Bean Counter's - dwmbeancounter.com Free Accounting and Bookkeeping Tutorials You don't have to be a rocket scientist to learn and understand bookkeeping!

Don't let the cartoons fool ya! This site is all business; but, it doesn't hurt to have a few laughs and smiles included. If you're anything like me and consider your time precious, when I do a search for a topic and go to a site I want to quickly determine if the site has any useful information, products, tools, etc. that will benefit me and be worth my time to browse. In a nutshell, my site Bean Counter is primarily an educational and information site that offers free accounting and bookkeeping tutorials/courses, tests, and quizzes. Guidance and recommendations are also provided for finding additional, mostly free, useful sources of small business information such as more accounting and bookkeeping tutorials/courses and information, other small business topic tutorials/courses and information, business simulations, business software, tools, and much more.

For those of you that don't know, the term bean counter is slang for a bookkeeper. Let's also define accounting and bookkeeping. Accounting is the art of analyzing, recording, summarizing, reporting, reviewing, and interpreting financial information. Bookkeeping is one of the components of accounting. Think of accounting as the mom and bookkeeping as one of her children. Bookkeeping is the process of recording and classifying business or personal financial transactions (activities). In simple language-maintaining the records of a businesses or an individual's financial activities. Bookkeeping's objective is simply to record and summarize financial transactions into a usable form that provides financial information about a business or individual.

Why would you want to learn bookkeeping and keep up to date financial records anyway ? Can't you hire an accountant to come after the end of the year and get your check book and shoe box and do your taxes ? Sure you can ! And yes you will have adequately fulfilled your taxpayer obligations. But in order to run a business and know what, where, and when to take corrective actions requires business information. How do you get and where do you find this information ? You don't if you don't keep accurate and current records about your business financial activities (bookkeeping).

Most, if not all of us, hate keeping records, but the days of operating a business by the seat of our pants have long gone.

While the featured topic of this site is bookkeeping and accounting that's not the only small business topic or subject covered. My intent is to provide a site with a little humor blended in where real, helpful, and mostly free small business accounting and bookkeeping information, tools, tutorials/courses, and products can be found, acquired, and used by small businesses and individuals.

In addition, useful sources of information are also provided for individuals such as learning about individual income taxes and personal finances.

Surfing the Web and actually finding what you're looking for without being bombarded by ads and promotions and what seems like an endless choice of links and sign ups for newsletters is quite a challenge. It reminds me of the old saying that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince or princess. The goal of my site is to be a prince.

If you need small business help and information, want to learn a little about bookkeeping and accounting or actually learn how to do bookkeeping, need bookkeeping and accounting or other business software, small business guides and information, business tutorials/courses or other useful products, information, or services for small business and individuals you have found the right site.

In a hurry or pressed for time ? My site provides a bunch of useful small business information and tutorials about accounting and bookkeeping, even if I do say so myself. Don't believe me ? See what others have to say. Too much to digest in one sitting. I realize you're a busy person so why not Add Us To Your Favorites and browse my site as your time permits.

What Information is Presented and How's My Site Organized ?

Bean Counter Site Search only search Bean Counter Enter terms in the search box and click the Search button to see your results. Close the window when you have reviewed the results.

My Main Menu is located at the top of my Home Page and is comprised of the following selections:

Note: All Menu Selections open in a new window. Simply close the window to return to the Main Menu.

• Tutorial Center
  The Tutorial Selection recommends sites providing free tutorials and courses about various small business subjects. Links are included to my own tutorial site dedicated to bookkeeping and accounting tutorials and topics, to other sites providing accounting tutorials and bookkeeping and accounting information and topics as well as to recommended tutorials and topics about marketing, statistics, economics, project management, excel, and word.
  • My Bookkeeping and Accounting Tutorial Site
    My own free online tutorials cover a range of accounting topics - with just a dose of humor. Additional information regarding my tutorials is presented in the section titled My Featured Accounting and Bookkeeping Tutorials.
  • Accounting & Bookkeeping Quizzes
    Test your basic accounting and bookkeeping knowledge with these tests, games, and puzzles.
  • Recommended Sites Providing Bookkeeping and Accounting Tutorials
    Need some additional help understanding bookkeeping and accounting ? Check out these free tutorials.
  • Recommended Sites Providing Word and Excel Tutorials
    Both Excel and Word are excellent business tools, but like any tool only if you know how to use them. Get educated ! Check out some of the following tutorials.
  • Recommended Sites Providing Business Statistics Tutorials and Information
    These courses and tutorials provide information and tools that help businesses deal with uncertainty when analyzing business situations.
  • Recommended Sites Providing Economics Tutorials and Information
    Our economy can have a major impact on your business. Some tutorials to prepare you for the unexpected.
  • Recommended Sites Providing Marketing Tutorials and Information
    One of the tougher tasks to running a business is how to get your message out to your customers. We sometimes give salesmen a bad rap - somebody has to do it. No sales equates to no profits.
  • Recommended Sites Providing Project Management Tutorials and Information
    Managing a project or job can be quite a task. Tutorials to help your business come in under budget and within the allowed time.
  • Recommended Sites Providing Budgeting and Cash Management Tutorials and Information
    Excellent links to articles, tutorials, and tools to aid your company in budgeting, cash flow management, and planning.

