Wednesday 9 October 2013

HOW TO SET UP A TAX-SAVING BOOKKEEPING SYSTEM




One of the most important, but least understood or appreciated



aspects of any business is its bookkeeping or accounting system.



And, because very few people know much about the reasons for a



bookkeeping system, most people are frightened by the thought of



the work involved in setting up such a system, and the drudgery



of daily maintenance.





There's really nothing complicated to bookkeeping it's as simple



as keeping a daily dairy and' or maintaining your personal



checkbook. At the bottom line, it's simply a matter of recording



your deposits-your incoming monies-and keeping a record of the



money you spend.





So, the first thing you need to do is open a business account for



your extra income business or endeavors. Generally, this is



simply a matter of asking the new accounts teller at a local bank



for a business account registration fee, send it in to the



appropriate commissioner, and from there, open you a new business



account-complete with imprinted checks.





Drop by a local stationery store and pick up a loose leaf



notebook, and a supply of paper. We've always picked up a supply



of index tabs at the same time--either to separate the months or



the accountability sections for each item we sell.





Assuming that you want to make it as simple as possible, while at



the same time keeping it as efficient as is necessary-here's what



you do and how to do it.





On the first page in your notebook, write on the top line and in



the middle of the page: Monday, January 1st, 1983



or whatever day you officially start your business...Then, as



your orders come in, if by mail, as you open your mail-jot down



starting from the left side of the page, the amount you



received-dash-for what-from whom, and their address. The page



might look like this:





Monday--- January 1 1983





$



14 Tapes



100 S.W Fee-Barton



10 Hong Kong Dir #261



10 " " #261



3 Whsle Prt Dir #49



70 Hot Line Lst--Morgan





TOTAL INCOME $207 EXPENSES 0





That's all there is to it, and boiling it all down, it amounts



to recording what you receive and what you spend.



The next entry, immediately under that first day's entry might



look like this:





$207 Deposit



11 Printer-for copies



10 Sec & riches thru R Est #302-Rogers( 75010)



3 Simplified annual M.O bkkp Sys (21104)



10 Money Magnetism-Kline (88033)



36 R.W Fee-Magnuson (10067



6 Manual on Bookselling-#291-Magnuson (10067



15 display Ad- Smith 948089)



22 Ideal Ofc Supplies-printer paper





TOTAL INCOME $80 Expense $33 Deposit $207





And then, carry on with this recording of the money you deposit,



receive and spend each day with similar entries for each day of



the week-every day Monday Thru Saturday for each week. It's



simple uncomplicated, and a positive record of your business



activity.





Then at the end of each month, transfer this daily information to



one of the low cost bookkeeping registers that your tax



consultant or accountant can work from. These people won't work



from your daily dairy, ad will not transfer the information you



record in it to a formal bookkeeping register without charging



you a small fortune. it's not that big of a job, ad if you do it



after te close of the business on the last day of the month, it



will take at the most a very few minutes. Then, of course, when



you're ready to do your taxes, you simply give your bookkeeping



register to whoever is going to do your taxes, and you're home



free.





The bookkeeping register you'll need can be any simple columnar



notebook-we use an "Ekonomik Register,Form RL-17"



available in a number of different styles and sizes from Ekonomik



Systems-PO Box 11413-Tacoma,WA 98411. All you really need is some



sort of notebook with a number of columns marked off, a title



written at the top of each column, and a record of te money



received for each day relative to the product or service each



column represents. Then at the end of each month, you can simply



add the totals from each column and you'll instantly know how



much money you took in from each of your offers.





Beyond te date column, will be your record of expenses or money



spent. Again, you should title each of the columns you'll be



entering figures into, and then record your expenditures for



items falling into those categories. Then at the end of each



month, it's a simple matter to add the total from each column and



know exactly where you stand relative to profit or loss-how much



you took in compared to how much you spent.





Bookkeeping and/or accounting is a very simple and should not



scare you. Just keep it simple, ad up-to-date.

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