The Bookkeeping Resources
My Favorites ... Your Favorites

by L. Kenway BComm CPB Retired

One of the challenges of working from home is support.

I'm hoping The Bookkeeping Resources will help support you 24/7 ... filled with practical information tailored just for you ... maybe some of it will even be inspiring!

... or maybe it's just water cooler chat ... or pictures of your long term goals or favorite tea cup.

I n t e r r u p t   Y o u r   D a y . . .
Come Schedule a Regular Tea Break With Me

This tea cup is from my Grandma's tea service. The shortbread cookie is one of my favorite cookies and reminds me of my parents.

Take a tea break ... fill up your cup ... inhale the wonderful aroma of your tea ... feel the warmth of the cup in your hands ... exhale.

Interrupt your day and ... just take a moment to simply breathe.

Find a window and glance outside. Let your eyes alight on something ... a bird, a person walking down the street, a tree, the sky, a building, a vehicle ... just take notice of it.

Notice your thoughts on what you are watching ... then bring yourself and your eyes back to this page ... and enjoy these next few minutes on your tea break. :0)

My Favorite Bookkeeping Resources

Let me start this off by sharing some of my favorite bookkeeping resources with you.

My Reading List - Some of My Favorites

Not everything on this list are bookkeeping resources ... in fact many of them are the books that simply motivate me and inspire me to achieve my dreams ... which are most likely completely different from your dreams :0)

I like to check The Wealthy Boomer blog by The National Post's Jonathan Chevreau at http://opinion.financialpost.com/category/wealthy-boomer . I would like to buy his book Findependence Day to add to my bookkeeping resources ... at some point.

Currently trying to read The Real Crash: America's Coming Bankruptcy -How To Save Yourself and Your Country by Peter Schiff ... I say trying because I'm finding some of his ideas too far to one side but it is interesting reading.

What are you currently reading? ...

Here's a list of a few of some other books I've read over the past few years and enjoyed. Some are actually old classics that I read again and again.

• Master Your Retirement - How to fulfill your dreams with peace of mind (2012 Edition) by Douglas V. Nelson
  ... explains how to structure your retirement finances to ensure you don't outlive your funds.
  
  
• Master Your Taxes - How to maximize your after-tax returns by Evelyn Jacks
  ... learn how to save time and money on your largest lifetime expense. See the big picture. I found this book very readable.
  
  
• Self Counsel Press business series Numbers 101 for Small Business. I've selected the books authored by Angie Mohr, CA, CMA to add to my bookkeeping resources which includes:
  
  ✔ Bookkeeper' Boot Camp - Get a Grip on Accounting Basics ... shows the essentials of record keeping for a small business;
  ✔ Financial Management 101 - Get a Grip on Your Business Numbers ... a guide on business planning;
  ✔ Finance & Grow Your New Business - Get a Grip on the Money ... all the ways to raise capital.
  
  I'm also looking over Angie's book in Self Counsel Press's Start & Run series titled Bookkeeping Business ... teaches the basics of running a bookkeeping business.
  
  Angie's books include Canadian and US material. I offer her books for sale on this site.
  
  
• Pensionize Your Nest Egg - How to Use Product Allocation to Create a Guaranteed Income for Life by Moshe Milevsky and Alexendra Macqueen
  ... I never got all the way through this book on how to create your own personal pension so that you have a monthly income that lasts for the rest of your life. I'm finding it too tough to read which is disappointing as I really enjoyed Bengen's book on this same topic. I will use it solely as a bookkeeping resource and reference book.
  
  
• The Joy of Not Working - a book for the retired, unemployed, and overworked by Ernie J. Zelinski
  ... a handy guide on how to enjoy life more.
  
  
• Make Sure It's Deductible - Little-Known Tax Tips For Your Canadian Small Business by Evelyn Jacks
  ... a little dry to read but a good reference book for the self-employed business owner who does their own taxes. I did not find it to be the kind of book to sit down and read but invaluable to refer to as a bookkeeping resource.
  
  
• 167 Tax Tips For Canadian Small Business - beat the taxman to keep more money in your business by Stephen Thompson
  ... easy to read, practical advice in a question and answer format. Small business owners should take a look at the year-round tax planning calendar. Note that the CCA section on electronic office equipment was not up to date in the version I was reading.
  
  
• The Pension Puzzle - Your Complete Guide to Government Benefits, RRSPs and Employer Plans by Bruce Cohen and Brian Fitzgerald
  ... this book is for every Canadian who wants to know how their pensions work, so you can start making smart choices early.
  
  
• Conserving Client Portfolios During Retirement by William P. Bengen, CFP
  ... deals with how to manage your money in retirement and make it last because we aren't dying as young as we used to.
  
  
• How To Pay Less and Keep More For Yourself - The Essential Consumer Guide to Canadian Banking and Investing by Rob Carrick
  ... Canadians know how to shop but not when it comes to our money. Instead of being passive, this book shows you how to shop for your financial products.
  
  
• Your Money or Your Life- Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin
  ... a classic in how to stop making a living and start making a life!
  
  
• Enough - Lifestyle and Financial Planning for Simpler Living by Betty Jane Wylie
  ... the first step in how I dropped out of the 9-5 job that was affecting my health ... learning how to downsize yourself ... just like large corporations do!
  

• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
  ... useful for moving your life unto a different path by taking you out of your comfort zone and thinking creatively outside the box
  
  
• Simple Abundance - A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach
  ... for inspiration and transformation in how to embrace life's abundance that surrounds us in our everyday lives!
  
  
• Stop Working - Here's How You Can! by Derek Foster
  ... an ongoing dream of mine
  
  
• Work Less Live More - A Woman's Guide by Paula Brook
  ... are you starting to see what I day dream about?
  
  
• How To Survive Without A Salary by Charles Long
  ... this is an old favorite of mine and may actually be out of print. It teaches you how to get by with less and make do with what you have ... the Conserver Lifestyle.
  
  
• Making a Living Without A Job - Winning Ways for Creating Work That You Love by Barbara J. Winter
  ... if I have to work, please please let it be doing something I enjoy!
  
  
• University of Success by Og Mandino
  ... a course on how to succeed and advance into the world of exceptional achievement. He pulls his material from 50 renowned experts. My copy is from 1982. I don't even know if the book is still in print.

My Favorite Websites

If you've been through this site, you will know that Canadian sites I like, in addition to the user friendly CRA website, are:

1. TaxTips.ca has great, reliable information including income tax calculators. The site is updated after each federal, provincial or territorial budget.
   
   
2. OnPayroll.ca was a resource for outsourcing payroll where you could find payroll update information and payroll tips on the site too. It has gone by the wayside so I don't currently have a favourite payroll site.
   

For my U.S. visitors, here are my current three fav American sites:

1. Dawn Fotopulos's site Best Small Biz Help was the The Solopreneur's Lifeline. She has since moved on to author a few books that help the small business entrepreneur under the brand Hidden Profit Prophet. Dawn's old site's mission was to "train and support the very small business owner who makes under $50K per year, to read financial statements, find new customers on/ offline, and survive this tough economy. We have a team of experts in accounting, IT, insurance, healthcare writing for the site."
   
   Bookkeeping-Essentials was listed as a resource on Best Small Biz Help bak in 2010. As of this update (March 2016) it is still listed as a resource.
   
   Dawn's new site is still a great bookkeeping resource and more for my American visitors ... my Canadian visitors will find it helpful too! You just have to dig now to find the information you need as the website's main purpose now is to promote Dawn's books. The link to her webinar no longer works so here's hoping she is just updating the series and intends to offer it again in the future.
   
   
2. Avalara Whitepapers help you keep up to date with sales and use tax compliance affecting small businesses.
   
   
3. Stephanie Horne's site Bookkeeping Basics has very useful lists for U.S. tax deductions by occupation including * firefighters, * business professionals, * airline personnel, * day care providers, * law enforcement, * hairstylists, and * truckers.
   
   
4. Tax Receipts explains U.S. tax deductions for small business in plain uncomplicated English. I especially like their diagrams and flowcharts that sum up what is being said.
   
   Every deduction discussed gives you a basic overview, explains what is deductible, what you need to collect, Gotchas (things you need to be aware), a tip along with the criteria that needs to be met to claim the deduction. Here is the basic criteria provided:
   
   "Ordinary and necessary: An expense is ordinary if it's common to your profession. A necessary expense is one that's appropriate or helpful in developing or maintaining your business.
   

• Current expense: will benefit your business for less than one year
• Directly related to your business: not personal
• Reasonable in amount: reasonableness is dependent on the circumstances and not limited to a specific dollar amount"
  
  The one thing I will note, under "What to collect", I would add ... if you were in Canada, your purchase receipt should indicate (have a description of) what was purchased. The date, name of vendor, amount and method of payment is not enough. CRA wants to know that is business related. I would think that the IRS would too.
  
  

These friendly bookkeeping resources are accounting sites I like ... in fact may be an affiliate in some cases:

1. The Bean Counter offers free accounting and bookkeeping tutorials. There are fun tests after each section of material is covered.
   
   
2. Principles of Accounting.com is in the form of an online text book. It is well organized and well written. I found it easy follow.
   
   
3. Tax Policy Center - Urban Institute and Brookings Institution is an excellent place to get analysis and commentary on tax topics such as economic and tax stimulus bills , current budgets, proposals, incentives, etc.
   
   
4. Accounting Coach is also designed for non-accountants and is well suited to students more than small business owners and freelance bookkeepers. It does feature quizzes and crosswords which provides fun, positive reinforcement. I'm less keen on this site since it switched its available for sale products to a "Pro" membership format (buy all or nothing) ... but the free content is still great.
   
   

Bookkeeping forums I like are ... (you need to be a member to participate but as bookkeeping resources ... they are unbeatable ... for me.)

1. CPB Canada (formerly Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada)
   
   
2. Canadian Bookkeepers Association

If you are looking for bookkeeping resources and information on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), head on over to The Training section. In the article on Basic Accounting Concepts and Principles, you will find information on:

• U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and U.S. GAAP
  
  
• Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) and Accounting Standards for Private Enterprise (ASPE), and
  
  
• The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
  
  
  
  

This forum is now closed but the historical posts are still available for reading.

See you on the next page ...
Your tutor