• Library Center
  The Library Center Selection is divided into two categories. A library link to business topics related to small business and a library link for individuals.
  • Library Center for Businesses
    Recommended sites providing all sorts of financial and business information, statistics, guides, and tools.
  • Library Center for Individuals
    Life presents us with many and varied types of decisions that we have to make. Just like a business, in order to make the right decision we need good tools, information, and the knowledge of where to go to find it and how to use it. Recommended sites that provide you information, advice, and tools to help you with the difficult financial and other decisions you face.

• Tax Center
  The Tax Center Selection is divided into two categories. A tax link to business tax topics and a tax link to topics about individual (personal) taxes.
  • Business Taxes
    Recommended sites providing business tax help. Unfortunately, as a small business manager you do need to at least be familiar with federal and state taxes that affect your business. These sites will at least point you in the right direction.
  • Personal (Individual) Taxes
    Recommended sites that provide useful information and guidance about personal taxes.

• Software Center
  • Business and Accounting Software
    Believe it or not, there is some good free business and accounting software available - it's just hard to find ! Recommended sites that provide you with mostly free business software to aid you in the day to day operation of your business.

• Other Resources
  • Excel Templates
    Looking for some good free Excel Spreadsheet Business Templates ? Unfortunately, most of the good templates I've run across are not free. Most of the free templates offered are simple spreadsheets without any complex calculations used and can easily be created on your own. I did however find a few sites offering free templates that are worth a visit.
  • Calculators
    Having the proper tool(s) to analyze business and personal decisions and perform business analysis and calculations makes the task a lot simpler. These sites provide you with the calculators you need to make your job a little easier.
  • My Link Buddies
    Have a good business or accounting related site ? Add your site to Bean Counter's My Link Buddies or check out My Link Buddies for useful accounting and business related products and services. Be forewarned, only sites with useful small business accounting or business related information are accepted.
  • Lighter Side
    Take a moment to get a few chuckles at the expense of accountants.

• Support My Site
  • Purchase an Ebook or CD
    Help provide funding for additional accounting tutorials, games, lectures, etc.
  • Join My Affiliate Program
    Support my bookkeeping site and make a few bucks for helping.
  • Make a Donation
    Dig a little into your pocket. Notice I said a little.

• Contacts and References
  • Contact Us
    Information on how to get in touch with me.
  • Kind Notes
    See what others have to say about my site.
  • Privacy Policy
    Protecting your privacy is important to us. See our policies and how Bean Counter collects, uses and safeguards the personal information you provide to us on our site.
  • Compensation Policy
    This Compensation Disclosure has been provided for your protection and to fully disclose any relationship between this sites product or service recommendations and the owners of those product or services.
  • Bookmark My Site
    Put us in your list of favorites and check back as new information is continually being developed and added to my site.
  • Refer A Friend
    Like what you saw ? Tell a friend !
    
  • Newsletter
    Sign up for my newsletter and stay informed when new bookkeeping and accounting tutorials, recommended accounting related sites, software, products, tools, and small business bookkeeping and accounting information are added to my site.

Bean Counter's Free Bookkeeping Tutorial   So, you want to learn Bookkeeping! This bookkeeping tutorial is geared to owners, managers, and individuals who have not had any formal bookkeeping training or on the job experience and need or want to learn the basics of bookkeeping and accounting.

This free online bookkeeping course is composed of sequential online bookkeeping lessons, covering the bookkeeping language, terminology and definitions; bookkeeping systems; debits and credits; double entry bookkeeping; financial statements; how transactions are properly analyzed, recorded, and summarized; property and property rights; the accounting equation; the cash and accrual basis of accounting; the general ledger and journals; types of business activities; types of organizations; and more.

