Introduction 1 Part 1: Basic Bookkeeping: Why You Need It 5 Chapter 1: So You Want to Do the Books 7 Chapter 2: Getting Down to Bookkeeping Basics 25 Chapter 3: Outlining Your Financial Roadmap with a Chart of Accounts 39 Part 2: Keeping a Paper or an Electronic Trail 57 Chapter 4: Ledgers: A One-Stop Summary of Your Business Transactions 59 Chapter 5: Keeping Journals 73 Chapter 6: Computer Options for Your Bookkeeping 95 Chapter 7: Controlling Your Books, Your Records, and Your Money 105 Part 3: Tracking Day-to-Day Business Operations 123 Chapter 8: Buying and Tracking Your Purchases 125 Chapter 9: Counting Your Sales 139 Chapter 10: Employee Payroll and Benefits 161 Chapter 11: Employer-Paid Benefits and Government Payroll Reporting 181 Part 4: Preparing the Books for Year's (or Month's) End 189 Chapter 12: Depreciating Your Assets 191 Chapter 13: Paying and Collecting Interest 203 Chapter 14: Proving Out the Cash 215 Chapter 15: Finalizing the Journals 229 Chapter 16: Checking Your Accuracy by Trial and -- We Hope -- No Error 241 Chapter 17: Adjusting the Books 253 Part 5: Reporting Results and Starting Over 269 Chapter 18: Developing a Balance Sheet 271 Chapter 19: Producing an Income Statement 285 Chapter 20: Completing Year-End Payroll and Reports 301 Chapter 21: Satisfying the Taxman 309 Chapter 22: Prepping the Books for a New Accounting Cycle 319 Part 6: The Part of Tens 325 Chapter 23: Top Ten Ways to Manage Your Business Cash with Your Books 327 Chapter 24: Top Ten Most Important Accounts for Any Bookkeeper 331 Appendix: Glossary 335 Index 343.