All About Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is simply the process of recording financial transactions including sales, purchases, revenue, and payments by a business entity or an individual. Bookkeeping and accounting work hand in hand. The accountant generates reports from the financial transactions recorded by the bookkeeper. Accounting and bookkeeping must not be confused with each other though, for an accountant prepares income statements and balance sheet using the trial balance and ledgers prepared by the bookkeeper. In other words, a bookkeeper is responsible for recording the daily transactions of a company, ensuring that all transactions are recorded properly in the correct book and ledger. Thus, a trial balance could then be prepared, and then the income statement and balance sheet, which are tasks of the accountant.

Bookkeeping systems are widely used in different areas such as Redcliffe. The two commonly used systems are the single entry bookkeeping system and the double entry bookkeeping system. The single entry system uses only income and expense accounts and is appropriate for small businesses. In contrast, double entry bookkeeping requires that each transaction be posted twice, using debits and credits.

The tools that manual Redcliffe bookkeeping makes use of are many and have different functions. A day book is a chronological record of day-to-day financial transactions, and is commonly called a book of original entry. A journal is also a record of daily transactions but it makes use of debit and credit entries and may be limited to one or several journals depending on the type of activity. A ledger is a record of accounts which are recorded separately and show the beginning and ending balance of a particular account.

Redcliffe bookkeeping can be done manually using the necessary books and ledgers, but online bookkeeping is applied by other companies. This modern system makes use of source documents and data that are stored in web-based applications and allow remote access for bookkeepers and accountants alike. The program can be accessed from anywhere in the world, thus, bookkeeping is made speedier and more convenient.