The easy way to get a handle on bookkeeping

Accurate and complete bookkeeping is crucial to any business
owner, but it's also important to those who work with the business,
such as investors, financial institutions, and employees.
Bookkeeping For Dummies provides the easy and painless way
to master this critical skill.

You'll get clear and concise information on keeping track of
transactions, figuring out balance sheets, keeping ledgers or
journals, creating financial statements, and operating accounts for
businesses, along with practices and examples to hone your skills.
Plus, the bonus CD includes samples of bookkeeping forms, working
papers, letters, resources, and spreadsheets.

* Keeping track of transactions

* Figuring out the balance sheet

* Keeping a ledger and journal

* Creating financial statements

* Operating accounts for businesses

* Recognizing assets and liabilities

* Up-to-date tax information

* Changes in small business regulations

* Additional and complementary examples

* Demonstration problems

* True/false and multiple-choice questions and scenarios

Whether you're a professional or a student looking to expand
your skills, Bookkeeping Kit For Dummies is a one-stop
resource for anyone interested in this ever-growing occupation.

Lita Epstein, MBA, designs online courses about reading financial reports, investing, and taxes. She's the author of Reading Financial Reports For Dummies and also writes periodically for AOL's Daily Finance.

Accurate and complete bookkeeping is crucial to any business owner, but it's also important to those who work with the business, such as investors, financial institutions, and employees. Bookkeeping For Dummies provides the easy and painless way to master this critical skill.

You'll get clear and concise information on keeping track of transactions, figuring out balance sheets, keeping ledgers or journals, creating financial statements, and operating accounts for businesses, along with practices and examples to hone your skills. Plus, the bonus CD includes samples of bookkeeping forms, working papers, letters, resources, and spreadsheets.

• Keeping track of transactions
• Figuring out the balance sheet
• Keeping a ledger and journal
• Creating financial statements
• Operating accounts for businesses
• Recognizing assets and liabilities
• Up-to-date tax information
• Changes in small business regulations
• Additional and complementary examples
• Demonstration problems
• True/false and multiple-choice questions and scenarios

Whether you're a professional or a student looking to expand your skills, Bookkeeping Kit For Dummies is a one-stop resource for anyone interested in this ever-growing occupation.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 3

What You're Not to Read 3

How This Book Is Organized 3

Part I: Basic Bookkeeping: Why You Need It 4

Part II: Keeping a Paper Trail 4

Part III: Tracking Day-to-Day Business Operations with Your Books 4

Part IV: Preparing the Books for Year's (or Month's) End 4

Part V: Reporting Results and Starting Over 5

Part VI: The Part of Tens 5

Part VII: Appendixes 5

Icons Used in This Book 5

Where to Go From Here 6

Part I: Basic Bookkeeping: Why You Need It 7

Chapter 1: So You Want to Do the Books 9

Delving Into Bookkeeping Basics 9

Picking your accounting method 10

Understanding assets, liabilities, and equity 10

Introducing debits and credits 10

Charting your bookkeeping course 11

Recognizing the Importance of an Accurate Paper Trail 11

Maintaining a ledger 12

Keeping journals 12

Consider computerizing 12

Instituting internal controls 13

Using Bookkeeping's Tools to Manage Daily Finances 13

Maintaining inventory 13

Tracking sales 14

Handling payroll 14

Running Tests for Accuracy 14

Proving out your cash 15

Testing your balance 15

Doing bookkeeping corrections 15

Finally Showing Off Your Financial Success 15

Preparing financial reports 16

Paying taxes 16

Chapter 2: Getting Down to Bookkeeping Basics 17

Bookkeepers: The Record Keepers of the Business World 17

Basic Bookkeeping Lingo 18

Accounts for the balance sheet 19

Accounts for the income statement 19

Other common bookkeeping terms 20

Practice: Account Basics 21

Pedaling through the Accounting Cycle 23

Tackling the Big Decision: Cash-Basis or Accrual Accounting 25

Waiting for funds with cash-basis accounting 25

Recording right away with accrual accounting 26

Practice: Accrual versus Cash Accounting 27

Seeing Double with Double-Entry Bookkeeping 29

Differentiating Debits and Credits 31

Practice: Double-Entry Accounting 32

Answers to Problems on the Basics 34

Chapter 3: Outlining Your Financial Road Map with a Chart of Accounts 39

Getting to Know the Chart of Accounts 39

Starting with the Balance Sheet Accounts 41

Tackling assets 42

Laying out your liabilities 45

Eyeing the equity 47

Tracking the Income Statement Accounts 48

Recording the money you make: Revenue 49

Tracking the cost of sales 50

Acknowledging the money you spend: Expense accounts 50

Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts 53

Part II: Keeping a Paper Trail 55

Chapter 4: The General Ledger: A One-Stop Summary of Your Business Transactions 57

The Eyes and Ears of a Business: Looking at the General Ledger 57

Developing Entries for the Ledger 58

Practice: Summaries for General Ledger 62

Posting Entries to the Ledger 65

The Cash account 65

The Accounts Receivable account 66

The Accounts Payable account 66

The balance sheet 67

The Sales account 67

Adjusting for Ledger Errors 69

Practice: Posting to the General Ledger 69

Using Computerized Transactions to Post and Adjust in the General Ledger 74

Answers to Problems on Ledgers 76

Chapter 5: Keeping Journals 81

Establishing a Transaction's Point of Entry 81

When Cash Changes Hands: Juggling the Cash Accounts Journals 82

Keeping track of incoming cash 82

Following outgoing cash 84

Practice: Cash Receipts and Cash Disbursements Journals 86