Bookkeeping For Dummies

by Lita Epstein

Accurate and complete bookkeeping is crucial to any business owner, but it's also important to those who work with the business, such as investors, financial institutions, and employees. People both inside and outside the business all depend on a bookkeeper's accurate recordings. Bookkeeping For Dummies provides the easy and painless way to master this crucial art. You'll be able to manage your own finances to save money and grow your business. This straightforward, no-nonsense guide shows you the basics of bookkeeping--from recording transactions to producing balance sheets and year-end reports. Discover how to:


Outline your financial road map with a chart of accounts Keep journals of cash transactions Set up your computerized books Control your books, your records, and your money Buy and track your purchases Record sales returns and allowances Determine your employee [is "employee" necessary here?] staff's net pay Maintain employee records Prepare your books for year's end Report results and start over Produce an income statement Complete year-end payroll and reports This guide features tips and tricks for managing your business cash with your books and also profiles important accounts for any bookkeeper. There's no question that bookkeepers must be detail-oriented, meticulous, and accurate. Bookkeeping For Dummies shows you how to keep track of your business's financial well-being and ensure future success!

Genres: Business, Reference, Nonfiction, Bookkeeping, Education, Accounting, Money

360 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this on my "TBR" shelf for a while and finally buckled down and read it. It is a little outdated to say the least however, it ends up working to its benefit because not only does it show you bookkeeping on QuickBooks and other computer platforms, but its is so outdated that it dives into how you can go about it manually, on paper ledgers. So it actually dives into the concepts very thoroughly and shows you bookkeeping for all small businesses from A-->Z.

If you are looking to educate yourself on the bookkeeping world, this is a great start.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may be rating this a little higher than it deserves, as I haven't found anything in this category I'm completely satisfied with. I was able to get the information I needed out of the book, but, for someone with absolutely no background in accounting (which is the intended audience, I assume) the whole issue of how double entries work is counterintuitive and the explanation in this book was not as clear as it could have been. I ended up going to another book to reread the section on journals and accounts, which eventually clarified that point. I think if the book had started with some very simple examples rather than beginning with examples from fairly large, complex businesses, they could have gone over the major ideas and then gone on to more complex examples. Also, as in many books of this type, there needed to be more examples. However, compared to anything else I looked at, I would consider this the best simple introduction for the teach-yourself bookkeeper that I came across.

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll never be a bookkeeper but sure did learn enough to understand what's important.

[Inma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is the American version, and it covers bookkeeping from the American point of view. As a person living in Ireland I found that most of the book was easily translated to bookkeeping in Ireland or the UK. Only the part dedicated to payroll and taxes was exclusively American, that might be about 20% or less of the book. And even that part might be interesting from an Irish or UK point of view.

Once you get over the fact that the book is destined to an American public and make a bit of "translation" the book is simply terrific. It covers bookkeeping from the basics, covering a little bit of software and it does not assume you have some prior knowledge of bookkeeping or accountancy. It goes further than just covering the basics and it's the perfect book for anyone interested in bookkeeping, anyone that is going to take over the bookkeeping tasks in an office, or just simply someone that wants to refresh their skills or have it as a reference. It's really easy to read and everything is explained very clearly.

Fantastic book, and highly recommend it.

[H M Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good volume to get if you want to learn about what is involved in bookkeeping and know relatively little about it.

If you plan to take it up as a career, you might want to consider doing a professional qualification, which will acquaint you with bookkeeping in greater depth. However, this is a great place to start.

[Linda Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction or refresher.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of bookkeeping for this particular dummy.

[Tiera Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This helped me pass one of my bookkeeping courses!

[Marcus Keller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Informative, but written by someone who has had too little or no real accounting experience. The examples used are complicated and impractical in real life. There are more simple routes one can take for the same end result, which makes me question: "Is the author credible or just another "entrepreneur" who is looking for a quick buck by copying old economics textbooks and user manuals for accounting software?" .

[Adrienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Claire (Clairby11xxx) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not finishing due to work

[booker g · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taught me that you can go to the library and just not go back.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Business Writer Lita Epstein published the American version of Bookkeeping for Dummies in 2015. I read the book on the Kindle.I read the second edition. As someone who has an associate degree in accounting, I thought Lita Epstein’s book, Bookkeeping for Dummies was a useful refresher to the field of bookkeeping. Epstein’s book has twenty-four chapters. The book has a Glossary. The book covers a lot of ground. The book has four sections. The first section is an introduction to bookkeeping. The second section is a section on ledgers and journals. The book has a section on bookkeeping both without a computer program and with a computer program. The third section is on how to manage day-to-day bookkeeping. The fourth section is about how to close the books at the end of the month or at the end of the year. The fifth section is on how to report bookkeeping results and how to start the bookkeeping cycle over again. The last section is on managing cash in bookkeeping and the most important accounts in bookkeeping. I thought the book could have maybe used some more practice problems. To repeat, I found Lita Epstein’s book, Bookkeeping for Dummies to be a useful refresher to the field of bookkeeping in the United States.

[AH · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed to learn a bit of book keeping and of course the double entry bookkeeping for my Financial accounting ACCA F3 course and this book was of help to me.The UK side of the book was also of help to me for my ACCA exams. while it can get a bit wordy and boring sometimes , I think that's just fair given that the subject of the book is also not that interesting. overall I think that Epstein has done a great job and I really liked the book.

[Lu Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids gave me this book for Christmas. Are they trying to help me prepare for retirement, or are they calling me a dummy:)

[Brian Hinton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learning how to keep the books for Amanda and when I start my own business.

[deleted d · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looks complicated , but good for general look what accounting looks like for bigger companies

[Pat Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would be better for me if I was better educated.

[Ben Kellermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accurate and complete bookkeeping is crucial to any business owner, but it’s also important to those who work with the business, such as investors, financial institutions, and employees. People both inside and outside the business all depend on a bookkeeper’s accurate recordings.

Bookkeeping For Dummies provides the easy and painless way to master this crucial art. You’ll be able to manage your own finances to save money and grow your business. This straightforward, no-nonsense guide shows you the basics of bookkeeping—from recording transactions to producing balance sheets and year-end reports. Discover how to:

Outline your financial road map with a chart of accounts
Keep journals of cash transactions
Set up your computerized books
Control your books, your records, and your money
Buy and track your purchases
Record sales returns and allowances
Determine your employee [is “employee” necessary here?] staff’s net pay
Maintain employee records
Prepare your books for year’s end
Report results and start over
Produce an income statement
Complete year-end payroll and reports

This guide features tips and tricks for managing your business cash with your books and also profiles important accounts for any bookkeeper. There’s no question that bookkeepers must be detail-oriented, meticulous, and accurate. Bookkeeping For Dummies shows you how to keep track of your business’s financial well-being and ensure future success!

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