Book Preface

Introduction
Whether you are just starting your business or have had your business for years, it is important to know bookkeeping.

Bookkeeping has been around for centuries. However, it has evolved over time to better help your business keep track of your finances.

Bookkeeping covers a long list of aspects that help the business owner make decisions about the company. To better understand bookkeeping, my goal is to help you get a good feel for knowing how to read the financial reports, the basics of bookkeeping, employees, understanding the balance sheet and income statement, and so much more.

Come along with me as we explore the world of bookkeeping and help you, the business owner, understand how to make sense out of bookkeeping.

As an added bonus, I have included a section for your business taxes. I also included a step-by-step process of preparing W-2 forms and the information that is needed for those. You will soon find out that there is more to it than just providing the information and typing it up on the W-2 form.

Keep reading and you will see what it takes to get on the same page as your bookkeeper. I always said, “It is not the business owner that runs the business. It is the business owner teamed up with the bookkeeper that truly runs the business.”

Running a business can be fun and rewarding. However, if you do not have the basic knowledge of the fundamental financial skills needed, it can prove to be stressful as well.

Throughout this book you will learn the basics of bookkeeping and finding the right bookkeeper for you. As you go through it, you will also learn about the ledgers and journals. It is important that you know where your money is at all times. I also take the time to talk to you about hiring employees. Let’s face it, if your business is going to grow above a certain level, you will eventually need to hire someone to work with you.

There is also a lot of software available to help you with all your bookkeeping needs, although not all accounting software is right for your business. We will take a look at a few of the top rated applications and give you both the good and bad of each one.

Don’t forget, you also need to understand those scary financial statements. That’s why we will take a look at the four main financial statements and break them down for you so that you can easily read and understand each one.

It does not matter if you have been in business for a couple of years or are just starting, you will be filing taxes at the end of the year. This is a lot of work and your bookkeeper can help you get prepared. Within the bonus chapter, I included a checklist for small businesses to help you along the way in knowing which documents you need to find and hold on to.

Did you know that as a business owner you can deduct a lot of your expenses? I included that as well. It is only a small list, and with a little research you could probably find more.

Finally, I also included, in detail, how to go about preparing, distributing, and filing the employees’ W-2’s.

So come along with me as we take this glorious adventure into bookkeeping for small businesses and give you the power to understand your businesses financial health.