In other words, this online bookkeeping course is for beginners (newbies) and is only an introduction into the world of accounting. They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Well my goal is to make you dangerous. So, if you want to or need to learn the basics of bookkeeping give it a try.

   Free On Line Version of So, you want to learn Bookkeeping! Tutorial

Your Next Step

More Free Accounting Tutorials !

My free So, you want to learn Bookkeeping! introductory bookkeeping course introduces you to basic bookkeeping and my style of presenting information. In addition to my Introductory Bookkeeping Tutorial, I've "cooked up" some additional courses (Bean Counter Series Of Bookkeeping Tutorials) for those of you wanting or needing some additional bookkeeping and accounting education. If you've acquired a taste and have an appetite for more of my kind of cooking you need to check out these additional free accounting tutorials.

Bean Counter's   So, you want to learn Bookkeeping!     Chart Of Accounts	Bean Counter's   So, you want to learn Bookkeeping!     Merchandise Inventory
Bean Counter's   So, you want to learn Bookkeeping!     Special Journals	Bean Counter's   So, you want to learn Bookkeeping!     Cash
Bean Counter's   So, you want to learn Bookkeeping!     Payroll

These free bookkeeping and accounting courses are presented on my Bookkeeping Tutorial Site which I've set up and is dedicated to providing my own series of bookkeeping and accounting tutorials aimed at the small business man or woman or anyone needing a little help and wanting to learn a little about bookkeeping and accounting or actually learn how to do bookkeeping.

So exactly who can benefit from my courses ?

Are the tutorials any good ? Of course I'm going to say yes cause I wrote them. Why not see what others have said about my bookkeeping lessons. See What Others Say

My bookkeeping and accounting tutorial site also provides free bookkeeping and accounting tests and quizzes, games, and simulations.

Interested and wanting to check out the tutorials or quizzes ? Bean Counter's Bookkeeping and Accounting Tutorials

Ebook and CD Versions available! E-Book or CD Version Of Bookkeeping Tutorials

Study offline, print out a hardcopy, and also acquire a handy accounting reference book.

Why Buy ?
It benefits us both. A good "deal" is when everyone wins. You win by getting an excellent introductory accounting and bookkeeping reference and I win by getting funds to help support development of additional accounting and bookkeeping tutorials and tools.

Other Excellent Bookkeeping and Accounting Educational Resources

Since I offer my own bookkeeping and accounting courses, why would I recommend someone elses ? My answer is made up of three reasons.

• Different teachers or instructors use different methods and techniques for presenting accounting learning materials. What a student might not grasp or understand from one teacher, they might easily grasp from another.
• There are other excellent accounting and bookkeeping training tutorials besides my own.
• Lastly, repetition. The more times you're exposed to something, the more likely it's going to sink in.

More free bookkeeping and accounting tutorials, courses, and information and tools ......... Accounting and Bookkeeping Courses

My Featured Small Business Resources

Bean Counter's Tips For Small Business   The Steps In The Ladder To A Successful Business I'm no Dave Letterman, but I've prepared a list of some things that I've picked up from my experiences that you as an owner or manager should do to monitor and get a pulse of how well (hopefully) or how badly (unfortunately) your business is performing. I've also included some tips to aid in the smooth running of your company and to ensure that employees in a position of trust are doing their job and some "food for thought". Most people are honest but why tempt them ? Even Eve got Adam-no offense intended ladies. No special skills or accounting knowledge (just some good ole common sense) are necessary in order to perform most of these tasks. My Number 1 Tip: Use the technology available. I've seen the adding machine, "ching ching" calculator, the "fancy" calculators, followed by the personal computer during my lifetime. I bought an IBM when they first came out for about $5,000. I didn't want to become obsolete. I also acquired the proper software to make proper use of my personal computer. If you use accounting software or at least a spreadsheet to do your accounting, I'll give ya a pat on your back. Netsuite.com business software has accounting and customer relations management software that can assist and aid in the way your business performs. See if any of my free additional tips on running and managing a business might benefit you. Bean Counter's Small Business Tips-The Steps In The Ladder To A Successful Business Online Version of Small Business Tips Free PDF Ebook Download Version of Small Business Tips

