01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page iii
Bookkeeping Workbook FOR ‰ DUMmIES
by Lita Epstein, MBA 01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page ii 01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page i
Bookkeeping Workbook FOR ‰ DUMmIES 01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page ii 01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page iii
Bookkeeping Workbook FOR ‰ DUMmIES
by Lita Epstein, MBA 01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page iv
Bookkeeping Workbook For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PAR- TICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMEN- DATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. ISBN: 978-0-470-16983-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2007934458 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page v
About the Author Lita Epstein, who earned her MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, enjoys helping people develop good financial, investing and tax-planning skills.
While getting her MBA, Lita worked as a teaching assistant for the financial accounting department and ran the accounting lab. After completing her MBA, she managed finances for a small nonprofit organization and for the facilities management section of a large medical clinic.
She designs and teaches online courses on topics such as investing for retirement, getting ready for tax time and finance and investing for women. She’s written over 20 books includ- ing Reading Financial Reports For Dummies and Trading For Dummies.
Lita was the content director for a financial services Web site, MostChoice.com, and man- aged the Web site, Investing for Women. As a Congressional press secretary, Lita gained first- hand knowledge about how to work within and around the Federal bureaucracy, which gives her great insight into how government programs work. In the past, Lita has been a daily newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and fundraiser for the international activities of former President Jimmy Carter through The Carter Center. 01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page vi 01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page vii
Dedication To my father, Jerome Kirschbrown, who taught me the importance of accounting, bookkeep- ing, and watching every detail.
Author’s Acknowledgments Many people were involved in making this book a reality. First, a special thank you to Stacy Kennedy, my acquisitions editor at Wiley, who successfully championed this book through the editorial board process. Also at Wiley, a special thanks to Jennifer Connolly, my project editor, whose helpful and insightful comments, as well as her expert editing, helped make this book the best it could be. In addition, I want to thank my agent, Jessica Faust, who helps me regularly with all my book projects. And finally, last but not least, my husband, H.G. Wolpin, who puts up with all my craziness as I try to meet deadlines. 01_169834 ffirs.qxp 8/31/07 8:17 PM Page viii
Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Composition Services Project Editor: Jennifer Connolly Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Denny Hager, Copy Editor: Jennifer Connolly Jennifer Mayberry, Melanee Prendergast, Julie Trippetti Technical Editor: Ken Morrow Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker Proofreader: Linda Quigley Editorial Supervisor: Carmen Krikorian Indexer: Broccoli Information Management Editorial Assistants: Erin Calligan, Joe Niesen, David Lutton, and Leann Harney Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 02_169834 ftoc.qxp 8/31/07 7:47 PM Page ix
Contents at a Glance
