This Is As Real
As Practice Gets.
For 90 days, you don't just work the books. You manage the client.
A unique simulated business. A real QuickBooks Online company. Books that already need attention. Ongoing activity. Questions. Missing documents. Follow-up. Unclear answers. Decisions. Deadlines. Your own systems. You are responsible for getting the books in order while managing the relationship around them. No real business is at risk.
A simulated bookkeeping engagement — without the risk
Enrollment closes in
October 1 Cohort · Limited to 10 bookkeepers
Enrollment closes September 27 at 11:59 PM Arizona time — or when the cohort fills.
First payment is due when you enroll. Client provisioning does not begin until payment is received.
The Books Are Only Half the Job.
Real bookkeeping work does not arrive as a perfect assignment with all required information neatly attached.
The accounting matters. So does everything that has to happen before you can do the accounting.
It's a 90-Day Client Engagement.
Not 90 Days of Transactions.
Every Live client begins with a cleanup or catch-up component. You are being brought in because the books already need attention.
Your job during the initial engagement is to:
- Understand the situation
- Get the books in order
- Resolve outstanding issues
- Handle ongoing activity
- Communicate with the client
- Establish an effective working relationship
Your Client Is Yours.
Every Live Client Simulation participant receives a unique simulated client based on the industry and complexity they select. No two learners receive the exact same client.
You aren't following along with everyone else's company. You have a client to figure out.
You Get the Client. Then You Do the Job.
The experience is designed to feel like work, not a guided click-through.
Join the Engagement
Watch your email for the invitation to join the client's books as an accountant user, similar to being brought onto an actual bookkeeping client.
Review What You've Inherited
Examine the books, transactions, bank activity, documents, existing bookkeeping, and unfinished work.
Investigate
Determine what happened, what is missing, what was recorded incorrectly, and what requires additional information.
Work With the Client
QBO Dojo acts as the simulated client. Ask questions, request documentation, clarify transactions, and communicate issues when necessary.
Do the Bookkeeping
Use normal QuickBooks workflows to enter, correct, reconcile, and complete the books.
Exercise Professional Judgment
Decide what you can resolve, what requires client clarification, and what should be communicated back to the client.
Bring the Books to the Finish Line
Your goal is not to complete a worksheet. Your goal is to produce books you would be comfortable standing behind for a real client.
And While You're Working the Books,
the Client Keeps Being a Client.
A document arrives.
A question comes up.
Something is missing.
You ask for clarification.
The answer helps, but not quite enough.
You follow up.
The books move forward.
Another issue appears.
This is not designed to make the client intentionally ridiculous or adversarial. It is designed to reproduce the ordinary uncertainty, communication, incomplete information, and follow-up that bookkeepers encounter in real client relationships.
Bring Your Bookkeeping
Business With You.
Live Client Simulation is also a place to practice the operating system you plan to use with real clients.
If you use or want to practice with tools such as:
You may bring that system into the engagement. Where reasonably practical, QBO Dojo will participate through the platform in its role as the simulated client.
Build the workflow. Invite the client. Find out whether your system actually works before a real client depends on it.
Your QBO Company
Is Included.
QBO Dojo creates, pays for, and provisions the QuickBooks Online company used in the Live Simulation.
Before the cohort begins:
- The unique simulated client is prepared
- The QBO company is created and seeded
- You are invited into the company as the accountant
You do not separately pay QBO Dojo for the QBO subscription. The appropriate QBO environment depends on the simulated client.
Real QBO. Real Work.
You work inside an actual QuickBooks Online company — not a demo environment, not a simulation shell. The books, the bank feeds, the transactions, and the reconciliation are all real QBO work.
QBO Dojo handles the subscription. You handle the books.
Your Work Doesn't
Vanish on Day 90.
Complete your initial 90-day engagement and your work stays with you. When the active engagement ends, QBO Dojo intends to leave you connected to the QuickBooks Online company as the accountant so you can continue reviewing your work in read-only form, for as long as Intuit permits under its then-current policies.
This applies to prepaid enrollments and to monthly enrollments that complete the initial 90-day commitment. If required payments are not made, access to the QBO company ends and the company may be removed.
Make the Mistake Here.
At some point, instructions have to stop and the bookkeeper has to decide what to do next.
Live Simulation gives you that responsibility without putting a real company's books, deadlines, cash flow, or client relationship at risk. The purpose is practice, not punishment — and the consequences stay safely inside the Dojo.
The purpose is to discover:
- What you know
- What you miss
- How you think
- How you communicate
- Where your systems work
- Where you need more practice
Responsibility Without Risking Someone's Business
The consequences stay safely inside the Dojo. You get to experience the weight of the work — the decisions, the follow-up, the uncertainty — without a real business depending on the outcome.
When the real client comes, you've already been there.
Practice Client. Live Simulation. Applied Belt.
Three distinct things. The Practice Client tells you how difficult the work is. The Live Simulation gives you the opportunity to demonstrate what you can do. The assessment determines whether you earned the belt.
Practice Client
A simulated client at a White, Orange, or Black Belt difficulty level that you work independently for practice. No assessment. No credential.
Live Client Simulation
An evolving simulated-client relationship where your bookkeeping performance is observed and assessed across a 90-day engagement.
Applied Bookkeeping Belt
The credential earned by meeting the applicable assessment standard in Live Client Simulation. Issued by QBO Dojo LLC.
Start Where You Are. Earn What You Can Demonstrate.
There are no prerequisite belts. Choose the simulation difficulty that matches the ability you want to demonstrate.
White Belt Live
A realistic entry point for managing core bookkeeping work and a client relationship.
