Every year about this time I try to sort out and make sense of the paperwork monster that lurks in my office......I HATE dealing with accounting and papers...I'd rather play all day and paint.
Post your tips with getting/keeping organized with your paperwork and bookeeping.
A:)
Posted by KARYN BUSH (Member # 1948) on :
i totally stay on top of it, i use quickbooks 2002 pro..i enter my invoices, i enter and pay bills, receive pymts(my personal favorite) and print checks right from there...i haven't handwritten a check in 3 years..businesss or personal...everything is done on the computer...go to staples and get some of those little portable plastic file bins...love em! i recently have gotten a palm pilot so i don't have a million post-its, pieces of paper, or backs of envelopes to deal with...i enter all my appointments in the pilot datebook, i have all my phone numbers/contacts and notes from jobs i'm quoting right on that...and it downloads to your computer so you can have in both places. it has helped me be the organized person i've longed to be. so as it comes to be tax time..it's a great thing to just punch in your figures in turbo tax and have your return pop out all nice and purrrty...sign and be done with it.
now keeping my shop all organized and clean is what i'm working on presently...building storage bins,keeping paint supplies in one place, hardware, tools...i'm trying to get it down but boy it sure isn't easy...hey all we can do is try our best.
you go girl!
Posted by Nancy Beaudette (Member # 1983) on :
Hire a bookkeeper!!!!! Even if it's only for two or three hours per month, it will save you the headache at years end, and let you know how you're doing throughout the whole year.
Posted by cheryl nordby (Member # 1100) on :
I just take it all to my tax man..... he does the magic!
Posted by Jeffrey Vrstal (Member # 2271) on :
OK, here's where you find out how anal retentive I am. At one time in BC (before computers) I used to keep track of everything with a clipboard and lined paper. As I got into the computer age, things changed and I got more frustrated than ever. I devised ways to keep track with the computer, and found that somehow it was not working the way I wanted it to. My lovely wife bought me a PDA and it was not too bad until it failed over and over again (was a lemon).
So, in a constant effort to maintain sanity and keep track of what I am supposed to be doing on a day to day basis, I developed this... and it kind of goes back to the days of the clipboard.
We start with a 3 ring binder. This is sectioned out in the following manner: To Do list, Materials Ordered, To Bill, Billed, To File, Lined Paper, Blank Work Orders, Graph Paper, and section A through Z. All of this stuff came from Office Max, by the way.
So, I have this running list of "To Do" that keeps me up to date on what's going on. Notes are made as to where to find more information and labels such as "DONE", "BILLED", "SKETCH COMPLETED" are affixed as needed. Most of the info is coordinated with a work order in the A to Z section. The way it works is this: All of the info on a project is contained in the book. When the project is completed, that info is transfered to the "to bill" and "billed" and "to file" sections as needed. "To file", means that the info finally goes into my filing cabinet. The other papers that are in there are only a minimum needed , such as graph paper, work orders and such. These can be replenished as needed. The idea is that the book will always remain about the same size and contain just enough info to use it efficiently. It's easy to find, easy to transport from the shop to the kitchen table, and I don't have to boot it up. Getting into the habit of maintaining it is what is needed... once you do that, the rest flows pretty well.
Hope this helps!
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Binders, PDA's, QuickBooks, MS Office.. doesn't matter which way you do it if you don't have the discipline to JUST DO IT in the first place!
I use Excel for all my invoicing, works well for non-production level shops and comes with worksheets and databases to extract certain information you might need in the future. If you get QuickBooks later on, your Excel information can be imported into it.
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
1. get quickbooks
2. pay for on-site consultation to help set-up accounts in quickbooks (& train on some basic accounting or quickbooks skills if needed)
3. after first year Balance sheet and P&L reports are ready for doing your taxes, talk to accountant about any tweaking of the way quickbooks was set-up that would make things smoother. (example: phone bill showing under "utilities" to have the portion for yellow page ads seperated out to "advertising", or loan payments split into "interest" and "loan payment")
4. those of you with the time, skill, turbo tax, or whatever makes you willing to do your own taxes would still benefit from some initial consultations to help set things up so then every expense logged into QB Pro goes directly into the proper account. If you want, every item billed can also go directly into "signs", "screenprinting", "digital output", or "design work" so you can monitor where you are making your money.
