“Old school records are better than no records at all. FinPack, “The key is to find the right tool for you,” says Cabaniss.CenterPoint Accounting for Agriculture,.Some may offer free trials to help you determine if it’s a program that meets your needs.
If you are not tech savvy, Cabaniss encourages you to explore courses at local community colleges, which often offer step-by-step lessons for free or for inexpensive registration fees. It is a step up with more features such as payroll, inventory, and more in-depth enterprise analysis. QuickBooks, a user-friendly platform, allows you to manage cash going in and out of your business.Leibold shares links to a couple of land grant universities that have set up chart of accounts tutorials and other teaching materials. It is a first step and gets you used to data entry, check writing and electronic funds transfer, and helps set up the basic chart of accounts. Quicken Starter Edition® or Quicken Deluxe® are basic starting points for pre-packaged software.He recommends checking with your tax preparer for compatibility.
An important feature, he writes, is the ability to download the software to your tax or tax preparer’s software so all of the data doesn’t have to be reloaded. Kelvin Leibold, an Extension farm management specialist at Iowa State University, recently evaluated farm accounting software. Consider the important items to track such as income and expenses (feed, supplies, fuel, for example) on each enterprise (cattle, specific crops).Ī number of tools and software programs are available for those who may not have the time or the inclination to develop their own spreadsheets.
“Use technology to your advantage.”Įxcel spreadsheets may serve the purpose for those who wish to develop their own record-keeping system. “The key is to find the system that works best for you,” says Ben Cabaniss, commercial/ag Loan officer in the Lincolnton office of Carolina Farm Credit. A number of tools make record-keeping easier and more efficient. They are also essential when it’s time to file taxes, meet with a lender, or participate in any government farm program. Keeping good farm records often lead to better business decisions. Written By: Leah Chester-Davis, Ben Cabaniss, Vickie Young