Introduction...... 1 Part I: Exploring Bookkeeping Basics...... 5 Chapter 1: Deciphering the Basics ...... 7 Chapter 2: Designing Your Bookkeeping System...... 19 Chapter 3: Sorting Out Your Business Road Map...... 33 Part II: Putting it All on Paper...... 47 Chapter 4: Looking at the Big Picture...... 49 Chapter 5: Journaling — The Devil’s in the Details...... 63 Chapter 6: Designing Controls for Your Books, Your Records, and Your Money...... 79 Part III: Tracking Day-to-Day Business Operations with Your Books ...... 91 Chapter 7: Purchasing Goods and Tracking Your Purchases ...... 93 Chapter 8: Calculating and Monitoring Sales...... 103 Chapter 9: Paying Your Employees...... 127 Chapter 10: Paying Employer Taxes and Completing Related Government Reports...... 141 Part IV: Getting Ready for Year’s (Or Month’s) End ...... 149 Chapter 11: Depreciating Your Assets...... 151 Chapter 12: Paying and Collecting Interest...... 161 Chapter 13: Proving Out Your Books...... 173 Chapter 14: Checking and Correcting Your Books...... 185 Part V: Putting on Your Best Financial Face...... 201 Chapter 15: Showing Everything’s in Balance ...... 203 Chapter 16: Proving Your Profits...... 221 Chapter 17: Doing Your Business Taxes ...... 233 Chapter 18: Getting Ready for a New Bookkeeping Year...... 241 Part VI: The Part of Tens...... 249 Chapter 19: Top Ten Checklist for Managing Your Cash...... 251 Chapter 20: Top Ten Accounts You Should Monitor...... 255 Chapter 21: Top Ten Problems You Should Practice...... 259 Index...... 261 02_169834 ftoc.qxp 8/31/07 7:47 PM Page x 02_169834 ftoc.qxp 8/31/07 7:47 PM Page xi
Table of Contents
Introduction ...... 1 About This Book...... 1 Foolish Assumptions ...... 2 How This Book Is Organized...... 2 Icons Used in This Book...... 3 Where to Go From Here...... 4
Part I: Exploring Bookkeeping Basics ...... 5
Chapter 1: Deciphering the Basics ...... 7 Using Cash or Accrual Method...... 7 Sorting Out Assets, Liabilities, and Equity ...... 12 Tracking the Daily Finances...... 14 Testing Your Work...... 14 Naming the Financial Statements...... 14 Keeping a Paper Trail ...... 16 Answers to Problems on Deciphering the Basics...... 17 Chapter 2: Designing Your Bookkeeping System ...... 19 Introducing the Accounts ...... 19 Cycling Through the Bookkeeping Process...... 24 Seeing Double with Double-Entry Bookkeeping...... 26 Differentiating Between Debits and Credits...... 28 Answers to Problems on Designing Your Bookkeeping System...... 30 Chapter 3: Sorting Out Your Business Road Map ...... 33 Charting Your Accounts...... 33 Detailing Your Balance Sheet Accounts ...... 35 Tracking Your Income Accounts...... 40 Setting Up Your Accounts Road Map...... 44 Answers to Problems on Sorting Out Your Business Road Map...... 46
Part II: Putting it All on Paper...... 47
Chapter 4: Looking at the Big Picture ...... 49 Preparing the Core of Your Financial Details...... 49 Developing Entries for the Ledger ...... 51 Posting Your Entries ...... 55 Adjusting for Errors ...... 59 Answers to Problems on Looking at the Big Picture ...... 60 Chapter 5: Journaling — The Devil’s in the Details...... 63 Defining Your Journals ...... 63 Tracking Cash...... 64 Managing Sales ...... 69 Watching Purchases...... 70 Dealing with Miscellaneous Transactions ...... 71 Answers to Problems on Journaling — The Devil’s in the Details...... 74 02_169834 ftoc.qxp 8/31/07 7:47 PM Page xii
xii Bookkeeping Workbook For Dummies
Chapter 6: Designing Controls for Your Books, Your Records, and Your Money ...... 79 Getting a Handle on Cash...... 79 Organizing Your Record Keeping ...... 85 Protecting Your Business from Theft and Fraud...... 87 Taking Out a Bond...... 88 Answers to Problems on Designing Controls for Your Books, Your Records, and Your Money...... 89
Part III: Tracking Day-to-Day Business Operations with Your Books ...... 91
Chapter 7: Purchasing Goods and Tracking Your Purchases...... 93 Detailing and Managing Your Inventory...... 93 Paying Your Bills ...... 99 Answers to Problems on Purchasing Goods and Tracking Your Purchases ...... 101 Chapter 8: Calculating and Monitoring Sales ...... 103 Taking in Cash ...... 103 Selling on Credit ...... 108 Checking Your Register ...... 112 Discounting Sales ...... 114 Recording Sales Returns and Allowances...... 118 Monitor Collections from Your Customers...... 121 Writing Off Bad Accounts...... 122 Answers to Problems on Calculating and Monitoring Sales...... 124 Chapter 9: Paying Your Employees...... 127 Setting Up Payroll...... 127 Collecting Employee Payroll Taxes...... 130 Figuring Out Net Pay...... 132 Calculating Payroll ...... 132 Depositing Taxes ...... 136 Answers to Problems on Paying Your Employees ...... 138 Chapter 10: Paying Employer Taxes and Completing Related Government Reports...... 141 Paying Social Security and Medicare Taxes...... 141 Filing Unemployment Reports and Paying Taxes ...... 143 Covering Workman’s Compensation...... 145 Maintaining Employee Records...... 147 Answers to Problems on Paying Employer Taxes and Completing Related Government Reports...... 148