5. thoses of us who would rather pay the account (like me)could still ask for guidence each year to continually tweak the way your use of QB Pro keeps everything in order.
For the organization of non-financial related job info.. looks to me like Jeff has a winning system!
Posted by Jackson Smart (Member # 187) on :
Hey A.
I have the best ever system that I never have to worry about, causes me NO pain or upset....
"Hey Dianne...ya gettin all that paperwork done?" Posted by Barb Schilling (Member # 13) on :
I just performed the most important part of my tax related jobs: Call the accountant for an appointment NEXT TUESDAY! Now, I HAVE TO get the stuff done THIS WEEKEND.
We use quickbooks, but with 2 separate businesses, and 3 kids, there is still alot of stuff to "gather up" for the accountant at the end of the year. Most has to do with expenses that we track all year and then have to adjust for personal use, such as Shop In Home, Vehicles, Telephone, Contributions, Mortgage stuff, etc. I know if it wasn't for tax time, I'd have no idea how much we lost or made. Taxes are the main incentive to track any of this stuff. Otherwise I could procrastinate forever! So really the government is doing me a favor, right? Posted by Donna in BC (Member # 130) on :
Didn't you already hire a bookeeper/filer type person last year???
In a nutshell, what I do...
Have a folder for each month of the year. Each receipt and paid bill goes in the right folder for my bookeeper to tend with later. Done.
Unpaid bills are on my bulletin board so I can see them all the time. I pay most of my bills via internet. Done.
I keep an envelope in my truck for any receipts I achieve while on the road. Rather than throwing them on the seat, it's just as easy to throw them in one envelope. Every so often that envelope makes it into my shop.
Bookeeper comes in once a month, enters all my stuff via computer, does my govt paperwork, fills out cheques for me to sign.
My invoices are done by me in MYOB. Bookeeper prefered it over Quickbooks. I like it better too, find it easier to follow.
Nike knows best.. JUST DO IT. Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
Hey, lady! I look forward to meetin' you someday! Your work is awsome! ................Well, after 14+ years in this biz, I just gotta computer....I can't imagine enterin' all those files now!!!....but for those of you techno-laggers like me.........my system's pretty straight forward....................I've got every job I've ever done(printed, full-page invoices,W/logoheader on carbonless) on file, in alpha- order, according to steady-repeat, occasional-repeat, and 1st- time customers............. Two separate drawers for ea. catagory....................................Anytime a customer calls, I can put my hand on they're file quicker than it takes this thing to download...all repeat customers have they're own folders,and after a while, when they get full,they are filed by dates, as well as alpha. for example, Smith Land Company may consist of 5 folders under "S", dated '89-91, 92-94, 95-98, 99-2001, and "current"...so when the current folder gets full, it's contents become a new dated folder.............Each of these folders hold copies of invoices which double as work-orders, as well as reciepts, as they are posted in view until paid. Each invoice has written on it the (customers) bis. name, who ordered the job, phone #'s etc.,.........and every little detail about that job from paint samples and art work, to details on vinyl copy, installation details, due date, etc......................If your workin' completely by yourself, and your gonna make some money, you just about haf'ta keep up with the "stuff", and when those repeat customers call and say "Remember that sign you did..........." you can whip out that paperwork, and kno' 'zactly what color you used, or how much you had that line condensed......all that .........................For about the 1st year I got in this, I also kept up with my hours on the back of the invoices! I mean, if I spent 10 min.s rollin' out some primer, or 5 min.s talkin' to the customer, I wrote it down and added it up when the job was done....and if I did'nt like the hours/pay/materials-cost ratio, I added $$$$! .........I was a lil' obsessive/compulsive in them days! But now, I'm fixin' to get ridiculous with a regular 4x8 an' just start out at $1,000. LOL..........................Tax season takes me less than 2 hours to total up every single receipt that's been organized in folders according to vendors and the date I paid 'em., including a misc. folder, for those off-the-wall buys, and one for check stubs I sometimes get. If I used it in that shop or office in any way, it gets filed. At the end of the year I just total up materials, and stubs and carry it to the tax guy................The reason I keep them separated out by vendor (in alpha order) is that sometimes you may need to go back and price certain lumber you got, or qty. of somethin'. Or you may just need the check # you should'a wrote on there when you paid it.............it takes 2 sec.s to write it on there and stick it in it's folder, an' 2 sec.s to pull it out and tell some slouchy book-keeper on the phone that you DID indeed pay that invoice on that day/that check # an' when you mailed it! ...............................Well, I'm afraid it's just too long a reply here an' I've burned you out.........but remember ya'll, no job is finished 'til the paperwork is done!! (Does anyone have the cartoon that goes with that, LOL!)........................I hope I might'a helped someone who's just gettin' started out, to see that the office-end of business can be plainly done and pay off in the end with just a little organization: a couple of file cabinets, a few boxes of folders, and just a little bit of time each day to jot everything down and put it in it's place!........An' when your able to, get a secretary an' let her do it!!!
