I am the office manager of a very small office ( only one person under me). I do very basic bookkeeping, if you can even call it that. I have a day sheet and I have various entries on it, such as payouts, tabs, coupons, debit/visa/master card. Using those numbers I balance the sales for the day from three stores and make a bank deposit.
I have just been handed another job. This is also bookkeeping, but much more involved. I have no idea what needs to be done and, to be honest, I don’t think my boss knows either. He handed me a bunch of receipts and invoices and Simply Accounting and wants me to ‘fix it’.
I have no training on Simply Accounting. I assume I have to make some sort of a template.
I guess what I’m asking is can somebody give me any suggestions as to where to start first?
I have been very open and honest and have told my new boss that I do not know how to do what he wants me to, but I am happy to learn.
Is the problem you need to “fix” very urgent, or do you have plenty of time to learn? Maybe the boss will pony up the cash for you to take a basic course in accounting or Simply Accounting? Or at least buy an Accounting for Dummies[sup]TM[/sup] book?
Definitely good advice. Tutorials and the Help menu (along with Google) were my best friends when I learned how to use Quickbooks.
I can sort of relate to your situation. I got a part-time job about a year ago doing bookkeeping for a small company. I had absolutely no bookkeeping experience whatsoever, but my friend who hooked me up with the job did a fantastic job training me on the basics and taught me how to use the software (they use QuickBooks).
My Spidey sense tells me that what he wants you to do is track invoices generated, monies received (and outstanding balances), and expenses paid, and link them all together. If that’s what he’s aiming for, it’s not that hard - the key is to enter everything promptly in the right places. And make reconciling accounts a very high priority.
Watch Black Books season 2, episode 9: The Fixer. It probably won’t help, but you can laugh at the character who was thrown into your situation, and maybe learn from her.
Hello, I apologize for my lack of replies. I haven’t had an internet connection for almost 24 hours! I’ve been wandering around feeling cut off from the world!
I decided I am just not able to do what is wanted of me without some training. I know they really don’t have the time to train me, so I’m going to suggest they find someone who has the experience to do what they want.
If you go to the Simply Accounting website, there is a link on the front page to find a certified consultant - that might be the best place to start. Find out how much per hour they charge and tell you boss how much it will cost to get you up and running. If you are creating everythin from scratch, it will be a while before you are ready to start actually working on entering and reconciling the books. Did you get a deadline on this?
It looks very similar to Quicken and the set-up wizard should walk you through a lot of the processes right away. They say the system is designed for non-accountants so that will help. What kind of business are you setting up? A simple retail business or something more complex? Is it just a simple reconciliation project or an on-going bookkeeping project?
Wanted to add - don’t give up yet. Basic bookkeeping isn’t much more complicated than balancing a checkbook. I’ve taught the basics to total beginners in a very short period of time. If this is just a one-time reconciliation project, you probably don’t even need to use accounting software - Excel may give you what you need.
What are you currently using for the bookkeeping duties you are doing already?