Questions and Answers,

Ask a Free Bookkeeping Question

Submit a bookkeeping question ~ See other visitors questions and answers

In response to the amount of questions I have been receiving via email, I decided to start this page to answer any questions you have about problems with your bookkeeping.

Rather than answering individual questions via email, this will give everyone a chance to read about problems that others are having too, and find out how to solve them. It will become a FAQ about Bookkeeping.

The advice I give is only from my experiences and way of doing things. Please help me by also contributing to the answers. This is a two way web page...you and me. You can ask a question, answer a question or do both. You will become my co-expert on these questions by rating and submitting comments.

Of course you can still contact me if you have a question that you feel would not benefit others or needs a personal response.

All other questions about any aspect of bookkeeping and accounting can be asked just below, on this page.

Important: If you do not include enough information in your question, I will not be able to answer it. Please be as detailed as possible.

Ask questions about the problems you are having with bookkeeping. You can even answer questions that have already been asked. It's free, it's easy and it's fun.

This is for everyone to participate in. Let's all help and be helped. Don't forget to check back soon to view the answers. I'll do my best to give my personal reply within 24 hours.

You have the option to upload a photo if you want to show the problem. Sometimes it helps to see what you are talking about, but it's not absolutely necessary.

Important: When you ask your question, please include as many details as possible.

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Managing Vendor discounts 
Hi
I am wondering what is the correct way to manage discounts I get from Vendors. They are flat rate discounts which vary from product to product.

I ...

Revenue Account Questions 
The Revenue Account Questions page is where you can find information regarding income and revenue.

Company Start-Up Questions 
Find company start-up questions to start a set of books for a new business

Gift Certificate Donations 
When a company donates gift certificates for services, are they only recorded if the certificate is ever used?

I know that when you sell a gift certificate ...

Getting Paid As a Sole Proprietor 
How do I record the money I withdrawal from my business for myself? I am a sole proprietor of a small pet store and doing my own bookkeeping. I've always ...

Bookkeeping software? 
I have little knowledge of bookkeeping. At what point should I consider hiring a bookkeeper instead of using computer software?

I would highly recommend ...

Foreign Currencies  Not rated yet
I have a new client who deals in US $ and does not need to exchange into CAD $ as he pays his expenses, salaries etc all in US $ .

I am writng from ...

Collection Agency Entries  Not rated yet
Our office uses "The Therapist" software by Beaver Creek for our accounting. When we receive a payment from the collection agency, it is entered into ...

Statutory Holiday and Overtime  Not rated yet
Here is how I record when someone works on a Statutory Holiday. I first calculate their Statutory holiday. we will say 6 hours @ $12.00 per hr.

Hours ...

Leased Assets  Not rated yet
What are leased assets capilized at?

Paper Copy of Receipts  Not rated yet
I am doing the bookkeeping for an information technology business and i don't even know the best way to document purchases made on the internet. Should ...

Balancing at Year End  Not rated yet
I do not know what part of the balance sheet reads to what part of the P&L.

Also, What should I look for when balancing? I know about bank balances,...

Accounts Receivable Questions  Not rated yet
Accounts Receivable Questions - Ask or answer a question regarding accounts receivable.

Pre Paid rent  Not rated yet
I am just starting out doing some bookeeping for a friend. She paid her 1st and last months rent plus a security deposit. How will I post the last months ...

Donated Labor  Not rated yet
How do I track donated labor?

Financial Satements  Not rated yet
Which one asset account will always be carried over from the unadjusted trial balance columns of a work sheet to the balance sheet columns of the work ...

Invoice Discounts  Not rated yet
If you offer a customer a 1%10 Net 30 on an invoice and they are paying and invoice within terms but owe older invoices do the qualify to get that discount ...

Deleting posted payments  Not rated yet
After 38 years of working, I have always believed that a computer system should not allow staff to delete payments, charges and adjustments once they ...

Cash sales  Not rated yet
I sold a piece of equipment to a customer outside of the USA. He came here in person to inspect the machine and paid me in cash the balance owed. I owed ...

Company Vehicle  Not rated yet
How do you record in Quickbooks the following scenario:

Sold company vehicle for 17,500:

All accummulated depreciation is used. Should be a gain ...

Business Credit Cards  Not rated yet
When you make a purchase by business credit card how does this get recorded in the ledger accounts?

I understand that when paying the card off you ...

Expense and Sub-sequential Refund 8 months apart  Not rated yet
I am a bookkeeper for a non profit organization. We paid an unemployment benefit expense in December of 2008 and last month received a credit from the ...

Posting Questions  Not rated yet
The Posting Questions page is where you can read and help answer questions about making journal entries and which accounts should be posted to.

Meanings of Salary  Not rated yet
Why does salary have different meanings under different headings?

For example: When we are calculating gratuity we include basic salary, dearness ...

Bookkeeping Quiz  Not rated yet
The balance sheet reports the condition of the business for future period, for past period, or on a specific data?

Hello,

Thank you for your question....

Bookkeeping   Not rated yet
A) Johnny's corporation borrowed money and issued a note (in the amount of 10,000) to cover cash shortages during the slow season.

B) One month later,...

GST Questions 
GST Questions - Ask a question or share your expertise about GST.

provision for future obligation  Not rated yet
I shall thank you to advise me on the following.

Last financial year $500 was provided to meet the auditor's fee and other contingencies. The entries ...

Advanced and deferred payments  Not rated yet
Which T-accounts are affected when a client pays rents in advance?

Which accounting statement is affected is affected by this transaction- P$L or Balance ...

Sales Tax & Customer Returns  Not rated yet
A customer has returned an item ( price and sales tax). The client wrote a check to the customer for the refund. My client uses specialized journals.

