The short answer
Watch a video to see how an entry or a layout is built the first time you meet it.
Practise to find out whether you can build it yourself. Following a worked example feels like understanding. The test is a blank T-account with the video switched off.
A learner who only watches finds the gap at work or in an exam. A learner who only practises can miss the longer explanation a teacher gives.
What video lessons are better for
- Seeing it done. A person builds a bank reconciliation line by line and says why each line is there.
- A voice. Some people take in a spoken explanation more easily than a page of text.
- Pausing and replaying. You can go back over one step as many times as you need.
- Real screens. A video can show a spreadsheet or an accounting package being used.
- A long idea. Some topics need ten minutes of explanation before any question makes sense.
Ledger Drill has no video, no audio lesson and no person to ask. Its explanation is a few lines of reading, a list or a small table.
Video lessons that come with a tutor and end in an exam are a course. The comparison with a bookkeeping course covers that.
What practice is better for
- You cannot sit back. Every task ends in questions, and a room shows one question at a time.
- Marking at once. You find out which entry you cannot do, not just which lesson you have finished.
- Doing the entry. You post to T-accounts, build a journal, put steps in order and find the wrong line in a table.
- Your own pace. You read at your speed and spend the time on the questions.
- Short sessions. A room takes a few minutes on a phone.
Who should pick which
- You are meeting a topic for the first time and reading alone does not make it clear: a video, then practice.
- You have watched the lessons and cannot do the questions: practice.
- You want to see an accounting package in use: a video of that package. Ledger Drill shows none.
- You have ten minutes on a phone: a room.
- You want to ask a person a question: lessons with a tutor. Ledger Drill cannot answer one.
What Ledger Drill is not
Ledger Drill is independent. It does not award a qualification, it has no tutor, and no awarding body or professional body has approved its content. Finishing a path gives a certificate of completion, not a qualification.
It is in beta, and an answer can be wrong. Every question has a Report a mistake link.
It is practice, not tax or accounting advice. Some rooms are free and the rest need Premium or a topic pack. The pricing page has the current prices.
Side by side
| What you get | Video lessons | Ledger Drill |
|---|---|---|
| How you learn | You watch and listen | You read a few lines, then answer |
| A worked example built step by step | Yes, on screen | Short, and in writing only |
| A person explaining | Yes, on the recording | No |
| Questions that are marked | Only if the lessons come with exercises. A video alone has none | Every question, at once |
| Someone to ask | Only if the lessons come with a tutor | No |
| Pace | The length of the video, with pause and replay | Your own |
| A qualification | Only if the lessons are part of a course that leads to one | No |
| Best for | Meeting a topic for the first time | Finding out whether you can do it |
Practise it
Questions
Does Ledger Drill have video lessons?
No. Each room is a few lines of reading and then questions. There is no video and no audio lesson.
Is watching videos enough to learn bookkeeping?
Watching shows how an entry is made. It does not show whether you can make it. To find out, answer questions with the video switched off, here or from any set of exercises.
Can I use Ledger Drill and video lessons together?
Yes. Watch a lesson on a topic, then do the rooms on the same topic. A room may use a word or a layout differently from the video.
What if I do not like reading?
The reading in a room is short: a few lines, a list or a small table before each set of questions. The work is in the answers, which you tap, sort, post and type. A spoken explanation is something a video gives and Ledger Drill does not.
Do I need an account to try Ledger Drill?
No. You can answer questions in a free room with no account. An account keeps your marks.