Business

Accounting Technician

Master accounting software, financial systems, and business fundamentals in just 49 weeks with hands-on training and an 8-week internship to launch your career with confidence.

    Request Info!

    Fill in the form below and we will contact you as soon as possible.

    Country is required
    Program of Interest is required
    First Name is required
    Last Name is required
    Valid email address is required
    Valid phone number is required
    Answer is required
    Answer is required
    Answer is required
    Answer is required
    Consent is required

    Type

    Diploma

    Duration

    49 Weeks

    Internship

    8 Weeks

    Program Outline

    View Outline Arrow Icon Pointing Right

    About Our Accounting Technician Program

    The Accounting Technician diploma is designed for detail-oriented individuals looking to start or enhance a career in accounting and finance. Whether you’re new to the field or looking to sharpen your skills, this program prepares you for a wide range of roles in bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation, and financial reporting.

    Through hands-on training from industry professionals, you’ll gain practical experience with tools like QuickBooks, Sage 50, and Microsoft Office, while learning essential concepts in accounting, business operations, taxation, and financial planning. Small class sizes and flexible half-day schedules give you the support and balance you need to succeed in the classroom and in the workplace.

    Career Opportunities

    Upon completing our Accounting Technician program, you will qualify for positions such as:

    • Payroll Specialist
    • Accounts Payable Clerk
    • Accounts Receivable Clerk
    • Accounting Assistant

     

     

    Employers Who Have Hired Our Accounting and Payroll Grads

    • BKC Accounting & Tax Preparation
    • First Ontario Credit Union
    • CIBC
    • Trillium Bookkeeping Services
    • Royal Bank of Canada
    • ACI Tax Services
    • London Tax & Accounting

    Salary

    $ 26

    Average Wage/HR**

    $ 42

    High Wage/HR**

    Source: workingincanada.gc.ca

    NOC Code: NOC Code: 14200, 12200 - Wage data based on NOC code 12200 and rounded down to the nearest dollar. Average wage doesn't reflect the starting salary but represents the middle value between lowest to highest wages. Local (or regional) income may vary. Last updated: December 2024.

    Program Details

    Building a solid foundation in accounting and business doesn’t mean putting the rest of your life on hold. The Accounting Technician program is delivered through half-day classes, just four days a week, giving you the flexibility to manage work, family, and personal commitments while still moving forward toward your goals.

    The program begins with essential courses in digital literacy, business communication, and career preparation to help you establish core workplace skills. From there, you’ll dive into key areas of accounting, including financial transactions, bookkeeping, and payroll, with hands-on training in software like QuickBooks and Sage 50. You’ll also study personal income tax and financial planning to deepen your understanding of real-world financial practices.

    As you build confidence in financial reporting and data analysis, you’ll also explore broader business concepts like small business management and managerial accounting. These courses are designed to strengthen your problem-solving and decision-making abilities while giving you the tools to contribute effectively to any business environment.

    Interpersonal communication, client relations, and workplace diversity are also integrated into the curriculum, helping you develop the people skills needed to thrive in any professional setting. Alongside this, you’ll receive continuous support with resume building, LinkedIn optimization, job search coaching, and career planning.

    To round out your learning, the program includes a 200-hour internship that gives you a chance to apply what you’ve learned in a real business setting. With guidance from experienced instructors and access to campus and career support, you’ll be ready to graduate with confidence, knowing you’ve gained the technical skills, practical experience, and personal growth to take on what’s next.

