Accounting & Bookkeeping & Small Business Forum

[Guest]

I have been offered a freelance position to keep "the books" for a company. I am a few courses away from receiving my Accounting Degree. This opportunity would offer me the experience that I need to start my own business. My dilema is that I don't know where to start once I accept the position. If there is anyone out there that can tell me where to begin, I can take it from there.

[Guest]

Set up the chart of accounts and determine the starting balances. This is covered terrifically in Universal's Module 3.

[Guest]

If the accounts and balances are already going familiar yourself with the chart of accounts. It's pretty basic, most businesses have assets, liabilities, equity. Most day to day events will be recording cash receipts for income coming in, cash disbursements for paying bills and other items. Don't panic. You are fully capable of solving problems that will arise, use what you have learned in school and refer to your accounting books when you need answers. Don't psych yourself out before you start, remain calm and go into it as a learning experience. Your daily activities will consist of the daily economic or financial events which impact the business. That may consist of recording into the accounting system cash receipts received for income, cash disbursements made (usually out of a checking account) for paying bills and payroll. It's simply figuring out whether a cash receipt is income or other. If it's income, what kind of income. Same with a cash disbursement, is it for paying a bill, then what type of transaction is it, an expense, if so what type of expense. If it's not an expense then it probably is paying off a debt or liability, paying off an asset, or payroll. Pretty simple isn't it? Good luck.