Quicken® or QuickBooks® for Farm Financial Records Damona Doye Extension Economist and Regents Professor Sarkeys Distinguished Professor OSU Agricultural Economics Department

Possible motivations for keeping farm records Keep what is needed for tax purposes Be prepared for the unexpected Planning ahead Communications Employee management Business analysis  Be able to accurately identify shares of income and expenses  Determine cost of production per unit  Know where profit (and/or loss) centers are in the operation

Everyone should use Quicken.* Some should also use QuickBooks*. * Or a similar product. No endorsement of a specific commercial product is intended or implied.

Quicken Inexpensive Flexible and easy to use Cash accounting Personal finance  Family living expenses  Off-farm income  Investment income and expenses Not expensive Less forgiving and less easy to use Accrual accounting Small business finance  Invoicing  Accounts payable/receivable  Payroll QuickBooks Use

Desktop products for Small Business

Quicken All manual  Create categories, accounts  Calculate Payroll subscription service Employee records Manual can be enabled QuickBooks Payroll

Quicken Banking Comparison Spending Tax Easy Answers Graphs Also, customized folders for reports Company & Financial Customers & Receivables Sales Jobs, Time & Mileage Vendors & Payables Employees & Payroll Banking Accountant & Taxes Budgets QuickBooks Reports

Quicken reports and graphs Cash flow Tax schedule Transactions Account balances Comparison Filtered Memorized Balance sheet

Quicken Memorized transactions Financial calculators Lists  Items  Vendors  Customers  Employees QuickBooks Other

Quicken Videos Forums, blogs Quicken Inner Circle Online assistance QuickBooks coach Videos Live Community QuickBooks Assistance Facebook Twitter Youtube Linked in

Cool things in both Quicken and QuickBooks Date: Y, R, M, H, T Find/replace Attach Download transactions Import/export Graphs Backup

Records for farm tax purposes “It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn’t.” … Martin van Buren QuickenQuickBooks Farm income and expenses == 1099 Advantage Employee payroll & W-2s Advantage Asset sales and purchases ??

Records for being prepared QuickenQuickBooks Knowing cash reserves, cash flow, margins == Employee records Advantage List of accounts, credit card numbers == Assets and inventories Advantage

Records for planning ahead QuickenQuickBooks Budget features ?? Financial calculators Advantage Retirement planning Advantage Investment analysis Advantage Estate planning ??

Records for communications QuickenQuickBooks Business partners == Family Advantage Lenders == Landlords == Heirs ==

Records for employees QuickenQuickBooks Manual Payroll Advantage Payroll taxes Advantage Employee payroll Advantage

Records for business analysis QuickenQuickBooks Enterprise analysis Advantage Tracking costs, returns for multiple years == Analysis by customer Advantage Analysis by item Advantage

OSU Quicken resources Print materials plus video on-line at $25 for printed notebook and CD with sample files Quarterly Quick Tips farm management newsletter

In PODS… AGEC-266, Quicken or QuickBooks: What’s the Best Choice for Agricultural Producers? CR-324, Quicken for Farm and Ranch Financial Records CR-2133, Crop and Forage Recordkeeping Software CR-3279, Cow-Calf Production Record Software

Be consistent Start simple Get assistance Be disciplined Be enthused! Recordkeeping suggestions…

Questions? Damona Doye