harley
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
DW and I have been running a (very) small business for a couple of years, and now she's also started another business in a field she loves. This is great and will keep her happy and hopefully add a bit to our cash flow. However, I'm realizing I don't really know squat about business accounting. I've been faking my way through it for the past few years, figuring if I mess up and I get caught it shouldn't be a big issue (small number of dollars, good intentions, and sad puppy dog eyes should keep us out of trouble).
These businesses aren't going away any time soon though, so now I want to start keeping better books, do things right, and maybe even understand what I'm doing and why. So I'm asking the advice of others on the board here that have dealt with doing small business accounting, especially with no real training. Should I just buy QuickBooks (or something similar) and fill in the fields as directed? Or should I take an accounting course or two? If so, should I head up to the local community college for accounting 101? Or take an online class? If online, does anyone have any suggestions for a decent place to take it?
Any advice would be appreciated. I always get nervous around tax time when I realize how half assed my paperwork and accounting is. I don't want to pay more taxes than I legally have to, but even more I want to pay all the taxes I'm legally required to. I never want to get the people with the guns and jail cells too interested in what I'm doing.
These businesses aren't going away any time soon though, so now I want to start keeping better books, do things right, and maybe even understand what I'm doing and why. So I'm asking the advice of others on the board here that have dealt with doing small business accounting, especially with no real training. Should I just buy QuickBooks (or something similar) and fill in the fields as directed? Or should I take an accounting course or two? If so, should I head up to the local community college for accounting 101? Or take an online class? If online, does anyone have any suggestions for a decent place to take it?
Any advice would be appreciated. I always get nervous around tax time when I realize how half assed my paperwork and accounting is. I don't want to pay more taxes than I legally have to, but even more I want to pay all the taxes I'm legally required to. I never want to get the people with the guns and jail cells too interested in what I'm doing.