There are two ways of accounting – cash basis accounting and accrual basis. The main difference between them lies in the timing of when revenue and expenses are recognized.
If you reflect on your bookkeeping processes, you will likely arrive at a few areas that need improvement. There are things you can do now to make bookkeeping easier. Things to consider are:
Many small businesses are choosing to leave their QuickBooks Desktop (QBD) accounting software for the accessibility of QuickBooks Online (QBO). As a bookkeeper for a small business, I was part of a conversion recently. Below are some of the tips I can offer.
Before the Conversion
Clean up Vendors: Take time to weed through your vendors for duplicates and update contact information. Merge like vendors and make vendors not used in several years inactive. This process is much simpler with QBD.
As unpleasant as it is, you probably have debt that you are never going to collect. This is a good time to write off bad debt and clean up your A/R Aging report. The proper way to account for bad debts is with the Allowance Method. However, many small businesses use the Direct Write-Off Method when dealing with bad debts. This method expenses bad debts at the time it is deemed uncollectible.
Need polished reports for your banker, directors, or investors? The Management Reports feature is a simple, yet powerful feature in QuickBooks Online (QBO). The feature allows you to produce financial statements as needed and can be emailed or printed. In a few simple steps you can customize a professional-looking package of reports, complete with:
What do you need in an Expense Report? To save you and your bookkeeper time, incorporate the following seven features into your Expense Report.
Are you considering outsourced bookkeeping for your small business? In our video below, learn how much you can expect to pay if you hire an outsourced bookkeeper. You can also access Intuit's Billing Rate Survey to see what bookkeepers are charging.
Budgets can feel like a chore or a forgotten item on the to-do list when you are caught in the throes of running your business. But, how often do your goals come alive if you don’t have a plan or if you don’t measure your results?
In-kind contributions can be an important source of non-profit revenue, particularly if the item or service is central to the organization’s mission. Often, in-kind gifts can help your non-profit provide programs and activities at a reduced cost.
Whether you operate a small business or large enterprise, you will have to account for payroll. Properly posting and reporting payroll will be a recurring task. If you follow best practices, you will journalize your payroll and use a payroll clearing account.
