Bookkeeping
Success!
“We need a certain delight in tending
the books, like in tending a garden.”
~ Connie Harvey
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Organization and Filing *
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Divide your paperwork into 4 sections:
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Action needed to be taken (folder - bills to pay, etc)
Action taken but not yet recorded in the system
Completed paperwork ready to be filed (tray)
Completed paperwork filed away (big filing cabinet)
Set up and label file folders:
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By Date – All items in Daily, Weekly or Monthly
By Function – Bank Statements, receipts, etc.
Alphabetically – Customers and Vendors
* Credit to: Bookkeeping is not a four-letter word by Janet L. Redick
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It’s all about balance
Credits
Debits
Assets – Liabilities = Owner’s Equity
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Debits

and
Assets
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Credits
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Bank Accounts
Accounts Receivable
Buildings/Land
Equipment, Vehicles, etc
Inventory
Pre-paid Expenses
Liabilities
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Loans
Credit Cards
Accounts Payable
Sales Tax Payable
Payroll Liabilities
Gift Certificates Sold
Rent Deposits Held
Equity (Shareholders)
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Something to Remember:

Assets, Liabilities and Equity are part of the
Balance Sheet and are normally on the top of the list
in the Chart of Accounts and have a register when
you double-click.

Income, COGS, and Expenses are a part of the
Profit & Loss Statement and are normally on the
bottom of the list in the Chart of Accounts and have
a quick report when you double-click.
Note: Before electronic bookkeeping, there were many journals to post to.
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Double Entry Accounting


Q: What does that mean?
A: Posting Debits and Credits to the
Balance Sheet and/or the Profit & Loss
Statement.

Note: The Balance Sheet is for Reality,
and the Profit & Loss is for Reporting
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Double Entry Accounting
►QuickBooks does it for you behind the scenes:

In an Invoice:
Debit
Accounts Receivable
Cost of Goods Sold
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In a Sales Receipt:
Debit
Undeposited Funds
Cost of Goods Sold
Credit
Sales
Sales Tax Payable
Inventory Asset
Credit
Sales/Sales Tax Payable
Inventory Asset
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Double Entry Accounting con’t…
►QuickBooks does it for you behind the scenes:

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In the Enter Bills:
Debit
Inventory Asset
Expenses
In the Payroll:
Debit
Payroll Expenses
Credit
Accounts Payable
Credit
Checking
Payroll Liabilities
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Some Pitfalls to Avoid:

Accounts Receivable


Accounts Payable
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Recording Checks without using “Pay Bills”
Sales Tax Payable

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Recording payments without using “Receive Payment”
Recording Checks without using “Pay Sales Tax”
Payroll Taxes Payable
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Recording Payments without using “Pay Payroll Liabilities”
No more “widows and orphans”!
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NOTES:
Only Accumulated
Depreciation has a
negative balance.
Inspect the
Sales Tax and
Payroll Tax
Liabilities
Regularly.
Verify the Open
Invoices and Bills
Payable Regularly.
Reconcile All Bank,
Credit Card and
Loan Statements,
making sure to deal
with errors right
away!
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Go through the “QuickBooks Diagnostics”
document now…
1.
Look at the Chart of Accounts (Ctrl A)
2.
Look at the Open Invoices Report
3.
Look at the Deposit Window
4.
Look at the Pay Bills Window
5.
Look at the Pay Sales Tax
6.
Look at the Payroll
7.
Look at the Items List
8.
Look at the Profit and Loss report
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The General Ledger
“The Catch All”
Your best tool for entering transactions
you don’t know what to do with, such as:


Daily Sales from a cash register tape with
deposits going to several accounts due to
merchant card service, cash payouts, etc.

Owner Investments and Draws

Adjustments
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The Financial Statements
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Balance Sheet
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Statement of Cash Flows
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Snapshot at the moment of all accounts
Cash movements during a given time period derived
from operating, investing and financing activities
Profit and Loss

Income and expenses during a given time period
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“Best Practices” or Good Habits
Think of it like watering your plants, or brushing your teeth…
you do it as often as is needed to stay healthy.

Enter transactions at least once a week
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Cash transactions
Checkbook transactions
Credit Card transactions, etc.
Reconcile all statements once a month
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Checking and Saving Statements
Credit Card Statements
Loan Statements, etc.
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Another Good Thing To Do:
Map your
Chart of Accounts
to your Tax Form
(Schedule C, 1065, 1120 or 1120S)
Tax-Line Mapping is in the “Edit Account” window.
*Opening Balance Equity should come to $0.00
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Employees and Payroll
Basic Forms:
 941 – Federal Withholding Taxes (quarterly)
 941N – Nebraska Withholding Tax (quarterly)
 UI Connect – State Unemployment Tax (quarterly)
 Note: The above three taxes may need to be deposited more frequently.
 940 – Federal Unemployment Tax (annually)
 W-2’s and 1099’s
 W-3 – Federal Withholding Reconciliation
 W3-N – Nebraska Withholding Reconciliation
 W-4’s – Employee’s Withholding Allowance
W-9 – Request for TIN (when hiring Contractors)
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Prompts and Automation
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Laminated Charts and Reminders
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Visual color coded instructions
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Pop-ups from your computer calendar,
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See examples…
QuickBooks, Outlook, Hotmail, etc.
Templates, Programs and Calculators
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Data input forms and reports using computer
programs such as QuickBooks, Excel and Access
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See examples…
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Know where to get help

Federal Taxes: www.irs.gov

Click Business,


Or
308-340-7584
then Small Business/Self-Employed
Click Business, then choose topic.
Business Knowledge Center: www.netmba.com


402-460-6216
State Taxes: www.revenue.ne.gov

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Or, call us at
Efficiency Counts
General Information on Management and Business
“Help” on your computer program menu bar.

QuickBooks has an excellent Help tool
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Tend the
Books
But don’t
neglect the
Books….
Give the Books to
another to tend
Or your
business
can’t succeed
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“Where you tend a rose,
~ a thistle cannot grow.”
Frances Hodgson Burnett
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