Credential on Pass
Applied Bookkeeping White Belt
Orange Belt Live
More moving pieces, more bookkeeping decisions, and a more demanding engagement.
Credential on Pass
Applied Bookkeeping Orange Belt
Black Belt Live
The most demanding Live client experience, requiring stronger bookkeeping judgment and engagement management.
Credential on Pass
Applied Bookkeeping Black Belt
What Is Assessed.
The credential is based on the bookkeeping work you actually perform across the simulation, not attendance or course completion.
Assessment considers your demonstrated performance across these areas:
How the Credential Is Earned.
Completion alone does not earn the credential. You must perform the bookkeeping work and meet QBO Dojo's applicable assessment standard.
PASS
Credential earned.
- Applicable Applied Bookkeeping Belt awarded
- Engagement Debrief delivered
FAIL
Credential not earned.
- Engagement Debrief delivered
- Another attempt requires another eligible Live simulation using a different simulated client
There is no provisional belt, no participation belt, and no automatic downgrade. If you attempt Black Belt and do not meet the Black Belt standard, you do not automatically receive Orange Belt.
At Day 90, Find Out What It Was
Like to Have You as the Bookkeeper.
Every learner completing the initial 90-day engagement receives a:
Engagement Debrief
A clear explanation of how your work performed against the applicable standard. Not a generic completion certificate.
The Books
- Quality and completeness of the bookkeeping
- Cleanup/catch-up execution
- Reconciliation
- Unresolved issues
- Bookkeeping judgment
- Overall condition of the books
The Relationship
- Quality of questions
- Clarity of requests
- Follow-up
- Communication
- Organization
- Professionalism
- Responsiveness
- Use of systems
- How the engagement felt from the simulated client's perspective
We'll tell you what it was like to be your client.
If You Pass. If You Don't.
If You Pass
- The applicable Applied Bookkeeping Belt is earned.
- Your Engagement Debrief is delivered.
- The credential is issued by QBO Dojo LLC.
If You Don't Pass
- The attempted credential is not awarded.
- You still receive the Engagement Debrief.
- Another attempt requires another eligible Live Client Simulation using a different simulated client.
Demonstrated Performance. Not a Guarantee.
An Applied Bookkeeping Belt represents the level of bookkeeping performance the learner successfully demonstrated within the applicable QBO Dojo simulated-client environment.
It is not professional licensure, an Intuit certification, an employment guarantee, or a guarantee of future performance. It does not mean the credential holder is competent for every possible bookkeeping engagement or ready for every real client.
What an Applied Bookkeeping Belt Looks Like.
Each credential is issued by QBO Dojo LLC and records the bookkeeping performance demonstrated in the applicable Live Client Simulation.
Applied Bookkeeping White Belt
Issued by
QBO Dojo LLC
Official Applied Bookkeeping Belt credential graphic.
Applied Bookkeeping Orange Belt
Issued by
QBO Dojo LLC
Official Applied Bookkeeping Belt credential graphic.
Applied Bookkeeping Black Belt
Issued by
QBO Dojo LLC
Official Applied Bookkeeping Belt credential graphic.
Two Ways Into Live.
Want to Practice Independently?
Start with a 90-Day Practice Client. Work the books yourself, at your own pace, and check your result against the Practice Review.
Browse Practice ClientsWant the Client Relationship Around the Work?
Choose Live Client Simulation. Enter at White Belt, Orange Belt, or Black Belt complexity — no prerequisites required. It's not easier than practicing on your own — it's a different practice environment where your bookkeeping performance is assessed and you can earn an Applied Bookkeeping Belt.
Enroll for October 1Choose Your Challenge.
Every Live engagement begins with a 90-day commitment. Choose monthly billing or prepay the initial engagement and save.
White Belt Live
Build confidence with client responsibility.
Monthly Billing
$349/month
90-Day Prepay
$949 upfront
Preferred continuation after prepay: $319/month
- Unique simulated client
- Cleanup or catch-up component
- QBO company included
- Applied Bookkeeping Belt assessment
- Engagement Debrief
Orange Belt Live
More activity, more judgment, more complexity.
Monthly Billing
$499/month
90-Day Prepay
$1,349 upfront
Preferred continuation after prepay: $449/month
- Unique simulated client
- Cleanup or catch-up component
- QBO company included
- Applied Bookkeeping Belt assessment
- Engagement Debrief
Black Belt Live
The highest challenge level. The most robust experience.
Monthly Billing
$699/month
90-Day Prepay
$1,899 upfront
Preferred continuation after prepay: $629/month
- Unique simulated client
- Cleanup or catch-up component
- QBO company included
- Applied Bookkeeping Belt assessment
- Engagement Debrief
What Every Live Plan Includes
October 1 Cohort Now Enrolling
10 bookkeepers maximum
Enrollment closes September 27 at 11:59 PM Arizona time or when all 10 seats are filled.
Your first payment is due when you enroll. Once payment is received, we begin creating and provisioning your unique simulated client.
Your engagement begins October 1.
We close enrollment before each cohort because every Live client is individually created and provisioned before the engagement begins.
New Live Client Simulation cohorts begin on the 1st of each month. Next cohort: October 1, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions.
Full terms for Live Client Simulation and Applied Bookkeeping Belt credentials are in the Live Client Simulation & Credential Terms.
Part of the Same Environment.
Live Client Simulation is the advanced end of the QBO Dojo environment — not an unrelated subscription.
You Don't Just Practice Bookkeeping.
You Practice Having a Bookkeeping Client.
October 1 cohort. Limited to 10 bookkeepers. Enrollment closes September 27.
Enroll for October 1