Boring
If you want to bore people to tears, talk accounting. That's for everybody, except accountants and some business people. I do my own bookkeeping. I don't have a bookkeeper because, early in the 80s, I hired one, and she did such as a good job, that I had to spend a day and half with Revenue Canada1 to correct all the problems2.
Ever since that time, I do my own bookkeeping. Every month, I have to deal with all my sales because I have to file my sales with the Provincial Government3. Every 3 month, I have to keep my accounting up-to-date because I have to file the GST4 with the Federal Government.
I could get this done once a year instead of monthly and quarterly but I chose it this way on purpose. It forces me to keep my accounting up to date. It forces me to keep track both my income and my expenses. At the end of the fiscal year, I only need a couple of days to close the accounting books for that year. Once a year, I go the accountant to verify my work before I file the business income tax. Billing is done on time and on budget5.
Over the years, many people have told me how crazy, stupid, and how much of an idiot I am for doing my own accounting. Why waste my time, when I could be generating work? Actually, it's this boring stuff that keeps me in business. I know what my ARs are to the nearest $100, I also know what my payables are, and what my cash flow is.
If you want to stay in business, especially in these recession times, you must know:
- What your ARs are
- What your payables are
- What's your cash flow
1 Revenue Canada: The income tax collection people. They changed their name to CRA: Canada Revenue Agency ↑
2 meaning that expenses were overstated and taxes underpaid ↑
3 I have to remit the PST: Provincial Sales Tax on the 23rd of every month ↑
4 GST: Goods and Services Tax. I collect it and I deduct the GST that I have paid on my purchases ↑
5 The billing budget is 0, since I am doing it myself ↑
Tags: Biz101
If you want to bore people to tears, talk accounting. That's for everybody, except accountants and some business people. I do my own bookkeeping. I don't have a bookkeeper because, early in the 80s, I hired one, and she did such as a good job, that I had to spend a day and half with Revenue Canada1 to correct all the problems2.
Ever since that time, I do my own bookkeeping. Every month, I have to deal with all my sales because I have to file my sales with the Provincial Government3. Every 3 month, I have to keep my accounting up-to-date because I have to file the GST4 with the Federal Government.
I could get this done once a year instead of monthly and quarterly but I chose it this way on purpose. It forces me to keep my accounting up to date. It forces me to keep track both my income and my expenses. At the end of the fiscal year, I only need a couple of days to close the accounting books for that year. Once a year, I go the accountant to verify my work before I file the business income tax. Billing is done on time and on budget5.
Over the years, many people have told me how crazy, stupid, and how much of an idiot I am for doing my own accounting. Why waste my time, when I could be generating work? Actually, it's this boring stuff that keeps me in business. I know what my ARs are to the nearest $100, I also know what my payables are, and what my cash flow is.
If you want to stay in business, especially in these recession times, you must know:
- What your ARs are
- What your payables are
- What's your cash flow
1 Revenue Canada: The income tax collection people. They changed their name to CRA: Canada Revenue Agency ↑
2 meaning that expenses were overstated and taxes underpaid ↑
3 I have to remit the PST: Provincial Sales Tax on the 23rd of every month ↑
4 GST: Goods and Services Tax. I collect it and I deduct the GST that I have paid on my purchases ↑
5 The billing budget is 0, since I am doing it myself ↑
Tags: Biz101
