i have a small retail business. what kind of weekly accounting reports should i gather to track growth?
81316
try reading these pages .. to have an understanding on the purpose of accounting... and the basic concepts behind them..\n\nhttp://www.futureaccountant.com/accounting-process/study-notes/\n\n\nhttp://www.futureaccountant.com/\n\nhttp://www.schoolingkids.com/
127296
You should do a schedule C - Schedule of Profit/loss from a Business.This will allow you to deduct expenses that you may have had which were related to obtaining this income.
524531
Check out Peachtree software. It maintains employee payroll, inventory, accounts payable / receivable, and a lot more.
1032700
depends upon how big a business is if you are talking about a small business it should not be that long you want to make sure you donot miss any account or transaction that will occur and all the departments are listed in order other than that i think 5-6 pages should be enough
243808
I like Palo Alto's software http://www.paloalto.com/ . They have an easy to use interface, plus well-written sample business plans. I would like to see better flexibility in doing the financials, but overall is still the best for me. I have test-drived several business planning software, and Palo Alto is what I like best.
1107186
I would talk with the "Small Business Administration" and "SCORE" in my local community (They in the Phone Book Blue/Government Pages). They may be able to help and it Free advise. You just determine what important for you.\nAlso, you may want to call the IRS. They offer Free Tax Classes to help you know what Forms and stuff would be important for your Business, plus, they usually answer some important questions you may have as to Deductions. They real important and it FREE!!!! Then talk to your State Revenue Department and find out what you need to get your Tax ID etc. for your Business. Usually it just your Social Security Number for a Small Business. But, you need this Form to Buy Wholesale and not pay Sales Tax on your Stock. You charge the Tax when it sold.\nThere is a lot to cover, but, do not feel overwhelmed, take each part, step by step. You not in a hurry! AND those guys/gals @ SCORE can tell you most of this and help you. They Retired Business Owners Volunteering their time for something to do.
184204
a simple tracking method would be to set up your assets in a portfolio on finance.yahoo.com \n\nyou can just divide the earnings by the prin amount as a simplistic calculation.
330608
As an accountant, you could take it a number of ways.\n\nfrom a basic trend analysis, 2, 3, ? = 4\n\nWhat about the sales push (advertising)? Or return customers? Word of mouth sales? \n\nThen what about new products? product obsolescence? \n\nExpansion efforts? New or better trained staff? New equipment available to increase production and therefore sales?\n\nThere are other factors beyond the simple data above that should be considered.\n\nCheers, L
167048
You don't say what you do, so it's hard to give a specific answer.\n\nGoals should be well-defined and measurable. For example, to sell 10% more widgets than last year, to make 5% less mistakes than last month, to help x number of customers per week, etc.
961500
Hopefully the business that you are considering has had financial audits performed on a regular basis.  If so, ask for copies of the last three years of audited financial statements.  Your investors may want audited FS.  Unless you are an accountant with experience in this field you will need to have someone do the projections for you.  The owner may require you to sign some type of confidentially agreement - run this by a lawyer.  Assuming that you can come to an agreement on the confidentiality statement (if the owner even requires one) then take what you have to a CPA with at least 5 to 10 years of experience and have that person "run the numbers" for you.\n\nIf the business does not have audited financial statements, then the next best thing are FS that have been reviewed.  If not that then you will have to settle for compiled FS.  It is just my opinion but I doubt any investors will settle for compiled FS; if you are lucky you may be able to get by with reviewed FS.  The CPA will be (sure as heck should be, if not find someone else ASAP) able to explain the difference between FS that have been audited, reviewed or compiled.  This is serious business.  Don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish.  The investors could conceivably take legal action against you if you do this incorrectly.  Good luck.
627810
I suggest Quickbooks.\n\nThere is a book called The QuickBooks Farm Accounting Cookbook http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0967308305/ref=nosim/powerhomebizguid that is "devoted to the basics of setting up QuickBooks for a farm business--including ideas and approaches for setting up a farm business Chart of Accounts, ways to set up the Classes list to allow enterprise accounting, discussions highlighting QuickBooks features most farm businesses should use--plus mention of QuickBooks features most farm businesses should AVOID!"\n\nThe University of Missouri has a page called Missouri Farm Accounting Resources http://agebb.missouri.edu/mgt/mofar/quickbooks.htm that has resources and tutorials on how to apply Quickbooks to a farm business.
1133720
I actually meet with another business owner on a weekly basis. We discuss our strategy and possible ways to grow our businesses. We set goals and review the following week always striving to strengthen all areas of  business. A life coach is a good idea but a relationship with a like minded person can also create exponential growth in the business arena.
290367
As a business librarian, I suggest these three, quick, easy ways to get accurate answers to all the information you asked for:\n\n(1) Visit the company's Web site and look for "Investor Relations" or "Financials." They should have SEC filings, such as a 10-K, which will give you current information released by the company to its shareholders.\n\n(2) Visit http://www.hoovers.com/free/ and search this business database for more accurate business information.\n\n(3) Visit http://www.marketwatch.com/news/default.asp?siteid=mktw to get up-to-the-minute stock information.
890442
The Small Business Administration - http://www.sba.gov\n\nalso SCORE
769981
I recommend Quickbooks Pro. The software is relatively inexpensive but will do everything you need for a long, long time. It will help you set up an appropriate chart of accounts, and if you find you need to add accounts later, it is a breeze.
954373
As a general rule, your best prospects for additional sales and profits are your current and past customers. \n\nGood luck,\nScott
34483
You will need to show receipts of the revenue that your business generated. You should have statements from the individuals and companies that gave you the money.