Business "Housework"

It's the week-end and for me, like most employed adults, that means housework - cooking, cleaning, washing.  It's an automatic function in our personal lives.  But what about our business?

Huh?  What does housework have to do with your business?  Well, have you clean out the Chart of Accounts lately?  Have you reviewed your Accounts Receivable to determine if some of it should just be written off to bad debt?  Is your inventory in order?  Have you done a physical count of your inventory this year to make sure it matches your accounting records?  Do you know what your clients/customers are buying from you?  Is it the same as they were buying a year ago?

There is all kinds of housework to do when you are a business owner, but frequently owners get too busy to do any of it.  Make it a habit to set aside time on a regular basis to perform your "housework" chores - quarterly will probably work for most business owners.  Doing so just may save you money or help you to identify a new revenue source.

Recording Payments by Credit Card

I have clients who send me their credit card statement whereby I make a single entry in QuickBooks, allocating each charge to the correct expense account.  Other clients give me their charge receipts each week for me to enter.  Which method you use is personal choice with the same end result.

If you are going to record the charges as they are incurred, then you will need to create a Credit Card account.  I usually name the account by the type of card (Visa, MC, AmEx, etc.) and the last four digits of the card account.  This is especially helpful if there is more than one credit card account.

To enter the charge, you can either enter the bill and then pay it by the Credit Card account or “write a check” on the Credit Card account.

When the statement arrives, compare it to the balance in the Credit Card account.  If all of the charges have been entered, then you can write a check for the total, thereby relieving the balance in the Credit Card account.