Lita Epstein, MBA, is a financial writer who focuses on career growth and business topics. She earned her MBA from Emory University and her BA from Rutgers University. Lita has written more than 50 books, including Reading Financial Reports For Dummies.

Introduction 1

Part 1: Basic Bookkeeping: Why You Need It 5

Chapter 1: So, You Want to Do the Books 7

Chapter 2: Getting Down to Bookkeeping Basics 17

Chapter 3: Outlining Your Financial Road Map with a Chart of Accounts. 29

Part 2: Keeping a Paper Trail 45

Chapter 4: Ledgers: A One-Stop Summary of Your Business Transactions 47

Chapter 5: Keeping Journals 59

Chapter 6: Computer Options for Your Bookkeeping 77

Chapter 7: Controlling Your Books, Your Records, and Your Money 87

Chapter 8: Securing Your Online Bookkeeping 105

Part 3: Tracking Your Day-to-Day Operations with Your Books 111

Chapter 9: Buying and Tracking Your Purchases 113

Chapter 10: Counting Your Sales 125

Chapter 11: Employee Payroll and Benefits 143

Chapter 12: Employer-Paid Taxes and Government Payroll Reporting 165

Part 4: Preparing the Books for Year's (or Month's) End 177

Chapter 13: Depreciating Your Assets 179

Chapter 14: Paying and Collecting Interest 189

Chapter 15: Proving Out the Cash 199

Chapter 16: Closing the Journals 213

Chapter 17: Checking Your Accuracy - By Trial and (Hopefully) No Error. 225

Chapter 18: Adjusting the Books 237

Part 5: Reporting Results and Starting Over 247

Chapter 19: Developing a Balance Sheet 249

Chapter 20: Producing an Income Statement 263

Chapter 21: Completing Year-End Payroll and Reports 277

Chapter 22: Satisfying the Tax Man 289

Chapter 23: Prepping the Books for a New Accounting Cycle 305

Part 6: The Part of Tens 311

Chapter 24: Top Ten Ways to Manage Your Business Cash with Your Books 313

Chapter 25: Top Ten (Okay, Eleven) Most Important Accounts for Any Bookkeeper 317

Glossary 321

Index 325