Electric Mid&Hi Fired Ceramics
Accounting 101 for Ceramic Artists
This documents the materials and classwork that was covered for basic bookkeeping that began in March and concluded at the beginning of May, 2012.
Through a combination of working through online tutorials, doing some excercises based on a fictitious potter's business, and subscribing to the free online accounting system at WaveAccounting.com, we learned together how to set up and maintain meaningful records of our businesses that are up to date, rather than finding out how we did at tax time. Balance sheets, profit and loss reports, accounts due and receivable do not come from the papers in a shoebox accounting system.
This was a peer-led group study effort.
The class can be repeated in the future if there is sufficient demand, and we expect to have more sophisticated tools for real time conferencing. An experienced instructor would be welcome to take over a future class.
Minimum number of students - 6
Maximum number of students - 12
Anticipated duration - 6 weeks
Anticipated start date - Undetermined
Required time commitment - 3-8 hours per week
Communications method - Private group discussion on the Cone6pots network and scheduled 90 minute Web conferences once a week.
Post comments and questions here.
Sign up by requesting to join this Group.
This is a fixed duration, class style study group covering basic accounting concepts and setting up our businesses on the online accounting system at WaveAccounting.com.
Participants are urged to check in and read all postings for this group at least 3 times per week.
There will be a $40 registration fee for the class. Those who complete the class with 70% or better participation will get a $20 refund or credit toward their next class.
Week 1 Tutorials and Activities.
Part 1 The main tutorials for the basic accounting portion of the class are at
http://www.dwmbeancounter.com/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=13
FYI - About the quizzes and tests that accompany the tutorials.
- The bookkeeping and accounting quizzes and games require Adobe's Free Macromedia Flash Player which is normally already installed on your computer.
Get Adobe's Free Flash Player. - The Skill Tests require Javascript to be enabled in your browser. Most computers also already have this feature enabled.
Task 1 - The page linked above is the Introduction chapter (our first lesson) and has tabs that link to additional lessons.
After you have completed reading the Introduction, take the 3 quizzes at the bottom of the page. You can retake them until you get 100%.
Task 2 - Complete Lesson 1, and take the 6 quizzes that are linked at the bottom of the lesson.
Task 3 - Complete Lesson 2, and take the 2 skills tests that are linked at the bottom of the lesson.
____________________________________________________________________
Part 2
Week 1 Group Exercise. The exercise is posted as a reply to this discussion topic below. Other replies might push it off page 1, so you might have to go to a second page.
June Kinsinger
George, on your building expense wouldn't you use 20% of the balance...never mind, i see what I have done. Other than that, ours is the same. june
Mar 18, 2012
George Lewter
Week 1 Chat Session transcript - Sunday 12pm EDT
* June Kinsinger George, I am here but very sick n don't know how long I will be able
to last...just FYI, thanks June
* 11:57 AM Me OK, we are just here to see if there are questions and what is on
everyones' mind.
* Beverly Beu Haas
Am I in the right spot for class?
* Me
Hi Bev
* Troy Bungart
I am here
* Me
Troy! Not so hard, is it?
* Beverly Beu Haas
Hi George and Troy!
* Troy Bungart
No, not to bad, I think I can get the hang of it!
* Me
I need a couple of minutes to convert my worksheet to a picture and post it.
* Beverly Beu Haas
Sounds good...
* Sharon Ivy
Just saying Hi to all of you. Take your time, George, I'm just now working through
mine!
* Beverly Beu Haas
Hurry Sharon! ;-)
* 12:07 PM
* Sharon Ivy
Boogity-boogity!
* Wes Stack
Am I in?
* Wes Stack
Guess I figured out how to comment. Intro and Lesson 1 were like first days in a
foreign language class. Lesson 2 very helpful.
* Me
June is having trouble finding this channel
* Beverly Beu Haas
I'll know if I got it when I see the answers to the balance sheet--hope that's the
right term...
* Me
june, are you here?
* Troy Bungart
I know that I need to read the first lessons again and get it firmly planted in my
head.
* Beverly Beu Haas
I was trying to answer June's questions on the discussion board but couldn't get my
message to send over there...
* 12:14 PM
* Me
Ok, My worksheet is posted as a reply to the Week 1 Lesson discussion topic.
* 12:18 PM
* Me
If you are looking at the discussion you have to refresh the page frequently to see the
latest replies.
* discussion forurm page, that is -- Chat refreshes itself automatically.
* 12:22 PM
* Beverly Beu Haas
George, I put down $2,700 for kiln asset on the left. Everything else matches up.
* Troy Bungart
okay like everything else in life, I almost got it right. in transaction 1 on your
sheet does not add up. am I missing something.
* Me
I goofed KILN WAS $2700 NOT $1700
* Sharon Ivy
George, the worksheet actually MAKES SENSE to me! Like Troy, though, I need to go back
and re-read the beginning lessons. They'll make more sense now.
* Wes Stack
I'm fine on the worksheet. Am still having problems with chat. How to I identify
myself?
* Troy Bungart
you just did Wes.
* Kiln is a $2700 asset
a $2000 liability
and a $700 capital - owners equity item
* Troy Bungart
I got it, thanks
* 12:30 PM
* Beverly Beu Haas
George, even though transaction 1 is off, all the numbers below add up to the match the
corrected numbers, right?