    Course Listings
    Arrow Down
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Introduction to Accounting with Quickbooks
    This course introduces basic accounting concepts and procedures. This course addresses double-entry accounting, analysis of source information, classes of transactions, and the accounting cycle. Using these critical concepts, accounting skills are applied and integrated to record transactions using proper procedures and forms in both a manual and computerized accounting system, QuickBooks.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Intermediate Accounting with Sage 50
    This course continues the exploration of accounting procedures in payroll, petty cash, and bank reconciliations. Central to this course is the merchandising firm and its accounting cycle, appropriate valuation of inventory, and cost of goods sold calculations. This material will be applied in both a manual and computerized accounting system, Sage 50.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Accounting Technician Internship
    On successful completion of the classroom hours of this program, you will be placed in a 200-hour internship at an outside organization. You will have the opportunity to apply their newly developed knowledge and skills in a real-world environment.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Advanced Accounting
    In this course, you will build on principles learned in the intermediate accounting courses. You will be introduced to more advanced concepts regarding assets and liabilities including accounting for bad debt, depreciation and long-term assets, cash flow analysis, and temporary and long-term investments. In addition, you will learn how to record the effects of partnership and corporate activity and analyze financial statements for decision-making.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Business Communication
    This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of communication skills in business environments. Focus will be placed on both written and spoken communications. You will review the basic writing process with emphasis on the mechanics of writing. You will also learn the importance of effective spoken communication, deliver an oral presentation, and participate in a mock meeting.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Client Relations
    In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of how a strong relationship with clients is developed and maintained. Professionalism, the importance of living up to obligations, and the various forms of prompt and attentive communication are discussed. The course will also provide you with the skills you need to articulate organization image and how to identify and adapt to specific client behavior styles and how to measure and take corrective actions to provide client satisfaction and ensure positive relations. The course also introduces practical techniques needed to deal with clients that are angry and upset and explains the significance of maintaining and encouraging the loyalty of clients.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Career Planning and Preparation - Level 2
    This module builds on concepts and skills introduced in the Career Planning and Preparation Level 1 module. In this subsequent module, you will update and refine your résumé and LinkedIn Profile. You will continue writing cover letters and learn the value of customizing cover letters to specific job postings. You will have the opportunity to apply this knowledge as you conduct a job search and write a cover letter tailored to an ideal job post. Through research, you will create a list of top employers and target current industry opportunities. You will learn about current methods for applying to job postings using technology. You will also gain an understanding of the job interview process, typical interview questions and possible responses, and expectations of both the interviewer and interviewee. In addition, you will engage in practical application of the interview process through role-play. Topics such as negotiating salary, self-management, and on-the-job success for placements and post-graduate employment will be also covered.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Digital Literacy for Professionals
    This course introduces the fundamental concepts and principles of learning and working in a digital environment. This course will cover the following elements: using devices and handling information, creating and editing information, communicating and collaborating, and being safe and responsible online.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Diversity in the Workplace
    This course introduces diversity and its strengths in the workplace. Among the topics covered are the strengths of diversity, its occasional challenges, how to manage diversity in the workplace, and the value of diversity training. Diversity in group dynamics is also addressed, with an emphasis on the strengths of a heterogeneous group and types of diversity.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Microsoft Excel
    This Microsoft Office Excel course is created to help you build and validate the skills needed to succeed in today's economy. It will also provide you with the skills and knowledge you need to use Microsoft Office Excel effectively in all aspects of your personal and professional lives. Excel is the world's most popular spreadsheet software. Whether you are managing a household or running a small business, Excel will help you develop useful techniques to help business processes. This course is computer intensive and demands basic computer proficiency and a basic understanding of spreadsheet software. You are expected to make arrangements to meet proficiency needs as necessary.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Interpersonal Communication
    Effective interpersonal communication is vital for the success of any organization. It impacts working relationships, productivity, and a variety of other business activities. This course introduces the concepts of effective interpersonal communication in the workplace, considering internal and external professional relationships. You will also will learn about telephone etiquette, which will prepare you to answer calls with confidence and professionalism, respond to customer/client inquiries effectively, and handle customer/client complaints. You will leave the course prepared to navigate the complexities of interpersonal communication with colleagues and clients.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Introduction to Business
    This course builds understanding of the competitive business environment and the strategies businesses employ to succeed amidst changes in the dynamic business landscape. You will gain insights into ethical issues and economic challenges, the role of leadership, and the importance of enterprise in any business structure. You will also engage in HRM systems and identify factors that motivate and demotivate workers. You will learn the importance of focusing on customer needs to develop a marketing mix that effectively appeals to target customers.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Microsoft Outlook
    This Microsoft Outlook course builds and validates the skills businesses need to succeed in today's information economy. It will also provide you with the skills and knowledge you need to use to effectively manage emails, contacts, calendars, and tasks. Outlook has become the corporate standard electronic personal organizer. These are the foundational skills needed to communicate using Outlook in a variety of positions within an organization. This course is computer intensive and demands basic computer proficiency and a basic understanding of email software. You are expected to make arrangements to meet proficiency needs.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Microsoft PowerPoint
    This course will show you how to create and modify basic presentations by using Microsoft Office PowerPoint. You will explore the PowerPoint environment and create a presentation; you will format text on slides to enhance clarity and visual appeal; and you will also add and modify graphical objects in order to finalize and deliver a presentation. This course is computer intensive and demands basic computer proficiency and a basic understanding of PowerPoint software. You are expected to ensure you meet proficiency requirements for working in this environment.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Student Success Strategies
    This course stresses the importance of developing non-technical skills to enhance personal, academic, and career success. The course will address strategies that are important for all adult learners, such as managing finances, maintaining health and wellness, understanding learning styles, setting goals, and honing practical study skills (such as memory, reading, and test-taking techniques). In addition, this course emphasizes strategies needed to succeed in your program, such as navigating technology efficiently, interacting and engaging with peers and facilitators/instructors, and managing learning time and space.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Microsoft Word
    This Microsoft Office Word course is created for you to build and validate the skills businesses need to succeed in today's information economy. It also provides you with the skills and knowledge you need to use Microsoft Office Word effectively in all aspects of your personal and professional lives. Word is the world's most popular word processing software. Learning how to create, edit, format and print documents, enhance work with formatting, use bullets and numbering, add simple borders, tables, headers/footers, organizing data columns, and styles, are the foundational skills needed to perform in many positions. This course is computer intensive and demands basic computer proficiency and a basic understanding of word processing software. The course combines Theory/demonstration by an instructor with readings, trainings, projects, and a final exam for you to work on in a simulation-based environment. You are expected to ensure you meet proficiency requirements for working in this environment.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Financial Planning Essentials
    You will develop vital mathematical skills applicable to financial planning. You will gain a practical understanding of economic and political concepts relevant to financial planning, enhancing your proficiency in effective business writing techniques. The course explores administrative aspects of financial plans and the regulated process of financial planning in Canada, fostering your comprehension of their future roles as successful financial planners.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Foundations of Small Business
    This course introduces the contemporary management skills required to manage small businesses. Students will examine the role of management, identify effective management, and explore techniques aimed at improving management skills in an ever-changing business environment.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Managerial Accounting
    In this course, you will learn how to effectively use the accounting information that is required by managers to plan, direct, and control the operations of their business organization. You will gain an understanding of managerial accounting data pertaining to cost systems, cost behaviour, cost-volume-profit relationships, decision-making, and budgeting.
    Icon-Quiz-Small Created with Sketch. Personal Income Tax
    The course examines contemporary income tax policies, rules, and legislation concerning individual taxation. You will apply your foundational understanding of income taxation principles and practices, gaining hands-on experience in preparing tax returns. Practical application of the law to real-world issues is emphasized through exercises, problems, cases, and tax preparation software.
    Admission Requirements
    Arrow Down

