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I'm really lost. I'm so computer illiterate. Has anyone used Forms Facts and Figures hard copy and then switched to an online? I wouldn't mind trying to use the MMKP, but it's like $70 a yr
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Ladyk8, I'll be happy to post mine after dinner tonight.Comment
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I love MMKP, but my tax lady last year didn't like it. She really disliked that MMK had already figured the T/S% of each of my deductions and only gave totals of categories after T/S% was figured. I guess her computer software needed the totals before T/S so she still had to go through and add everything up again.
I'm still going to use it, but I will just add everything up and write it down in each category so she doesn't have to do it.
OP, the cost of MMK is deductible happyfaceComment
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Drat. I just spent over an hour working on this, and it won't let me upload my open office samples. Piddle. Well, I'll leave it and maybe you can make some sense of it without seeing an example. Sorry about that.
Ok, let me see if I can explain this in a sensible manner. I am NOT a bookkeeper, but I have been keeping books for my own businesses (not always daycare) since 1980. My tax person loves me and kept me as a client after she quit doing tax work since I was so organized. My technique, plus Tom's record keeping book, are a great team. I highly recommend Tom's Calendar Keeper. The only reason I went to this technique is because I live in an 1880's house in tornado alley. All of my thoughts center on preserving tax files in case of a disaster. The calendar is easy, but I didn't rest easy knowing my tax future was in a paper calendar. :
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I have a folder called Childcare_2014. Under that I have folders for sign in, after hours work, meals, income, and expenses. I have other folders for various things-each family has a folder to keep letters home, I have a folder for things from DFPS,
First-sign in. I only have 3 kids, so I made up a time sheet. I am not required to do time sheets, it's only for my own records. It looks like Sample A. I don't work on weekends, but I left those days in case something came up. With a new family, I have mom's initial it for a week or so, just to let them know I'm keeping up with the times.
A sheet for this is also in Tom's calendar.
At the end of the week, I total the hours kids were here, write it on top, and scan it into a folder called Sign_in_2014. So, at the end of the year, I'll have 52 pages scanned into that folder. I keep the paper copies, but if there is ever a fire or tornado, I have these too. My computer is backed up on Carbonite. In the sign in folder, I also have a OO spreadsheet called weekly_hours_2014. (Notice everything has a year added to it. Keeps it simple a few years down the road. ) An example of weekly hours in Sample B.
The after hours folder is just scans of a printable monthly calendar from printfree.com where I scribble my after-hours times (cleaning, forum, etc.) Again, I keep the hard copies, this is just back up.
The meal folder is, again, scans of the paper monthly meal totals. I used the chart I got from Tom's calendar. http://www.redleafpress.org/assets/c...lForm_2014.pdf I have an OO spreadsheet called annual_meal_totals 2014. Sample C.
When someone pays, besides giving them a paper receipt, I enter the amount on Sample D. Each family has a column (B, C, D). It is set up to automatically re-calculate column E (income to date), and either column F, G, or H, depending on which family paid. At any given time, I can tell exactly how much I've made this year and how much each family paid.
Expenses are based on Tom's calendar. I found that I didn't need all of the columns, and again, that disaster neurosis, so I made my own sheet that suited my needs. Sample E. If I have a receipt that has several categories, ex, I bought a toy, some cleaning supplies, and some wet wipes, each category gets its own line. I just find that easier for me because I put the explanations on each line to remind me what I bought. If an item is for daycare use only, like a toy or wipes, I put an asterisk * next to the number. Then I can tell at a glance what is T/S and what is 100% daycare.
The only thing I don't scan and put online is my mileage book, and I should do that.
At the end of the year, I buy Tom's book, Family Child Care Tax Companion. The 2014 issue will go on sale in early January I think. I go through, pull out the numbers I need, plug them in where Tom's instructions indicate and give the book, along with the info that isn't related to child care (my husband also has a business), and I'm done. She plugs the numbers into her program, and that's it. Now and then, I will mess something up and her program kicks it back so she has to call me. I actually could probably get a tax program and do it myself, but even after 35 years of being in business, I still can't figure depreciation. I'll pay her just to avoid thinking about that.
