# Record keeping



## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

trapper_dave said:


> What are people using to keep the books? I hear about Quick books mostly


I use Quickbooks. Very easy to setup, and use. All your checks get entered into the register, and assigned to an expense account...feed, freight and trucking, labor hired, etc. All your receipts get entered into an income account...sales, reimbursed expenses, etc. You can have sub-accounts such as...under sales...honey, wax, pollination, etc. You can make up reports, such as company profit and loss, sales breakdowns, etc. Makes accounting a breeze.

Then, you can use TurboTax for your taxes. You assign the accounts you have made up to specific lines on your federal tax schedules..."F" for farm, or "C" for sole proprietor, or whatever. Or, you can fill out the forms manually by entering the totals from your Quickbook accounts.

I wouldn't want to do it without an accounting software package. The hardest thing about the process is entering all your checks into the proper accounts, and that's just a bit of time and typing.


----------



## Flathead Honey (Aug 1, 2007)

*Quidk books*

I also use quick books and have for 10 years. I would say just make sure you set up all your "accounts", "items" etc right the first time. I found it is worth while to have a quick books expert help get set up, or read alot about it.
I prepair my own taxes with turbo tax and could not do it without quick books.
Definitely worth doing.
They make you upgrade programs about every two years or the tax program will not import data from older versions. Nasty trick to get you to spend more money. Once you are all set up they have you by the balls on this one. 
Also if you have employees processing the payroll is easy on quick books but same as above tax tables wont update unless you keep within a two year or so version of the program. They also nickel and dime you for payroll tax tables. Over all still worth it.


----------



## Bud Dingler (Feb 8, 2008)

a new trend in bookkeeping software is online

http://outright.com/

and if you do a lot of wholesale

http://www.freshbooks.com/

both integrate with each other. quickbooks is ok but maybe overkill and confusing for some. 

these online systems are pay as you go and can of course be viewed anywhere. 

Intuit the company that owns quickbooks is difficult to deal with and IMO a bunch of moneygrubbers. don't buy their checks and training - completely overpriced and you can get comparable elsewhere

if you like being called Sir or Mr XYZ over and over again try their overseas help line in Punjab.


----------



## JBJ (Jan 27, 2005)

We have been using Quickbooks also. I have found their local certified help and training useful. It was a bit expensive but saved time and labor, and it was great to sit down with someone and look at our records.


----------

