Bookkeeping and Accounting All-in-One For Dummies, UK Edition E-Book

Jane E. Kelly

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 702

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

UK bookkeeping and accounting basics for the rest of us

Unless you're one of those rare "numbers people," the thought of accounting and bookkeeping probably make your head spin. While these pragmatic and confusing practices may not be fun for the rest of us, mastering them is absolutely essential in order to run and maintain a successful business. Thankfully, Bookkeeping & Accounting All-in-One For Dummies, UK Edition, is here to take the intimidation out of crunching numbers and offers easy-to-follow, step-by-step instruction on keeping your business' finances in order with information specific to a business in the United Kingdom.

Written in plain English and packed with loads of helpful instruction, this approachable and all-encompassing guide arms you with everything you need to get up and running on all the latest accounting practices and bookkeeping software. Inside, you'll find out how to prepare financial statements, balance your books, keep the tax inspector off your back, and so much more.

• Gives you access to supplemental online samples of bookkeeping forms, accounting templates, and spreadsheets
• Includes many practical bookkeeping and accounting exercises and templates
• Simplifies every aspect of accounting and record-keeping
• Shows you how to run your business "by the books"

If you're a small business owner or employee who is confused and intimidated by managing your accounts and books, this comprehensive guide empowers you to take charge of those pesky figures to keep your business afloat.

Leseprobe

Bookkeeping & Accounting All-in-One For Dummies®

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, www.wiley.com

This edition first published 2015

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex.

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ISBN 978-1-119-02653-2 (paperback); ISBN 978-1-119-02660-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-02661-7 (ebk)

Bookkeeping & Accounting All-in-One For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/bookkeepingaccountingaio to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Cover

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Book I: Basic Bookkeeping

Chapter 1: So You Want to Do the Books

Delving into Bookkeeping Basics

Defining and Maintaining a Ledger

Using Bookkeeping Tools to Manage Daily Finances

Running Tests for Accuracy

Chapter 2: Getting Down to Bookkeeping Basics

Bookkeeping: The Record-Keeping of the Business World

Wading through Basic Bookkeeping Lingo

Pedalling through the Accounting Cycle

Understanding Accounting Methods

Seeing Double with Double-Entry Bookkeeping

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 3: Outlining Your Financial Roadmap with a Chart of Accounts

Getting to Know the Chart of Accounts

Starting with the Balance Sheet Accounts

Keeping an Eye on the Profit and Loss Statement Accounts

Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 4: Looking at Ledgers

Developing Entries for the Ledger

Posting Sales Invoices

Posting Purchase Invoices

Entering Items into the Nominal Ledger

Cashbook Transactions

Introducing Control Accounts

Understanding How the Ledgers Impact the Accounts

Adjusting for Nominal Ledger Errors

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Book II: Bookkeeping Day to Day

Chapter 1: Planning and Controlling Your Workload

Introducing Checklists

Sorting Out Your Sales Invoices

Entering Your Purchases Invoices

Checking Cash Payments and Receipts

Reconciling Your Bank Account

Entering Your Journals

Controlling Your Books, Records and Money

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 2: Counting Your Sales

Collecting on Cash Sales

Selling on Credit

Cashing Up the Cash Register

Monitoring Sales Discounts

Recording Sales Returns and Allowances

Monitoring Trade Debtors

Accepting Your Losses

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 3: Buying and Tracking Your Purchases

Keeping Track of Stock

Buying and Monitoring Supplies

Staying on Top of Your Bills

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 4: Doing Your Banking

Making Sure that the Closing Cash Is Right

Reconciling Bank Accounts

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Book III: Undertaking Monthly and Quarterly Tasks

Chapter 1: Adding the Cost of Value-Added Tax (VAT)

Looking into VAT

Registering for VAT

Paying in and Reclaiming VAT

Completing Your VAT Return

Pursuing Payments and Repayments

Chapter 2: Employee Payroll and Benefits

Staffing Your Business

Using the Real-Time Information System

Collecting Employee Taxes

Determining Net Pay

Taxing Benefits

Preparing and Posting Payroll

Settling Up with HM Revenue & Customs

Handling Payroll Year-End

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 3: Adjusting Your Books

Adjusting All the Right Areas

Checking Your Trial Balance

Changing Your Chart of Accounts

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Book IV: Working to Prepare Financial Statements

