Month: January 2013

A Look at Basic Accounting Principles




Accounting has been defined by Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan William A Paton as having one basic function: “facilitating the administration of economic activity. This function has two closely related phases.” The first, according to professor Patton, is: Measuring and arraying economic data; and the second is: Communicating the results of this process to interested parties.”

As an example, a company’s accountants periodically measure the profit and loss for a month, a quarter or a fiscal year and publish these results in a statement of profit and loss that is called an income statement. These statements include elements such as accounts receivable, (what is owed to the company) and accounts payable (what the company owes).

It can also get more detailed and complicated with subjects like retained earnings and accelerated depreciation. This is at the higher levels of accounting as well as in the organization. Much of accounting though, is also concerned with basic bookkeeping. This is the process that records every transaction, including every bill paid, every dime owed, every dollar and cent spent and all accumulated factors.

But the owners of the company – which can be individual owners or millions of shareholders – are most concerned with the summaries of these transactions that are contained in the financial statement. The financial statement summarizes a company’s assets. A value of an asset is what it cost when it was first acquired. The financial statement also records what the sources of the assets were.

Some assets are in the form of loans that have to be paid back. Profits are also an asset of the business. In what is called double-entry bookkeeping, the liabilities are also summarized. Obviously, a company wants to show a higher amount of assets to offset the liabilities and show a profit. The management of these two elements is the essence of accounting.

There is a system for doing this; not every company or individual can devise their own systems for accounting; the result would be chaos!

The Accounting Capacity of Quasar Software


Accounting has become more and more complex as have the businesses that use accounting functions. Fortunately, there are several excellent software packages that can help you manage this important function. Quasar is one such package. All versions of Quasar offer comprehensive inventory controls. In its most basic use, the inventory module allows a business owner to track the locations and quantities of all inventory items.

Additionally, the inventory capabilities go beyond simple record-keeping. Manufacturers and wholesalers can assemble kits using component items; whenever a kit is assembled, the inventory representing its component items are adjusted accordingly. Items can be grouped into various categories and the groups can be nested many levels deep. Vendor purchase orders can be generated for items with quantities below a preset level.

Costs and selling prices for items can be set and discounted in a myriad of different ways. Finally, these items can be reported upon to show such things as profits, margins, and sales per item. Sales and purchases are another strength of Quasar. Customer quotes can be easily converted to invoices to be paid. Promotions can be created and discounts can be given based on date, customer, or store location.

Also with the capacity of Quasar software, margins can be reported upon for traits such as individual items, individual customers, or an individual salesperson. Likewise, a purchase order can be created and converted to a vendor invoice, which can be paid in a number of different ways, including printing a check. Quasar can keep track of miscellaneous fees such as container deposits, freight charges, and franchise fees.

The intelligent design of Quasar’s user interface allows for quick and easy data entry. Some programs you may encounter are not optimized for keyboard use. These programs require you to move your hand to the mouse to select frequently needed options. While some of Quasar’s menu options are only mouse-accessible, the bulk of Quasar’s user interface is designed in such a way that you can keep your hands on the keyboard by using special shortcuts. This allows for faster data entry, which can save time (and therefore money) in the long run.