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Beekeeping Business Accounting

Hello everyone!

I am curious to know what people are using to keep track of their books. I have been selling honey, but also do swarm removals and hive cut-outs. Part of my business is retail, but part is also service. I have used Quickbooks in the past for a small business, but it's been about ten years, and thought there might be something that works better for beekeepers. Thanks in advance!

Re: Beekeeping Business Accounting

That's EXACTLY why I want to keep track! I may just be charging too little for products and services and not know it!

I can almost gaurantee you are charging too little. Just from what I have seen other beekeepers doing for years.

Do you issue actual receipts for your services and honey sales? Keep track of the income and the expenses and get a tax accountant who understands agriculture and what you can do in an agricultural business which you can't in any other business. I'm sure Quickbooks is a good tool and the person suggesting its use correct.

I'm glad to see you asking this question. It means you are transitioning from a hobby/smallscale mindset to a beekeeping businesslike mindset. Good.

Re: Beekeeping Business Accounting

Due to a recent endeavor that my wife is entering into I have been researching business software. Almost all of them are overkill unless you can find an IT guy who has programmed a specialized software for his own beekeeping business. QB is well accepted in the accounting world but so are some others. The advantage I see about QB is there are so many people using it so it is easier to get help because as you would expect "free support" is a term used loosely these days.
I am looking towards online software's to alleviate the problem of hardware crashes and maintenance. It will also give me off site access which is necessary. Unfortunately I had to go to Quickbooks online "plus" instead of "essentials" to get class tracking which is really overkill for the business my wife is in. But if you need it you need it.

The biggest nut to crack is dealing with our state government and payroll for any business. That alone kills most businesses from moving out of the hobby classification. For my personal business with no employees I use a spreadsheet and at the end of the year I do a data sort for the ins and the outs and that makes my accountant happy. I would think most bee businesses with no employees could do the same. Once you have employees you have big brother breathing down your neck and then it becomes a whole new ballgame.

Re: Beekeeping Business Accounting

Re: Beekeeping Business Accounting

I use QB for my business, its great....but a little bit of a pain.
Set it up as simple as you can to start with. When you launch the program do it with someone that has experience setting up accounts, that is going to do your accounting/taxes or is at the least familiar with QB. Some things are difficult to go back and restructure if you haven't used it.

I'm on an envelope system for my other endeavors. I place a predetermined wad of cash in a envelope and keep track of every time I add and subtract cash on the outside of envelope.
If my envelope is fat I can consider my possibilities if it is getting thin, I know what to do.
It's very motivating and works well for me.

Re: Beekeeping Business Accounting

I used to use Quicken, and liked the fact that my bank statements updated themselves every time I logged in. I never had to balance my checkbook manually, and it automatically categorized most expenses. I switched computers and didn't renew the software, but since I'm also in the process of moving from a hobby to a small scale business, I'm already planning on going back to Quicken or Quickbooks starting Jan 1st. I'll have a seperate "account" for both our personal/family budget and for our "bee business".

"Teach your kids to hunt and fish, and you won't have to hunt for your kids"
Four Ridge Apiaries www.fourridgebees.com

Re: Beekeeping Business Accounting

Originally Posted by Mbeck

I'm on an envelope system for my other endeavors. I place a predetermined wad of cash in a envelope and keep track of every time I add and subtract cash on the outside of envelope.
If my envelope is fat I can consider my possibilities if it is getting thin, I know what to do.
It's very motivating and works well for me.

Do you only put 20s, 50s, and 100s in the envelope? An envelope full of 1s isn't as satisfying as an envelope full of 100s, I find.

I have an accordion file next to my desk for bills paid and receipt books for sales, as well as my check books. At the end of the year I go thru the receipts and total up my income from Sales and pollination. I go thru the accordion file and seperate the receipts and credit card bills into the different categories found at the bottom of Schedule F Profit and Loss from Farming (or is it Profit or Loss?). Taking that list, along w/ mileage and Motel and Meals data, to my accountant, she figures out where we stand. Not forgetting depreciation of course. So far that has worked for me. What have I forgotten to mention?

Re: Beekeeping Business Accounting

Originally Posted by Mbeck

I'm on an envelope system for my other endeavors.

It would be tough to use an envelope system if you were dealing with credit cards, payroll, and any online banking.

Mark, do you really wait until the end of the year to find out where you stand? There is not a lot of wiggle room if you wait that long. What happens if the truck breaks down and there isn't any cash in the till?

Re: Beekeeping Business Accounting

Sometimes things that are free are very expensive.

I would add to those wanting to properly set up their business accounting system, to enter the information as it is available, rather than at the end of the year, and get the records you have to your accountant BEFORE the end of the year. It is hard for me to advise clients on the things they need to do in 2011 to get the most advantage from the tax laws when they bring me their files on April 15th of 2012!

I do the monthly bookkeeping for many clients, and generally the money I save them plus the time it frees up for them to run their business more than pays for my fees.

Re: Beekeeping Business Accounting

Originally Posted by Acebird

It would be tough to use an envelope system if you were dealing with credit cards, payroll, and any online banking.

Mark, do you really wait until the end of the year to find out where you stand? There is not a lot of wiggle room if you wait that long. What happens if the truck breaks down and there isn't any cash in the till?

It's not an accounting to see where I stand. What I was writing about was for Tax accounting. And I do look at things before the end of the year, of course.