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How do very small businesses keep track of such things? I have the checkbook which notes when things were paid for with a check, but that doesn't cover very much at all. That is put into Quicken, which is a program I hate, but the accountant likes it.
I need to track inventory, cost of goods produced, livestock feed and housing, travel miles, equipment, store rent, all kinds of stuff, but how do other people keep track of this sort of thing? Is there one program? Paper journals? Written on a calendar?
Is there a standard business program that keeps track of all the various business matters?
Most of my bills are automatic withdrawals monthly. I do go through my accounts and check through all deposits and payments from my accounts, I like to make sure everything matches.
I physically check inventory everyday and keep a notebook of what I need to order.
I use the IRS standard deduction for mileage and gas. All I have to do is keep track of miles. Not too hard. Again, I have a notebook for that. I update it weekly.
Most of my sales are credit card, and my merchant service provider is great at keeping track of sales. They have a website I can check sales and all sorts of stats and information.
We do have a physical calendar for keeping track of some things. But mostly I use my phones calendar.
There are various softwares you can use to help track inventory, but for me personally I don't need it at this point.
How do very small businesses keep track of such things? I have the checkbook which notes when things were paid for with a check, but that doesn't cover very much at all. That is put into Quicken, which is a program I hate, but the accountant likes it.
I need to track inventory, cost of goods produced, livestock feed and housing, travel miles, equipment, store rent, all kinds of stuff, but how do other people keep track of this sort of thing? Is there one program? Paper journals? Written on a calendar?
Is there a standard business program that keeps track of all the various business matters?
Spiral notebook to keep track of mileage.
Spreadsheet for daily income / monthly total income (Separate sections for revenue and sales tax - makes it easy to calculate total sales taxes that I pay quarterly). Separate spreadsheets for monthly expense reports. Expandable file folder for monthly expense receipts.
I put everything in Excel which came with the computer when I bought it.. My accountant seems OK with this arrangement.
My business is fairly straightforward. As a real estate appraiser I have very few variable expenses. My income comes in the form of a 1099, no inventory or cost of goods sold, I have standard charges each year for data, MLS subscriptions, insurance, etc. No business travel or entertaining. I take the mileage rate for car expense and keep track of my business mileage with a simple tablet. The only variable expenses are things like office supplies and the rare piece of new office equipment. For that, I keep a business credit card that I ONLY use for business purchases. At the end of the year I download my bills from that card for each month. Takes me a few hours to do my taxes, if you don't allow for crying time.
Okay, a paper notebook, a paper or electronic calendar and Excel? There's Excel around here somewhere, but I've not done much with it at all. Maybe if I write a journal of daily events? Should that be paper or electronic?
Here's an example of the stuff I think may need to be kept track of: day before yesterday, there was a road trip to do a demonstration and sell products. So, if I write the mileage in the notebook in the car (probably in the journal as well) then that counts as proper documentation? (I should probably have a box or envelope for receipts?). There was lunch, there were products sold and now I need to write an invoice for stuff left with the shop that held the demo. Previously, it's mostly been hand over the product and accept immediate payment. Usually, I'd just hand over the product and they'd give me either money, credit card or check. Now I'm to write an invoice and they will send me a check. I guess that's how they keep track of their paperwork, but now I need to make up a letterhead, I guess?
This sounds more like a MSWord thing than an Excel thing, does Excel do invoices?
After I send the invoice, do I keep a paper copy somewhere or is the electronic version enough? I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible.
Okay, a paper notebook, a paper or electronic calendar and Excel? There's Excel around here somewhere, but I've not done much with it at all. Maybe if I write a journal of daily events? Should that be paper or electronic?
Here's an example of the stuff I think may need to be kept track of: day before yesterday, there was a road trip to do a demonstration and sell products. So, 1. if I write the mileage in the notebook in the car (probably in the journal as well) then that counts as proper documentation? 2. (I should probably have a box or envelope for receipts?). 3. There was lunch, there were products sold and now I need to write an invoice for stuff left with the shop that held the demo. Previously, it's mostly been hand over the product and accept immediate payment. Usually, I'd just hand over the product and they'd give me either money, credit card or check. 4. Now I'm to write an invoice and they will send me a check. I guess that's how they keep track of their paperwork, but now I need to make up a letterhead, I guess?
5. This sounds more like a MSWord thing than an Excel thing, does Excel do invoices?
6. After I send the invoice, do I keep a paper copy somewhere or is the electronic version enough?7. I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible.
