Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part I: Basic Bookkeeping: Why You Need It 5
Chapter 1: So You Want to Do the Books 7
Chapter 2: Getting Down to Bookkeeping Basics 15
Chapter 3: Outlining Your Financial Road Map with a Chart of Accounts 27
Part II: Keeping a Paper Trail 41
Chapter 4: Ledgers: A One-Stop Summary of Your Business Transactions 43
Chapter 5: Keeping Journals 55
Chapter 6: Computer Options for Your Bookkeeping 71
Chapter 7: Controlling Your Books, Your Records, and Your Money 81
Part III: Tracking Your Day-to-Day Operations with Your Books 99
Chapter 8: Buying and Tracking Your Purchases 101
Chapter 9: Counting Your Sales 113
Chapter 10: Employee Payroll and Benefits 127
Chapter 11: Employer-Paid Taxes and Government Payroll Reporting 149
Part IV: Preparing the Books for Year’s (or Month’s) End 163
Chapter 12: Depreciating Your Assets 165
Chapter 13: Paying and Collecting Interest 175
Chapter 14: Proving Out the Cash 185
Chapter 15: Closing the Journals 199
Chapter 16: Checking Your Accuracy — By Trial and Hopefully No Error 211
Chapter 17: Adjusting the Books 221
Part V: Reporting Results and Starting Over 231
Chapter 18: Developing a Balance Sheet 233
Chapter 19: Producing an Income Statement 245
Chapter 20: Completing Year-End Payroll and Reports 259
Chapter 21: Satisfying the Tax Man 271
Chapter 22: Prepping the Books for a New Accounting Cycle 289
Part VI: The Part of Tens 297
Chapter 23: Top Ten Ways to Manage Your Business Cash with Your Books 299
Chapter 24: Top Ten Most Important Accounts for Any Bookkeeper 303
Appendix: Glossary 307
Index 311
