Britain's number-one guide to mastering the art and science of bookkeeping Accurate bookkeeping is crucial to the success of every business but few people relish in this highly detailed task. Luckily, this new edition of Bookkeeping For Dummies simplifies every aspect of financial record keeping, walking you through the basic skills you need to make numbers your minion. From tracking transactions and keeping ledgers to producing balance sheets and year-end reports, this straight-talking guide takes the intimidation out of bookkeeping and shows you how to make it your best friend in business. Fully updated to include the latest coverage of accounting practices and bookkeeping software, this new edition of Bookkeeping For Dummies features tons of practical exercises to get you up and running with what you need to keep your books balanced, your finances in order and the tax inspector off your back. Find updated bookkeeping templates and resources available via download Manage day-to-day records like sales and purchases Produce Profit and Loss Statements and Balance Sheets Prepare year-end documents with confidence and ease From the importance of keeping a paper trail to the best ways to keep payroll rolling and everything in between this is the ideal resource for anyone looking to learn the bookkeeping ropes.

Britain's number-one guide to mastering the art and science of bookkeepingAccurate bookkeeping is crucial to the success of every business--but few people relish in this highly detailed task. Luckily, this new edition of Bookkeeping For Dummies simplifies every aspect of financial record keeping, walking you through the basic skills you need to make numbers your minion. From tracking transactions and keeping ledgers to producing balance sheets and year-end reports, this straight-talking guide takes the intimidation out of bookkeeping and shows you how to make it your best friend in business.Fully updated to include the latest coverage of accounting practices and bookkeeping software, this new edition of Bookkeeping For Dummies features tons of practical exercises to get you up and running with what you need to keep your books balanced, your finances in order and the tax inspector off your back.* Find updated bookkeeping templates and resources available via download* Manage day-to-day records like sales and purchases* Produce Profit and Loss Statements and Balance Sheets* Prepare year-end documents with confidence and easeFrom the importance of keeping a paper trail to the best ways to keep payroll rolling--and everything in between--this is the ideal resource for anyone looking to learn the bookkeeping ropes.

Introduction 1Part I: Basic Bookkeeping: Why You Need It 5Chapter 1: So You Want to Do the Books 7Chapter 2: Getting Down to Bookkeeping Basics 19Chapter 3: Outlining Your Financial Roadmap with a Chart of Accounts 39Chapter 4: Looking at Ledgers 57Chapter 5: Discovering Different Business Types 83Part II: Recording Day-to-Day Business Operations 93Chapter 6: Planning and Controlling Your Workload 95Chapter 7: Counting Your Sales 107Chapter 8: Buying and Tracking Your Purchases 135Chapter 9: Doing Your Banking 149Part III: Preparing the Books for Year- (or Month-) End 163Chapter 10: Adjusting Your Books 165Chapter 11: Depreciating Your Assets 183Chapter 12: Adding the Cost of Value Added Tax (VAT) 197Part IV: Reporting Results and Starting Over 211Chapter 13: Producing a Profit and Loss Statement 213Chapter 14: Developing a Balance Sheet 231Chapter 15: Reporting for Not-For-Profit Organisations 249Chapter 16: Preparing Your Year-End Accounts 265Part V: Payroll Preparation and Online Accounts Tools 271Chapter 17: Employee Payroll and Benefits 273Chapter 18: Cloud Accounting: The Modern Approach to Bookkeeping 293Part VI: The Part of Tens 305Chapter 19: Top Ten Ways to Manage Your Business Cash with Your Books 307Chapter 20: Top Ten Most Important Accounts for Any Bookkeeper 311Appendix: Glossary 315Index 321