Record Keeping for Crafters
James Dillehay
Keeping up with your business records is like craftswork. Only the grade may be more important now than it was then. The grade is whether you have enough money to pay your bills and feed your family.
The key activity is to record and analyze your expenses and sales on a regular basis.
You should start keeping records from the day you start planning your crafts business. Begin by gathering all business related receipts and enter them into a software program or write them down in a general accounting journal purchased at an office supply store.
The important point is to have a system you can follow up with regular entries. You can then extract meaningful reports from the information. Since Uncle Sam requires accurate records, you are legally responsible to do so anyway.
Should you hire an accountant or C.P.A.?
For most self-employed, the expense of hiring an in-house bookkeeper or accountant can only be justified when the business becomes so large that the owner can’t handle it alone anymore.
Whether you hire an accountant or not, you should know basic bookkeeping skills. You don’t have to have a degree or even formal training to learn accounting.
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