Chapter 1: Producing a Profit and Loss Statement

Lining Up the Profit and Loss Statement

Formatting the Profit and Loss Statement

Preparing the Profit and Loss Statement

Deciphering Gross Profit

Monitoring Expenses

Using the Profit and Loss Statement to Make Business Decisions

Testing Profits

Branching Out with Profit and Loss Statement Data

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 2: Developing a Balance Sheet

Breaking Down the Balance Sheet

Gathering Balance Sheet Ingredients

Pulling Together the Final Balance Sheet

Putting Your Balance Sheet to Work

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 3: Cash Flows and the Cash Flow Statement

The Three Types of Cash Flow

Setting the Stage: Changes in Balance Sheet Accounts

Getting at the Cash Increase from Profit

Presenting the Cash Flow Statement

Sailing through the Rest of the Cash Flow Statement

Free Cash Flow: What on Earth Does That Mean?

Scrutinising the Cash Flow Statement

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Book V: Accountants: Managing the Business

Chapter 1: Discovering Different Business Types

Finding the Right Business Type

Tax Reporting for Sole Traders

Filing Tax Forms for Partnerships

Paying Taxes for Limited Companies

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 2: Choosing Accounting Methods

Decision‐Making Behind the Scenes in Profit and Loss Statements

Calculating Cost of Goods Sold and Cost of Stock

Identifying Stock Losses: Net Realisable Value (NRV)

Managing Your Stock Position

Appreciating Depreciation Methods

Collecting or Writing Off Bad Debts

Reconciling Corporation Tax

Dealing with Foreign Exchange

Two Final Issues to Consider

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 3: Managing Profit Performance

Redesigning the External Profit and Loss Statement

Basic Model for Management Profit and Loss Account

Travelling Two Trails to Profit

Doing What-If Analysis

A Final Word or Two

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 4: Cost Conundrums

Previewing What’s Coming Down the Road

What Makes Cost So Important?

Sharpening Your Sensitivity to Costs

Putting Together the Pieces of Product Cost for Manufacturers

A View from the Top Regarding Costs

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 5: Business Budgeting

The Reasons for Budgeting

Budgeting and Management Accounting

Budgeting in Action

Capital Budgeting

Reporting on Variances

Staying Flexible with Budgets

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Book VI: Accountants: Working with the Outside World

Chapter 1: Getting a Financial Report Ready for Prime Time

Reviewing Vital Connections

Statement of Changes in Owners’ Equity and Comprehensive Income

Making Sure that Disclosure Is Adequate

Keeping It Private versus Going Public

Nudging the Numbers

Browsing versus Reading Financial Reports

Chapter 2: How Investors Read a Financial Report

Financial Reporting by Private versus Public Businesses

Analysing Financial Reports with Ratios

Frolicking through the Footnotes

Checking for Ominous Skies on the Audit Report

Finding Financial Facts

Have a Go

Answering the Have a Go Questions

Chapter 3: Professional Auditors and Advisers

Why Audits?

Who’s Who in the World of Audits

What an Auditor Does before Giving an Opinion

What’s in an Auditor’s Report

Do Audits Always Catch Fraud?

Auditors and the Rules

From Audits to Advising

About the Authors

Cheat Sheet

Advertisement Page

Connect with Dummies

End User License Agreement

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

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Introduction

Welcome to Bookkeeping & Accounting All-in-One For Dummies! This book explains the different roles that both bookkeepers and accountants take on within a business. If you’re a one-man or one-woman band, however, don’t worry; within these pages you too can find out how to do the bookkeeping basics and see the ways in which an accountant can assist you further.

About This Book

This book aims to help you understand the bookkeeping tasks that need to be done within your business and to demonstrate how an accountant can help your business to set targets that will hopefully expand and grow.

