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Keeping Records Of Your Ebay Business: Part 3
By Scott Dowding
>> Featured Article <<
Copyright 2006 by Jason James
http://tinyurl.com/qbxp9
Welcome to seller business bookkeeping 101. In case you are just now catching up to speed with this article series about keeping good financial records of your company, you may want to check back with part part I and II of this article.
Up to this point we have educated you on a few basic important tips when it comes to keeping good records of your selling business and a detailed journal of your expenses and receipts. You were also given the basics on learning what a balance sheet and an income statement is in relation to your selling business, as well as understanding gross profit and your gross profit margin.
Most importantly, you were also introduced to the cold hard truth about the power of the IRS and what would be expected of you should an audit of your selling business come your way. Your transactions, purchase records, and receipts should ideally be all laid out and ready to be prepared on a day's notice. Forming these kinds of good habits with your paperwork is one of the greatest 'non-financial' investments that you will ever make.
By now you are probably asking yourself, "Is there a simple way for me to keep track of everything pertaining to my selling business?" The answer is yes, there is. In fact you are encouraged to read the following information and advice about how to create a system for keeping track of your sales and expenses.
You need a bookkeeping system!
Before you read on it is important to understand that there is no single system that is better than another when keeping records of your selling business. Amazingly, some people can do well enough with just a pencil and a set of legal pads. But for the majority of us we need a little more help then just pen and a blank sheet of paper.
If you are like me, then you need all the help you can get to better organize your seller business. And although I will give you some basic advice on some helpful tools, you will ultimately have to form the paperwork habits then best suites your needs. You may use whatever methods that best keeps you on top of your numbers and properly report the transactions of your seller business.
As a general rule of thumb, you will need the following parts of a bookkeeping system:
1. You will need to keep
track of your seller business's list of accounts or categories that you will record in a general ledger. This is called a Chart of Accounts. Some examples of "accounts" would be your rent, utility bills, insurance, advertising costs, Internet and home office costs, etc.
2. Your seller business bookkeeping system should have a detailed record of your business's income and expenses, your assets and liabilities, and of course the owner's equity. You can easily keep track of these items with a General Ledger.
3. Any office store will be able to provide you with an Accounts Receivable Statement. This record-keeping tool will help you keep track of any amount of payments that are owed to your seller business for amounts uncollected.
4. No seller business, or any other business for that matter, can be properly tracked without an Inventory Listing. An inventory listing is just a matter of easily keeping track of the items that you have for sale to your customers.
Any of the above types or record keeping tools can just be created with a blank sheet of paper and pencil but it is wise to just invest in the office supplies that are already made for such records. In general, all you want to do is create a system that is easy to use and will make both your life and your seller business as simple as possible. The easiest way to keep track of your sales is to list your totals for each day. Then you will be able to total sales for each month and set goals of your seller business grand total for the year. Free Article brought to YOU by ArticlesOn.com, where you'll find Articles On Everything! Visit http://articleson.com to get more free content. Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions. Claim Your Free eBook: "Top 10 Secrets for Successful Selling" below:tinyurl.com/qbxp9
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