tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67299645974401235832024-03-22T15:08:56.540+08:00Bookkeeping articles and resourcesA collection of book keeping articles and resources for the small business owners.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-63376567922117441032020-10-18T10:30:00.005+08:002020-10-19T17:02:13.330+08:00Choosing an accounting systemThe problem with choosing one for your business is that there are so many options available and almost everyone says they are the best. Then, nowadays, you also have to think about whether to use a cloud based solution. So, how to choose? Let’s explore.Free vs paidFree software is very tempting, but as the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch.Free accounting software Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-42126832410894762012012-01-22T16:22:00.001+08:002012-02-09T08:52:51.982+08:00Higher EPF contributions from Jan 2012
From January 2012, the Employers contribution for employees earning RM5,000.00 or less has been increased from 12% to 13%.
Employees contributions remain at 11%, no change to the existing rate.
Total monthly contribution to EPF would now be 24%, made up of 12% Employer contribution and 11% Employee contribution.
For employees aged 55 and above, the Employer rate has been increased by Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-74108134203566255852010-10-23T22:49:00.000+08:002012-02-26T08:47:26.753+08:00Malaysian GST Implementation Postponed
The finance ministry announced on Wednesday, 13th October 2010, that the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been deferred.
GST was initially mentioned in the 2005 budget and had its first parliamentary reading in December 2009, with the second originally scheduled for March 2010.
GST is a tax on consumption and is meant to replace the existing sales tax and service tax.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-16731817874807340772010-09-17T12:50:00.014+08:002011-03-17T19:44:41.114+08:00Accounting for depreciationDepreciation refers to the method of apportioning the value of an asset over several financial periods.
An asset's value is not expensed off immediately, but over a period of time, depending on the length of it's estimated useful lifespan.
So if we anticipate that a motor vehicle has a useful lifespan of 5 years, we would first capitalize the cost of the motor vehicle and then expense it off overUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-72838501351518038362010-03-07T20:03:00.007+08:002010-03-07T21:37:49.343+08:00Doing it twice and checking it thrice?Somethings done twice or thrice are enjoyable.
Most things are not.
In business especially, having to re-enter data is an absolute pain and slows down the process of getting on with it, not to mention the need to over staff just to cater for this inefficiency.
We are now in an age when technology makes streamlining your business processes and doing things once the norm rather than the exception.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-14693830136988340102010-02-14T09:13:00.004+08:002010-03-07T20:19:48.868+08:00Pieces of a puzzle?Business is like a jigsaw puzzle, with pieces that fit together and make a complete picture.The catch is that each piece is held by a different member of the business team. It's like doing a giant jigsaw puzzle with about 10 or 20 others, each looking at one part of the puzzle and working on it.So what's the problem?What if you had the wrong pieces, or if one of those pieces is missing?What if Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-10431545111685791512010-01-05T19:50:00.008+08:002010-01-05T20:35:57.188+08:00Who's minding your business?I made a follow up call to one of our customers today. The system was implemented about a year ago, and as is our normal practice, we call to inquire if everything is okay.The answer I got was, as in an alarmingly large number of cases, something similar to "I will check with the accounts clerk and come back to you."Although I have to a certain degree become immune to such responses, I felt Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-82061001143843155732008-09-12T19:35:00.004+08:002008-09-12T19:53:54.077+08:00The buck stops hereWho should make the decision when it comes to choosing an accounting solution?All too often, business owners shy away from getting involved in the selection process, perhaps because they do not want to get into accounting.The reality is that they should and must get involved, because it impacts on the way they run their business.Information is the lifeblood of any business, and to run a business Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-4681051192408339542008-09-12T18:24:00.004+08:002008-09-12T19:34:46.925+08:00Which accounting solution is better?I have often been asked by customers which is better ABC or XYZ?The truth is all accounting applications are similar in that they perform the same function of recording your accounting entries and producing your financial reports.So what's the big deal?Well, the big deal is in the approach taken when deciding which solution best fits your needs.Accounting is accounting is accounting. Look beyondUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-61141718312004264152008-07-24T19:59:00.008+08:002011-03-17T19:45:22.119+08:00Early settlement of hire purchase accountsOne of our readers, Rosli, asked about the accounting treatment when hire purchase accounts are settled early.
In a previous post, we discussed the how to handle hire purchase transactions, but did not touch on the topic posed by Rosli.
