The California FarmLink Bookkeeping Learning Center has been under development in different forms for more than a decade. We are so excited to finally put all of these resources together in one place and make them available to everyone.
One of the most common goals people set for themselves when they complete the Resilerator™ program is to adopt a proper bookkeeping system or to undertake a significant clean up of an existing system. Unfortunately the thing about bookkeeping is that the set up and the clean up really is the hardest part. Once you get that part done, the rest is easy. Think designing and building a house versus keeping it clean and well maintained.
For the past several years FarmLink has been teaching a “train the trainer” course for bookkeepers, lenders, and other farm business advisers. What we hear every time in that course is that it is very difficult to find a bookkeeper who already has deep agricultural knowledge, and that there are a lot of bookkeepers who would like to learn more about the things that make farm and ranch bookkeeping (and taxation - they are always related) different from other types of business bookkeeping and taxation.
We compiled and updated existing resources, and created many new resources and brought them together in the California FarmLink Bookkeeping Learning Center. The resources are intended for trained bookkeepers who want to learn about best practices for farm and ranch books, and for farmers and ranchers who are committed to deep engagement with their bookkeeping.
Most of the resources will be useful no matter which bookkeeping program you use, but there are numerous videos with specific step-by-step instructions for QuickBooks® Online.
The centerpiece of the Learning Center is the California FarmLink Model Chart of Accounts. This resource actually has several variants so you can pick the one best suited to your business. There are links to files you can download and then upload directly into Quickbooks Online - but be sure to read the instructions first because the upload will not work if you have already started using the default Quickbooks chart of accounts.
You will also find links to videos and written materials that explain basic and more advanced bookkeeping and accounting concepts in terms that are relevant to what you need to know to manage your farm or ranch business.
From the Bookkeeping Learning Center you can easily navigate to FarmLink’s five other Learning Centers:
Business Basics Learning Center
This Learning Center includes resources for people who are thinking about creating a new business, and for people who have already started a business but have not yet researched required and recommended business management practices.
Business Planning Learning Center
This Learning Center is for established businesses that want to evaluate and strengthen their operations as well as for people thinking about starting a new business.
Disaster Planning & Recovery Learning Center
Resources in this Learning Center will help users evaluate aspects of their business to strengthen, select the most effective risk management strategies, and prepare to be able to recover from disaster as quickly and effectively.
This Learning Center includes beginning, intermediate and advanced resources. The beginning resources are important for first-time self-employed farmers and ranchers. The intermediate and advanced resources are for farmers, ranchers, and tax preparers with specific questions about agricultural taxation.
This Learning Center contains supplemental materials referenced in the other FarmLink Learning Centers. The best way to get here is from one of the other Learning Centers, but it can also be used like an encyclopedia of business management concepts and tools.