I ...

trading off an old van for painting work  Not rated yet
How do you book this entry? the van is in a Sub-S
corp and it was traded for painting at personal home.

Hello KJB,

As long as the Van was fully ...

What taxes must be claimed when selling personal items.  Not rated yet
I have accumulated a large quanity of computer parts over the past 20 years. I am located in the state of PA and have sold the parts to a tax exempt reselling ...

Bad Debt  Not rated yet
Where do you record bad debt?

Hello,

Thank you for your question.

Bad debt is recorded on the Profit and Loss statement as an expense under ...

Narration  Not rated yet
What is a narration?

Hello Mwalye,

Thank you for your question.

Narration is the act of telling a story or giving an account of something

...

Petty Cash Questions  Not rated yet
Petty Cash Questions - Ask a question or share your expertise about petty cash

Insurance Audit Refund  Not rated yet
We are getting a refund from our recent GL/Auto insurance audit. We have asked that they apply it to this year's premiums, which they did this month....

Bookkeeping Question - Advanced Payment  Not rated yet
A law office has recieved a fee payment in advance to pay for filing fees. How do you set up this account?

Should this be set up as a liability account?...

Off budget items, or "pass through" funds  Not rated yet
I recently took over as treasurer for a nonprofit group. There's a chart of accounts and an annual budget. For many years, the group has collected money ...

Employee Compensation Perks  Not rated yet
How do I account and track employee compensation perks? For example tickets to a broadway show or sporting event?

Hello Hazel,

Thenk you for ...

Personal Donations To Goodwill  Not rated yet
What is the entry for personal donations to Goodwill?

Hello,

Thank you for your question.

All personal donations are coded through the equity ...

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE  Not rated yet
IS THE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE ACCOUNT IN THE GENERAL LEDGER SUPPOSED TO MATCH WITH THE AP INVOICE AGING REPORT?

Hello and thank you for your question.

The ...

Accrual Basis Questions  Not rated yet
Accrual Basis Questions - Ask, comment or answer questions about accrual basis bookkeeping.

Verify a payroll client  Not rated yet
We recently were involved in a payroll scam. We print the actual checks on a special printer with our clients routing number, account number and business ...

Capital Account Questions  Not rated yet
Capital Account Questions - View, ask or comment on questions about the capital account

Fed-ED Fundings  Not rated yet
Why are some recognized Indian Tribes charged with the funding of the Fed-ED extension - I don't see the correlation. Also, who are the government entities ...

In Bookkeeping   Not rated yet
Where can we put the write off amount?

Hello,

You can put write-offs and bad debts to a Bad Debt expense account, but only if you have already ...

Profit and Loss Questions  Not rated yet
Profit and Loss Questions - Ask or answer a question about the profit and loss statement

New Signage  Not rated yet
I have put a down payment of $670.50 on a new back-lit sign. I will pay $212.66 for 36 months.

I was told to expense the payments and at the end of ...

Suspense Account Questions  Not rated yet
Suspense Account Questions - Ask, answer or comment on questions about suspense or clearing accounts.

Chart of Accounts Questions  Not rated yet
Chart of Account Questions - Ask or answer a question about the chart of accounts.

Bookkeeping Nightmare  Not rated yet
I have a young man who started a construction business in November 2008, since that time he has not kept any books and has been paying for materials from ...

Deductions as a Realtor  Not rated yet
Can I claim/write off dental costs?

Can I claim/write off dry cleaning?

Can I claim/write off costs associated with the ownership of my cottage ...

Purchase Returns or Sports Equipment?  Not rated yet
If a piece of sports equipment was bought from a store and paid for by cash or cheque and was then returned being faulty and was sent back to the supplier ...

Inventory Questions  Not rated yet
Inventory Questions - Get answers to your inventory questions here.

Personal laptop  Not rated yet
The owner of a business introduces a laptop computer valued at £1100 into his business (this was his personal property).

The entries would be:-

a)...

Category for Estimated/Federal Taxes Paid  Not rated yet
For a small business on Schedule C, when Federal and Estimated Taxes are paid during the year, what is the Expense/Category in bookkeeping? Are these ...

Confused  Not rated yet
We are a LDT company that is run out of our home and I'm not sure what we can write off on the business books. How do you know what kind of expenses can ...

Payment of Pro-rated Real Estate Taxes With Your Rent  Not rated yet
SLH-student-Reston

Studing accounting I understand the payment of the monthly rent. Also the landlord is charging once a year, the tenant's portion ...

Profit Sharing & Data Bases  Not rated yet
At this time in order for my company to keep track of how much our future contributions are going to be every payroll cycle we put the amount on tallied ...

Bank Account Questions  Not rated yet
Bank Account Questions - Ask or answer questions about bank accounts and reconciliations.

Business Books  Not rated yet
What are the main reasons a business needs to keep books?

One of the main reasons a busines needs to keep books is so that it has an accurate record ...

Balance Sheet Questions  Not rated yet
Balance Sheet Questions - Ask a question or answer a question about the balance sheet.

Corporate Questions  Not rated yet
The Corporate Questions page is a place where you can view, ask or answer questions all about corporations.

Vehicle Payment  Not rated yet
If your business is a general partnership and it is buying a vehicle, what do you record the vehicle payment as? A vehicle expense or something else?

When ...

Accounting Questions  Not rated yet
Have an accounting question? You can ask or answer accounting questions here.

Property, Plant and Equipment  Not rated yet
What kinds of things are usually reported under property, plant and equipment?

Assets that are used in the business are reported as Property, plant ...

Liability Account Questions  Not rated yet
Liability Account Questons - Ask, answer or comment on questions about liability accounts.

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