it if something was misconfigured.
The sample companies
Every screenshot uses demo data with generic names. No real person or company appears in the course.
| Company | Activity | Country and currency | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empresa 01 S.A. | Real estate developer and land seller with several business units (Unidad 01, Unidad 02…) | Colombia · COP | Modules 02, 03, 04, 06, 07, 08, 09 and 10 |
| Empresa 02 S.A. | Trade and industry with branches (Sucursal 01, Sucursal 02…) | Bolivia · BOB | Module 05 and VAT examples |
Customers are named Persona0001 Apellido0001, emails look like email1@email.com and the logos were created for the course.
How to study each lesson
Every lesson follows the same structure so you always know where you are:
- Objectives: what you will be able to do at the end.
- Theory: the concept explained simply, with its reason.
- Worked example: concrete numbers you can follow with pencil and paper.
- In GoSoft, step by step: where it is done in the system, with screenshots.
- Common mistakes: what usually goes wrong and how to avoid it.
- Self-check: questions with answers to confirm what you learned.
At the top left there is a search box that finds any word in the whole course: type depreciation, VAT or reconciliation and jump straight there. You can also switch language or light/dark theme from the top bar.
Your country's rules
Accounting is universal, but taxes and mandatory books change from country to country. Module 12 has one page per country —from Canada to Argentina— with its tax authority, accounting framework (IFRS, US GAAP or local rules), consumption tax, e-invoicing, periodic returns and how to set up GoSoft. Start with yours: United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil…
What is the difference between manual and automatic accounting?
In manual accounting you write every line of the voucher; in automatic accounting you record a business operation (sale, collection, purchase) and GoSoft books the entry with the configured accounts. Both end in the same journal.
Which course module explains property sales on installments?
Module 04, automatic real estate accounting.
Do I need an account to use the course?
No. The course is free and open; it asks for no username or password.