[Songman45]

Wellcome to the wonderful world of standard bookeeping practices. You may not have a lot of times where the payments for your products and services are spread out, so separate invoices, payments and receipts might seem to be unnecessary. For a lot of reasons businesses need a paper trail. Everyone in business is a supplier and a customer. There are some basic forms that are generally acceptable so that everyone in the chain can keep up. Most everyone in the chain exccept the retail seller has terms for payments (COD, net in 10, net 30, net 90) and they have a continuing relationship, like a restaurant who has a produce supplier. Maybe the restaurant is on net in 10 terms with the produce guy and he gets deliveries twice a week. It wouldn't take but a month until neither he or the produce supplier would have no idea what was due, what was on order, what was perhaps past-due, and what was paid for. To help make things simpler there is documentation with serialized numbers that tie everything together, one step at a time. The restaurant begins the process with a Purchase Order it's numbered and the produce guy ties that number, if not the whole doucment to the transaction. This is the form that gives the order legitmacy. Its paper proof that the restaurant officially ordered the produce; it wasn't phoned in by the cook who's having a cookout over the weekend and wants fix-ins for himself at the restaurant's expense.

When the goods are delivered an invoice may come with them and be signed off as an acceptance. If the items are delievered by an outside shipper, then a shipping ticket will be included. Accepting the shipment equates to acepting the goods as ordered. The shipping ticket or the invoice should list what actually was delievered, what was not and indicate if its coming later. The invoice is not a bill in and of itself. However a COD customer may pay from the invoice, adjusting it and scratching figures here and there. A signed copy of the invoice is returned to the produce company, any adjustments or payments are made to the account. Then the bill can go out. Essentially the bill includes what was ordered, what was shipped, what was accpeted. There will also be the current billing, any balance owed and the total due on the account.

In a lot of cases paymetns and billings go back and forth for years. So every step gets its own special piece of paper. Not the least important of these is the reciept or payment record. If the ball gets dropped at any point in the game there is documentation. The reciept pretty much closes a transaction.

Some businesses do such a volume of business they employee a clerk who deals with accounts receivables and another for payables. And why all the detail? There are a number of reasons to know from moment to moment what the finances are. Taxes might be filed quarterly and no one wants to pay more of those than are due; they don't want to be caught short changing the tax man either. Perhaps the company needs a loan and the banker wants to see the company's condition. Stockholders, partners or the guy's wife might want to know how the company is performing.

Your computer program works using the same standardized book keeping system that has been adopted and used for decades. This is a good thing. You may find yourself in a position where you have to present reports to a professional bean counter. Now you can look on paper just as well organized as any business running.

Your sales may all be straight forward COD with only a few payment types accepted and pretty simple to track; the receipts may serve only to tabulate your revenue from sales. But you may have suppliers like paper comapnies or ink suppliers who extend you terms. You never know when you may have clients to whom you extend terms. Make your book keeping complete and standard while you are small and as you grow your headaches will be fewer and less severe.

I hope there is something in all that babble that helps. I think there are some "Idiots Guides" and "For Dummies" books on both general book keeping and Quicken. Best of luck in your business ventures. I hope you make a lot of money and can realize your profits.

Steve