Break Even Managerial accounting is the tools and techniques that provide owners and managers with accounting information that aid them in making short-term and long-term business decisions. One good tool that helps in making decisions is known as Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships. Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis deals with how costs and profits change with a change in volume. It analyzes the effects on profits of changes in such factors as variable costs, fixed costs, selling prices, volume, and the mix of products sold. Some examples of decisions where Cost-Volume-Profit analysis can provide help are: What price(s) should we charge for our products or services ? How many units of a product should we produce ? Should we spend more on advertising ? Should we add or delete a product line ? Should we accept or decline a special order ? What sales mix (different products) should we strive for ? What is the effect of a change to a different raw material supplier ? Should we increase or decrease our work force ? How should we make our products ? Break Even Analysis, one of the tools of Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis, determines the break-even sales or the break-even point which is the units and/or sales dollars where total sales equals total costs (expenses). In other words, the sales dollars and or units needed in order for a business to not incur a loss. Breakeven Analysis

Starting Your Business So, you want to start your own company ! It sounds great to be the owner of your own company, but don't be fooled ! Nothing in life is easy and running a successful business requires dedication, perseverance, and unfortunately, more often than not, in the beginning some long hours. A little luck wouldn't hurt, but don't count on it. See what it takes. Check out Bean Counter's To Do List for useful information and tools to aid you in starting your company and getting up and running. Online Version of Starting a Business To Do List Free PDF Ebook Download Version of Starting A Business

Budgeting, Cash Forecasts, & Business Plans All you need to know and were afraid to ask about Budgeting, Cash Forecasts, and Business Plans. Excellent links to articles, tutorials, and tools to aid your company in budgeting, cash flow management, and planning. Budgeting, Cash Forecasts, & Business Plans

About Me

Personal Information

Site Owner and Creator: David W. Marshall Born: November 27, 1946 Unfortunately if you do the calculation I'm in my 60's. The good news is that I've got some life experiences behind me. The bad news is I can't dance all night. Located: Knoxville, Tennessee

Experience Working For Myself: I have been providing small business consulting and bookkeeping in the Knoxville area for over 20 years. I cater to small businesses that are unable to afford the luxury and cost of a full-time professional staff member or need some additional outside help. Working For Others: Internal Auditor- 10 years Controller- 5 years U.S. Army Payroll Clerk- 2 years Business College Teacher- 2 years

Education, Honors & References Graduated in 1968 With Honors from the University Of Tennessee with a B.S. in Accounting. Go Vols Member Alpha Kappa Psi Member Beta Alpha Psi Testimonials Although it's sometimes necessary to toot your own horn, it's 100% better when others toot it for you. Testimonials

Contact Us/Stay in Touch If you found the small business and other information on this site useful personally or for your organization, Add Us To Your Favorites! Need to contact us ? Contact Information Like what you saw ? Tell a Friend ! Want to help ?

Co-Brand With Me Looking for some Good Content for your site visitors ? If you have a business related site and liked my tutorials, "co-brand" with me and provide your visitors with a useful free business resource by providing a link from your site to my free tutorial site. How To Link To My Free Bookkeeping and Accounting Tutorials You can even make a few bucks by joining my affiliate program while promoting accounting and bookkeeping education at the same time. Join BC's Affiliate Program

Keep Informed About New Stuff

Stay informed when new bookkeeping and accounting tutorials, recommended accounting related sites, software, products, tools, and small business bookkeeping and accounting information are added to my site. Sign up for Bean Counter's News Letter . We respect your right to privacy. Your e-mail address will not be sold or given to others. See our complete Privacy Policy I value your precious time and want to thank you for visiting and exploring my site. I sincerely hope that you found some useful information. As my way of saying thanks, get my So, you want to learn Bookkeeping - Chart Of Accounts tutorial Interactive and PDF versions for free by signing up for my newsletter. After signing up, an email to confirm that you want to be added will be sent. After confirming, you will be directed to your free ebooks.

Bean Counter Newsletter Your Email: First Name: Last Name: Sign up today to receive our occasional newsletter. Tips, tricks, new stuff, and whatever else crosses our minds.

Cartoons on this site provided by Ron Leishman. All Toon images are copyright © 1997 - 2011. No images may be resold or redistributed without prior written permission from Ron Leishman. If you enjoyed them, get some of your own Toon-A-Day.

Copyright © 2003-2012 Bean Counter

Disclaimer
The information provided on this site is not intended to provide or be a substitute for specific individualized accounting, tax, legal, business, or investment planning advice. Where specific advice is necessary or appropriate, Bean Counter recommends consultation with a qualified tax advisor, CPA, Financial Planner or Investment Manager. The information provided herein is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation, personalized investment advice or an endorsement by Bean Counter. The information presented is obtained from what are considered reliable sources; however, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed and therefore should not be relied upon as such. Bean Counter accepts no liability for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information.

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