Financial Paperwork--who does it?

[FarmerChick]

This year every single farm penny is being written down. Real working debit/credit files for me to see this year just what I am making on the farm.

Yea, yea, I was lazy and wrote down some stuff, missed months of income, and expenses, then started again, etc.

BUT I know in order to truly do it right......I am keeping the books perfect this year. Jan 1 started me off and I have written everything so far that has been farm related.

BUT do any of you do this? Even if you have only a few chickens or a few goats or a few whatever to sell and all that......I mean do you know if you are in the hole or making a profit.

I know even if in the hole a tad iwth chickens, the fresh meat and eggs are a true trade off for owning them. I understand that completely.....but at what point do we put too much money into something thinking we are doing great, and in reality we are losing money.......so if we know we might be losing, what can we do to increase that to losing nothing...lol
ya'll know what I mean.

if we know the real numbers, we can improve on them and come up with more SS ways to make it happen.

Like stupid things, when I first got my goats I bought fancy metal mineral holders. Pleaszzzzeee.....they rusted and got pooped in and urine just rotted them....so they didn't last many years and then I scoped out a sight that said to use PVC pipe in a big J fashion and clamp to the wall and fill with loose minerals....works like a charm cause I keep it up high with a step in front. They step up to lick the minerals and NO BUTTS get near it...HA HA....anyone with goats knows the poop goes in the strangest places.

Well those mineral feeders have been there for over 8 years now and perfect. Hmm...one time cheap fix for long term, vs. expensive metal feeders and they are long rusted.

So when I noticed things costs like with the goats, I started checking into "homemade" smart versions of all that I needed and found tons of fab ideas from people.....but also it meant that I didn't have to spend more money on goats. Time to make a profit and not spend.

so long winded but just wondering who is truly keeping finances on paper just to track and see where this SS takes us.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I am really bad at this sort of thing. Well, I mean I am wonderful at keeping records, but my records are scattered and I rarely take the time to get them together. So, in a sense, yes I have been keeping my feed receipts, but I have not tallied them. I don't make enough income to even offset the expenses, so it hasn't been a priority.

If you want my advice (as a semi-scatterbrained yet oddly organized type), I would recommend setting regular time aside where you make notes in a ledger. I assume you may already have one. Try to incorporate the record keeping into your regular chores somehow, so that every day you look at that book and record anything pertinent, if need be. That is the only way I would ever be able to get myself to keep better track of things, anyway. Hopefully you are more self-motivated than I.

 

[FarmerChick]

yea drake
you are so right. I decided at about 9-10 pm at night I would stop and put everything into the ledgers for the day. By then all is quiet, Nicole alseep....I am not a huge tv fan, having trouble reading cause of "over 40 eyes" which I needed checked..LOL...so it would be a good time for me to do this.

Yes a scheduled time TO DO IT! You are so right! thanks

 

[reinbeau]

Do you have Micro$oft Office on your computer? Spreadsheets are a great way to keep track of things. If you don't, then you can always download Open Office, a freeware office suite of programs, that has a spreadsheet program in it that's as good as Excel - and did I mention it's free?

It doesn't have to be complicated, just start with lists or whatever, and see what you really need to keep track of.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Spreadsheets are great. I personally have found they make me lazy about keeping paper copies on hand. I think having a hard copy on hand is important too. Power can fail. Computers sometimes die. Data gets lost. If you choose that route, try to regularly keep a print-out. That way if something happened, you could easily remember the data since you last printed it out.

FarmerChick, it sounds like you've got a great time picked out. I'm glad that you like the idea too. Sometimes I think that the only way I stay organized and get everything done in a given day is if I keep to a set schedule most of the time.

I'd love to hear if keeping better books helps you better achieve your goals this coming year. Maybe that will motivate me.

 

[FarmerChick]

thanks reinbeau
free office is great!
but yes, I have all the Mircrosoft Office tools. I just made a table and spreadsheet and working on another. I think it will work fine.

 

[FarmerChick]

hey drake
OK now, you get your act together too, like me..LOL-LOL

but yes, I keep hard copy of everything. I don't ever trust a computer for long term storage and such. I will print after 1 week of tracking....and in between keep a handwritten backup along with my disc backups. I know what you mean. If I go to all this work...I best never lose it..HA HA

come on, you motivated yet!!

 

[Beekissed]

Does saving all your feed and farm receipts in a file count? And then never knowing just what some of them are for, so you just shrug your shoulders and list them under MISC.? And then never really totalling them up and discerning just how much profit you have made from your livestock and garden ventures? Does that count as financial paperwork?

 

[MorelCabin]

I buy a Polestar Family Calander every year...and it serves me well. It is a book that you write EVERYTHING in...and on the first day of each month it gives you a place to write out your monthly budget and new projects/plans for the month. I just love it, and it keeps me on track.
http://www.polestarcalendars.com/product.php?sku=FC09

 

[prairiegirl]

Yes, I do my best to keep records. Not perfect I'm sure, but the best I can do.

I'm just not good enough at the computer to sit and figure out how to put the records all together.

All farm receipts go into a large envelope. All other receipts go in another. I have a separate calendar for animals, barns, fee, anything farm related. On this calendar each day is marked with how many eggs we got, how much milk from each cow, newly acquired animals, animals that leave for another home, expected due dates of animals, breeding dates, birth dates, shots or other antibiotics given, worming, weights and measurements, sickness, how much each calf eats and anything else important pertaining to this. (I'm sure I don't record everything.) At the end of the year I put it all together on paper.

reinbeau, thanks for the link. I'll have to check it out. Maybe it's something I can comprehend.