Marking criteria and badges

This course is self-taught — there is no marker but you. That is exactly why the standards have to be objective and checkable, not impressionistic. Do not award yourself a grade because you "understood"; award it because your file meets a written condition.

1. The governing principle

Achievement = a checkable output, not a feeling of understanding.

Every module closes with three kinds of evidence:

Type	What it is	Weight
Exercises	Short questions with one correct answer	20%
Mini-project	A working file with defined acceptance conditions	50%
Test	Conceptual questions without going back to the material	30%

2. The four mastery levels

Level	Description	What it looks like in practice
0 — Not started	You have produced no output	—
1 — Beginner	You work with the solved example in front of you	You copy the structure and swap the numbers
2 — Competent	You work on new data with no example	You decide for yourself which account to use
3 — Proficient	You spot errors, explain the alternatives and decide	You see a wrong entry in someone else's file and name its effect

Condition for moving between modules: level 2 at least on every one of the module's criteria.
Level 1 on any criterion = redo the mini-project with different data before moving on.

3. The general assessment matrix for mini-projects

Criterion	1 — Beginner	2 — Competent	3 — Proficient
Arithmetic accuracy	Errors that change the result	Correct, with rounding differences only	Exactly correct, with the rounding documented
Accounting classification	Repeated wrong accounts	The classification is correct	The classification is correct and justified where it is ambiguous
Documentation	No document references	References for most entries	A reference for every entry + a policy note
Automation	Mostly manual entry	Formulas with some manual work	All formulas + check cells that catch the errors
Interpretation	Shows the numbers only	Explains what they mean	Explains what they mean and what decision follows

4. Achievement standards by module — a tracking board

Copy this table and tick it off as you go.

Module	The governing pass standard	Test score required	✅
1	An opening balance sheet that balances with a difference of zero + an explanation of the gap between cash and profit	6/8	☐
2	17 balanced entries + a chart of accounts of ≥ 25 accounts + 5/5 errors corrected	7/10	☐
3	An automatic trial balance that balances at 341,026.00 + a deliberate error detected	6/8	☐
4	January closed with a net profit of 24,312.00 in under 90 minutes	7/9	☐
5	The three statements tied together + the three check cells ✓	7/10	☐
6	A landed cost of 69.00 + FIFO and average on the same data	7/9	☐
7	A balanced Amazon settlement entry at 126,000.00 + a missing item detected	7/9	☐
8	A return that produces 2,421.60 + a reconciliation to the books with a difference of zero	8/10	☐
9	A tax bridge that ends at 645,000 + tax of 24,300 + a justified relief decision	7/9	☐
10	A contribution margin of 167.17 + break-even at 155 orders + a 13-week forecast	7/10	☐
Final project	A trial balance of 675,841.60 + a net profit of 105,585.20 + a decision memo	Average ≥ 2.0	☐

5. The three certificates

Certificate	The condition
🟢 Numbers Reader	Modules 1, 2, 5 and 10 completed at level ≥ 2 + the short version of the final project
🔵 Bookkeeper	Modules 1–6 completed at level ≥ 2 + the basic version of the final project
🟣 Compliance and Growth Ready	Modules 1–10 completed at level ≥ 2 + the full final project with a weighted average ≥ 2.0
⭐ With Distinction	Any track above + a final project average ≥ 2.6 + 3 of the "mastery level" tasks done on real data

6. Real mastery tests

These are not questions — they are honest signals that you actually own the skill:

#	The test	What it measures
1	You write a payment gateway settlement entry from memory in under 4 minutes	Module 2
2	You close a full month in under 90 minutes with a balanced trial balance on the first attempt	Module 4
3	You read the income statement of a store you have never seen before and name its biggest problem in 60 seconds	Module 5
4	You open a real settlement statement from any platform and take it apart without asking anyone	Module 7
5	Your accountant asks you a question and you challenge it and correct it instead of just agreeing	All modules
6	You make an inventory decision off the "lowest balance" in your forecast, not off how you feel	Module 10

7. The error log — the most important tool in the course

Create a sheet called "My error log" from day one, with four columns:

Module	The error I made	Why I made it	The rule I wrote for myself
2	I recorded the amount transferred from the gateway as sales	I thought whatever lands in the bank is revenue	"Revenue is read from the platform report and the bank is read from the statement — and the two are never mixed"

Errors that repeat three times in your log are not a lapse of attention — they are a conceptual gap. Redo the module responsible for them instead of carrying on building on a shaky foundation.

8. The suggested pace

Track	At 3 hours a week	At 6 hours a week
🟢 The fast track	5 weeks	3 weeks
🔵 The basic track	10 weeks	5 weeks
🟣 The full track	16 weeks	8 weeks

One long session a week beats three short ones, because an accounting close is continuous work: interrupting it halfway means rebuilding the context every time.

9. What comes after the course?

The step	Why
Move your books from spreadsheets to an accounting system	Spreadsheets teach the logic and systems carry the volume — and you now understand what the system is doing instead of trusting it blindly
Set an annual compliance calendar	Filing and renewal deadlines do not wait until you are free
Recalculate your unit economics every quarter	Your costs move, and your price does not move with them by itself
Hire an accountant — and review him	The course does not make you a chartered accountant, but it makes you a client who cannot be fooled