Accounting and Tax Guide (Page 16)

Finding Accounting Services in Your Area

What is the best way to find accounting services in your area? Whenever I look for any service, there are certain processes I go through. Though services may vary, many of the strategies I use to find different ones are pretty much identical. The best thing you can do when seeking accounting services in your area is to do your homework. Do some research so that you know what your options are inside the scope of what exactly you want and at what price you... ❯❯❯

Business Accounting: 7 Steps To The Best Software Solution

It is important to know in business where money is coming in and where it is going out. As such, accounting is one of the most vital processes in any business. It is even more important than developing products and selling. The management of the flow of revenues and expenditures is what ultimately makes a business fail or succeed. Accounting is simply called the language of business. The requirements of every business may vary, but the general requirement... ❯❯❯

Retail Business Accounting Software: A Great Help

Retail shops are nearly always teeming with people. They come in a large number and on a busy day, during peak hours, it might become almost impossible to deal with so many customers. The task of managing accounts in such a situation can be really tough due to the sheer variety of the products people buy. Therefore, for a retail shop owner it is very important that he knows what has been sold for how much and when so as to keep his business profitable.... ❯❯❯

Four Symptoms Your Small Business Accounting System Doesn't Work

Every year about this time, I see too many accounting systems that don’t work… QuickBooks and PeachTree and Microsoft Small Business Accounting programs that don’t do what their small business users want or need. Sometimes, people know their accounting systems don’t work. And they don’t care. But, sadly, sometimes, the struggling small business person doesn’t even know his or her system isn’t working until it’s too late. Until the business fails because... ❯❯❯

Business Accounting and The Importance of Keeping Good Books

There has probably been no great accountant turned entrepreneur then Capitalist then Rockefeller who used his accounting skills to take over the entire Oil Industry back in the day. He kept immaculate books and started out as a promising young accountant. When he noticed competitors he would often ask them to join him and show him his books and costs. Why they were simply blown away and they knew they could not compete with his low costs and so they... ❯❯❯

Top 5 Accounting Software for Small Business

1) Intuit QuickBooks Accounting Software Quickbooks is a popular full featured accounting and payroll program designed for small businesses - or, I should say, a small business accounting software series. QuickBooks is available in Basic, Online, Pro, and Premier editions; the Pro Edition of this accounting program includes management tools such as a Vehicle Mileage Tracker and a Cash Flow Projector. 2) Simply Accounting Accounting Software Full... ❯❯❯

Bookkeeping Hiring Tips

In today’s transient and fast paced world, it’s getting harder and harder to find qualified, competent people who not only know their stuff but can be trusted to handle your business’s monies. All too often you hear stories about inexperienced so called bookkeepers who either messed up someone’s books or stuck their hand in the cookie jar and helped themselves to thousands or millions of dollars. Exact Accounting Services has listed 7 of the most... ❯❯❯

Tips on Book Keeping and Reporting on the Club Financial Affairs

Annually a report must be presented to the members on the clubs money affairs and financial position. The form of the report presented will depend on the size of the club and the volume of its activities. In the case of a club with a few members, and of which all transactions are for cash, a statement of receipts and payments will be sufficient, but in the case of a big club an income and expenditure statement and also a balance sheet are desirable. The... ❯❯❯

Sample Company File in QuickBooks - Valuable Tool for Self-Study

Have you ever wondered what would happen in your QuickBooks file if you performed certain operations, but were too afraid to try? Did you know that you can experiment with your ideas, and not make a mess in your QuickBooks file? When you installed your QuickBooks file, you also installed Sample Company files. Intuit designed these so that you could experiment with any idea or concept you have, and not take a chance messing up your own file. Best Way to... ❯❯❯

Standard Cost Accounting in Determining the Estimate Versus Actual

Cost accounting in manufacturing answers the simple question: “Am I making money on this job, and if not then why not?”. Cost accounting is a bridge between financial and management accounting and is a technique used to address the demands of both. It is a systematic application that takes all events in the supply chain and translates them into financial values for analyses by various people both inside and outside the company operations. The most... ❯❯❯

Accounting Positions

When most people think of accounting, what comes to mind is usually basic information that's not particularly interesting or beneficial. But there's a lot more to accounting than just the basics. Computers have changed the way accountants and auditors do their job. Accountants can use special software packages to do transactions in basic formats for financial records. Using software they can organize data in financial analysis. This greatly reduces the... ❯❯❯

You Have QuickBooks - Now What?