Part IV: Getting Ready for Year’s (Or Month’s) End...... 149
Chapter 11: Depreciating Your Assets ...... 151 Understanding Depreciation...... 151 Depreciating Your Assets...... 155 Setting Schedules ...... 158 Recording Depreciation Expenses ...... 158 Answers to Problems on Depreciating Your Assets ...... 159 02_169834 ftoc.qxp 8/31/07 7:47 PM Page xiii
Table of Contents xiii
Chapter 12: Paying and Collecting Interest ...... 161 Determining Interest Types ...... 161 Determining Interest on Debt ...... 163 Recording Interest on Short-term Debt...... 166 Separating and Paying Interest on Debt...... 168 Booking Interest Income ...... 169 Answers to Problems on Paying and Collecting Interest...... 170 Chapter 13: Proving Out Your Books ...... 173 Checking Cash ...... 173 Closing Journals ...... 174 Reconciling Bank Accounts ...... 178 Posting to the Ledger ...... 181 Answers to Problems on Proving Out Your Books ...... 182 Chapter 14: Checking and Correcting Your Books ...... 185 Doing a Trial Balance Worksheet ...... 185 Making Adjustments ...... 189 Reworking Your Chart of Accounts ...... 195 Answers to Problems on Checking and Correcting Your Books...... 197
Part V: Putting on Your Best Financial Face ...... 201
Chapter 15: Showing Everything’s in Balance ...... 203 Exploring the Balance Sheet...... 203 Gathering the Numbers...... 203 Preparing the Statement for Prime Time ...... 205 Working with Your Balance Sheet Numbers...... 211 Answers to Problems on Showing Everything’s in Balance ...... 217 Chapter 16: Proving Your Profits ...... 221 Exploring the Income Statement...... 221 Formatting the Income Statement ...... 223 Preparing the Numbers ...... 225 Analyzing Your Income Results...... 227 Answers to Problems on Proving Your Profits...... 231 Chapter 17: Doing Your Business Taxes...... 233 Exploring Business Types...... 233 Tax Reporting ...... 235 Determining Sales Taxes ...... 238 Answers to Problems on Doing Your Business Taxes ...... 239 Chapter 18: Getting Ready for a New Bookkeeping Year ...... 241 Finalizing the Ledger ...... 241 Reviewing Customer Accounts ...... 243 Assessing Vendor Accounts...... 244 Deleting Accounts...... 245 Preparing to Restart Business Cycle ...... 246 Answers to Problems on Getting Ready for a New Bookkeeping Year...... 248 02_169834 ftoc.qxp 8/31/07 7:47 PM Page xiv
xiv Bookkeeping Workbook For Dummies
Part VI: The Part of Tens ...... 249
Chapter 19: Top Ten Checklist for Managing Your Cash...... 251 Charting the Way...... 251 Balancing Your Entries ...... 251 Posting Your Transactions...... 252 Tracking Customer Collections...... 252 Paying Bills Accurately and on Time...... 252 Planning Profits ...... 252 Comparing Budget to Actual Expenses ...... 252 Comparing Sales Goals to Actual Sales ...... 253 Tracking Cost Trends ...... 253 Making Pricing Decisions...... 253 Chapter 20: Top Ten Accounts You Should Monitor ...... 255 Cash ...... 255 Accounts Receivable ...... 255 Inventory...... 255 Accounts Payable...... 256 Loans Payable...... 256 Sales...... 256 Purchases...... 256 Payroll Expenses ...... 256 Office Expenses ...... 257 Owner’s Equity ...... 257 Retained Earnings ...... 257 Chapter 21: Top Ten Problems You Should Practice ...... 259 Identifying Accounts and Using Double-Entry Bookkeeping...... 259 Keeping Journals...... 259 Paying Bills and Managing Inventory ...... 259 Tracking Sales...... 260 Testing Your Balance...... 260 Reporting Income...... 260 Closing the Books and Starting Over...... 260
Index ...... 261 03_169834 intro.qxp 8/31/07 7:48 PM Page 1
Introduction
ookkeepers are the keepers of the cash and the crucial caretakers of all information Babout the company’s transactions. People both inside the business (managers, owners, and employees) and people outside the business (investors, lenders and govern- mental agencies) all depend on the accurate recording of financial transactions by the book- keeper.