Developed by: Alison M. De Marree Cornell Cooperative Extension Lake Ontario Fruit Program, Winter 2014 Adapted by: Virginia Carlberg Cornell Cooperative Extension Chautauqua County

Why Keep Records? Required by law and government agency regulations IRS, DEC, DOL, Organic Certifiers, Food Safety (GAP) Certifiers To PROTECT your business against government agency audits (non-compliance fines) and lawsuits. To increase profits, efficiencies, return on investment by monitoring labor use and expense as related to the income generated by various enterprises. To evaluate progress by comparing set standards from one year to the next For insurance reasons (to make claims) To obtain a loan – required by financial institutions

Two Categories of Records Production Records: Items that relate to quantities of inputs and levels of production by enterprise and/or by resource type: yields per acre, varieties planted and harvested, pounds or bushels sold

Two Categories of Records Financial Records: Justify or prove farm income or expense transactions: Product sales, operating expenses, equipment purchases, accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventories, depreciation records, loan balances and price information. Production and Financial Records are put together for a complete picture of your farms’ performance.

Financial Record-Keeping 2013IncomeExpenses DateDescriptionStrawberriesBlueberriesFertilizerFuel 5/1Sold 100 quarts strawberries at Farmers Market $500 6/1Sold 200 pints blueberries at Farmers Market $900 10/21Purchased 5 ton fertilizer $ /20Filled Fuel Tank$2000

Enterprise Record-Keeping IncomeExpenseStrawberryBlueberryLivestock DateDescriptionStrawberriesBlueberriesFertilizerFuelIncomeExpenseIncomeExpenseIncomeExpense 5/1100 qts. strawberries $500 6/1100 pints blueberries $900 10/215 ton fertilizer $ /20fuel tank$2000$1000

Types of Records Paper Account books Electronic Records Use of spreadsheets (& smart phones) Summarizing daily records on spreadsheets QuickBooks, Quicken, Red Wing & Other Accounting Software Back Ups! Keep Hard Copies & Physical Receipts in Files

QuickBooks Version Payroll features Print Checks Chart of Accounts Assistance with getting started

Cornell Farm Account Book Paper- classic (green) Excel

What do you use?

What tools do you use to record production data?

What do you use to record labor information? Labor is often the largest expense for farm operations Are you gauging how well your labor force is performing? What data can you have your field help gather for you?

Employee Timecards Hours Job Field/Orchard Variety Yield/Quantity

Food Safety: Traceability Records Increasing regulatory environment Traceability- from field to fork Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Certification Packaging labels

Summary Record-keeping is important for various external and internal factors Financial Records and Production Records Many tools available, paper and electronic Consider labor logs Consider food safety records and traceability