← Financial Management for SMEs: Financial Literacy for SMEs

Basic Bookkeeping Principles

Module 03 / 6 · 60 min

Learn the bookkeeping cycle, the source documents and vouchers behind every entry, how to build a chart of accounts, and how long and how well Ethiopian law expects you to keep records.

In this module you will learn to

Follow the bookkeeping cycle from source document to monthly summary
Identify the main source documents and what a valid tax invoice must show
Prepare receipt, payment, petty cash and internal vouchers, including for a missing receipt
Build a numbered chart of accounts and apply Ethiopian record-keeping and financial reporting rules

Built on

Erudite Africa training curriculum: Financial Management for SMEs, Level 1 Beginner, Financial Literacy for SMEs (October 2026)
Commercial Code Proclamation No. 1243/2021; Commercial Registration and Business Licensing Proclamation No. 980/2016 as amended by No. 1150/2019, and Regulation No. 392/2016 as amended by No. 461/2020
Income Tax Proclamation No. 979/2016 as amended by No. 1395/2025; Federal Tax Administration Proclamation No. 983/2016 as amended by No. 1434/2026
VAT Proclamation No. 1341/2024; VAT Registration Directive No. 1104/2025; Electronic Invoicing System Administration Directive No. 1142/2026; Council of Ministers Regulation No. 139/2007 on sales register machines
Financial Reporting Proclamation No. 847/2014; Private Organization Employees' Pension Proclamation No. 1268/2022
Investopia's verified Ethiopian tax and business law fact sheet (October 2026), based on the laws above and summaries by PwC, KPMG, EY, Grant Thornton, the IFRS Foundation and Ethiopian law firms

Examples and companies are fictional. Tax rates and rules are shown as they stood when the course was written; always check the current proclamations, directives and guidance from the Ministry of Revenues before filing, and take professional advice for your own case.