* 12:32 PM
* Me
Yes, It looks like my 1700 kiln Item was just a typo - I need to pull up my calculator.
* 12:35 PM
* Me
Corrected asset column still adds to 41,250
* Beverly Beu Haas
Looks good to me!
* Why is the first transaction listed as "A?"
* Me
Because I added that item after the others were numbered!
* It should have been Number 1
* 12:39 PM
* Me
June still seems out of our sphere anyone talking to her
So this exercise is making a little sense to everyone?
Any questions?
* Wes Stack
Yes, am sure it will get complicated fast with future transactions!
* Troy Bungart
I can't believe that I actually got it!
* Beverly Beu Haas
George, I'm trying to send a message to her on her discussion board (where she posted a
couple of messages 39 and 40 minutes ago, but I don't know how to get them to send.
* Me
Hit the reply link to open an edit window. Type your content, and hit Add Reply in the
lower right corner. It may be hidden by this chat window. You can change the height of
the chat window. And you can scroll the page up and down
* Troy Bungart
I can't believe that I actually got it!
* Beverly Beu Haas
Nevermind, I just had to scroll up to send the message to June, but I don't know when
she'll get it since it gives you 15 minutes to edit it...
* Yay Troy! Me, too ;-) Feels good doesn't it?
* Troy Bungart
I have a big delay in my satelite
* Beverly Beu Haas
George, now I see how the first transaction was listed as "A." Duh.
* Beverly Beu Haas
George, do you know if businesses use spread sheets like this?
* Me
We'll come back to this question.
* Troy Bungart
I did my work on a printed piece of paper. Are you saying there is a way to do the
entries on line?
(no answer)
* Me
* Alright let's try an introductory business transaction.
Joe sells $400 worth of pottery to the Eye See Gallery, giving them 45 days to pay. How
do we enter that.
* Wes Stack
$400 to Assets;$400 to Revenues?
* 12:50 PM
* Me
Anyone see it differently?
* 12:52 PM
* Me
What kind of asset is it?
* Beverly Beu Haas
Are you referring to transaction 1 where $700 is listed under Capital?
* Me
No, this is the $400 credit sale we just introduced
* 12:55 PM
* Beverly Beu Haas
I think I'm missing a lot of the messages...
* Me
Joe sells $400 worth of pottery to the Eye See Gallery giving them 45 days to pay. How
do we enter that
* Anyone else feel like they are missing messages?
* Bev just disconnected.
* Troy Bungart
no
* Wes Stack
I think I've received all of them.
* 1:00 PM
* Me
I'll paste this stream into the discussion page when we're done.
Back to the question -- the asset is an account receivable.
* Me
Moving into the future 21 days Joe gets a check from Eye See Gallery for $400 (his pots
are so great that they already sold them all!)
* How does Joe make this Entry into the Accounting equation?
* 1:05 PM
* Wes Stack
George, am not sure. If we are using the accrual method, haven't we already accounted
for this income?
* Me
Good question.
* Troy?
* I detect some lag with Troy -- He may not get these entries right away.
* Sharon Ivy
First as an Asset and Revenue because he still essentially owns his pots. Once the
gallery pays, it's an Asset and a Liability because he no longer has the pots. Am I
completely lost?
* Troy Bungart
I am not sure what type of asset it is but there must be a way to mark the difference
between being owed the money and later receiving it.
* Me
Joe had an account receivable type of asset.
* Then he got the Cash, another type of asset
(Following Added after chat ended)
day 1 delivered pots and invoice -- Assets +$400 receivable, Revenue +$400
day 21 receives check -- Assets +$400, Assets receivable -$400
* Troy Bungart
that makes sense.
* Wes Stack
It does make sense, but how is it reflected in the Accounting equation?
* Me
So he had to debit his Cash and credit his Accounts Receivable --- All in the assets
column
This leads us to realize we need to have more categories and accounts, but they all
still must fit under the umbrella of the Accounting equation.
* 1:15 PM
* Troy Bungart
Okay, that would be a different form than I have in front of me. It makes sense.
* Wes Stack
Are you taking us into Lesson 3 George?
* Me
Preparing the way to move forward :-)
* Wes Stack
Thanks. Will be alert for those trick questions in the future.
* Me
In answer to Bev's much earlier question, The accounting equation underlies everything,
but is not helpful as a worksheet to use every day.
Any other questions on what's been covered so far in the tutorials?
* Wes Stack
No, where will next weeks tasks be posted?
* Troy Bungart
no, thanks for all the help George
* Me
Let's try to get through the next 5 lessons
* Wes Stack
Will do. Thanks George. Signing off.
* Me
I'll post them as Week 2
* Sharon Ivy
Sounds good! Thanks!
* Troy Bungart
Okay, that sounds good. I'm gone.
* Me
Good bye, all.
Mar 18, 2012
Beverly Beu Haas
Hi George and All, Sorry I got disconnected and could not get back in for some reason. In reading the thread above, I stopped getting George's messages when he first introduced the business transaction that amounted to $400. Troy said he was experiencing satellite delays about that time, too. Oh well, at least I could read what you guys did after that. Did anyone hear from June? A big thanks to her for constructing the initial problem. I look forward to working out more transactions. Thanks George for answering my earlier question, too! See everybody next week!
Mar 19, 2012