Two Approaches to Keeping Accounting Records The first thing to know is that accounting records come in two flavors: single-entry and double-entry. Each has its advantages; single-entry bookkeeping is simpler, as you might expect, and may be the appropriate system for a small business owner. Double-entry bookkeeping – again, no surprise – provides two journal entries for every transaction, a debit entry, and a credit entry. This is more complicated, but because these two entries must finally balance (hence:“balancing the books”), it gives you a way of catching errors and also makes frauds easier to catch. Double-entry bookkeeping is the usual standard.
The Basic Accounting Documents and How They Flow Forward
This is the briefest outline of the accounting process, from its beginnings in transactions to the production of the financial statement. You’ll need to know more before beginning your own accounting system, but you now know where you’re headed.
Learning More About Accounting Records and the Basics of Accounting
Another approach is to begin with a system like Quickbooks, which provides a clear and popular method of doing double-entry accounting along with clear instructions on how to use the Quickbooks accounting system.
