ACCOUNTING is all about...

Keeping the books involves income, sales, estimated, and self-employment taxes; making a living, financial statements like the income statement and the balance sheet; rules for classifying you as a hobby or a business; getting a business license; other types of licenses; a definition and explanation of the Books; accounting terms used by sole proprietors and their proper order; the difference between cash basis and accrual basis; how often you need to track assets, liabilities, and equity; what the well-organized record box contains; the length of time such records are generally required; and, various methods for keeping records.

The three major reasons to keep track of artwork you have created; the 20+ categories of minutiae, which I’ve found very handy for last minute entries; computer database programs—the minuses and pluses; a sample data tracking form to get you started; quick information about filing for a copyright; credits for…; what’s needed to validate insurance you may be carrying on your artwork; creating a mailing list; and, just plain being prepared for anything…

Discusses Schedules A & C, Home Office, Personal Property and the types of deductions; details most of the deductions—allowable and unallowable; the percentage allowed for each deductible and the exceptions; cautions you about tracking iffy deductions; a long list (I’m sure it’s still incomplete) of IRS forms, publications, and bulletins; how to determine what percentage of your home is office space and what to do about it; surprising (and scary) information about your need to issue 1099s; a sample expenses sheet for your perusal; revelations about the Owner’s Draw and the Owner’s Contribution; how you record your using your own money to buy things for your business; and, the opposite, how to record using business money to buy something for yourself that is not a business expense.

Setting up a system to track income; definition of income; avoiding paying too much in taxes; examples of income statements and balance sheets; what the practical purpose is of income statements and balance sheets; trick for keeping a paper trail; spreadsheet examples of monthly and annual income statements and a balance sheet; definition of a balance sheet; pointers about a simple check-and-balance;...

When to collect and when not to; where to learn exactly what you must collect in sales taxes right down to the city, county, and state; issues to consider when doing mail order or out-of-state sales; nexus; how to treat barters or trades; when to collect on layaways, on spec, and credit sales; which parts of the sale are taxable and which are not; and, the many ways in which individual states differ in their expectations...

Every city or county seems to have extra percentages in the form of district improvements tacked on to the usual state or county sales tax rates:...

Fiscal records is about keeping you out of trouble and the IRS happy…well, as happy as they can be. Dealing with business and personal papers and their primary objectives; lists of those records which must be kept and for how long (2-years, 3-years, 4-years, 5-years, etc.); a delineation of what is considered income and expense; lists of periodic fiscal and documents records; and, payroll record requirements.