Product Description

Accounts are just as important as any other aspect of a business, and can be crucial to its prosperity and even survival. In "doing the books" you will be at the very heart of the business, with your hands on the controls. You will be involved in the management of its assets and liabilities, its expenses and its profit margins. The more control you have over these, and the records and figurework on which they are based, the better you will be able to control your own business.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110092 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 260 pages

Review
'An easy-to-understand manual about double-entry book-keeping that anyone can follow.' Business First; 'Compulsory reading for those starting a new business and for those already in the early stages.' Manger, Nat West Bank (Midlands)

Business First
An easy-to-understand manual about double entry book-keeping that anyone can follow.

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
This book will help you sort out the best way to carry out double-entry book-keeping.

Customer Reviews

A document from the dark ages
Oh dear. There are three pages in the appendix that include "useful website addresses", "2005/6 tax rates" and "Computer bookkeeping software".
This is the almost the only evidence I could find that this book has in any way been updated in the last fifty years, although it was allegedly revised as recently as 2003.
All records are supposed to be kept in hand-written books of account, with the occasional reference to carbon copies. Spreadsheets? They don't even rate a mention.
As an accountant trying to help small businesses, I feel that HowTo Books should withdraw this completely irrelevant volume from sale, as anyone starting up a business who reads this will at best get a headache and at worst follow the instructions and waste a lot of time that should be spent in the 21st century.

Excellent Overview on HOW to Keep Your Books
Run a small business or planning one? Need to build competence in setting up and running your books? Need to really understand VAT?

This book is the best of the many available. It won’t scare you - you’ll learn a great deal and build confidence.

It's clear and comprehensive. It also addresses finance and accounting matters and the record keeping you need in relation to both of these.

It also briefly addresses various available pre-printed paper record keeping books and book-keeping software and offers guidance on where to get these.

I found it invaluable when preparing to get my small retail business off the ground (I read it twice beforehand) and I still use it as a reference work.

This is a newly updated edition of a book I found indispensable.

Typical archaic methods of accountants
Example: He advocates using exercise books to keep accounts.

In 2006 this is unacceptable and possibly negligent advice.
Use a spreadsheet at a minimum, at least then you can create backups.

The book would be fine if you wish to have the pain of record keeping and accounts by hand, or it were still the 1950s, but it isn't and there is no need to perpetuate the out-dated and laborious methods cited in this book.

I'm going to look instead for a book about computerized accountancy.