Accounting

 Get an accountant.

Got one? Great. Now ask them to help you set up your accounting software, especially your Chart of Accounts. Articles online make this sound easy, but each business has a kind of Chart of Accounts signature, a number of categories that reflect its business model that may not be present in others. My first accountant helped me set this up and over the years I've added and subtracted categories. 

My own categories are below. They don't include my own idiosyncrasies related to shareholder shenanigans, buying vehicles back and forth, and other nonsense. This is a cleaned up list, for the most part. You might look at it and notice some overlap or areas that could be combined. No doubt. I am not an accountant. 

Quickbooks is open on my laptop as long as the store is open, which means nearly every waking hour. I live in the registry. I run a couple key reports. I add deposits from five different sources daily by hand, using my online banking. I am a book keeper and I'm pretty good at it, but I don't understand 95% of what Quickbooks can do.

At tax time, I gather my documents, fill out a questionnaire for my accountant, and he and I painfully do the taxes dance. My taxes have only gotten more complicated and the rules change all the time. I am even farther away from being able to do my own taxes than when I started. I am dependent on an accountant for my taxes, and this is by design of our government. So bottom line:

Get an accountant. 

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Account	Type
Checking	Bank
Inventory	Bank
Savings	Bank
Cost of Goods Sold	Cost of Goods Sold
Investor Capital	Equity
Investor2 Capital	Equity
Investor3 Capital	Equity
Opening Bal Equity	Equity
Retained Earnings	Equity
Shareholder Distributions	Equity
Accounting	Expense
Advertising	Expense
Bank Fees	Expense
Charitable Contributions	Expense
Distribution	Expense
Equipment Lease	Expense
Events	Expense
Fuel	Expense
Insurance	Expense
Insurance, Auto	Expense
Interest	Expense
Licenses & Permits	Expense
Loan Fee	Expense
Loan Interest	Expense
Lodging	Expense
Meals	Expense
Merchandising	Expense
Mileage	Expense
Miscellaneous	Expense
Office Expense	Expense
Outside Services	Expense
Parking	Expense
Payroll Expense	Expense
Payroll Processing Fees	Expense
Payroll Taxes	Expense
Wages	Expense
Petty Cash	Expense
Reconciliation Discrepancies	Expense
Rent	Expense
Repair and Maintenance	Expense
Repair and Maintenance, Auto	Expense
Sales Tax Included in Sales	Expense
Software	Expense
Subscriptions & Dues	Expense
Taxes	Expense
Travel	Expense
Uncategorized Expense	Expense
Utilities	Expense
Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment	Fixed Asset
Improvements	Fixed Asset
Less - Accumulated Depreciation	Fixed Asset
Vehicles	Fixed Asset
Interest Income	Income
Publishing Income	Income
Sales Income	Income
Sales Referral Income	Income
Table Rental Income	Income
Note Payable - Loan1	Long Term Liability
Note Payable - Loan2	Long Term Liability
Rent Deposit	Other Asset
Inventory Asset	Other Current Asset
Payroll Liabilities	Other Current Liability
Payroll Tax Payable	Other Current Liability
Sales Tax Payable	Other Current Liability
Depreciation	Other Expense
Property Damage	Other Expense
Insurance Settlement	Other Income
Other Income	Other Income