If a hire purchase account is settled early, the only accounting impact will be on the HP Creditor liability account and the Hire Purchase Interest Suspense Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-45483169078020314292007-10-13T10:30:00.003+08:002011-03-17T19:42:28.238+08:00The short and long of it.What's the difference between long term and short term liabilities?
Some liabilities are short term, while others are long term. If you purchase goods, the amount owing to the supplier is payable within a period 30 to 90 days. This is a short term liability otherwise known as a current liability.
The amount payable to a hire purchase company, on the other hand, is a long term liability, as Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-42853867265879299292007-09-06T08:22:00.000+08:002008-12-10T14:05:20.399+08:00What's in a number?In a number of my implementations, I have come across clients who:Prefix invoice numbers, purchase order numbers, etc with the year and the month. So if the invoice number is 1001, it would be prefixed with 2007/08/1001, or some combination to that effect.Prefix the above documents with an acronym of the document type. For instance CN1001 for credit notes or PO1001 for Purchase orders.Number Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-68787701650329480572007-08-17T17:49:00.001+08:002011-03-17T19:43:55.900+08:00What's it all mean?Okay, we've debited and we've credited, but what does it all mean?
Let's look at each in turn.
What are debits?
A debit is either an expense or an asset.
In the basis of book keeping, we learnt that debits are the receiving aspect. A debit will therefore be the representation of a value received.
So if you bought a car, the value of the car would be represented by a debit entry in the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-67390735511470955362007-08-17T17:45:00.011+08:002013-07-03T20:04:59.266+08:00Stock transactionsThere are two ways to handle stock transations.
The first is to debit all trade purchases into the Purchases account, and maintain a separate (perhaps manual) stock account.
In this method, to calculate your cost of sales, you would:
1. Add opening stock balance
2. Add Purchases
3. Deduct Closing stock
Your Profit & Loss account would look like this:
Sales Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-53206594315746428432007-08-14T20:06:00.001+08:002011-03-17T19:43:17.542+08:00The basis of book keepingTo start with, I am never sure if it's bookkeeping, book keeping or book-keeping. A quick search on Wikipedia seems to confirm this confusion is not confined to me as all three are deemed acceptable.
And that, to me is the only confusing part. Once you get past that, everything else is, as we are so fond of saying here in Malaysia, kacang putih (peanuts)!
Most are daunted by it, but it is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-12466219835339146432007-07-28T20:13:00.001+08:002010-02-14T09:26:33.637+08:00Control accounts - making life simplerControl or clearance accounts are temporary holding accounts. It's the ideal way to track an ongoing accrual that occurs on a monthly basis. An example would be salary payments.During a normal salary payment cycle, the following statutory deductions have to be taken into account:Employees Provident fund or EPFSocial Security Organisation or SOCSOSchedular tax deduction or STD (PCB)Of the above,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-28731016643999483372007-06-29T07:59:00.001+08:002007-08-14T23:06:23.854+08:00Why computerise your accounts?If your accounting is not already computerised, then this is probably a question that you should ponder.Accounting software has evolved into more than just book-keeping software, and actually organises your work and streamlines it while providing you with critical information for decision making. Let's take a look at a typical business activity.Sales cycle processThink of a company that trades Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-88980141991197687202007-06-28T20:22:00.002+08:002010-02-20T18:24:28.542+08:00Designing your chart of accountsBefore you even start using your system, whether manual or computerized, you need to design your chart of accounts. How you design your chart of accounts is very important in ensuring that the work you do is streamlined and that reports required by management are available "at the press of a button".Chart of accounts definedA Chart of Accounts is a list of accounts that your business will beUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-17759941712197271362007-06-18T07:27:00.001+08:002011-03-17T19:46:01.788+08:00Treatment of hire purchase transactionsHire purchase transactions require the:
Capitalisation of the asset
recording of the liability to the hire purchase company
This in itself is straight forward:
Debit Asset account
Credit Hire purchase company
But, in book-keeping, we need to capitalise the asset at cost (i.e. net of the interests) and state the liability to the hire purchase company in full (i.e. cost + interestUnknownnoreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729964597440123583.post-14272949244849857842006-12-17T12:28:00.000+08:002007-08-14T23:05:12.170+08:00Welcome!This blog hopes to share the knowledge I gained through my experience in implementing accounting systems over the years.I hope that whatever I share here will help you avoid the pitfalls that I encountered during the years.At the same time, please do share your experiences with me and if you would like a solution to a problem that you are facing, feel free to drop me a line. I will do my best toUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0