Both the AIPB and the NACPB support the bookkeeping profession, offer membership benefits, and provide professional development opportunities. Both CPB and CB credentials are widely recognized and respected in the U.S.

Bookkeepers who are completing a degree can keep in touch with their classmates and then, once everyone has met the exam's experience requirement, they can reunite and form a study group. The bookkeeping certification exam should be considered very difficult.

Earning a certification can boost your earning potential. If you work in a competitive job market, certification can give you a leg up when discussing salary potential with prospective employers. Additionally, your employer might be inclined to promote and offer higher salaries to certified bookkeepers.

Bookkeepers line up all the small pieces of a company's financial records, and accountants view and arrange those pieces. Accounting often requires more education than becoming a bookkeeper, where most accountants hold undergraduate or graduate degrees or even MBAs in accounting, economics, or finance.