#BEANCOUNTER CHART HOW TO#
#BEANCOUNTER CHART SOFTWARE#

#BEANCOUNTER CHART HOW TO#

I knew where the money went and how to make more of it. How about that? We made decisions based on the data. Turns out people pay much higher prices than you think they would. If that meant we would go out of business, so be it. We could see the problem: We weren’t charging enough. No more arguing about working hard enough or being good enough. We had the score and could make decisions based on the score. Once we had the data, so many of the emotional issues fell away. The best part: I finally figured out where we stood financially. I raised my nerd flag and to this day I wave it proudly. And it is fun to find and fix the glitch in your data entry. If you are “off” somewhere, it is probably you, not the computer or the software. Yes, fun! Accounting is like a crossword puzzle numbers add up and across. Once I committed, there were serendipitous moments of - fun. (Computers were more sensitive back then.) I once lost 11 months of data when a neighborhood kid stopped by to visit, stepped on the electrical extension strip and turned off the computer. I did whole months of data entry all wrong and had to undo and redo them.

#BEANCOUNTER CHART SOFTWARE#

I tackled my accounting software and labored over debits and credits. As I struggled along, Frank and my helpful accountant, Brenda, checked my homework. Once I committed, it took me about a year to develop a firm understanding of the accounting. I was ready - finally - to go over, under, around or through any obstacle between me and financial understanding. Hot Rod was doing his part - he worked from dawn until dusk turning wrenches. No one else was going to figure this out for me. When I finally got fed up with financial worries, I took a deep breath and said, “OK. However, we were running out, and digging a deep hole of debt.īut when the pain of the current condition becomes greater than the fear of change, you’ll change. That approach might have worked if we had lots of money. I just didn’t want to deal with the money. “I don’t have time to figure this out,” I whined.

“Shouldn’t our accountant handle this?” I fumed. I wanted so badly for a magical bean counter fairy to wave a wand and make millions of dollars appear in our checking account. I did not want to crunch numbers, look at spreadsheets or confront our financial situation. I’m grateful for Frank for telling me where my head was and offering to pull it out.īut, boy, I fought it. Thank goodness for PM magazine, where I met columnist Frank Blau. And I didn’t know my asset from my elbow. The BS really stood for my approach to business. I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in business administration.

I left my steady paycheck behind and assumed financial responsibility for a sinking-fast plumbing company. It was the dumbest decision I have ever made.

Beancounter chart