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about e-ccounting
e-ccounting is a monthly
newsletter focusing on accounting tips and solutions.
Our mission is to educate our clients, students and
readers by offering these resources in response to
your ongoing questions.
It is our objective to
gather information and provide easy access for your
current and future needs.
Back-issues are
available on the accountrain website.
These tips are not complete answers to complex
questions. We therefore recommend, when in doubt,
contact the professionals or government
agency.
about accountrain
accountrain simplifies the client /
accountant relationship.
accountrain offers a unique
combination of knowledge and people-skills to solve
all your accounting needs.
accountrain specializes in the how's
and why's of accounting.
Is accountrain the right accounting
team for you?
Find out
more....
Pass It On !
Please forward this to anyone you feel may benefit
from some free accounting tips. They'll be
glad you did.
Sandy's Question Corner
Do you have an accounting question? Send it to us at
accountrain
UPCOMING WORKSHOP
Understanding How to Read Financial
Statements
An interactive workshop reinforced with examples.
Quoted testimonials from the Nov 2007 session "fun
& informative" and "You made it easy with your
simplicity of explanation".
LEARN:
- The five key sections of the Financials
- Who's interested in your reports and why
- Why there's more to the Income Statement than
just the "bottom line"
- What's so important about the Balance Sheet
Tuesday, May 13th - Ottawa
8:30am - noon
Regular price $199 (if you mention e-
ccounting, $149)
Location details will be provided upon
registration
Limited seating, for more information or to register:
contact us
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Business Scenario
- Accounting Software Packages |
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One of the first questions our new clients ask us is
what software should I maintain my accounting
records on? And then the rest of the questions
follow:
where should I buy it,
how much should it cost,
what version do I need?
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| Answer |
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There are so many varieties of software that are
capable of doing accounting. Like anything else, they
range in price and options.
Before purchasing your software do your homework,
or at least speak to someone who can help you
understand what it is you need, and just as important,
what you don't need.
May I suggest whatever you are purchasing, ensure
there is support available when you need it, and
perhaps training options as well.
For small to
medium sized businesses, Sage's Simply Accounting
as well as Intuit's QuickBooks have both come a
long way and are capable of the following:
Journal entries
Vendor entries (A/P): Purchases & Payments
Customer entries (A/R): Invoicing & Receipts
Inventory
Payroll
Job costing, and
Reporting
Accounting software is available at most places that
sell office supplies. The price will depend on what
version you purchase. There are various versions
with capabilities for Payroll, Multi-user, etc.
Make sure you understand what you need and what
best suits this. You can always upgrade at a later
date.
An example of pricing, for the basic
versions of Simply and Quickbooks, the cost should
be under $200. (this is merely a guideline).
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| Accounting Tip |
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Ensure the program / software you purchase is
compatible to your computer and it's applications. For
example Sage (Simply Accounting) and QuickBooks
are no longer available for Mac computers.
Don't
be talked into purchasing a US version, as it won't be
able to handle our GST needs!
Another tip.
When seeking training, most of my clients prefer the
special attention they receive with one-on-one training
versus a classroom setting.
With individual training, you focus on your specific
needs and although you may pay more, you probably
only need two or three lessons.
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| Did You Know ? |
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Most software packages offer a minimum 30 day
free trial offer. Take advantage of this
and play with the sample data. See if it can handle
some of your typical transactions.
I always suggest testing a typical week or month to get
a sense of your true business activity.
for Simply - www.simplyaccounting.com/freetrial
for QuickBooks - www.quickbooks.com (it's more
difficult to find, type free trial in the search box)
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For more Did You Knows? |
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| Definition |
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Financial Statements
If you own a business, at some point someone has
asked you for
your Financial Statements.
Financial Statements
consist of the Balance Sheet and the Income
Statement (also known as the Statement of Profit and
Loss).
Financial Statements tell the entire story of a
company, how it's performing now as well as it's
history. External readers, including bankers,
investors, potential franchisees, buyers and even
suppliers, are especially interested in how these two
reports work together.
So, what does this have to do with our topic of
Software?
Many small businesses choose to
track
(record) only their revenues and expenses, thus only
creating an Income Statement. By doing so, you will
not have the necessary information that a Balance
Sheet provides.
For more information on Financial Statements, check
the accountrain website for upcoming WORKSHOPs,
one entitled:
Understanding How to Read Financial Statements.
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For more definitions ... |
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| Sandy's Recommendations |
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When deciding on what software to purchase, base
the decision on your specific needs, not because it's
what your neighbour uses, it's on sale or it's what the
retailer suggests.
Ask others in your industry or a similar industry for
feedback, suggestions and advise.
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| Next Issue - Business Use of Home Expenses |
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What can you write off?
Learn:
How to calculate the portion that is applicable
What expenses are included
Why some expenses should be calculated
separately
When and how to handle the bookkeeping
aspect
How to apply this information to your Income Tax
return.
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| Correction - February issue |
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Please note in the last issue - It's Tax Time
Again! , in both the Answer and Definition sections, the
Statement of Business Activities form was mentioned
and referred to as T2120, the form number is actually
T2124.
I apologize for any confusion and thank Bruce C of
Ottawa for pointing it out.
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