I numbered your questions in the quote:
1. Mileage in notebook is fine (starting and ending mileage that is specifically business related for each trip). In your monthly expense file/folder keep whatever paperwork you have that verifies that your trip was business related (ie. you can SAY you traveled 100 miles to a demonstration but what do you have that provides proof - registration fee for the demo / flier promoting the demo / attendance sheet for those who went to your demo / receipts for goods sold at the demo / etc etc)
2. Yes
3. Just keep all of your paperwork - proof of transactions / proof of meals / whatever is specific to your goods/services
4. Letterhead can be professionally purchased or can be something you make up yourself on your home/business computer. How you do it depends on your business budget and the standard client expectations for your particular type of business. The IRS doesn't care how pretty or ugly your paperwork is. They also don't care whether you use an expensive tracking system or a basic tracking system. For that matter they likely wouldn't care if you track elecontronically or write everything down the old fashioned way in ledgers. They just care about a correct and logically prepared/understood paper trail of your expenses and revenue for the year.
5. You can make invoices up in Excel or pretty much any other program.
6 Keep a paper copy of your monthly expense and revenue reports, in addition to an electronic version. If your computer ever crashes you've still got all your info.
7. Definitely keep it as simple as possible. Get receipts for everything (and I do mean every single move you make - every dime you spend, every dime you make, every dime you invest). Set up a simple system to keep track of your business transactions (money going in and out) that works for YOU. Maintain that system throughout the month. It's not hard to make up your own forms. Consult with your accountant if you're struggling with any of this and pay them to help you set up a simple, easy to maintain system. It will be worth the money.
Thanks, Jueneaubound, this will be helpful. I'd not even considered monthly reports, that makes the whole thing much more workable. Keeping track of a whole year seemed quite daunting, but month by month or even week by week seems much easier somehow.
I've been going back through emails to track things as well as the checkbook and notes on the events attended and such. Sort of like ferreting out bits of info here and there and then trying to keep them stored somewhere else and I'd not had much luck figuring out the somewhere else.
Trying to organize an entire year at a time for the tax accountant isn't something I want to do each year, so keeping it month by month should make it much easier.
How do very small businesses keep track of such things? I have the checkbook which notes when things were paid for with a check, but that doesn't cover very much at all. That is put into Quicken, which is a program I hate, but the accountant likes it.
I need to track inventory, cost of goods produced, livestock feed and housing, travel miles, equipment, store rent, all kinds of stuff, but how do other people keep track of this sort of thing? Is there one program? Paper journals? Written on a calendar?
Is there a standard business program that keeps track of all the various business matters?
There is no one "one-size-fits-all" solution. For a lot of folks it means learning to use Excel and templates, or one of the database programs. For other people, notebooks and invoice pads are an answer.
In retail, keeping track of COG and shrinkage are vital. In a owner-operator business, a lot of that is seat-of-the-pants.
You can simplify things tremendously with a few quick rules.
1. You only place orders with a supplier once a month - or - you only allow them to invoice you once a month. If you can figure out your par inventory, you cut that to once a quarter.
2. All of your financial stuff gets scheduled so you can do it on the same day of the month.
3. You standardize purchases, routes, or anything else that you can.
4. You examine your COG and profit ratio at least once a quarter and make adjustments.
5. You refuse to tolerate attempts to get you doing financial stuff (like writing a check) on any day other than the one day per month designated.
In one theatre circuit I cut the cost of office supplies to 1/6th of what had been spent, and janitorial supply cost even more, just by standardizing, limiting par stock and ordering, and then negotiating better pricing. I also literally designed myself out of having to work, by standardizing and automating all tasks except emergency decisions.
Use whatever business software your accountant recommends. Since you already use Quicken, QuickBooks is likely for you. Peachtree products are okay, Redwing is better, etc. Everyone has a preference.
Buy an all in one printer copier scanner.
To handle paper avalanche, scan all receipts as PDFs and store digitally by category. Scan and store all bank statements. All invoices etc...
Email yourself backups or put on the cloud. Get as much digital as you can. We use Nuance Paperport scanning software.
We use multiple Google calendars and sync them all. That is the most valuable organization tool we use.
Didn't know Google had a calendar, let alone it could be sync'd but it sounds interesting, I'll go look at those. I usually keep a wall calendar and write dates and things on there. There's a box with the past ten to fifteen year's calendars, which is actually quite useful.
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