I have been told that I can run my numbers straight from my checking account. All my deposits are the gross sales and the checks are the expenses then broken down by catagory. This is my record keeping besides a payroll service.
Who does it this way?
Thanks moe
You can do it that way, but it’s not the best way. You’re essentially running a cash based accounting system.
You have no way of figuring out your true Cost Of Goods Sold numbers. To do that, you need to be running an accrual based system and taking inventories. That type of system will be much more accurate.
As far as the taxing authorities are concerned your sales are your sales whether or not that is the amount of money that hits the bank account. In fact, if you are audited and your sales EQUAL your deposits, that will send up a nice audit flag, as most businesses have some cash expenses.
Your check book is a good place to keep track of expenses paid by check and that is about all. Sales numbers need to come from your POS or your cash register.
In my business, I have a significant amount of expense paid by cash too: mileage, supplies, odds and ends from safeway etc. These would be lost in the system you describe.
you can still run the system the way he wants and make you happy too…add up your cash expenses, right a check for cash, attach the reciepts and make sure you categorize each expense to its proper place in your system…
I run my from the checking account. I use Quickbooks to keep track of everything. I use online banking and every penny goes through the checking account. I use a debit card if we have to go to the grocery store ect. so we have no cash expenses and all our deposits come from sales. It works for us.
I’ll just say that’s not always true :o
Our Accountant wanted are sales to equal exactly our next days deposit, so did the FTC. What you need is a little cash box called “petty cash”.
Your small infrequent purchases can come from this and then you replace it with cash that is drawn from a check for cash and memo’d petty cash.
You have to remember that pencil pushers don’t understand that you don’t have time to keep track of your inventory"always" and that you need to make a will call or grocery store run for pineapple in a hurry.
That’s why they don’t own and work in restaurants and cry when they get new restaurant owners as clients, lol
As a U.S.M.C Auditor & 20+ yr restaurant operator, you can keep track of your expenses in various ways - petty cash box is fine, coupled w/a spread sheet declaring sales & expenses…
Personally, I also use QuickBooks in addition to spread sheets, as I am a # cruncher…I take weekly inventories & can tell if I’m beating the devil…
We use Excel & Quickbooks. I do keep accurate inventory at end of week and month in order to get my actual COGS figures. We are a cash basis company, but I still gotta know what it actually costs me to make the food each week/month. I keep my inventories regualrly, and at year end, we gotta pay ad velorum tax on inventory in stock :shock: It is always very low at year end . . . like a few hundred dollars’ worth.