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softhaus · 2006-09-04, 09:50 PM

Unless you have MS Money for Home and Business you're not going to be able to do that (expenses yes, customer & vendor tracking no). I use Quicken for Home and Business and it works very well.

The H&B versions allow you to set up customers (sponsors) that you receive money from. You can also setup vendors (people you pay).

Setup customers (sponsors) under their name, like Topbucks, when you receive a check or payment from them you need to create a invoice for them for the amount you received. Once you've done that you can receive the payment apply it to the invoice you created previously and you're done. Now you have history for p&l, etc.

For business expenses you can create a catch all account such as advertising, rent, telephone, postage, etc. You can also create sub-accounts under the main account for more tracking.

So if you spend $150 at Office Depot and buy staples, paper clips, notepads, a desk, and a office chair. The first three items would go into you office supplies category and the last two would be in an asset account under say office furniture.

If you're buying software, hardware, furniture, etc. for the business that's not an expense, it's an asset that needs to be depreciated, since it has a life.

Best practice is to consult a good CPA or Tax Professional so you don't screw up. He or she will be able to advise you what the current rules are.

At the end of the year you print a p&l give it to your tax pro (recommended) and you're all set. Most tax pros support ms money, quickbooks, quicken so you can actually give them a backup of your files and they'll make the adjustments, merge it into their tax program and you save money since they don't have to input the info by hand.

Hope that helps.

2006-09-04, 09:50 PM	#14
softhaus Rock stars ... is there anything they don't know? Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: USA Posts: 18	Unless you have MS Money for Home and Business you're not going to be able to do that (expenses yes, customer & vendor tracking no). I use Quicken for Home and Business and it works very well. The H&B versions allow you to set up customers (sponsors) that you receive money from. You can also setup vendors (people you pay). Setup customers (sponsors) under their name, like Topbucks, when you receive a check or payment from them you need to create a invoice for them for the amount you received. Once you've done that you can receive the payment apply it to the invoice you created previously and you're done. Now you have history for p&l, etc. For business expenses you can create a catch all account such as advertising, rent, telephone, postage, etc. You can also create sub-accounts under the main account for more tracking. So if you spend $150 at Office Depot and buy staples, paper clips, notepads, a desk, and a office chair. The first three items would go into you office supplies category and the last two would be in an asset account under say office furniture. If you're buying software, hardware, furniture, etc. for the business that's not an expense, it's an asset that needs to be depreciated, since it has a life. Best practice is to consult a good CPA or Tax Professional so you don't screw up. He or she will be able to advise you what the current rules are. At the end of the year you print a p&l give it to your tax pro (recommended) and you're all set. Most tax pros support ms money, quickbooks, quicken so you can actually give them a backup of your files and they'll make the adjustments, merge it into their tax program and you save money since they don't have to input the info by hand. Hope that helps.