Microsoft Accounting - basic bookkeeping question

[Dave Liquorice]

If you go that route make sure everything is presented in a date sorted manner in relevant bundles not a couple of shoe boxes with the papers just crammed in. If an accountant accepted such a mess you'd be paying through the nose for him to sort it out before even starting to do the accounts.

But a simple cash accounting book is more than adequate for the self employed, though doing the maths is can be a bit of a chore and error prone. That is why I keep my business data in a spreadsheet on the computer it does the maths far quicker and more accurately than I could. It also allows simple tracking of creditors and debitors.

[Bruce]

That's good general advice, applying equally whichever system of book keeping is used.

All depends on the size of the business and the number of transactions. I would not dream of suggesting use of an accounts book for a business that employed several people and issued more than several invoices a day, for example. Also, an accounts book is not a good source of up to date data for making decisions about the future direction of an expanding business.

But for many sole traders or a small partnerships (e.g. man and wife) it is all that is needed.