Her rates are very low because basically, my record keeping makes her job a piece of cake.
Sorry the upload didn't work. I'll try to find a work around if you need it. Just ask!Comment
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Please do not apologize. What you did was more than enough and you didn't even have to do it. Thank you so much!Drat. I just spent over an hour working on this, and it won't let me upload my open office samples. Piddle. Well, I'll leave it and maybe you can make some sense of it without seeing an example. Sorry about that.
Ok, let me see if I can explain this in a sensible manner. I am NOT a bookkeeper, but I have been keeping books for my own businesses (not always daycare) since 1980. My tax person loves me and kept me as a client after she quit doing tax work since I was so organized. My technique, plus Tom's record keeping book, are a great team. I highly recommend Tom's Calendar Keeper. The only reason I went to this technique is because I live in an 1880's house in tornado alley. All of my thoughts center on preserving tax files in case of a disaster. The calendar is easy, but I didn't rest easy knowing my tax future was in a paper calendar. ::
I have a folder called Childcare_2014. Under that I have folders for sign in, after hours work, meals, income, and expenses. I have other folders for various things-each family has a folder to keep letters home, I have a folder for things from DFPS,
First-sign in. I only have 3 kids, so I made up a time sheet. I am not required to do time sheets, it's only for my own records. It looks like Sample A. I don't work on weekends, but I left those days in case something came up. With a new family, I have mom's initial it for a week or so, just to let them know I'm keeping up with the times. A sheet for this is also in Tom's calendar.
At the end of the week, I total the hours kids were here, write it on top, and scan it into a folder called Sign_in_2014. So, at the end of the year, I'll have 52 pages scanned into that folder. I keep the paper copies, but if there is ever a fire or tornado, I have these too. My computer is backed up on Carbonite. In the sign in folder, I also have a OO spreadsheet called weekly_hours_2014. (Notice everything has a year added to it. Keeps it simple a few years down the road. ) An example of weekly hours in Sample B.
The after hours folder is just scans of a printable monthly calendar from printfree.com where I scribble my after-hours times (cleaning, forum, etc.) Again, I keep the hard copies, this is just back up.
The meal folder is, again, scans of the paper monthly meal totals. I used the chart I got from Tom's calendar. http://www.redleafpress.org/assets/c...lForm_2014.pdf I have an OO spreadsheet called annual_meal_totals 2014. Sample C.
When someone pays, besides giving them a paper receipt, I enter the amount on Sample D. Each family has a column (B, C, D). It is set up to automatically re-calculate column E (income to date), and either column F, G, or H, depending on which family paid. At any given time, I can tell exactly how much I've made this year and how much each family paid.
Expenses are based on Tom's calendar. I found that I didn't need all of the columns, and again, that disaster neurosis, so I made my own sheet that suited my needs. Sample E. If I have a receipt that has several categories, ex, I bought a toy, some cleaning supplies, and some wet wipes, each category gets its own line. I just find that easier for me because I put the explanations on each line to remind me what I bought. If an item is for daycare use only, like a toy or wipes, I put an asterisk * next to the number. Then I can tell at a glance what is T/S and what is 100% daycare.
The only thing I don't scan and put online is my mileage book, and I should do that.
At the end of the year, I buy Tom's book, Family Child Care Tax Companion. The 2014 issue will go on sale in early January I think. I go through, pull out the numbers I need, plug them in where Tom's instructions indicate and give the book, along with the info that isn't related to child care (my husband also has a business), and I'm done. She plugs the numbers into her program, and that's it. Now and then, I will mess something up and her program kicks it back so she has to call me. I actually could probably get a tax program and do it myself, but even after 35 years of being in business, I still can't figure depreciation. I'll pay her just to avoid thinking about that. Her rates are very low because basically, my record keeping makes her job a piece of cake.
Sorry the upload didn't work. I'll try to find a work around if you need it. Just ask!Comment
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