Table of Contents
What is business accounting?
Business accounting involves recording, condensing, evaluating, and reporting financial transactions and data inside an organization. Its goal is to give decision-makers precise and fast financial information. This procedure includes keeping track of transactions, creating financial statements, evaluating performance using data analysis, making sure accounting standards are followed, and helping management and other stakeholders make decisions. Here, in this article you may find some basic accounting books that can help you transform your business.
Best accounting books
1. Accounting Made Simple: Accounting Explained in 100 Pages or Less by Mike Piper
Book review and key takeaways:
The book beautifully summarizes complex accounting concepts in just 100 pages, exhibiting great work by the author. It is a very smartly written book with common-sense explanations and examples against the usual jargon found in other books. It is quite easy to understand, and it comprehensively presents accounting principles. Some of the key highlights provided in the book are as follows:
Accounting is the language of business. The accounting equation is ALOE: Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s Equity. This equation is always true, with no exceptions. Owner’s equity is just a plug. Cash accounting records revenues when received and records expenses when paid. Accrual accounting records revenues and expenses when they are accrued, regardless of when cash changes hands.
Accounting has four basic financial statements: the balance sheet, income statement, statement of retained earnings, and cash flow statement. Balance sheets are snapshots in time showing assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity at that moment.
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2. Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!: 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential by Greg Crabtree and Beverly Blair Harzog
Book review and key takeaways:
The title says it like it is. It’s simple and revolves around profits and other business metrics. It’s a very down-to-earth approach for a down-to-earth businessman and woman. This is a fantastic book for understanding your numbers as a business owner. The author does a great job of providing tactics and direction for navigating topics like valuing the business, labor productivity, taxes, forecasting, and much more.
The book is 177 pages long, and each chapter ends with a summary of key concepts. There are several charts and graphs for visual representation and a few situational examples to give you a wider perspective. If you are starting your own business, then you have to read this book. It is essential reading to understand the basic economics and finance of your business. The book Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! takes you through which numbers matter, where they need to be, and how to keep an eye on them.
From paying the right salaries, boosting productivity figures, and flagging potential problems, you’ll become an expert on how to get your business thriving. This is an unbelievable book for business owners or executive management (1–5 million sales companies). The author is an accountant and explains methodologies and metrics to help monitor and run a company. Every company has metrics they monitor to help fuel success, but he offers other metrics that are simple but very telling in regards to the health of a company.
3. The Accounting Game: Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand by Darrell Mullis and Judith Orloff
Book review and key takeaways:
This book is a great introduction to how accounting works, especially for those of us who are really just not that crazy about numbers, calculations, and the nuts and bolts of money matters, but who may be involved in a business startup. It commences with a great introduction to accounting and financial statements, is easy to understand and interactive, and shows you the ropes for calculating basic things like the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The book gives you a general idea of how a business operates on the financial side.
Accounting will never be something we are all passionate about, but thanks to the authors, this book can at least help you understand the basic terms without just throwing the book across the room in defeat. This is a fun, no-frills approach to learning the basics of accounting and gives the simplest explanations of complex concepts, allowing the reader to work through the ideas using a tool (a lemonade stand) and grasp every bit intuitively.
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4. Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz
Book review and key takeaways:
The book is a masterpiece. The formula behind this book is critically applicable in any aspect of life, not just business. Here’s the formula: sales profit = expenses.
It basically plays to the common human trait of using whatever resources we have to make things happen. If we have one month to complete a project, it’ll take us one month. If we have a week, it’ll take us one week. It plays around the idea that urgency and scarcity work as incentives. This same principle is used here for treating expenses when it comes to running a business. It is one of the simplest, clearest, and most practical approaches to handling the finances of a business that you will ever read. “Profit First,” just as the name implies, is a straightforward, understandable discipline that, if applied, can completely transform a business and put it on the path toward managing cash flow to greater profitability.
No rocket science here, just basic common sense and a system that’s wonderfully easy to apply and manage. Not only does it give a whole new paradigm for advising clients, but it is also a prudent model to apply to your own business. It is well structured and informative, and the writing is entertaining. Some great examples and supporting resources are available through the author’s website, and you are directed to them throughout the book.
5. Small Time Operator: How to Start Your Own Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes, and Stay Out of Trouble!
Book review and key takeaways:
This handbook is rather informative and easy to understand for those who want to learn more information about starting their own business. As someone dabbling in the idea of a home-based company, it can help you organize your thoughts and narrow down what you need to look into before you go any further. If you are going to start a business, this is one of the best books that you could read.
It is clear and full of good and often funny quotes. This is like a driver’s license test: learn the rules before you go out and get creamed. This book’s reputation preceded it. It is thorough without getting lost in unnecessary detail, and when more is needed or advice specific to a region or subject is needed, the author leaves the reader with clear guidance on where it can be found. “Small Time Operator” can be used as an adjunct text as the book covers some business basics, which makes it handy and useful for those venturing into new businesses but with limited background on how to start and run a business.
The areas covered include the start-up process, marketing the business, bank accounts, bookkeeping, cash flow forecasting, tax returns, business plans, legal entities, financing, import and export, and insurance. The book is written in a simple and easy-to-follow style.
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Conclusion
The aforementioned publications give concise explanations of basic accounting concepts together with helpful guidance on handling money, creating financial statements, and comprehending tax responsibilities. These texts provide entrepreneurs with the knowledge and resources they need to successfully manage the financial aspects of their firm and achieve long-term success, thanks to their approachable style and practical insights. In conclusion, small business owners who want to succeed financially must choose the correct accounting books.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are accounting and business accounting the same thing?
No, accounting is not the same as business accounting. While business accounting refers primarily to accounting techniques and principles implemented within a business setting, focusing on the financial activities of commercial organizations, accounting is a larger subject, including financial processes across multiple entities.
What are the two best books for small business accounting?
“Accounting Made Simple: Accounting Explained in 100 Pages or Less” by Mike Piper and “QuickBooks for Dummies” by Stephen L. Nelson are two well-known books on small business accounting. These publications provide small firms with clear explanations and helpful advice on how to use accounting software and comprehend accounting principles.
What is the key to a successful business?
Keeping correct and current accounting records is essential for every successful organization. Through the monitoring of financial transactions, performance analysis, and financial insights-driven decision-making, enterprises may optimize resource allocation, maximize profits, adhere to regulatory requirements, and strategize for future expansion and sustainability.
