QuickBooks for Farm
Business Recordkeeping
Jenny Vanderlin
Assistant Director
Center for Dairy Profitability
Stan Schraufnagel
Professor, Dept. of Ag Economics
UW-River Falls

QuickBooks for Farm
Business Recordkeeping
• Statewide Workshops Since 2006
• Goal:
Improve Basic Accounting and Record-Keeping
• Instructors
–
Stan Schraufnagel, Professor Ag Econ
–
Jenny Vanderlin, Assistant Director, Center for Dairy Profitability
– UW-Extension, County Faculty
• Funding Source
USDA – North Central Regional Risk Management Education Center, Agricultural Risk Management
Education Competitive Grants Program, USDA Risk Management Agency, Commodity Partnerships Small
Sessions Program, Center for Dairy Profitability, and UW-Extension.

QuickBooks for Farm Business
Recordkeeping - Audience
• Producers
– Improve:
• Financial Skills
• Problem Solving Skills
– Identify:
• Critical Issues
• Plan for Farm Future

QuickBooks for Farm Business
Recordkeeping – Audience
• Producers
– Develop:
• Accrual Financial Statements
• Better Decisions Based on
Accrual Accounting Practices
– Evaluate:
• Financial Performance of Farm

QuickBooks - Structure
• One day workshop
• 6 hours
(includes lunch)
– 2010-11: 1.5 days
• Computer lab with QB installed
• Small groups – 25 Maximum

QuickBooks – What we do…
• Create Company file
• Create & modify Chart of Accounts: create accounts, items, classes, customers, vendors
• Record basic revenue & expense transactions
• Lecture(s): importance, double-entry accounting, cash vs. accrual accounting

QuickBooks – How we do it…
• Lecture
– Why record financial information
– Types of transactions
– Accounting Model: Assets = Liabilities + Owners Equity
• Hands-on Demo
•
Lunch
• Lecture
– Double Entry accounting
• Hands-on Demo

QuickBooks – How we do it…
• Work with UW-Extension County Faculty
– Promotion, customer buy-in, computer lab
• Hands-on: in computer lab
• Two instructors: one “lecturing,” one moving around room
• Teaching outline & take home manual
• Jump drives

QuickBooks - What We Learned…
• “Liked Best”
• Discussion & informal Q&A
• Hands-on approach
• Lots of information
• Instructional booklet
• Two instructors, no one fell behind
• “Change”
• More In-Depth Information
• More on balance sheet & budgeting
• “Add”
• Another day, longer than 10-3
• More advanced topics

QuickBooks -
Questions/Discussion ?
Stan Schraufnagel
Professor, Department of Ag Economics
UW-River Falls stan.a.schraufnagel@uwrf.edu
715.425.3176
Jenny Vanderlin
Assistant Director
Center for Dairy Profitability jmvander@wisc.edu
608.263.7795