    1. Student has an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, OR
    Is 18 years of age or older on or before the program begins AND can pass a qualifying test that has been approved by the
    Superintendent. *

    2. The approved qualifying test for this program is the Wonderlic test. A passing score for this program is 15.

    *Applicants from other Canadian provinces must be at least 19 years of age and a minimum of 1 year out of high school by the
    program start date and successfully pass an academic achievement test.

    Career Quiz

    Take a quick and easy quiz to find out more about yourself, your goals, and identify your strengths and social style. This quiz gives you suggestions for what career areas you might consider based on your likes and preferences. Give it a try now!

    Testimonial

    Thank you, triOS College, for giving me the education and tools I needed to get my dream career. I had a full-time job five days out of school, and it feels amazing to be one of the lucky ones to have my dream job.

    Rachael R.

    Graduate

    Successful graduates will have all the education credits necessary to pursue the Payroll Compliance Professional (PCP) certification through the National Payroll Institute, which is an in-demand credential for payroll careers.

    Amy Pytlowany

    Accounting and Payroll Faculty Head, triOS College

    How Our Accounting and Payroll Program Can Help You

    Discover what triOS College's Accounting and Payroll Program Coordinator David Fox has to say about the program and what else you can expect when you take our accounting courses and payroll courses.

     

    How to Become an Accountant

    Arrow Down
    To become an accountant in Ontario, enroll in an accounting program or a related field, ensuring it's from an accredited institution. Next, work towards the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation, which involves taking preparatory courses, gaining relevant work experience, passing the Common Final Exam (CFE), and fulfilling ethics and practical experience requirements.
    Once you've completed the CPA program, register with CPA Ontario and engage in ongoing professional development. With your CPA designation, you can seek employment in various sectors or even establish your own accounting practice. Requirements may evolve, so consult with CPA Ontario for the latest details.

    How much do payroll accountants make?

    Arrow Down
    The salary of a payroll accountant in Ontario can vary depending on several factors including experience, education, location, and the specific employer. According to Job Bank, the average hourly rate is $27, which can go up to $38.