Table of Contents

Introduction 1 About This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go From Here 4 Book 1: Keeping the Books 5 Chapter 1: Basic Bookkeeping 7 Bookkeepers: The Record Keepers of the Business World 8 Delving into Bookkeeping Basics 8 Recognizing the Importance of an Accurate Paper Trail 10 Using Bookkeeping's Tools to Manage Daily Finances 12 Running Tests for Accuracy 14 Finally Showing Off Your Financial Success 14 Wading through Bookkeeping Lingo 16 Pedaling through the Accounting Cycle 18 Tackling the Big Decision: Cash-Basis or Accrual Accounting 20 Seeing Double with Double-Entry Bookkeeping 22 Differentiating Debits and Credits 24 Chapter 2: Charting the Accounts 25 Getting to Know the Chart of Accounts 25 Starting with the Balance-Sheet Accounts 27 Tracking the Income-Statement Accounts 33 Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts 37 Chapter 3: The General Ledger 39 Understanding the Eyes and Ears of a Business 39 Developing Entries for the Ledger 40 Posting Entries to the Ledger 44 Adjusting for Ledger Errors 48 Using Computerized Transactions 48 Chapter 4: Keeping Journals 51 Establishing a Transaction's Point of Entry 51 When Cash Changes Hands 52 Managing Sales Like a Pro 56 Keeping Track of Purchases 58 Dealing with Transactions That Don't Fit 59 Posting Journal Information to Accounts 62 Simplifying Your Journaling with Computerized Accounting 63 Chapter 5: Controlling Your Records 67 Putting Controls on Your Business's Cash 68 Keeping the Right Paperwork 76 Protecting Your Business Against Internal Fraud 79 Insuring Your Cash through Employee Bonding 84 Chapter 6: Computer Options for Bookkeeping 85 Surveying Your Software Options 86 Setting Up Your Computerized Books 89 Chapter 7: Financial Statements and Accounting Standards 95 Reviewing the Basic Content of Financial Statements 96 Contrasting Profit and Cash Flow from Profit 107 Gleaning Key Information from Financial Statements 108 Keeping in Step with Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards 112 Book 2: Accounting and Financial Reports 119 Chapter 1: Financial Report Basics 121 Figuring Out Financial Reporting 122 Checking Out Types of Reporting 125 Introducing the Annual Report 129 Digging Deeper into the Annual Report 132 Summarizing the Financial Data 143 Chapter 2: Reporting Profit 145 Introducing Income Statements 146 Finding Profit 151 Getting Particular about Assets and Operating Liabilities 154 Summing Up the Diverse Financial Effects of Making Profit 159 Reporting Extraordinary Gains and Losses 160 Correcting Common Misconceptions about Profit 163 Importance of Reviewing All Parts of Financial Statements 164 Chapter 3: Exploring Business Structures 167 Flying Solo: Sole Proprietorships 168 Joining Forces: Partnerships 170 Seeking Protection with Limited Liability Companies 171 Shielding Your Assets: S and C Corporations 172 Investigating Private Companies 175 Understanding Public Companies 179 Entering a Whole New World: How a Company Goes from Private to Public 185 Chapter 4: The Balance Sheet: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity 187 Understanding the Balance Equation 188 Introducing the Balance Sheet 188 Ogling Assets 192 Looking at Liabilities 199 Navigating the Equity Maze 201 Chapter 5: The Income Statement 203 Introducing the Income Statement 204 Delving into the Tricky Business of Revenue 208 Acknowledging Expenses 212 Sorting Out the Profit and Loss Types 214 Calculating Earnings per Share 217 Chapter 6: The Statement of Cash Flows 219 Digging into the Statement of Cash Flows 220 Checking Out Operating Activities 223 Investigating Investing Activities 226 Understanding Financing Activities 227 Recognizing the Special Line Items 229 Adding It All Up 230 Chapter 7: Getting a Financial Report Ready 233 Recognizing Top Management's Role 234 Reviewing the Purposes of Financial Reporting 236 Keeping Current with Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards 237 Making Sure That Disclosure is Adequate 238 Putting a Spin on the Numbers (Short of Cooking the Books) 244 Going Public or Keeping Things Private 250 Dealing with Information Overload 252 Statement of Changes in Owners' Equity 254 Chapter 8: Accounting Alternatives 257 Setting the Stage 258 Taking Financial Statements with a Grain of Salt 259 Explaining the Differences 262 Calculating Cost of Goods Sold Expense and Inventory Cost 268 Recording Depreciation Expense 272 Scanning Revenue and Expense Horizons 