QuickBooks or Quicken&
Farm Accounting Resources
Joe Horner
Extension Dairy/Beef Economist
Commercial Agriculture Program
Learning Objectives
• Understand which farmers to guide to Quicken and which to guide to QuickBooks.
• Become aware of the new MU web page: Farm Accounting Resources http://agebb.missouri.edu/mgt/mofar/index.htm
• Share ideas for future farm accounting tool development and dissemination.
Quicken vs. QuickBooks
Reality
Quicken vs. QuickBooks
• Neither was built for farm accounting• Quicken was built for Personal Finance• QuickBooks was built for Small Business
Accounting• QuickBooks is true double entry accounting with a
General Ledger available. Remember Debits and Credits?
• Some accountants are pushing QuickBooks as a standard for their small business clients.
Key Issues
• QuickBooks inventories, invoicing and other forms are really nice for farmers with side businesses.
• Two other good points: excellent payroll capabilities, excellent 2 stage accrual A/P and A/R process available but not mandatory.
• Key warning: If farmers don’t keep records weekly forget the 2 stage process. Stay with Quicken??
Version? Get QuickBooks Pro
Every Report can be popped into Excel by just hitting a button.
This becomes a real need if you want balance sheets, (Keep Book Value on QuickBooks, pop to excel for Market Value quick editing.
Also key to being able to create/edit enterprise reports.
Which farmers to guide to QuickBooks?
• Do they like accounting?• Do they have several employees?• Do they keep their records up to date
weekly?• Are they having problems managing
Accounts payable or Accounts Receivable?• Do they have a side business with
inventory?
Farm Accounting Resources New Web Page
• Created to be a “one stop shop” to link to all of the farm accounting resources MU offers.
• Created to take farmers, adult educations, extension agents, & ag bankers to best farm accounting resources on the web.
• New – 9/17/2001. Work in progress. Suggestions welcome.
• More to come……
Start Here
Go to 4th Link Down
Ideas for Farm Accounting Resources Web Page
• FBMA Quicken chart of categories link will be added.
• List of local contacts will be added: adult ag educators & extension.
• More QuickBooks tools.
• Comments and Suggestions?
Summary
• Which farmers to guide to Quicken and which to QuickBooks.
• New “Farm Accounting Resources” page http://agebb.missouri.edu/mgt/mofar/index.htm
• More projects in development.
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