A QUICKBOOKS ACCOUNTING PRIMER
By Jeanie R. Hoshor, M.S. Accounting
Introduction
Businesses run on information: information about the purchase of goods and services from their vendors, about the sale of goods and services to their customers, about their inventories of products, about their employees and the services they perform and the wages they earn, about all the things (cash, buildings, equipment, patents, supplies, etc.) they use to carry on their operations and activities. Most of this information deals with things that have a value that can be measured in dollars and cents; this is financial information. This course (OAS 120) and your textbook deal with the keeping of financial (accounting) records, using a software
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For example, we may use up some office supplies as we prepare invoices and other documents (office supplies expense). We consume the labor service of our employees as they carry out our business operations (salaries and wages expense).
Why is Interest Expense given a special section at the bottom of the Profit & Loss report? All of the income, and all of the other expenses, are “ordinary”: they come from doing what we are in business to do. In this case, we are in business to design web pages and give consultation on the internet. Interest expense comes from borrowing money. We are not in business to borrow money, so this is “Other.”
In summary, the Profit & Loss report shows revenues earned (increase in owner equity), expenses incurred (decrease in owner equity), and the resulting Net Income or Net Loss in owner equity from the operation of the business during one specific period of time. It is one of the two main financial statements presented to investors and creditors outside the business.
The other main financial statement is the Balance Sheet. What, exactly, is in balance on a Balance Sheet? Assets and equities are in balance. Recall that liabilities are also equities: the equities of the creditors of the business. So the equation in balance is: Total Assets = Total Equities, where the total equities include both creditor equities (liabilities)
In accrual accounting, an expense is recognized when the business is obligated to pay it. As goods or services are invoiced, the invoices are posted and counted as assets. Expenses are also posted at the time they are incurred. Accrual accounting is used at most mid-level and large businesses and provides a more accurate picture of the company’s current condition, it is however more expensive to implement. This type of accounting is required by GAAP. Although this type of accounting is more complex, it allows one to track receivables and payables, and match revenues to expenses, which gives more meaning to financial reports.
A balance sheet is a statement of the assets and liabilities of a business going into depth of what the balance of income period.
Some of the operating expenses incurred would be selling, general, and administrative; also research, development, and engineering. They are treated as period costs because as they are accrued or incurred, they are allocated for a designated period an labeled as period costs. Two common examples of period costs are Marketing/Selling and Administrative. Such costs usually occur either after the manufacturing stage or outside the factory.
A profit and loss account is supposed to show a businesses’ income and expenditures and calculate the company’s net profit or loss based on the difference between those numbers. It is really useful in determining past performance and to try to predict future
a.) The income statement, also called the profit & loss account (P & L), is used to illustrate a company’s revenues and expenses over a particular period of time. It shows the net profit and/or loss for the given period (the difference between the business’ total income and its total costs). It also allows shareholders to see the performance of the business and if it has made an acceptable profit.
A profit and loss account is intended to show a business its income and expenditures and calculate the company’s net profit or loss based upon the difference between those figures. It is extremely useful in determining past performance and to try and predict future results. It enables a business to see what changes could make to improve on its profit. It also give enough information to help a business to set targets.
Debtor’s collection period shows the link between the number of debtors and how long on average it takes the business to collect debts.
There are many different expenses that occur in a business and they have to be broken down throughout the report. Expenses are the costs of doing business. They can also be presenting is different ways. One type of expense is the salaries and benefits expense. This category represents the costs of labor. This is usually the largest category for expenses in health care organizations. Another category is the supplies expense. This represents the cost of disposable materials. These are typically the supplies used on an everyday basis like tongue depressors and things of that nature. On the income statement, the dollar amount that is represented for supplies expense is the amount of supplies that have been used and not what has been bought. Insurance expense is another category. This category is the cost of purchasing commercial insurance. This insurance helps protect the clinic/business against risks dealing the property or malpractice. Some health care organization will have a lease expense. A company may primarily own their buildings or land but they could lease medical equipment. This needs to have a category all in its own. Interest expense records the amount of interest if paid (or owed) on debt financing. Lastly another expense to be aware of is the depreciation expense. The depreciation expense is the calculated financial rate of an asset’s decrease value over
Employee Benefits Expenses, Lease and Occupancy Expenses and Advertising, Merchandising and Visual Expenses are added together and considered to be Selling, General and
As most of us pay rent, mortgage, etc., so do business owners, who may rent or pay taxes on the probity, utilities, etc. you would list the total expenses or bills that need to be paid.
Expenses are the cost of resources consumed or used in the activities and business of the company. Profitability (expense and income statement) is measured within one year income list includes several
The income statement is one of three financial statements that stock investors need to become familiar with (the other two are balance sheet and cash flow statement) (Loth, 2017). The income statement is created of four sections: sales or revenue, cost of goods or services sold, expenses, and net profit/loses. “Sales/revenues is how much revenue the company brought in by selling its products or services. Cost of goods/services sold is how much the company spent to purchase or produce the products or services it sold. Expenses is how much the company spent to keep the doors of the business open. Essentially, this includes all expenses except those spent specifically on the cost of goods or services sold. Net Profit or Loss: the "bottom line" that tells whether the company made a profit or operated at a loss” (Epstein,2014). This might lead you to the question of what the purpose of the income statement is? Once you understand the income statement you will understand how well a company is doing or not doing. In this paper, it will analyze the income statement of Ford Motor company from December 2010-2012.
The “financial statements are formal reports providing information on a company's financial position, cash inflows and outflows, and the results of operations” (Hermanson, p.22). There are four main components that make up a financial statement. The four parts are, balance sheet, income statements, cash flow and, statement of owner’s equity. The balance sheets role is to define the company’s assets liabilities and revenue of the business. The income statement shows the income within the company. Cash flow reviews the position of the company by cash payments and receipts. Lastly, the statement of owner’s equity shows the amount of earnings, stock and other capitals of people in the company. (Hermanson, p.34-35).
It is important for every business to carry out financial statement analysis in order to gain an understanding of their current financial status. There are two main types of financial statements that businesses commonly use when it comes to financial analysis. These are known as the Profit and Loss Account and the Statement of Financial Position. A profit and loss account consists of a list of expenses incurred by the company, against their revenues over a certain period of time. It shows whether the organisation
Do you own your own business? Are you trying to evolve your skill set to include financial and management accounting? Are you looking for an alternative to monitor your personal finances? Whatever the case, you have probably heard of QuickBooks, the trendiest accounting software for small businesses. In this article I will use QuickBooks Pro, as I give examples to help expedite the learning experience, and make your company 's transition to the software considerably easier.