Collection of Accounting Templates and Sample Forms for the Small Business Owner
Accounting Work Made Easier
Templates make bookkeeping tasks a lot easier by eliminating repetitive actions in recording and calculating financial data through Microsoft Excel’s built-in functions. A lot of improvement has transpired since methodologies departed from the purely manual method of recording transactions. Formerly, bookkeeping tasks could become even more laborious if discrepancies and imbalances arose during the reconciling and proving of balances..
Take a closer look at what we offer in this collection of accounting templates and sample forms compiled especially for the use of the small business owner. Although accounting software practically performs the accounting work of analyzing, recording and summarizing, it would be advantageous for start-up entrepreneurs to develop a deeper understanding of how the entire accounting cycle works through these templates.
Starting with the Fundamentals
Accounting entails the recording of transactions by using account titles to properly distinguish the assets from the liabilities and to establish the cash outlays that should be capitalized from those that should be treated as expenses. Accounting fundamentals start with the Chart of Accounts, which is actually a list of all account titles being used by a business entity.
The pages of the general ledger (GL) book are labeled with account titles in which business transactions are posted and summarized. The general ledger book balances, in turn, serve as the foundation of the financial statement reports. Learn more by accessing the templates featured in the following articles:
- Example of a Chart of Accounts
- General Ledger Templates for MS Excel
- Typical Examples of Journal Entries
Keeping Track of Accounts
Certain GL accounts require monitoring of balances because their journal entries comprise activities of several sub-accounts. Examples of these are those pertaining to receivables, payables and fixed assets, which maintain individual account balances for every customer, supplier or item.
This method adheres to the scientific discipline of breaking down tasks into smaller units, which allows for proper monitoring of business activities. Find out how these templates and sample forms are being used via the explanations offered by each of these articles:
- Better Track AR Activity with This Excel Ledger Template
- Creating a Loan Amortization Table Using Excel
- Need a Template for an Accounts Payable Ledger?
- Methods of Tracking Fixed Assets
- Free Sample of a Business Expense Template
Calculating and Balancing Tools
One of the complexities of accounting work is the calculation of the amounts to be debited or credited against a particular account. Although calculations involve mostly basic mathematical operations, errors often stem from picking up wrong inputs during the computational processes. Eliminate these occurrences by using templates that automatically generate sums, differences, products and quotients. All one has to do is to key in the correct financial data and another cell will automatically generate the required results.
There is also the matter of making sure that multiple debit and credit entries in a single day’s transaction are proven as equal before they are actually posted in the GL book. Such tasks utilize popular accounting tools like trial balances and T-accounts to ensure that the resulting debit and credit balances are equal.
Find the templates and the instructional information by reading through the following:
- Making a Depreciation Schedule in Excel
- Sample of an Excel Accounts Receivable Aging Report
- How to Calculate Payroll Deductions
- Need a Template for a Sales Commission Plan?
- Using a Microsoft Excel Reconciliation Template for Your Banking
- Templates for T Accounts
- Guide to Preparing a Trial Balance
Winding up With Pre-adjusting and Closing Entries
Prior to the actual preparation of financial statements, certain pre-adjusting and closing steps are performed to present the most realistic financial depiction of a business entity. This part of the accounting cycle could be a bit tricky if one is not careful with the adjusting entries being formulated.
To effectively tackle this procedure, using a year-end trial balance worksheet allows a systematic monitoring of the changes brought about by the adjusting and closing entries. The worksheet starts with the unadjusted trial balance and progresses into a post adjusted state. This furnishes a ready reference in checking the equality between the debit and credit balances of the GL account. Learn how the pre-closing task is performed by studying the downloadable samples of accounting tools featured by these articles:
- Basic Sample of a Profit and Loss Statement
- Sample Adjusting and Closing Entries for Trial Balances
- Ensuring a Balanced GL by Preparing an Unadjusted Trial Balance
Preparing Financial Statements
The last leg of the accounting cycle is the financial statements preparation. Delve into these articles that provide templates for the four basic presentations of a business entity’s resources, capitalization, results of operation, and the changes in its financial position.
The accompanying explanations and instructions serve as guidelines on how to go about this all important task of preparing a balance sheet, an income statement, a statement of owner’s capital and a cashflow statement.
- An Example of a Basic Balance Sheet
- Sample Classified Balance Sheet Template
- Sample Statement of Owner’s Equity
- Statement of Booked Earnings Explained in a Nutshell
- Income Statements: Free Template and Example
- Examples of Multiple-Step Income Statements
Make Future Plans and Projections by Analyzing Accounting Data
Financial statements basically provide financial data used for making future plans and projections in which different formats are used to allow for better analysis. Simplify the process by utilizing the different types of statement presentations featured in the articles enumerated below:
- Free Financial Planning Templates for Your Small Business
- Developing a Sales Forecast in Excel
- Free Template: Forecast Your Cash Using This Form
- Why You Need Cash Flow Proformas
- Creating a Pro Forma Income Statement in Excel for a Small Business
- Horizontal & Vertical Financial Statement Analysis Templates
- Developing a Start-Up Cash Flow Projection
- Sample Budget Worksheet for a Small Business
Accounting Source Documents
All information used for formulating accounting entries are usually derived from source documents, which may be issued from within or by external sources. Completeness of data makes accounting records comprehensive and highly usable; thus, designing and creating one’s own business forms is definitely an advantage to explore.
To complete this collection of templates and sample forms, articles that provide tutorials on how to create cost-free business forms and accounting source documents have been rounded-up especially for start-up entrepreneurs and small businesses:
- Need to Give a Cash Receipt? Use One of These Free Forms Using Word for Invoice Creation
- Standard Receipt Template: Free Download
- Sample Bill of Sale Forms & Templates
- Charitable Donations Receipts
- Need to Print a Pay Stub? Use One of These Free Templates
- Sample of a Promissory Note Template with Free Download
- Advice for Obtaining a Simple Payment Plan Agreement
- Sample Letters for Collecting Accounts Receivables
- Free Business Budget Templates
References
- Image of Accounts Receivable subsidiary ledger created by Ciel S. Cantoria
- Image of Cash Receipt created by Trisha Goss
- Based on author’s experience in providing accounting services to small and medium sized businesses as a freelance accoutant. .
- Image of Chart of Accounts created by Ronda Levine