Accounting, Bookkeeping & Budgeting

Independent study. xplor is not an IAMI- or PYA-accredited GUEST training provider. This course covers the ground assessed in GUEST Unit 21; it awards no GUEST unit, certificate or Certificate of Competency and does not count toward one. It is not tax, legal or accounting advice.

Free

INT-ACCT-1 · Bookkeeping Fundamentals for Yacht Crew

3 lessons

INT-ACCT-1.1 Why the Yacht Keeps Accounts Practice in examiner →

INT-ACCT-1.1.1

Who the Numbers Are For: Owner, Manager, Auditor

Introduces why a yacht keeps formal accounts and who reads them, from the owner and management company to auditors, charter guests and tax authorities. Establishes the golden rule that every euro must trace back to a receipt and a cost code.

INT-ACCT-1.1.2

The Language of Accounts: Income, Expenditure, Capital and Operating

Explains the basic accounting vocabulary a senior crew member needs: income, expenditure, capital versus operating spend, and the outline difference between cash and accrual basis. Uses worked yacht examples to show why the distinction changes the monthly report.

INT-ACCT-1.2 The Chart of Accounts and the Audit Trail Practice in examiner →

INT-ACCT-1.2.1

Cost Codes, the Ledger and the Golden Rule of Traceability

Explains the yacht chart of accounts and cost codes, how to split a mixed receipt correctly across codes, and how the audit trail runs from receipt to ledger to owner report. Reinforces the rule that unevidenced spend has no defence.

INT-ACCT-2 · Cash, Cards and Reconciliation

4 lessons

INT-ACCT-2.1 Handling the Ship's Money Practice in examiner →

INT-ACCT-2.1.1

The Float, Petty Cash and Card Discipline

Covers the imprest float, petty cash discipline and the rules for handling a ship's card, with a worked example showing that cash on hand plus receipts must always equal the float. Explains segregation of duties and why shortfalls must be reported immediately.

INT-ACCT-2.1.2

Multi-Currency Handling and Exchange Rates

Explains multi-currency handling on board: booking the effective rate you actually received rather than the headline mid-market rate, running a separate cash book per currency, and declining dynamic currency conversion. Includes worked card and cash-exchange examples.

INT-ACCT-2.2 Reconciliation, the Close and Integrity Practice in examiner →

INT-ACCT-2.2.1

Receipts, Coding and Reconciling Line by Line

Sets out what makes a receipt valid, the correct missing-receipt procedure, and how to reconcile a card statement line by line rather than by totals. A worked example shows how a single unmatched line isolates the exact question to investigate.

INT-ACCT-2.2.2

Discrepancies, the Monthly Close and Fraud

Shows how to investigate a cash discrepancy methodically, what a monthly close involves, and what fraud actually looks like aboard a yacht. Explains why a discrepancy must be reported rather than absorbed, and why good process protects the crew member as much as the owner.

INT-ACCT-3 · Budgets and Cost Control

4 lessons

INT-ACCT-3.1 Building the Budget Practice in examiner →

INT-ACCT-3.1.1

How a Yacht Budget Is Built

Shows how a yacht's annual operating budget is built department by department and how the interior budget is broken into lines such as cellar, amenities, flowers, laundry and uniform. Explains building from prior-year actuals, adjusting for the programme, and stating contingency openly.

INT-ACCT-3.1.2

Forecasting a Season and Cost per Guest Day

Introduces the guest day as the working unit of interior budgeting and shows how to calculate cost per guest day and forecast a season from it. Distinguishes owner-funded guest days from charter guest days funded by the APA.

INT-ACCT-3.2 Managing the Budget Practice in examiner →

INT-ACCT-3.2.1

Variance Analysis: Budget vs Actual

Explains budget-versus-actual variance analysis with a full worked interior table, showing how to calculate variances and percentages. Demonstrates normalising an apparent overspend against guest days to reveal a favourable cost per guest day.

INT-ACCT-3.2.2

Cost Control, Capital Items and the Budget Request

Covers cost control that protects the guest experience, the capital approval ladder, and how to build and present an evidenced budget request. Includes a worked payback calculation for an onboard laundry proposal and the honest counter-arguments that make a business case credible.

INT-ACCT-4 · Charter Accounting, Systems and Integrity

3 lessons

INT-ACCT-4.1 Charter Accounting and the APA Practice in examiner →

INT-ACCT-4.1.1

The Charter Deal and the APA

Explains how a charter works financially: the charter fee, the APA as a guest-funded advance for running costs, delivery fees, discretionary gratuities and jurisdiction-dependent taxes. Sets out what the APA does and does not cover, with a worked 30 per cent calculation.

INT-ACCT-4.1.2

The APA Statement, Settlement and Gratuities

Shows how to run a daily APA statement, produce a final settlement returning the unspent balance, and forecast a mid-charter top-up through the captain and broker. Covers how gratuities are received, distributed and recorded, and why they never come from the APA.

INT-ACCT-4.2 Systems, Data and the Professional Line Practice in examiner →

INT-ACCT-4.2.1

Systems, Data Care and the Professional Line

Compares spreadsheets with dedicated yacht accounting software and sets out disciplines for digital receipts, 3-2-1 backups and a clean signed handover. Covers care of guest financial data under GDPR-style regimes and the professional line: the crew member is a custodian of someone else's money.

Aligned to the IAMI GUEST Program framework. Preparatory study only — assessment and certification are carried out by an approved GUEST Training Provider. Official source (GUEST Program).

School