Doing it without an accountant?

[whitt]

Out of the people in this thread whom suggest not to use software for a couple of properties.
Can you tell me what you personally use. software or manual system? And if software which type.

[Perry]

Not quite the right answer, Whitt, but I simply
extended my existing software (Quicken) to
deal with the addition of rental income. Not
a difficulty, really. No extra cost. Just a little
time spent adding extra categories to those
already used.
This or this?

Perhaps the PTWiki needs something about
this as a new entry or extension to an existing
one?
.

[One]

Excel. Like CJ, we've got a rolling spreadsheet.

[CJ]

Out of the people in this thread whom suggest not to use software for a couple of properties.
Can you tell me what you personally use. software or manual system? And if software which type.

I maintain mine on MsMoney which isn't a perfect fit. you can upload transactions which then you have to allocate. There can be some form or automation but I dont use.

I did my brothers on excell and it was smooth - though I got him to do the data entry.

Both only have 1 rental.

For those that use software, how much does it cost? I know Xero is $29pm for the small entity. 25% discount for multiple entities.

[Perry]

Quicken is one-off; no annual fee,
except for upgrades. I haven't
needed an upgrade for many
years, so far.
.

[sjkpark]

Thanks for your help everyone! I'll probably do my own from the next tax year (as I am doing fairly intensive course at the moment in addition to my usual work). If anybody could share examples of their cashbook/spreadsheet (with details deleted) that would be really helpful. My email is sjkpark at gmail dot com.

Thanks

S

[Shane D]

GRA Cashbook

Thanks for your help everyone! I'll probably do my own from the next tax year (as I am doing fairly intensive course at the moment in addition to my usual work). If anybody could share examples of their cashbook/spreadsheet (with details deleted) that would be really helpful. My email is sjkpark at gmail dot com.

Thanks

S

Sjkpark,

GRA have a free cashbook spreadsheet for download on their website. I recall you need to register first before you can enter the "free resources" section of the website.

http://www.gra.co.nz/freeresources

Shane

[whitt]

Out of the people in this thread whom suggest not to use software for a couple of properties.
Can you tell me what you personally use. software or manual system? And if software which type.

Ok that answers my question.

Various people in this thread perceive the definition of a software package differently to each other.

Some people think software is a fully functional package and others deem it to be a simple xcell spreadsheet.
Likewise with the definition of manual system. Some people can believe it is pen and paper while others a xcell spreadsheet.

Considering the above comment my take is:

If you are going to do your own accounting you need a good process in place. This can come in the form of either a fully functional software package or a simple manual xcell spreadsheet.

[CJ]

If you are going to do your own accounting you need a good process in place. This can come in the form of either a fully functional software package or a simple manual xcell spreadsheet.

provided the spreadsheet is set up properly, the main benefit of fully functioning software is if it automatically enters info from bank feeds.

It is therefore a time:cost:benefit analysis regarding the amount of time you spend inputing the data. And obviously the more data you enter, the more likely it is that it is wrong so softwares inbuilt checks also starts to become worthwhile.

[Perry]

I don't use my software (Quicken -
Financial Reporting) to interface with
the bank. Many items are APs, entered
automatically by the s/ware. The rest,
I enter manually.

Irrespective, do reconcile to the bank
no less often than end-of-month, after
the statement arrives in the mail. Or make
use of an Internet Access option to do
a reconciliation as often as is desired.

Given that many PIs on PropertyTalk
have said they use their Internet access
on a daily basis, to check for correctly
received rent payments, keeping track
shouldn't be hard.

Time? Well, it all depends on the dollar
amount ascribed. For a PI his/her time
has a value, but not a cost. Anyone
else's time is always a cost.
.

[Choc]

I use MYOB. I used to use cashbook and then upgraded to Accounting. What I like about it is if you enter all your information you then just request a report for GST and end of year accounts. It populates your Balance Sheet.

I also engaged someone from MYOB to give me some training - about $100 per hour. So I got a couple of hours and it was money well spent.

I'm sure I only paid about $400 for the software so I think that is a small price to pay if you decide to do your accounts yourself.

I used to use an accountant but I found while they initially found some areas to save tax that was really only the first year. After that I continued to get pretty hefty fees, usually without explanation or warning. I felt the cost vs benefit didn't add up.

[CJ]

Choc - what happened with MYOB when the GST rate changed - did you have to upgrade your software.

[whitt]

MYOB is too complex for a few simple rentals

[artemis]

I use Quicken Personal and Excel. Each week I download all bank accounts into (separate) Quicken files using the QIF format option, check there are no rogue transactions and that the balances in Quicken match the bank balance, and categorise the transactions in the business accounts to match IRD categories. Once the categories are set up it is very fast to do this. At the end of the tax year I create Quicken reports in Excel format and export them to Excel. This doesn't cover all business expenses so the rest are entered manually. I use Excel pivot tables to summarise by property and category. I have set up a worksheet in IR3R format and the summary data is entered there. I have separate worksheets for depreciation which I print out and send to IRD with the returns.

[Jumpin]

Maybe a usefull spreadsheet in this link

http://www.propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8617&highlight=downloads

cheers