Union City, CA · Member since 2013 · 10 posts · 0 votes
Hello,
Does anyone have experience with the "KISS Guide to Bookkeeping?" It appears that this guide is 10+ years old and I am wondering if it is still relevant. Online reviews are lacking and most Google hits appear to be others selling the product.
Also, has anyone used John Hyre's company for accounting services?
Go to some library or book store at some business college and get an Accounting 101 text book. Sometimes you can find the "Teacher's Edition" that will have answers and points to stress that will help in self study.
Anyone with a high school reading ability can get through it just fine, if you have a question you can ask here.
This is basic bookkeeping, I suggest this over a computer system approach as you'll learn more accounting I'd think, a better understanding of the underlying reasons as to why we do things the way we do. Then take the computer stuff and your accounting basics will allow you to see how and why you are doing something.
The other aspect is that some programs may not have accounts that really match your activities, knowing the basics allows you to modify or manipulate a system in the proper manner. The key to good bookkeeping is knowing how to slot accounts or select the best account to enter the data in.
It's not hard to learn so that you understand rather than trying to learn a mechanical process and then bump into some problem not knowing what to do with something that doesn't fit a format.
I'd think Quickbooks would be good for the mechanical side. :)
Hello,
Does anyone have experience with the "KISS Guide to Bookkeeping?" It appears that this guide is 10+ years old and I am wondering if it is still relevant. Online reviews are lacking and most Google hits appear to be others selling the product.
Also, has anyone used John Hyre's company for accounting services?
I highly recommend doing your own bookkeeping if you can. The guide isn't too bad; however, I'd recommend taking a quickbooks class to learn the basics.
Go to some library or book store at some business college and get an Accounting 101 text book. Sometimes you can find the "Teacher's Edition" that will have answers and points to stress that will help in self study.
Anyone with a high school reading ability can get through it just fine, if you have a question you can ask here.
This is basic bookkeeping, I suggest this over a computer system approach as you'll learn more accounting I'd think, a better understanding of the underlying reasons as to why we do things the way we do. Then take the computer stuff and your accounting basics will allow you to see how and why you are doing something.
The other aspect is that some programs may not have accounts that really match your activities, knowing the basics allows you to modify or manipulate a system in the proper manner. The key to good bookkeeping is knowing how to slot accounts or select the best account to enter the data in.
It's not hard to learn so that you understand rather than trying to learn a mechanical process and then bump into some problem not knowing what to do with something that doesn't fit a format.
I'd think Quickbooks would be good for the mechanical side. :)
Principles of Accounting is a great resource. It has actual instruction and will teach you the real fundamentals of accounting, which I believe is necessary in bookkeeping. I found that site when I was studying for the accounting CLEP.
Principles of Accounting is a great resource. It has actual instruction and will teach you the real fundamentals of accounting, which I believe is necessary in bookkeeping. I found that site when I was studying for the accounting CLEP.
LOL, am I old.....on line, should have known.
Principles of Accounting is a standard text and very good.
I went to the site and glanced at the drop down tabs as to the topics, it looks to be comprehensive and the same thing I taught years ago. I'd suggest you go this route....didn't see the cost but you'll be years ahead of others who don't have this foundation in business, IMO.
Principles of Accounting is a great resource. It has actual instruction and will teach you the real fundamentals of accounting, which I believe is necessary in bookkeeping. I found that site when I was studying for the accounting CLEP.
LOL, am I old.....on line, should have known.
Principles of Accounting is a standard text and very good.
I went to the site and glanced at the drop down tabs as to the topics, it looks to be comprehensive and the same thing I taught years ago. I'd suggest you go this route....didn't see the cost but you'll be years ahead of others who don't have this foundation in business, IMO.
Great catch James! :)
The best part is its free @Bill Gulley, and includes really helpful video lectures. And I agree 100%, understanding basic accounting is a crtitical skill for real estate investors or any entreprenuer.
I have John Hyre's KISS Guide. I reviewed it several years ago and found it very comprehensive for the real estate investor that already uses Quickbooks for accounting. The KISS Guide was written when Quickbooks was about the only personal accounting software package on the market. The KISS Guide gives you "templates" for entering almost any transaction you may encounter in the course of real estate investing. Whether you are in a rental business, flipping business, holding seller financing, etc, there is a discussion of how to do the Quickbooks entries for your accounting.
Initially, there was an issue with TurboTax import from Quickbooks for a rental property business. It would not transfer more than eight properties to Schedule E unless you were importing to TurboTax Home and Business. This was not clarified in the KISS Guide.
I had never used Quickbooks and still don't to this day. I am a rental property investor and have found Quicken personal finance software more than adequately meets my accounting needs, is more intuitive than Quickbooks, and does import Schedule E information to TurboTax up to the limit of the number of Schedule E's TurboTax will accommodate. If Quickbooks had already been my accounting software, or if I would have needed the more robust Quickbooks for my accounting needs, then Hyre's KISS Guide would have been indispensable.
Early on in my career I underestimated the importance of bookkeeping and trusted my bookkeeper. After flipping a dozen houses that year and it was tax time, the books were a mess. The issue is that real estate investing for the most part is very balance sheet intensive. It's not "normal" expenses, you kinda have to know what you're doing. My bookkeeper didn't. And I didn't know enough to catch the mistakes or ask the right questions.
The CPA charged me 5 hours of his time to get the books in order. Since then, my lesson is this: learn enough about basic bookkeeping (especially for whatever real estate transactions you're doing), and John's course does that. I just wish he would come out with an update.
Principles are after all - - Principles, they apply regardless of your choice of accounting software. IMO, they lead you in figuring out "How does this program performing task xyz".
I dislike software that force-fits a solution, which walks around the barn to solve a straight forward principle. QB does NOT handle Tenant Deposits well in this regard. When making a journal entry, accounting practice is to use one JE (so as to anchor the JE number) and post to whatever T-accounts are necessary, meaning it's accepted to have multiple pairs of DB,CR entries in one JE. QB refuses to honor this principle.
On the whole however, I've been using QB 2009 Pro for a long while.
Using multiple checkbook accounts (inside QB) or multiple, unlinked entries, hides the whole transaction scope and violates all Accounting 101 principles. Upon receiving rents+deposits, it should be possible to CR/DB multiple accounts in one transaction, and QB will not allow that.
My recommendation is to take a class specific to your industry and business. Do not take a basic QuickBooks course. Do not take a class for Tom, Dick and Harry business. You need something laser focused. What happens after that 2-hour at the association, 4 or 8-hour course after you go home. Sure they may be cheap but the next day, you start your daily routine and forget everything. You can learn only so much in one sitting. And I hear everyone say I hate the program.
All I am trying to say - before signing up ask yourself, is it going to give me a lifetime education for my business? Think TWICE.
@James Vermillion Thank you so much for recommending Principles of Accounting. I am excited to dig into this resource. My books were a mess this last year and I know I need a great bookkeeper (to at least get me started) and more education about how to keep track of the numbers. Right now I am just using Google sheets to keep track.
I actually found him and asked him. It's basically the same older material because things like updated laws would not change it. Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!
I question the importance of an accounting system for most investors. If the property is stable you will most-likely have 2 transactions a month, mortgage and rent income. The key is to use dedicated accounts. Co-mingling accounts is a no-no.
If you are renovating a house, you may have 20 transactions, more if you buy materials often. I run my renovations out of an xls.
The time and cost of maintaining a system does not provide me any additional value. When I can no longer manage the business without an accounting system, I will hire a part time bookkeeper.
I do run a property management software that tracks rent, tenants, building repairs, etc. If you run more than 10 properties, then it is worth the cost and time.