275 Book 3: Day-to-Day Bookkeeping 277 Chapter 1: Buying and Tracking Your Purchases 279 Keeping Track of Inventory 280 Practice: Working with Inventory and Calculating Cost of Goods Sold 289 Buying and Monitoring Supplies 292 Staying on Top of Your Bills 292 Practice: Calculating Discounts 294 Answers to Practice Questions 295 Chapter 2: Counting Your Sales 297 Collecting on Cash Sales 297 Practice: Recording Sales 301 Selling on Credit 303 Practice: Sales on Store (Direct) Credit 308 Proving Out the Cash Register 310 Practice: Proving Out 311 Tracking Sales Discounts 313 Practice: Recording Discounts 315 Recording Sales Returns and Allowances 317 Practice: Tracking Sales Returns and Allowances 318 Monitoring Accounts Receivable 319 Practice: Aging Summary 320 Accepting Your Losses 321 Answers to Practice Questions 322 Chapter 3: Employee Payroll and Benefits 325 Setting the Stage for Staffing: Making Payroll Decisions 326 Collecting Employee Taxes 330 Determining Net Pay 332 Practice: Payroll Tax Calculations 333 Surveying Your Benefits Options 334 Preparing Payroll and Posting It in the Books 336 Practice: Payroll Preparation 339 Finishing the Job 340 Depositing Employee Taxes 342 Outsourcing Payroll and Benefits Work 342 Answers to Practice Questions 343 Chapter 4: Employer-Paid Taxes and Government Payroll Reporting 345 Paying Employer Taxes on Social Security and Medicare 346 Completing Unemployment Reports and Paying Unemployment Taxes 348 Practice: Calculating FUTA Tax 352 Carrying Workers' Compensation Insurance 352 Maintaining Employee Records 354 Answers to Practice Questions 357 Book 4: Preparing for Year's End 359 Chapter 1: Depreciating Your Assets 361 Defining Depreciation 362 Reducing the Value of Assets 364 Tackling Taxes and Depreciation 368 Setting Up Depreciation Schedules 369 Recording Depreciation Expenses 370 Chapter 2: Paying and Collecting Interest 371 Deciphering Types of Interest 371 Handling Interest Income 373 Delving into Loans and Interest Expenses 374 Chapter 3: Proving Out the Cash 383 Why Prove Out the Books? 383 Making Sure Ending Cash is Right 384 Closing the Cash Journals 385 Using a Temporary Posting Journal 392 Reconciling Bank Accounts 392 Posting Adjustments and Corrections 396 Chapter 4: Closing the Journals 397 Prepping to Close: Checking for Accuracy and Tallying Things Up 398 Posting to the General Ledger 403 Checking Out Computerized Journal Records 404 Chapter 5: Checking Your Accuracy 409 Working with a Trial Balance 409 Testing Your Balance with Computerized Accounting Systems 413 Developing a Financial Statement Worksheet 415 Replacing Worksheets with Computerized Reports 417 Chapter 6: Adjusting the Books 419 Adjusting All the Right Areas 419 Testing an Adjusted Trial Balance 427 Changing Your Chart of Accounts 428 Book 5: Accounting and Managing Your Business 431 Chapter 1: Managing Profit 433 Helping Managers: The Fourth Vital Task of Accounting 434 Internal Profit Reporting 436 Presenting a Profit Analysis Template 439 Answering Critical Profit Questions 443 Taking a Closer Look at the Lines in the Profit Template 446 Using the Profit Template for Decision-Making Analysis 450 Tucking Away Some Valuable Lessons 451 Closing with a Boozy Example 454 Chapter 2: Budgeting 455 Exploring the Reasons for Budgeting 456 Recognizing Additional Benefits of Budgeting 461 Deciding Whether Budgeting is Worth Its Costs 462 Watching Budgeting in Action 467 Considering Capital Expenditures and Other Cash Needs 472 Using Computer Accounting to Make Budgeting More Effective 474 Chapter 3: Cost Accounting 477 Looking Down the Road to the Destination of Costs 478 Are Costs Really That Important? 480 Becoming More Familiar with Costs 483 Assembling the Product Cost of Manufacturers 487 Puffing Profit by Excessive Production 495 Chapter 4: Filing and Paying Business Taxes 501 Finding the Right Business Type 501 Tackling Tax Reporting for Sole Proprietors 504 Filing Tax Forms for Partnerships 505 Paying Corporate Taxes 506 Taking Care of Sales Tax Obligations 507 Chapter 5: Prepping the Books for a New Accounting Cycle 509 Finalizing the General Ledger 510 Conducting Special Year-End Bookkeeping Tasks 511 Starting the Cycle Anew 514 Index 517

About the Author

Lita Epstein, MBA, enjoys helping people develop good financial, investing, and tax planning skills. She is the author of Bookkeeping For Dummies. John A. Tracy, CPA, is Professor of Accounting, Emeritus, at the University of Colorado in Boulder.