LINK TO: December 16, 2021 Workshop Recording
Join fellow farmers in an informative session of their transition from plenty of Excel spreadsheets to Quickbooks. Learn about setting up a chart of accounts, creating financial reports and statements, ease in filing taxes, and making sense of the financial health of your business.
Presenters:
Cian Dalzell is the farmer and co-owner of Three Maples Market Garden in far Western Massachusetts, as well as a consultant for farms and food businesses. His focus is on working with farms and food businesses to build robust and sustainable systems for both field and finances. His farm financial journey has gone from a shoebox to Excel to Quickbooks over the past decade.
Emily Round is owner of Grounded Flower Farm in Beverly, MA. Emily has been growing and designing flowers for over 8 years and operates a flower CSA program and wholesales direct to florists. She is a graduate of the Essex Agricultural and Technical High School and participates in the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project incubator farm program.
Additional Resources:
Spreadsheet Options
- Google Sheets – free, multiple users
- Open Office Sheets – free, open source
- Microsoft Excel – *gold standard in business* more complex functionality
Accounting Software Options
- GnuCash – free, open source, forums or support
- Xero – pay for play
- Intuit Quickbooks - *gold standard in integrated applications*
Support for Quickbooks setup and technical assistance in Massachusetts:
- CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) – upcoming class on getting up Quickbooks (cost=$50)
- MDAR (Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources) – if you get a grant with them, you often get technical assistance through their farm viability consultants
- Berkshire Agricultural Ventures – supports business assistance and low interest loans to farmers in Berkshires
- For outside of Massachusetts – reach out to Jennifer Hashley at New Entry for potential referrals
Other Resources
- Payroll: Gusto – set up business with payroll, benefits and HR
- Julia Shanks – The Farmers’ Office – she posts business plan templates and has resources for setting up Quickbooks and offers a Square integration video