Luckily, there are certified public accountants and “idiot-proof” software to help.

“Clean up your act and you can do a better job,” advises Susan Joyce, an accountant with Cox and Lucy in Port Orchard.

How easy a company’s accounting is depends on the industry. In retail business there is a varied inventory and it changes everyday.

“That’s a lot of work, a lot of volume,” Joyce said. “From my perspective it’s what takes the most time. … We have plenty of work so we’re all for making it quick and more streamlined for people.”

In recent years, realizing the benefits of such programs as MYOB’s Accounting Plus 11 ($198, single user), Peachtree Accounting 2002 ($140) and Data Pro’s Infinity Power $249), the business world has become more computer savvy.

There are few nowadays who persevere with a pad and a pencil, said Todd Eggers, a CPA with Southard, Beckham, Atwater and Berry. Eggers teaches a Quickbooks class for clients, which is the recommended software of many accountants when working with smaller companies.

“When you start dealing with more than 20 to 30 employees it bogs down,” he said. “They’ve come out with Quickbooks Enterprise to handle greater numbers.”

Quickbooks ($179 for the basic version) can tackle almost any kind of small business, though it’s features for tracking inventory are weak, Eggers said. Industries such as car repair shops and grocery stores also have specialized software such as Daily Books for Service Stations from RKOM.

“It [Quickbooks] is cheap, provides check registers and daily sheets,” Joyce said, illustrating a few of the features available. “It’s not for people who don’t understand bookkeeping, because it’s a double-entry system.”

Eggers agrees. “It has a lot of tools and generates a lot of reports and can handle a lot of data,” he said. “But it’s only as good as what goes in.”

One common, Eggers said, is not following the specific way to put in payroll liabilities.

“If you go and write a check without going through the right process it can mess you up,” he said. “Deductions appears in the wrong place.”

Which is why he teaches the class, to get his clients on the same level.

“The benefit of someone knowing how to do some of their basic accounting is that we do less fixing for them,” he said. “We can do more general consulting that makes them money instead.”

(Editor’s Note: Temple A. Stark is a free-lance writer living in Port Orchard. Reach him at writer@harbornet.com.).