book

Bookkeeping All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Name: Bookkeeping All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition
ISBN: 9781119592907

by Lita Epstein, John A. Tracy

August 2019

Intermediate to advanced

608 pages

15h 28m

English

For Dummies

Read now

Unlock full access

Cover
Introduction
About This BookFoolish AssumptionsIcons Used in This BookBeyond the BookWhere to Go From Here
Book 1: Keeping the Books
Chapter 1: Basic Bookkeeping
Bookkeepers: The Record Keepers of the Business WorldDelving into Bookkeeping BasicsRecognizing the Importance of an Accurate Paper TrailUsing Bookkeeping’s Tools to Manage Daily FinancesRunning Tests for AccuracyFinally Showing Off Your Financial SuccessWading through Bookkeeping LingoPedaling through the Accounting CycleTackling the Big Decision: Cash-Basis or Accrual AccountingSeeing Double with Double-Entry BookkeepingDifferentiating Debits and Credits
Chapter 2: Charting the Accounts
Getting to Know the Chart of AccountsStarting with the Balance-Sheet AccountsTracking the Income-Statement AccountsSetting Up Your Chart of Accounts
Chapter 3: The General Ledger
Understanding the Eyes and Ears of a BusinessDeveloping Entries for the LedgerPosting Entries to the LedgerAdjusting for Ledger ErrorsUsing Computerized Transactions
Chapter 4: Keeping Journals
Establishing a Transaction’s Point of EntryWhen Cash Changes HandsManaging Sales Like a ProKeeping Track of PurchasesDealing with Transactions That Don’t FitPosting Journal Information to AccountsSimplifying Your Journaling with Computerized Accounting
Chapter 5: Controlling Your Records
Putting Controls on Your Business’s CashKeeping the Right PaperworkProtecting Your Business Against Internal FraudInsuring Your Cash through Employee Bonding
Chapter 6: Computer Options for Bookkeeping
Surveying Your Software OptionsSetting Up Your Computerized Books
Chapter 7: Financial Statements and Accounting Standards
Reviewing the Basic Content of Financial StatementsContrasting Profit and Cash Flow from ProfitGleaning Key Information from Financial StatementsKeeping in Step with Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards

Book 2: Accounting and Financial Reports
Chapter 1: Financial Report Basics
Figuring Out Financial ReportingChecking Out Types of ReportingIntroducing the Annual ReportDigging Deeper into the Annual ReportSummarizing the Financial Data
Chapter 2: Reporting Profit
Introducing Income StatementsFinding ProfitGetting Particular about Assets and Operating LiabilitiesSumming Up the Diverse Financial Effects of Making ProfitReporting Extraordinary Gains and LossesCorrecting Common Misconceptions about ProfitImportance of Reviewing All Parts of Financial Statements
Chapter 3: Exploring Business Structures
Flying Solo: Sole ProprietorshipsJoining Forces: PartnershipsSeeking Protection with Limited Liability CompaniesShielding Your Assets: S and C CorporationsInvestigating Private CompaniesUnderstanding Public CompaniesEntering a Whole New World: How a Company Goes from Private to Public
Chapter 4: The Balance Sheet: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity
Understanding the Balance EquationIntroducing the Balance SheetOgling AssetsLooking at LiabilitiesNavigating the Equity Maze
Chapter 5: The Income Statement
Introducing the Income StatementDelving into the Tricky Business of RevenueAcknowledging ExpensesSorting Out the Profit and Loss TypesCalculating Earnings per Share
Chapter 6: The Statement of Cash Flows
Digging into the Statement of Cash FlowsChecking Out Operating ActivitiesInvestigating Investing ActivitiesUnderstanding Financing ActivitiesRecognizing the Special Line ItemsAdding It All Up
Chapter 7: Getting a Financial Report Ready
Recognizing Top Management’s RoleReviewing the Purposes of Financial ReportingKeeping Current with Accounting and Financial Reporting StandardsMaking Sure That Disclosure Is AdequatePutting a Spin on the Numbers (Short of Cooking the Books)Going Public or Keeping Things PrivateDealing with Information OverloadStatement of Changes in Owners’ Equity
Chapter 8: Accounting Alternatives
Setting the StageTaking Financial Statements with a Grain of SaltExplaining the DifferencesCalculating Cost of Goods Sold Expense and Inventory CostRecording Depreciation ExpenseScanning Revenue and Expense Horizons
Book 3: Day-to-Day Bookkeeping
Chapter 1: Buying and Tracking Your Purchases
Keeping Track of InventoryPractice: Working with Inventory and Calculating Cost of Goods SoldBuying and Monitoring SuppliesStaying on Top of Your BillsPractice: Calculating DiscountsAnswers to Practice Questions
Chapter 2: Counting Your Sales
Collecting on Cash SalesPractice: Recording SalesSelling on CreditPractice: Sales on Store (Direct) CreditProving Out the Cash RegisterPractice: Proving OutTracking Sales DiscountsPractice: Recording DiscountsRecording Sales Returns and AllowancesPractice: Tracking Sales Returns and AllowancesMonitoring Accounts ReceivablePractice: Aging SummaryAccepting Your LossesAnswers to Practice Questions
Chapter 3: Employee Payroll and Benefits
Setting the Stage for Staffing: Making Payroll DecisionsCollecting Employee TaxesDetermining Net PayPractice: Payroll Tax CalculationsSurveying Your Benefits OptionsPreparing Payroll and Posting It in the BooksPractice: Payroll PreparationFinishing the JobDepositing Employee TaxesOutsourcing Payroll and Benefits WorkAnswers to Practice Questions
Chapter 4: Employer-Paid Taxes and Government Payroll Reporting
Paying Employer Taxes on Social Security and MedicareCompleting Unemployment Reports and Paying Unemployment TaxesPractice: Calculating FUTA TaxCarrying Workers’ Compensation InsuranceMaintaining Employee RecordsAnswers to Practice Questions
Book 4: Preparing for Year’s End
Chapter 1: Depreciating Your Assets
Defining DepreciationReducing the Value of AssetsTackling Taxes and DepreciationSetting Up Depreciation SchedulesRecording Depreciation Expenses
Chapter 2: Paying and Collecting Interest
Deciphering Types of InterestHandling Interest IncomeDelving into Loans and Interest Expenses
Chapter 3: Proving Out the Cash
Why Prove Out the Books?Making Sure Ending Cash Is RightClosing the Cash JournalsUsing a Temporary Posting JournalReconciling Bank AccountsPosting Adjustments and Corrections
Chapter 4: Closing the Journals
Prepping to Close: Checking for Accuracy and Tallying Things UpPosting to the General LedgerChecking Out Computerized Journal Records
Chapter 5: Checking Your Accuracy
Working with a Trial BalanceTesting Your Balance with Computerized Accounting SystemsDeveloping a Financial Statement WorksheetReplacing Worksheets with Computerized Reports
Chapter 6: Adjusting the Books
Adjusting All the Right AreasTesting an Adjusted Trial BalanceChanging Your Chart of Accounts
Book 5: Accounting and Managing Your Business
Chapter 1: Managing Profit
Helping Managers: The Fourth Vital Task of AccountingInternal Profit ReportingPresenting a Profit Analysis TemplateAnswering Critical Profit QuestionsTaking a Closer Look at the Lines in the Profit TemplateUsing the Profit Template for Decision-Making AnalysisTucking Away Some Valuable LessonsClosing with a Boozy Example
Chapter 2: Budgeting
Exploring the Reasons for BudgetingRecognizing Additional Benefits of BudgetingDeciding Whether Budgeting Is Worth Its CostsRealizing That Not Everyone BudgetsWatching Budgeting in ActionConsidering Capital Expenditures and Other Cash NeedsUsing Computer Accounting to Make Budgeting More Effective
Chapter 3: Cost Accounting
Looking Down the Road to the Destination of CostsAre Costs Really That Important?Becoming More Familiar with CostsAssembling the Product Cost of ManufacturersPuffing Profit by Excessive Production
Chapter 4: Filing and Paying Business Taxes
Finding the Right Business TypeTackling Tax Reporting for Sole ProprietorsFiling Tax Forms for PartnershipsPaying Corporate TaxesTaking Care of Sales Tax Obligations
Chapter 5: Prepping the Books for a New Accounting Cycle
Finalizing the General LedgerConducting Special Year-End Bookkeeping TasksStarting the Cycle Anew
Index
About the Authors
Advertisement Page
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement

Content preview from Bookkeeping All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 8

Accounting Alternatives

IN THIS CHAPTER

Realizing that there’s more than one way home

Examining the effects of alternative accounting methods on profit and balance sheet

Taking a closer look at cost of goods sold and depreciation expenses

Scanning the revenue and expense horizon

You may think that accountants are in unified agreement on the exact ways to record business transactions, but this isn’t the case. An old joke is that when two economists get together, they have three economic opinions. It’s not that different in accounting. Accountants have several methods that can be used for reporting revenue, expenses, and other transactions of a business. In this chapter, I look at those differences and the types of decisions accountants must make when recording transactions and filing financial reports.

The financial statements reported by a business are just one version of its financial history and performance. A different accountant for the business undoubtedly would have presented a different version. The income statement and balance sheet of a business depend on which ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.

Julian F.

Head of Cybersecurity

I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.

Addison B.

Field Engineer

I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.

Amir M.

Data Platform Tech Lead

I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.

Mark W.

Embedded Software Engineer

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781119592907Purchase book

Cloud Computing

Data Engineering

Data Science

AI & ML

Programming Languages

Software Architecture

IT/Ops

Security

Design

Business

Soft Skills

Bookkeeping All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Lita Epstein, John A. Tracy

Accounting Alternatives

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.