Bookkeeping & Accounting All-in-One For Dummies is divided into six separate books. Each book is split into several chapters that tackle key aspects of bookkeeping and accounting functions. The Table of Contents gives you more detail of what is contained within each chapter. Each chapter presents information in a modular fashion so that you get all the information you need to accomplish a task in one place. You don’t need to remember things from different parts of the book; if another chapter has information relevant to the discussion at hand, you’ll find a cross reference telling you where to find it, so you don’t have to read the chapters in order. You can read the chapters or sections that interest you when it suits you.

If you end up reading all that there is to read in this book, but find you still want more, check out the extra information in these For Dummies titles (all published by Wiley):

Bookkeeping For Dummies

(Jane Kelly, Paul Barrow & Lita Epstein)

Understanding Business Accounting For Dummies

(John A. Tracy & Colin Barrow)

Accounting Workbook For Dummies

(Jane Kelly & John A. Tracy)

Foolish Assumptions

Bookkeeping & Accounting All-in-One For Dummies makes some key assumptions about who you are and why you picked up this book, and assumes that you fall into one of the following categories:

You’re a member of staff in a small business who’s been employed to undertake the bookkeeping and accounting function.

You’re a small business owner who currently doesn’t have the funds to employee an individual. Therefore, you need to understand the basics of bookkeeping to enable you to deal with the day-to-day paperwork, with a view to perhaps using an accountant at year-end.

You’re a small-business owner who is thinking of employing a bookkeeper but wants to know the differences between what a bookkeeper can do for your business and what an accountant can offer.

If any – or all – of these assumptions accurately describes you, then you’ve come to the right book!

Icons Used in This Book

Every For Dummies book uses icons to highlight especially important, interesting or useful information. The icons used in this book are:

Look at this icon for practical information that you can use straightaway to help you to run your bookkeeping and accounting systems in the most effective way.

This icon indicates any items you need to remember after reading the book – and sometimes throughout it.

This icon calls your attention to examples of specific tasks that you can undertake to help you perform the bookkeeping or accounting skills explained in this book.

The paragraphs next to this icon contain information that is, er, slightly technical in nature. You don’t need to know the information here to get by, but it helps.

This bombshell alerts you to potential problems you may create for yourself without realising it. Don’t ignore this icon!

Beyond the Book

At www.dummies.com/extras/bookkeepingaccountingaio you can access some online extras, just in case you need a bit more help and guidance! You can also find the handy cheat sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/bookkeepingaccountingaio .

Where to Go from Here

You’re now ready to enter the world of bookkeeping and accounting. If you’re a complete beginner, starting at the beginning and gradually working through from there is probably the best approach. If you have some experience, but are a little rusty in certain areas, you can pick and choose the chapters that are most relevant to you. After all, this book is designed for you to dip in and out of as you like. I hope that you find it a useful tool for developing and managing your business.

Book I

Basic Bookkeeping

For Dummies can help you get started with lots of subjects. Visit www.dummies.com to discover more and do more with For Dummies books.

In this book …

Get to grips with the basic bookkeeping terminology.

Take a look at the double entry rules of bookkeeping.

Understand the Chart of Accounts to see how it impacts on the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet.

See how the different ledgers work together to make your accounting system work for your business.

Chapter 1

So You Want to Do the Books

In This Chapter

Introducing bookkeeping and its basic purpose

Maintaining a paper trail

Managing daily business finances

Making sure that everything’s accurate

For many small business owners, while they love working in their chosen field using the skills they know and love, they don’t always like to perform ‘bookkeeping’ duties. Most company owners prefer to employ the skills of a qualified bookkeeper. Some may, perhaps, prefer to give their bag-full of receipts to their accountant and simply hope that a useful set of accounts comes out of the end of the accounting sausage machine!

In this chapter we help to demystify the role of a bookkeeper. It may be that you’re just starting off in business and, as a result, can’t afford the services of a bookkeeper just yet! Think of this chapter as a checklist of jobs that need to be done.

Throughout the book, we introduce Have a Go sections, which are practical exercises aimed at helping you understand the bookkeeping principles we discuss. Feel free to draw all over these sections of the book; we want it to be as useful for you as possible.

Delving into Bookkeeping Basics