Knife finances

C

Cameron Wilcox

Well-Known Member
i have been keeping track of my spending on a paper I had kept with all my knife sketches and designs but recentky the paper turned up missing, I won't bother with the details. I still remember about what my total spent was (around $730) but since my old paperwork is gone I thought I would ask about a better way to organize my finances. How do you organize things? on paper or electronically? Considering how new I am and what little money I have I would like to find something free or very cheap.
thank you,
 
You could go as simple as a text document on the computer, or a two column document for debits and credits if you're selling anything.
If you've got some experience with spreadsheets it's easy enough to whip up a basic one, but you don't gain much over the text or word processor document unless you have more time into it or want some fancier organization.

I used a google doc for a while just because it was easier to access from my various computers. Free and fairly safe from loss even if your computer bites the dust unexpectedly and you had no backup file.
 
I keep all of mine in Microsoft Excel, and I disagree that it isn't much better than a word processor document. I find it hard to keep the formatting straight with those, and you can't do formulas. You don't have to be a power user for Excel to be helpful, and you can put in formulas (simple or complex) to add up columns or rows, or anything else really. I keep a different sheet in a workbook for every different year, and just keep using the same file. IT doubles as my order list and my record of who bought what with what materials for how much. I could search the whole workbook for a customer's name with a simple command, or sort and categorize my expenditures with another. Both would take about 2 seconds.

Just my $.02. I'm an accountant, and that's how I roll.
 
Quickbooks. We've been using it for about 15 years. Purchasing the software is a write-off to the business, and since we also have an outside accountant, it makes things super easy for taxes.....my Mrs. just prints off "tax documents" from quickbooks, gives it to the accountant, and everything is laid out for her......makes taxes much easier, and the accountant bill much less than if I were to take her a stack of receipts or a spreadsheet.
 
Seconded on the Quickbooks. My CPA happily offered to input my file box of receipts and invoices for me at his hourly rate this first year filing Schedule C on the 1040, mentioning that it would be "Oh it might take me another 4 hours, give or take" but also gave some advice on how to get started setting up the program and just do it myself. Took a few hours to learn the ropes, and several more to clean up the huge messy mixing between personal and business accounts, but now that I've got all squared away this next year is going to be very efficient come tax time.
 
Travis, I think we're on the same page, but you do realize that most word processors these days can do those basic spreadsheet functions too, right? It's only when you get into multi-sheet stuff and lookup tables that you need the full thing. The spreadsheet definitely adds capabilities, but I think by the time that becomes worthwhile you are better off with Quickbooks or something similar.

For myself, since I actually made the knife making a business legally I opened a business checking account for it and will probably get a business credit card for it as well. Quickbooks is the next step and is happening sometime this coming week. I went this route specifically because of the "messy mixing" Frank Hunter mentions. It will be much easier to track purchases and keep track of receipts and such if EVERYTHING goes through an account that's just for knife business stuff.

I've been down this road before with computer work and it's worth all the short term hassles to setup and learn a proper system than to fight with all the paperwork at the end of the year. Usually cheaper too.
 
Thanks to everyone who contributed, I think I'm going to go the way of Microsoft excel for now. I recently learned that my father had taken accounting classes in his twenties that he had never mentioned until he heard about this, so I am going to talk with him about showing me some things. If I learn of an easy way to do it that hasn't been already said then I will bring it up on here.
Thank you,
-Cameron
 
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