Below, you'll find extensive information on leading basic book keeping articles and products to help you on your way to success.
Does Bookkeeping Give You A Headache???
By Gabriele Lenga
Does the thought of bookkeeping keep you awake at night?
Do you dread sitting down at your computer and entering all your receipts, deposits etc. so that you do not get "dinged" by the IRS?
Do you get a headache just reading about bookkeeping and accounting and all the dry stuff?
Ah...., there is a (no, really two) solutions(s) for you:
- With the age of computers, companies have created financial software for you to help with the daily tasks of keeping track of income and expenses.
- Small and home-based business owners can now outsource their bookkeeping (and administrative tasks) competitively to a qualified individual that are familiar with the financial software.
Both these option will save time, headaches, and the possibility of error.
How does this work?
Let's talk about a few of the more popular software available today:
- The most basic one is EXCEL. Not that Excel is a basic program, but it is part of the Microsoft Office package and thus you do not have to invest additional moneies.
The disadvantage of Excel is that all accounts will have to be set up manually, and all formulas will have to be created by the user.
The advantage is, that once the user has created everything needed, one has to enter daily expenses and incomes and the result is immediately seen. Summary sheets as well as charts can be created to show the business owner where the business stands at any one time.
More sophisticated software for the individul to keep track of income and expense:
- Microsoft Money
- Intuit Quicken
.... and business software:
- QuickBooks (Designed for small businesses, QuickBooks is a powerful and most commonly used small-business accounting and management software in the US. It is used to track expenses, prepare and send invoices, prepare financial statements, track inventory levels, and many other tasks. It is available in customized versions for different industries.)
- Peachtree (Peachtree Accounting is a business management software. The latest version Peachtree Accounting 2006 has new features including invoicing, bill paying, access to powerful reporting, basic inventory, and analysis elements. If a duplicate reference number is used on a quote, invoice, credit memo, or purchase order, Peachtree will automatically alert you. Auto complete text fields will have your data entry completed faster and with greater accuracy.)
- Sage Line 50 (This software is designed to streamline all of your accounting routines. The program Integrates with other software and offers industry-specific add-ons. It covers all your accounting needs from VAT returns to credit control, and provides instant management information, accurate reports, comprehensive data storage and full security.)
- MYOB (This predominant accounting software is highly marketed and appeals to many small businesses and bookkeepers. MYOB works directly with accounting practices to streamline their processes and maximize their productivity)
.... tax software:
- IRIS (IRIS Tax Software comprises of five modules which extensively automate and handle all the complexities of fulfilling clients' tax obligations.)
- LaCerte (Lacerte is a tax preparation software widely used by tax professionals. Lacerte Tax provides comprehensive, high-performance tax return preparation, e-filing and practice management for single-user or networked environments. This software's innovative design helps you to work faster with greater accuracy. It helps reduce errors with built-in automation. Accountants consider Lacerte as the easiest to use tax software in its class. It is generally used by larger firms with more complex workflows and clients.)
- Pro Tax (PROTax is an "Add-on" product designed to provide the missing Tax Breakdown to ProForm. PROTax utilizes Microsoft Access 97(a standalone version is also available...Access not required). The Access front end provides logical tax entry directly from the Treasurer's Tax Takeoff. Simply enter the tax information, click on export and then import the data directly into ProForm.)
- TurboTax
All these programs offer a variety of options for the business owner: not only will they track your income and expense, but also where the money goes to (vendors)...creating bills and paying bills as where the money gomes from (customers and clients)...estimates, invoices,sales receipts etc; and last but not least will track your employees and write theirs checks, SSN, medicare etc.
The other considertaion is your bookkeeper or accountant. Many of these use financial software today because business owners have become more sophisticated and want results faster.
Financial software companies (e.g. Intuit) will allow the business owner to interact with their bookkeeper/accountant online for easy exchange of data.
Please contact Gabriele for information about which financial software is right for you, how to install it and set up your company data file.
Gabriele is a certified QuickBooks Proadvisor. She has been teaching QuickBooks for over 9 years to employees and business owners in a variety of firleds, e.g. construction, landscaping, retail etc.
Gabriele's company offer's bookkeeping services to small and home-based businesses.
Gabriele advises business owners which program to obtain, helps with the installation of the software, setting up of the comapny data file, chart of accounts and with historical data entry. She can also help with third party integration of QuickBooks and troubleshooting.
Contact her with QuickBooks questions through her (a href="mailto:gabriele@dexlen.com">email. You may also visit her websites at Nevada QuickBooks and DexLen Bookkeeping |
|
(775-842-2398) or email us for a 
