You have a business and now you need to keep track of the profits and losses. What are you going to do. Learn how to get started.
The doors are finally open. The flashy sign proclaiming, Come On In,... is brightly lit on the front door, and your new business is booming. Life is beautiful, and you can’t help but think to yourself. My, this would be a good day to manage my liabilities and redeemable assets!
Well, maybe not. Face it. Most accounting is boring, slow, confusing and, sadly, very necessary. There are terms to learn and facts to know, and for most small business owners, you simply couldn’t afford to hire your own accountant. Fortunately there are lots of great accounting software programs available, but to in order to use them they way they should be used; you need to have a basic understanding of accounting. Take a deep breath, close your eyes and dive in.
But…where?
The best first step is to learn as much as you can about accounting. Find simple books on accounting at your library, and work your way up to the meatier topics. Study general terms (profit, overhead, depreciation, revenue, etc.) The more you learn, the easier handling problems will be down the road.
Learn about which type of accounting method you will be using. There are two kinds—cash accounting and accrual accounting. As the owner of a small business, it is usually recommended to use cash accounting, which records transactions as you receive payment for them, instead of when the transaction takes place. You will have to choose which one you will use when you are filling out your taxes.
Get familiar with accounting tools—account ledgers, balance sheets, journals and other items. Explore the options on the computer program you choose to use, and read the manual. The computer program will be a great tool, but you need to be in control of it.
Learn the basics of accounting principles—liabilities have to be subtracted from the asset value to find the equity, etc. Set up a procedure for following your accounts. For example, save every receipt throughout the week, and go through and settle your accounts every Saturday.
Top Business Accounting Software
Quickbooks
Microsoft Money
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