January 23, 2004

To CPA or not to CPA....

That is the question....Blast! just as I thought that things were going wonderfully, we start to have "accounting trouble"...I am not a numbers person. Well, I do like to have my inventory straight and I balance my checkbook, but financial statements and all that... Bother...So we ask a friend of ours who is an accountant to do our books... Yes...Great. WRONG!!!

First this is my first year to do anything. So we need everything to be right. I have carefully documented everything, cost of sale and cost of goods, I keep a tight checkbook, and save all receipts and log them in a monthly log... I didn't give anyone the proverbial shoebox of stuff and say "Here! Fix this!"

So how can he be off when all he had to do was add up the sales to pay the blessed General Excise Tax? You just add up the tickets. No he was $8000.00 over, then when confronted, re added and was $2300.00 short. Have him do my profit and loss and other financial statements...No thank you.

So called Kathy Hammes, my mentor at the Small Business Development Network, screaming "Help me Help me!!!" . She gave me a name and I called the lady. Jennifer seems like a good sort. comunicative for a numbers lady and that is good. We decided that warm fuzzies are just as important as the accuracy... After all this is Hawaii. Gotta have Aloha!

My bookeeping is semi automated. I have sales invoices that are compliant with the Kimberly Process and the Patriot Act I, I fill them out by hand. on the reverse I figure out the cost of sale right down to the tissue used in the gift wrapping and the bag... as well as the cost of goods for the actual Item. My inventory is perpetual and I have it to the penny so that is ok, Jennifer seemed comfortable with that.

will keep the blog informed...We had a real blow today on the job front with Woody, a promised 6 week job that he was set to start was pulled off the table by a underling today without the knowledge of superiors. Very embarrassing for them. So glad that Woody went instead of me. I would have verbally ripped that chicks face off. I was furious. Woody has canceled two months of computer classes, and we have both turned down offers for work so that we could honor our word to these people. The HR lady that hired us says that the situation will be resolved in the morning. It better be with an apology to Woody and more money... He didn't need that.

There is something about this island. No one wants to pay anything to anyone. No wonder everyone is so poor. I should be getting 10-12 bucks per hour for the doctors job and today the temp service called Woody for a long term job that he has to interview for, managing a storage place they only want to pay 7.00 for...I made more babysitting. Its terrible. A grown man with 30 years of work under his belt. Its really wrong. People should be ashamed of themselves.

Its little wonder kids turn to ICE...they have no hope

I had so many people say to me "Gee, you have great qualifications but the job still pays 6.25 per hour.." Remember when you were an kid and they said they would pay for experience now I have it a still nothing... I am frustrated and sad. We wont make it at this rate.

I am thankful to perhaps have found a CPA. I didnt think that I would at this point in the year.. The busiest time. Thank you God for Small Business Development Network...for Kathy and her making me have a cash flow spread sheet that showed us the fatal errors of the previous bookkeeper.

I know that Woody will find work... Its a matter of time.

We are into our longest contiuous period where we have had a sale every day. A miracle thank you God....

Help me to cultivate a heart of Gratitude