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Ideas/Section-3
INTRODUCTION
This information is provided for individuals
who are starting a
mail order business and require a basic bookkeeping system. It
has been written for someone who has little or no bookkeeping
background. No income tax or professional advice is rendered.
Such advice should be obtained from a CPA or an Attorney.
The operation for any business requires
a basic system to keep
track of income expenses. There are two good reasons to keep good
records.
1. It is the law. The IRS, State Income
Tax Division and State
Sales Tax Division (where applicable) requires you to keep
complete and accurate records.
2. Keeping good records is good business.
It helps you to
understand your business better. It will let you know at all
times how your business is doing -- how much money you are making
or losing. In addition it enables you to analyze expenses and
revenues. You can see how seasonal and other trends develop. All
of this will he;p you to make sound business decisions.
BUSINESS CHECKING ACCOUNT
It is best to set-up a separate business
checking account with
your bank for your business. This account should be used only for
deposit of business related income and payment of business
expenses. In this way you a maintain a distinction between
business and personal expenses.
STATE SALES TAX
You are required by law in most states
to collect the
appropriate State Sales Tax. This only applies for sales within
your state. Out of state purchasers are not charged a sales tax.
Only the end-user pays sales tax. If you should be selling to a
dealer he can provide you with a sales tax exemption
certificate.. In this case he is not required to pay the sales
tax to you since he will be collecting if from his customers.
STATE USE TAX
THe Use tax generally applies when a company
buys supplies or
equipment for its own use from an out of state business. It does
not apply when material or merchandise are bought from an out of
state company which will be re-sold. The use tax rate is the same
as the sales tax rate.
For specific information on regulations
in your state call the
nearest State Sales Tax Division in your area.
ACQUISITION OF EQUIPMENT
When acquiring office machines, such as
typewriters, computers,
copiers, furniture, etc. such expenditures are generally
depreciated on your tax return over a period of time.. For
specific information check with a qualified tax advisor.
EXPENSES RELATED TO A HOME OPERATED BUSINESS
If a business is operated from home in
many instances a portion
of rental, mortgage or other expense may be deductible when
filing your income tax.. The same may apply to utility expenses.
There are specific laws pertaining to this, and again you should
get professional advice.
EXPLANATION OF FORMS
We have provided you with several forms.
You can use them as they
are or change them to fit your particular needs.
1. DETAIL OF MONTHLY EXPENDITURE FORM
In the left hand column you keep track
of expenditures for
merchandise and products that you resell to your customers. The
accounting term is generally cost of goods or product, or cost of
sales.. If you sell books by mail you would record your purchases
for these goods (including drop shipments) in this column.
The right hand column should be used to
record all other
expenditures. You obtain this information from your business
checking account. If you pay for business expenses by cash keep
track of theses expenditures separately and enter into this
column also.. If you also use one or more credit cards to pay for
business expenses list these expenses here too.. It is best to
designate a specific credit card to be used for business expenses
only.. Do not intermingle personal charges. In this case you may
be able to deduct the interest on your taxes.
2. INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FORM
Record your daily income in the left hand
column. Since you may
not have income on a daily basis in the beginning stages of your
business you can record income less frequently, such as weekly or
even monthly.
You may wish to keep a separate income
journal. The purpose of
such a journal would be to give you a more detailed breakdown of
your revenue. Set it up in any way you feel it will best suit
your needs. For example you may want to record new business
separately from repeat business. If you sell dealerships and
books, for example, you may want to record the revenue from
dealerships separately from the revenue for books, etc.
In fact the right column of this form you
can keep track of your
expenditures by category. Again you can change the categories to
suit your particular needs.
When you deduct your expenses from your
receipts at the end of
the month you will have an income or loss figure for your
business
PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENT FORM
Here you show you monthly revenue, expenses
and profit loss.
There are no requirements for you to do this on a monthly basis..
Especially in the beginning stages of your
new business, you may
want to generate a Profit & Loss Statement on a quarterly basis,
semi-annual or even annual basis.
SUMMARY
The above information and forms will give
you a basic system.
Tailor it to fit your own situation. You may want something more
elaborate or less detailed. Or you may not even put all your
business accounting on your P.C.. If you are considering to
acquire a software program to help you with your accounting I
would strongly suggest you wait until you understand your
business well. Also accounting software can be difficult to use
for an individual without accounting background. A personal
money management software system will generally be quite adequate
for most small businesses.
Don't get overwhelmed by record keeping
for you new business
especially if this is something new for you. Governmental
agencies do not require you to keep your books in a particular
way but do require you keep good records. This also means that
records must be substantial. Again your accountant can give you
detailed information on existing requirements.
While the big task of any new business
is developing sales and
acquiring customers, good record keeping is generally found in
successful business operations. Your records provide you with
accurate present and past information that you as the owner and
president of your company must use constantly analyze your
business so you will maximize profits.
