Replies

1. 
   dgreen | Sep 06, 2006 06:13am | #1

   Many bookeepers are familiar with quickbooks and if you are going to use a bookeeper they really appreciate a chance to help set up your chart of accounts and item list. It makes life easier for both of you at tax time. What they charge for their time is money well spent, as you have probably noticed the more time goes by the more difficult it is to make changes.

   Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
1. 
   mufti | Sep 06, 2006 08:51pm | #2

              Too many people have "creative" accountants. They don't bother their clients much, except for fees, and make up what they do not understand. Just ahead of lawyers in the primordial pond.

   Why are so many politicians accountants or lawyers?

2. 
   Floss | Sep 07, 2006 03:42am | #3

   You should post your question over at woodweb in the business forum.

   You will get a much better response. More professionals.

   For me I just use a filing cabinet and file folders for all of my accounting. I have a very small volume and may only write up 2 - 6 invoices a month. My invoices are simple with a description of the work performed(for furniture repair), materials used, a shop supplies fee, tax and total. I do not use account numbers but rather the name of the client and invoice date. So if you are looking to start a Chart of Accounts then an accountant would be the best bet.

   I know several folks using quickbooks(which is rather standard) and it works well for them. However the software is not cheap, and you will have to pay for upgrades in order to be able to keep your books current.

   The biggest complaint about quickbooks is the manufacturer "sunsetting" the software and forcing folks with older programs to purchase new software because the upgrades will not work with their original software.

   I have considered accounting software seriously for my business but have found it not all that necessary.

   Lastly look up a SCORE(service corps of retired executives) office in your area. They will give free advice. Plus I think that most of them are retired accountants anyway.

   Here are a couple of places to look to for setting up a Chart of Accounts

   http://www.netmba.com/accounting/fin/accounts/chart/

   http://www.labyrinthinc.com/SharedContent/SingleFaq.asp?faqid=36

   J.P.

1. 
   mudman | Sep 07, 2006 07:09am | #4

   Thank you all,

   I have been using QB Pro for 4 or 5 years. I have upgraded twice (happily). I think that QB offers a heck of a product for the money. I have seen others' set up and noticed flaws in their accounting. But as they correctly pointed out the PL, ballance sheet and asset reports are accurate so it must be close enough. I am by nature a perfectionist and cant help but want me books more ..... in keeping with the standard. What ever that is.

   I agree that a lot of accountants are no more than ..... lets just say they aren't worth their fees. I found a couple of accountants that really seemed to know their way around QB, and tax law, and business practices, and state/ sales tax laws. They charged around $250 for a two hour consult, unless I wanted to commit to a long term relationship. I am now thinking that that may be a better deal than I first thought. I learned that QB has a certification process for accountants that are versed in account set up and  the like. So I will start contacting them.

   Thanks for the links, my searches came up dry. Fortunately I have a book Titled "QB for contractors", or something like that, and it explained the baisics. I sort of know when it is wrong, but don't know how to do it right. Well I'll post my results as they come.

    Pardon my spelling,

   Mike

   Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.

1. 
   Ink Man | Dec 30, 2006 07:05pm | #6

   mudman-I am an accountant and a part-time woodworker.  I am also extremely well versed in Quickbooks.  I use the Premier Accountant version, which is admittedly much for the average small business but is very adaptable for me and my clients.  As far as setting up a item list, what I have found is that many business owners become really glassy-eyed when trying to set this up.  With QB, there are so many options that it can be quite confusing.  My advice to you is to KEEP IT SIMPLE!  You don't have to inventory every screw, nail, piece of sandpaper, etc.  If you do this, you will spend more time counting inventory than you will working.  I would strongly advise that you find a qualified bookkeeper to help you set your business finances up properly.  A bookkeeping service will cost you less than a CPA will.  That being said, I believe that every small business owner should have a working relationship with a CPA or an accounting firm.  Why?  Simple.  They are experts at managing financial affairs, just as you are an expert at working with wood.  The more time you spend trying to make sense of your business finance software, the less time you are spending generatjng revenue.  Do what you do best, and hire someone to manage your business finance and record keeping.  One of the top reasons small businesses fail is because the owners didn't have the knowledge or the ability to manage their cash flow.  Many of these business owners see a positive balance in their checking accounts and assume they are making money.  Those are the one's who are doomed to failure. 

3. 
   cowtown | Dec 30, 2006 10:43am | #5

   qbpro is what I use, it's what my corporate wife uses, and it's what the three or four organizations she's been treasurer for have ended up using.

   The end point of the accounting process is taxation, so you set up your accounts to coincide with the taxation categories you require, that takes the most strain out of life.

   BTW, if yer using an accountant, in every Canadian province I've lived in, anybody can hang out a shingle an accountant. No credentials required.

   Be very careful in your choice of accountant, cause a lot of em have exactly ZERO credentials. Excercise due diligence and check em out with association offices before you committ. Once they got yer reciepts and records, you possibly ain't getting them back til you pay their bills in total, nomatter how many mistakes/errors/omissions they make....

   Been there done that. Only once, thank heavens.

   Eric