You have either started a new business, decided to get your financial information in order for your existing business or your tax preparer has announced that he/she won’t do your tax return anymore if you bring in one more year’s receipts in a shoebox or plastic bag. So on the recommendation of friends, business associates, accountant, or other professional in the know you have purchased QuickBooks. And if you are like most people you have installed it on... ❯❯❯

How to Choose the Right Computer Training for Accountants

The old image of the accountant might be best illustrated by Bob Cratchit sitting on his stool in the money changing firm of Ebeneezer Scrooge. He sits in front of his massive ledger book painstakingly entering figures with a stubby pencil. This does not reflect the current profession of Accounting. While the principles of Accounting might have remained much the same, the computer has revolutionized the way that these principles are applied. Computer... ❯❯❯

What is Owner's Draw in QuickBooks? How Does Owner's Draw Work?

If you are a sole-proprietor, you may have wondered about the Owner’s Draw account and how it works. I’ll try to explain it in a way that makes sense to people who use QuickBooks. Owner’s Equity, Owner’s Investment, and Owner’s Draw - Defined If you open the Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks, scroll down to the Equity accounts – normally about half way down. You may see one or more of these names: Owner’s Equity, Owner’s Investment, or Owner’s Draw. To... ❯❯❯

Cost Benefit Analysis-Whether You Should Outsource Your Bookkeeping To Professional Book Keeper

What is a role of a bookkeeper in your organisation: BOOKKEEPERS keep complete, up-to-date, and accurate records of accounts and financial arrangements. Bookkeepers verify and enter information into journals and ledgers or into a computer. They periodically balance the books and compile reports and financial statements. Bookkeepers also receive, record, bank and pay out cash. They balance checkbooks with monthly bank statements. They may calculate... ❯❯❯

What Is A Good Bookkeeper Worth?

I am often asked what is a reasonable fee to charge my clients. And on the opposite side of the coin – what should I expect to pay for a bookkeeper? A bookkeeper who is honest, trustworthy, reliable and knowledgeable is worth their weight in gold. You might find a good honest hard working person, but if they don’t have the knowledge and experience that you need then you only have part of the solution you are looking for. For bookkeepers check with your... ❯❯❯

Generally Accepted Accounting Principals - A Primer

Accountants are the keepers of the standards. They are the ones who make sure that when we look at a financial statement, we can be reasonably that it was built using sound accounting practices and that it is comparable to other audited financial statements for other companies. That sounds like a daunting task, but never fear. The accounting professional is in business to help you through all this. The accounting profession is self-regulated. They... ❯❯❯

Do You Hate Bookkeeping?

If you hate bookkeeping, you are not on your own. For most small business owners 'bookkeeping' is a major pain; a real chore. If you have to choose between selling your products and services or keeping your books in order - the books lose every time? But it would be good to : know your cash position and know the bank balance before the statement arrives Have reports and guidance on your profitability? You want to be able to explain where your figures... ❯❯❯

Forensic Accounting - Be a Financial Detective

Forensic accounting is one of the newly identified types of accounting jobs available. A forensic accountant is either an internal or external auditor who is brought in to investigate a case of fraud, bankruptcy or other legal conflict. He or she audits the situation and comes to a conclusion regarding the wrong doings and amount of loss involved. The auditor composes a report, which is often used as evidence in a court case. The forensic accountant may... ❯❯❯

EXCEL Tutorial - How to Construct a Compounding Interest Financial Calculator

You can construct an almost infinite variety of calculators right within your MS EXCEL spreadsheet application. Here is how you can construct your own 10-year compounding interest financial calculator that would help you to see, for example, how much your $100 will grow at x percent of interest a year, on a year by year basis. 1) Launch a clean worksheet in Excel. 2) Reserve the cell A1 for your principal dollar amount. Think of this as your “deposit”... ❯❯❯