Comments on: The Freelancer’s Quick Guide to Accounting and Bookkeeping

By: 5 Ways to Prevent Cash Flow Clogs | All Freelance Writing

5 Ways to Prevent Cash Flow Clogs | All Freelance Writing — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:32:55 +0000

[...] fun, but it shouldn’t be a chore. If you don’t have an invoicing system, check out The Freelancer’s Quick Guide to Accounting and Bookkeeping to get one [...]

By: Beverley Hall

Beverley Hall — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:28:24 +0000

I would add, to anyone who’s books are in a big mess, don’t panic. A good bookkeeper can make sense of anything and will be used to dealing with problems such as lost invoices / receipts etc. If you are in a mess, call a bookkeeper ASAP and take that weight from your shoulders ;-)

Bev

By: Words on a page » Blog Archive » A few links for the end of the week - A blog about writing, in its various forms

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:04:44 +0000

[...] A quick guide to accounting and bookkeeping [...]

By: Lucy Smith

Lucy Smith — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:33:19 +0000

@LaToya, I’m sure the bank account linking is optional – as I said, I don’t even know if you can do it outside NZ. I only just got round to sending off the forms and I’ve been using it for a few months…

One of the things I like about it is that you can play around with a fake company while you learn – it works exactly the same but you don’t risk stuffing up your real accounts!

By: LaToya Irby

LaToya Irby — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:22:43 +0000

@Yo, Thanks for the compliments! :)

@Lucy, I see they have a free trial. I may test it out. I’m particularly interested in the payables piece. I just starting hiring writers and I need a way to keep up with their payments in the same place as everything else. I’m not particularly interested in linking to a bank account, but maybe that piece is optional.

By: LaToya Irby

LaToya Irby — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:51:00 +0000

@Allena, Great review. If you learned from Bookkeeping Basics even with an accountant husband, then I definitely need to put it on my to-read list.

@Jenn, I treat it as a nice little break from writing – which, as much as I love it, I can sometimes get enough of. I’m like you when it comes to finances, just a little too controlling (and cheap) to put it in the hands of someone else.

Tax time is my motivation. I don’t want to scramble around at the last minute trying to get everything together.

By: Allena

Allena — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:00:35 +0000

Over at About.com Freelance Writing, I just reviewed this really great book called Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers. COMPLETE thumbs up.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:11:32 +0000

There was another book I used to LOVE when it came to simplifying bookkeeping, but for the life of me I don’t remember what it’s called (even though I can still picture it in my head!). Grrrrr. I really do love accounting. I just wish I could love it as much when it came to my own work. I think the real issue is that I’m so focused on making money that taking a time out from that frustrates me so I rush through it. And while I’m fine outsourcing some things like programming, finances just aren’t something I like the idea of other people meddling with (that’s where my slight control freak tendencies finally rear their ugly heads).

By: Lucy

Lucy — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:29:20 +0000

I cheat. I use Xero accounting software, which lets you track your expenses, send invoices, and in New Zealand (not sure about other countries) you can arrange for it to feed your bank balances through so you can keep an eye on deposits. You can give your accountant access to it so they can work their magic.

It also helps to have an accountant in the family ;-)

By: Yolander Prinzel

Yolander Prinzel — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:19:37 +0000

Accounting is the single worst part of freelancing–but if you follow accounting-made-simple tips like these you will stay on the right track. Nice one LaToya :)