Good value for a business rough guide to your first bookkeeping book
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Wanted a book that gave a lay persons guide to book keeping. Explains things well enough for a complete novice to come away with an idea of the basics of book keeping. Worth the money.
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A small business "must have"
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Written by a businessman, not by an accountant, this is a very easy read. And it's only 100 pages. It begins by demonstrating how keeping good records can help you build your business, then explains how helpful the taxman can be in maximising your profits. The first half of the book shows just how simple your records can be, never going into complexity without lots of "why do this?". The text is dotted throughout with little "Post-It" notes of key thoughts - you could almost read the book on these alone. The second half shows how to understand and interpret the end of year accounts, also covers payroll, budgets, cash-flow forecasts.
The clear message throughout is never hand over the running of your business to the accountant/book-keeper. Let them serve you. You retain control.
The book is not by any means a text book, and will not help trainee book-keepers and accountants with their exams. They should read this book anyway because it will bring them back to earth, reminding them of the point and purpose of what they are studying.
I'd have given it 5 stars but couldn't because it lacks precision from a true "accountant/book-keeper" viewpoint. The glossary is scant and the index is slim.
Anyone starting in business should regard this book just the same way as any of their trade manuals - core essential. It's also great for any business that is looking for ways to improve their success.
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A helpful first step
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I run my own mobile hairdressing business and bought this book and have found it very helpful in teaching me the first steps I need to take in running my own business accounts. I would recommend it to others in the same position.
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It diesn't do what it says
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I tried not to rate the item, but Amazon insist I give it at least one star. Don't let that fool you.
According to the description, "The aim of this book . . . is to provide the new business owner with an understanding of the fundamental principles of book-keeping, showing them how to set up accounts and how to benefit from the information they contain. The book includes procedures for the sole proprietor and small business, accounting for growing businesses, double-entry book-keeping, ledgers, payroll and final accounts."
It does not do this. The book tries to cover too much ground in too simplistic a manner. The title suggests that it makes book-keeping easy. If it suggested making it understandable, that would be a different matter. It's not a bad a dictionary of accounting terms.
However, the idea that the book teaches you how to keep your accounts in a simple way is not correct. There is insufficient explanation of procedures and no useful worked examples that follow a transaction through from start to finish. As a story about book-keeping, it's not bad; but as an instruction manual, it's a complete failure. Don't waste your time or money.
If you want to understand book-keeping and set up your own accounts, ready for presentation to your accountant, go for either FTC Kaplan's "Practical Book-keeping Study Text" at £10, or BPP's "Basic Book-keeping" at £5.95. They are much better value.
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