quote:"look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a dog"
Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :
Like it or not, your bookkeeping is the best source of information you have. Trust me, I am an EXCEPTIONALLY bad list maker & maintainer but without a doubt, the best thing I have ever done was to get my books in order. If you have even a half decent record keeping system you can: See what money is outstanding and get all their details to send them a "Please Explain" Track your "Please Explains" if you ever need to take it further. Look up job details for repeat customers or for a customer with a job similar to another's Tally the turnover from a particular customer. Tally the expenses paid to a supplier. Report what it costs you to be in business for a particular year/s Report what a particular job cost you and what your GP was on it. Trap customer information for future reference: mailouts, bulk emails, newsletters etc.
The more I think about it the more uses I find for the information in my bookkeeping. Heck, I might even use it to do my tax! When our tax system changed in 2000 I looked into the two popular pieces of software here, MYOB and Quicken, both of them are no doubt excellent programs but for a sole trader they were overkill so I wrote a database in MS Access. I would imagine that both MYOB & Quicken can trap & provide information with the same ease. Every piece of electronic correspondence (well... almost every piece, I am human) can be tracked and recalled if necessary. Need to recall that good customer's contact details from 2 years ago? No sweat. Paper is still the most foolproof method but... getting your books in order electronically saves you money at the accountant as well as giving you a mountain of readily available information. Failing all else, hire a bookkeeper and give yourself more time to paint. David
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
First question, do you want to go computerized or paper?
For paper: the monthly folders are a good method. Instead of folders, it may be better to use the big manilla envelopes. (Harder for stuff to fall out of.) Depending on how much paper you would have each month, maybe have 2 folders each month, 1 for income, 1 for expenses. Also, have 1 folder for the entire year where medical bills, real estate tax receipts, 1099s, etc. go. If you get ambitious, take 1 sheet of tablet paper for each envelope and total up your expenses and incomes by categories. (A monthly summary: a line for utilities, Supplies, Office expense, etc.) Your accountant can look in the envelopes if there is a question and they will like not having to decipher odd receipts or total all the receipts. This will also save you a few $ by not paying them to add them up and give you a bit of an understanding where your $ is going, etc.
For computerized, a lot of people here like Quickbooks. Personally, I prefer Peachtree accounting. I have degrees in Accounting & Business Management and I think it's the accounting background that makes me think Quickbooks is icky (even worse is quicken, so please don't consider it). I have had the misfortune of trying to fix several business' accounting systems because they had someone who didn't have a clue doing their bookwork & setting up Quickbooks and that person made it a nightmare. (True story: Accounts Receivable is NOT an income account and purchases of inventory are put in the inventory asset account, these are not expenses.) While Quickbooks is geared toward the small business owner with little if any accounting knowledge, it really should be set up by someone who knows about this stuff. IF it is set up correctly, it should be a breeze for you to use. If it isn't set up correctly, it is a lot more difficult and time consuming to fix stuff than in Peachtree. Peachtree is geared more toward someone with accounting knowledge. There is a little more meat to the program, but a lot more control, if you know what you're doing.
First thing is to talk to your accountant and ask him/her what he/she prefers. Some have a liking for one particular software and will just have you backup at year's end and give them the disk. This makes your life a lot simpler. If they do this, they will probably help you set everything up initially and can tell you where to put strange stuff or how to set up new things when need be. The advantage to the disk over paper reports is they can look at any unfamiliar entries or strange totals and move them if put in the wrong place rather then call you and ask about an amount from last January. If they don't prefer any particular software, still ask them to help you set up system. If they won't do this, FIND A NEW ACCOUNTANT. This may cost you a few $, but will be well worth it in the long run.
Any other questions, feel free to email me and I'll try to help.
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