How do you bookkeep?

[JenniferBergsma]

I've just recently started my own home daycare and as many other providers on here.. I'm struggling with how to bookkeep! Would you be so kind to share your document(s) with me?
My email address is jenniferbergsma@hotm ail.ca


Thanks in advance,
Jennifer

[mickyc]

What exactly do you need help with? I just create my own spreadsheets using Excel and go with it.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I'm old fashioned...I do it all on paper. I prefer doing it this way.

I keep all my receipts sorted into envelopes according to specific categories and about every 2-3 months, I tally them up. I keep all my household bills in envelopes as well and add these up at the end of the year.

Each parent has a payment sheet. It has the payment dates for the year and I write beside it the amount they pay, cash or cheque and we both initial it. At the end of the year I tally up their payments and give them a year end receipt and than with my copies, I add them up for my total income.

I have the km's to each store I go to and than I just put tally marks beside each trip I take and add up at the end of year. I write down any misc trips I took as well. My accountant said that if I wanted, I could just keep track of my normal trips for one month and then times by 12 and just add in the misc trips. I think I might do that this year since every weekend it's the same trips anyways and I will just keep track of the longer trips out of the city and the field trips I do in town.

[daycaremom9]

I've just recently started my own home daycare and as many other providers on here.. I'm struggling with how to bookkeep! Would you be so kind to share your document(s) with me?
My email address is jenniferbergsma@hotm ail.ca


Thanks in advance,
Jennifer

I also keep my receipts in envelopes, one for each type of expense. I have sheets where I record every weekend my cash expenses and distances travelled. I try to pay most of my expenses with my Master card and record on my bill what expense each transaction is as well as the distance travelled. I have a list of all the stores I go to so it's really quick. I have a business account that I use solely for my business. I use my deposit book to figure out how much my clients have paid me over the year. I make a copy of the invoices I have given my clients and write on them what type of payment , check or cash. I'm definitely old school but it works for me.

[Secondtimearound]

I'm using envelopes for food and expenses . I keep a monthly dayhome budget as well as a home budget . I love paper and office supplies lol

[cfred]

I keep all the copies of invoices issued to parents over the year so I can tally up the 'fortune' at the end of the year. Add up all my other bills pertaining to daycare which is....well....almost everything. Then I gather up all the receipts out of purses, pockets, the junk drawer and plastic bags, spread them out on the floor, open a bottle of wine and camp on my living room floor with them every night for a week till they're all sorted, added and looking so tidy that it impresses my accountant

Every year I swear I'll do it month by month. 13 years later and it's not happened yet.

[Wonderwiper]

Ha ha cfred....I do pretty much the same thing! I put all receipts into a big ziplock in a kitchen drawer, not sorted. I write parents payments on my calendar. Come tax time I tackle the ziplock sitting on the floor with piles of rolled up receipts in a circle around me!

[cfred]

Holy Wonderwiper! You only have a ziploc? What's your secret??? LOL...when I sit down with mine pile of receipts, even my teenage sons feel sorry for me and offer to do housework to help out! It's much worse now that I live a 2 minute walk to a very nice little market with the best produce I've ever seen in a grocery store. It's killing me.....

[Wonderwiper]

Ha ha...I use the extra large ziplock freezer bags. I have 2!

[cfred]

I'm going to adopt your ziploc bag idea...especially the part where the receipts are all rolled up. I like that.....much better than my 'crumple and shove' method.