| You begin to really tap Money's power when | | | | This category includes a variety of financial |
| you use the information from the Money | | | | information, including data about your |
| account registers to summarize and organize | | | | spending, your net worth, advice the Money |
| your personal or business financial affairs. | | | | program has provided over the month, |
| And the principle way you perform this | | | | investment profits, and potential financial |
| summarization and organization is through | | | | problems. In essence, it represents an |
| Money's reports and charts feature. | | | | amalgamation of data from other report |
| | | | categories. |
| Money's reports and charts let you present | | | | |
| the information you collect in a variety of | | | | The seventh category, My Favorites, isn't |
| helpful ways. You can then use this | | | | really a reporting category. It simply |
| information to track your incoming expenses, | | | | listsreports that you have identified as |
| your cash flow, monitor your net worth, and | | | | "favorites." You add reports to your My |
| even use it for investment and small business | | | | Favoriteslist by first displaying the report |
| record keeping--such as for a small | | | | and then choosing the Favorites menu's Add To |
| corporation, S corporation or limited | | | | |
| liability company. This short article | | | | Favorites command. |
| explains how to do all of these things. | | | | |
| | | | A final note: Within each of the five main |
| How do I start using Money's reports? | | | | report categories, Money provides a series of |
| | | | reports. |
| Money's reports and charts summarize and | | | | |
| organize the information you collect using | | | | Often, Money provides between a half a dozen |
| Money's account registers. For this reason, | | | | and a dozen reports. |
| you can't use Money's reports and charts | | | | |
| until you have collected some financial data. | | | | Using Money's Reports in a Small Corporation |
| Ideally, you need to collect at least a | | | | or Limited Liability Company |
| month's worth of information. But it is even | | | | |
| more valuable if you have collectedseveral | | | | A final note for small businesses using Money |
| months or even a year or two of financial | | | | as the basis of a small corporation's or |
| data in these account registers. | | | | small limited liability company's accounting |
| | | | system: While Money is designed to help an |
| The richer your data set, the more useful and | | | | individual manage his or her personal |
| interesting your charts and reports become. | | | | finances, the checkbook-style accounting |
| | | | program also works for small, simple |
| An obvious but related point is this: The | | | | businesses--especially services businesses |
| better the information set you collect using | | | | such as small professional partnerships and |
| Money's account registers, the better your | | | | professional limited liability companies, |
| reports and charts become. Obviously, | | | | small corporations, including S corporations, |
| accuracy counts. For this reason you want to | | | | and so forth. |
| be careful about entering payee names, | | | | |
| amounts, transaction dates, categories, and | | | | When you want to use Money's reports in a |
| even memos. | | | | small business setting, know that what Money |
| | | | calls its Spending Reports and Monthly |
| You also want to enter as detailed a | | | | Reports are almost equivalent to a regular |
| description of each transaction as you can | | | | small business accounting system's profit and |
| and as is reasonable. For example, use income | | | | loss statements. Furthermore, know that what |
| and expense categories when you record | | | | Money calls its What I Have and What I Owe |
| transactions,use full and complete payee | | | | reports supply the same information as a |
| names, and you may even want to use good memo | | | | business balance sheet. In summary, Money |
| descriptions. As you work with Money's | | | | uses non-standard naming for its reports (at |
| reports and charts, you are going to find | | | | least from the perspective of a corporation), |
| that the richer, the better, the more | | | | but the information is available. |
| detailed the data you collect, the more | | | | |
| interesting ways you will have to summarize | | | | And let me end with a caution: What a program |
| and organize your report data. | | | | like Money doesn't handle well (at least in |
| | | | terms of small business accounting) is |
| What kinds of reports does Money prepare? | | | | something like inventory. Accordingly, if |
| | | | your small business buys and sells inventory, |
| Money prepares reports that fall into five | | | | you may find it difficult to get the |
| distinct categories. If you take a look at | | | | reporting information you want from Money. |
| Money's Pick A Report Or Chart window, you | | | | You may want to look at stepping up to a more |
| see that Money lists seven report options: | | | | fully featured small business accounting |
| Spending Habits, What I Have, What I Owe, | | | | system for business. Note that stepping up |
| Investments, Taxes, Monthly Reports, and My | | | | would be particularly attractive in the case |
| Favorites. The first five items in this list | | | | where your business is operating as an S |
| represent the five basic report categories | | | | corporation or a limited liability company |
| Money provides. | | | | treated as a partnership for income tax |
| | | | purposes because the business's income and |
| The sixth report category, Monthly Reports, | | | | deduction data need to flow through to the |
| is a special summary of your financial | | | | owners' tax returns with clarity and |
| affairs prepared at the end of each month. | | | | accuracy. |