Buying an Easy-to-Use Bookkeeping System for Small Business

You may need an easy-to-use bookkeeping system if you're a solo entrepreneur or owner of a small business that doesn't carry much inventory and your payroll needs are simple. Are you starting a small business or running a small business that keeps you off the computer and then you’re too tired at night to enter data in a computer-based bookkeeping system?

Small Business Bookkeeping Simplified will meet the need to easily write down the day’s or week’s expenses so the costs and income are readily tabulated in one place. The book is easy to bid on through eBay. This simple tool is absolutely necessary in tracking business finances.

Small Business Bookkeeping Simplified helps track daily and weekly income and expenses, plus tracks payroll for up to eight employees and assists in tracking inventory, profits, and losses.

For business owners who drive from one client to another or who run a brick and mortar operation, then this bookkeeping system is ideal to keep in the car, truck, or briefcase. Once the information is collected and entered, it’s easy to transfer to a computer-based system like Quickbooks or hand over to a bookkeeper who can easily enter the information within a couple of hours.

Most bookkeepers who pick up new clients say they encounter the “shoe box” dilemma with receipts stuffed in shoeboxes and dog-eared file folders torn apart. The information gets scattered, data gets lost, and the business owner can’t easily grasp the necessary data for making informed decisions.

Another popular, easy-to-use system is the Dome 612 Monthly Bookkeeping Record with an attractive tan cover and 128 pages. It’s also easy to purchase via Amazon.

While the tools are simple, they are indispensible. Entering the basic data by hand will help you have a good grasp of where the business is financially and the direction in which it’s headed. This is an important step in managing cash flow.

Without the information, it’s too cumbersome and financially dangerous to stop at a bank ATM and check the current balance and try to remember which bills are due and which checks are in circulation.

Both Small Business Bookkeeping Simplified and Dome make it possible to track finances simply while focusing on running a business and doing what you do best.

Using the system allows you the chance to remain in contact with current customers and find new customers.

A mileage log is another tool that is necessary for tracking trips to clients and back. It’s important that mileage be entered first by hand in case the IRS chooses to audit. A handwritten mileage log has credibility in the eyes of the government.

Here are basic bookkeeping tips:

• Mark on a calendar the dates monthly recurring expenses are due like utility payments
• Mark down the annual expenses such as memberships in business associations
• Keep a mileage log in the car or truck so it’s easier to jot down starting and ending mileage
• Keep an envelope in the glove compartment to organize receipts for parking, lunches, and supplies purchased on the spur of the moment
• Take a few minutes at a certain time each day or every other day, say around 4:30pm, and write down the day’s expenses in one of the binders
• Then hand the information to a bookkeeper who can enter the data on a computer if you still wish to use a computer-based program

While no system is fool-proof or automatic, these are ways to make small business bookkeeping simple for smaller businesses and the individual entrepreneur.

Do you know an entrepreneur in your life? Ask if they have a simple bookkeeping system and if they don’t, then go ahead and purchase one for them as a gift or a product to show your belief in them and their business endeavor.