How to balance your check book and track bills
(I do not have a degree in accounting and quite frankly, I’m bad with numbers…but here it goes)
First, you choose what to spend your money on, let’s say a repair of some type on household appliance or something similar.
Second, you select a vendor who in turn provides you with a price. It is common for a vendor to provide a written proposal or bid, which shows the scope of work to be done and the costs involved.
Next you look and see if you actually have the money to pay for the repair and decide to move forward, accepting the terms of the vendors bid.
Vendor does your work and when complete, submits to you an invoice for payment. This way you know exactly how much to pay the vendor and you have satisfied your debt owed to said vendor.
This invoice is used for both the vendor and the customer, to show the work and the costs associated with it. It also is normally kept by a smart customer that document on the invoice the date and check number that the payment was made with (for accounting purposes). A receipt is also usually issued to a customer from the vendor, showing payment for work completed. Everyone is happy, services rendered, services paid.
The vendor receives the payment and would make record of the payment having been received for their in house accounting purposes. If only partial payment is received, then what’s called a “balance” is remaining and a subsequent invoice may be sent, or a late payment notice, to the customer, “reminding” them of the remaining amount due.
From this example, in a normal day to day business transaction, there are several checks and balances that document (track) money owed and money paid. In the home repair scenario, you have a homeowner and a vendor. The vendor usually works for the “boss” who is the owner of the company or they may have a “highly qualified CPA type” the handles the books (accounts payable and receivable) for them. The higher qualified CPA type, the better. A government CPA type is usually best…
The point here is that a process for the accounting of debits and credits, money owed and money paid, etc., exists in each of our homes and local businesses. The daily transactions we deal with probably range from $10 to $1000, depending on your household income and needs. You surely have used such a system before.
If you and I can do this, why can’t this also be done when Walton County deals with $800,000.00 (almost one million) of tax payer dollars? Who was the finance director at the time the money was unaccounted for?
(I do not have a degree in accounting and quite frankly, I’m bad with numbers…but here it goes)
First, you choose what to spend your money on, let’s say a repair of some type on household appliance or something similar.
Second, you select a vendor who in turn provides you with a price. It is common for a vendor to provide a written proposal or bid, which shows the scope of work to be done and the costs involved.
Next you look and see if you actually have the money to pay for the repair and decide to move forward, accepting the terms of the vendors bid.
Vendor does your work and when complete, submits to you an invoice for payment. This way you know exactly how much to pay the vendor and you have satisfied your debt owed to said vendor.
This invoice is used for both the vendor and the customer, to show the work and the costs associated with it. It also is normally kept by a smart customer that document on the invoice the date and check number that the payment was made with (for accounting purposes). A receipt is also usually issued to a customer from the vendor, showing payment for work completed. Everyone is happy, services rendered, services paid.
The vendor receives the payment and would make record of the payment having been received for their in house accounting purposes. If only partial payment is received, then what’s called a “balance” is remaining and a subsequent invoice may be sent, or a late payment notice, to the customer, “reminding” them of the remaining amount due.
From this example, in a normal day to day business transaction, there are several checks and balances that document (track) money owed and money paid. In the home repair scenario, you have a homeowner and a vendor. The vendor usually works for the “boss” who is the owner of the company or they may have a “highly qualified CPA type” the handles the books (accounts payable and receivable) for them. The higher qualified CPA type, the better. A government CPA type is usually best…
The point here is that a process for the accounting of debits and credits, money owed and money paid, etc., exists in each of our homes and local businesses. The daily transactions we deal with probably range from $10 to $1000, depending on your household income and needs. You surely have used such a system before.
If you and I can do this, why can’t this also be done when Walton County deals with $800,000.00 (almost one million) of tax payer dollars? Who was the finance director at the time the money was unaccounted for?