What is accounting?
A simple definition is the recording of financial or money transactions. Not all transactions need to be recorded. Mostly, only business transactions are recorded, personal transactions are rarely recorded by individuals.
For example, you purchase a book for $10. You give the book seller $10; you receive the book & a receipt for $10. More often than not you throw the receipt away; you only want to read the book. The book seller however is operating a business so the transaction will be recorded.
The book seller will record the $10 as a cash sale and at the end of the day will total all of the book cash sales. That is easy, count the money in the till less the float amount at the start of the day and you have the total sales for the day. The book seller now has a problem, how many books were sold, what books were sold and was there a profit for the day?
Does it matter? It does if the book seller wishes to continue the business. This is where the accounting system or process begins to be a little more complicated.
The book seller now has to figure out a few things. How many books were sold is relatively easy, 45 transactions for the day so 45 books sold today. All at $10, unlikely, so the book seller needs an accounting system to record or show this information. This accounting system should show what books were sold, at what price and how many were sold.
The book seller needs this information because tomorrow there will be more sales. If there were 10 books titled “Book 1″ today and four were sold then tomorrow there will only be six on the shelf. If four more are sold tomorrow, there will be two left for the day after tomorrow. If customers come into the book shop to buy “Book 1″ and it is not available they will go somewhere else to get it.
It may take a week to receive more books after an order is made.
So the accounting system must show the book seller when more books need to be ordered not just how many were sold and at what price. In the example “Book 1″ the book seller will need more books arriving tomorrow or early the day after so no book sale is lost. The new book order would have needed to be made a week ago for there to be no loss of book sales.
How much did the book seller pay for the books? That information also needs to be available to show whether a profit is being made. The simple transaction of one $10 sale is not so simple for the book seller.
Accounting is far more than the simple recording of a financial transaction. Accounting needs to be able to provide more information than the financial amount of the transaction alone.
A better definition would be accounting is the process of recording all aspects of the money transaction from a financial, physical and non-financial informational point.
Mind you not all transactions are completely money so even the better definition is not complete when it comes to a definition of accounting. Accounting involves so many different areas of business that any definition given is always going to be open to debate, especially amongst accountants.
By: Michael Russell
Posts Tagged ‘Accounting System’
Accounting – A Practical Definition
December 7th, 2009Web-Based Accounting – Your Accounting Tasks Made Easier With Internet
December 6th, 2009
You might be a leader in the market as far as your ranking is concerned. But given to the ever changing scenario due to the peaks and troughs of the market, there is this unsaid uncertainty. And when the question is of speed is concerned, web-based accounting has all the answers for you. With a simple click of the browser, you are able to manage your accounting related tasks like accounting, cash-flow management, customer relationship management (CRM), inventory control and marketing. You are saved from paying up large sums of money on the hardware and software and instead have top pay up a small amount as fee. A wave of transformation is sweeping business with the help of e-Peach tree, Intacct e-ledger or the QuickBooks online. Internet is the medium from where the companies can have an access to personal information, which includes earnings, income tax holdings, retirement plans, vacation days etc.
A number of advantages await the client company, which has an access to web-based accounting. Using the concerned software, business organizations can reduce their sales returns from a larger percentage to a smaller one. To stay ahead in the race to the top, it is imperative for the companies to set up a computer network. The plus point of this step is that the members of any business organization can keep up the pace with the fast pace of information technology. For sharing any financial information, Ethernet is the preferred choice because of its speed and reasonable cost. Web-based accounting helps the useful data to travel very quickly, particularly if a virtual private network or VPN is set up. This type of accounting system can be useful even for a small business set up. For a speedy growth in the market, the organization can hire a value-added reseller or VAR for the purpose of wiring and system configuration. Utilizing ‘Linux’ in such cases also results in the high performance of the said company.
Web-based accounting packages are used generally in a company for a speed-based management of its accounts. A small business system can customize its accounting system within hours for its clients. Typically, a small organization begins with the preparation of system documentation providing detailed procedures, which includes system activation and de-activation, accounts cycles, sales and purchase cycles, cash receipts, journal entries, financial reports and error corrections. The hallmarks of purposeful system documentation are its ability for an easy user access, systematic specific information including a table of contents, page numbers, etc. It should be also borne in the mind that the procedures should be complete, in easy-to-follow steps. Security of the documentation system should be fool-proof and a thoroughly professional approach should be maintained.
Innumerable advantages await the client companies if the web-based accounting package is installed. This type of effective system enables small businesses to track their progress on a timely basis. The data sheets and other related financial information is always up to date because of the efforts on the part of organizations to periodically submit new features and other upgrades. The completion of technology plan is finally followed by the matching up of the software products with the company’s goals and objectives. An expert handling of the whole process of installation of the software is step in the right direction. Consultants are hired for this purpose, who categorize the available products in the market. They evaluate the bought up software on the basis of competing services, value-added features, unlimited nation-wide dial-up, efficiently workable web-based email, management of the associate traffic etc.
By: Michelle Barkley
Construction Accounting Software – All For Project Completion On Time
December 1st, 2009
Mightiest of construction projects can be completed today with the ease of cigarette packets, rolling out of the assembly line! It is all possible with the help of magnificent construction software that makes it very easy to calculate the viability and timeliness of the projects well in advance.
What is the main purpose of construction accounting software? Firstly, it is to build! It is to build fast! It is to give maximum profits to all the interested parties! And that’s what makes a construction project a success.
All this is possible, if you are in total control of the situation right from the day the foundation stone was laid, from the day you made the first debit/credit ledger entries in your accounting system.
The software you select for the project must possess all the qualities that an extraordinary talented architect possesses. It should help you win profit-yielding bids, have perfect and speedy control over the construction program, generate revenues and profitability.
Every project has a project-cycle. Within that cycle, the entire game is played. If you are within the time schedule you are through. If you exceed the time-limit for whatever reasons, you are the sufferer. Your profit margins will be reduced or you will suffer losses.
The construction accounting software that you select needs to meet the requirements of all those important branches/persons concerned with the project. Each one should be able to grasp and calculate the advantages and disadvantages of the other in relation to the project in any given situation. Then only you can say that it is a perfect software project. The involved personalities in a major project are: The construction company owner, controller, accountant, estimator and project manager.
Some of the construction accounting software have the solution-providing techniques integrated in the software. They almost do the job of an highly paid consultant. They also include programs like latest product upgrades, their advantages and source of availability, latest integration management techniques, inputs about latest tax laws, training to the personnel, including online learning tools and latest and live technical support.
The construction business is tricky and complicated, involving high profits as well as high risks. One wrong calculation…and you may end up with huge losses. As a remedial measure, some of the software products contain the additional information provided in the listing and other details relating to business management experts as also independent accounting and construction experts.
What more you can look forward to in a construction accounting software product? If you are working on a construction project with required accounting software, I can definitely ask you- when is the inauguration of your project? Congratulations for completing it as per the set schedule!
By: Aasheesh Jain