A love for paperwork is pretty rare among farriers, but recognizing its importance in keeping a hoof-care business profitable isn’t.

You’re probably already familiar with the phrase, “No hoof, no horse.” Well, here’s another one for you: “No records, no profit.”

Buck O’Neil, a farrier from Horse Shoe, N.C. (near Asheville), holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in tax preparation. He has worked as a certified public accountant. He gets frustrated with farriers who don’t understand that they are not just farriers, but also business owners.

“This isn’t just guys starting out,” he says. “I’ve talked with very experienced shoers about the importance of keeping good records and understanding costs and expenses and they say they’re just too busy to worry about it. Too busy to spend 15 minutes doing something they would really benefit from.”

As someone just starting as a farrier, you may think it’s not vital for you to keep accurate records right away. Don’t fall into that trap. Now is the time to establish a good record-keeping foundation. You can start with a relatively simple method and improve it as your business grows.

Start Right

O’Neil says many farriers set up their pricing and bookkeeping backward. They decide what to charge to shoe or trim a horse based on what other farriers are charging and what they think the market will bear.

While these factors need to be considered, O’Neil says the first step should be to draw up a business plan based on how much you realistically need to support you and your family. 

“Good records and the ability to summarize and analyze them are the key to good management. And good management is what makes profitable business decisions,” he says.

You probably won’t make a lot of money in your first year, but keeping track of your income and expenses for that year will help you establish a baseline. In following years, that baseline will help you determine if your business is growing and at what rate. If it isn’t, that tells you changes are needed.  

The Minimum

So what kind of records should you keep? These are the minimums that experienced successful hoof-care professionals agree on.

• Client Information: Names, addresses, phone number (home, work and cell numbers from those that have them). Ask for email addresses as well.
• Horse Information: List horses by names and owners. Keep track of past and upcoming appointments. Make note of what kind of work the horse does, how it is shod, shoe size and anything else the horse requires. Check these against your inventory before appointments. Be extensive in your notes. Remember, you’ll only see a horse every 8 weeks or so. Your notes are your reminders. Include things such as the owner’s preferred veterinarian.
• Income: List by client. Include the money you have been paid and what you are owed. Record dates when you are paid and of any times you reminded a client about an outstanding bill.
• Expenses: Itemize how much you have spent on each shoeing job. That not only lets you leave each client a detailed bill, it will help you understand what you spent on each horse. That’s a key to understanding your overall costs. Keep track of shoes, nails, pads, and any other items (such as hoof packing) or procedures (such as drilling and tapping shoes for studs). Besides keeping track of expenses per horse, you need to track your overall business expenses. That includes tools, equipment, fuel for your rig, propane for your forge and even the forms or software you purchase to do your recordkeeping.

Methods For Recordkeeping

One you understand the type of information you need, it’s time to decide how you are actually going to do your recordkeeping. Options include paper and pen or pencil, computerized recordkeeping, specialized farrier software and working with a bookkeeping professional.

Paper Records

Don’t leave a barn without doing your paperwork. Be sure to itemize all the hoof-care work you did on each horse, while it’s still fresh in your mind. That’s one of the first steps in keeping accurate records, whether you use paper forms, or enter the data into a computer or a smart phone.

There’s nothing wrong with keeping paper records. It’s worked for hundreds of years. But you need to do it right. You can get everything you need to get started with a trip to an office supply store. These should include:

• An Indexed Address Book. Here you will enter and update information regarding clients and horses.
• Invoice Pads. These are what you will use to bill your clients. Spend a little more and buy the type that includes carbon copies. That way you’ll be sure of having a copy for you records. It also makes sense to spend a little more (possibly at a small print shop) and get invoices printed that include your name, address and phone number. That saves you the time of writing it out by hand for each bill — or forgetting to include the information, which could result in a client not paying you. 
• Ledger Or Record Books. This is where you will enter all your bills as well as your receipts for expenses — particularly deductible ones. Office supply stores sell many different types of ledgers and forms. Many farriers find it most convenient to buy 3-ring binders they can add additional sheets to as needed.
• A Filing System: This is where you’ll store invoices. Indexed file folders will work for this. You can file your copies of the invoices alphabetically. Get a second one for your receipts. You’re going to need these for tax purposes and to judge the health of your business.

Modern Options

While there’s nothing wrong with paper records, computers with record-keeping software offer clear advantages. Specialized farrier software offers even more.

Computerized records make it easier to sort data and to generate reports that can keep you informed about the health of your business. Recent rapid advances in smart phone and tablet technology have made it even easier to use these programs at the barns where the actual hoof care takes place.

With proper backup, you can be sure of not misplacing an invoice. Computer recordkeeping also gives you the option of billing clients by email and quickly calling up any record if there are questions.

These specialized packages also let you handle scheduling, billing recordkeeping and most other aspects of your business in one place, as well as allowing you to store notes and photos regarding a particular horse’s care.

Computerized recordkeeping also makes it easier for you to accept payment through credit cards, or to use services and devices such as PayPal or the Square to improve your cash flow. 

Ambrit Software Farriers Manager (www.ambritsoftware.com): Ambrit has designed a number of software packages for equine professionals. Farriers Manager is segmented into “topic buckets,” including accounts, appointments, clients, contacts, horses, items and reports.

Ambrit touts the integration between its desktop and mobile software. That means you can make data entries on a mobile device right next to the horse, which syncs with the desktop software over the Internet.

Farriers Manager runs on both Windows and Mac operating systems. Farriers Manager Mobile, a cloud-based system, is also available. It also offers Barefoot Manager, as well as Equine Lameness Prevention Organization add-ons for its professional-level versions of its software at no additional cost. 

Backroads Data iForgeAhead (www.iforgeahead.com): Backroads Data first began marketing farrier-specific systems in 1999. The company’s newest version, iForgeAhead was developed as a complete system to handle all aspects of a hoof-care practice.

The software runs on any devices, including PCs, Macs, smart phones and tablets. It also has an iFA Remote App. This app can be installed on a smart phone, tablet or other mobile device. It lets you make data entries, even if you are in a barn where you don’t have an Internet connection.

RJRain’s Masterlist Manager: This is a Mac-only client-based scheduling utility designed for farriers.

Julie Schwalm of Backroads Data notes that using professional software makes an impression on clients.

“Users of our software constantly mention the intangible, but very important message that is sent to their customers who see them using the system and receive invoices or receipts from it,” says Schwalm. “The message is that this is a professional business, run by a skilled farrier who keeps organized records and cares about my horse. It contributes to a farrier’s brand — which is very important when getting started.”

Hiring A Bookkeeper: Another option is to hire a professional to do the bookwork for you. This works well for many farriers, but usually makes more sense when you have more income.

A professional knows the field and can do the job in a fraction of the time that a beginner would. They also are likely to be knowledgeable about what kind of records will be needed for tax purposes. (Even farriers who keep 

their own books usually consult with professionals at tax time.)

It will still be your responsibility to provide the bookkeeper with the invoices, receipts and records they need to keep accurate records.

It also makes sense to meet with an accountant or tax professional when starting your hoof-care business. A professional can tell you about the rules and regulations you have to comply with. There’s nothing worse than finding out you have a big tax liability and not enough money on hand to cover it.

Find What Works Best For You

As you are starting out, it’s important to find a system that works for you. It may seem like an overwhelming job, but don’t be daunted. Talk with more experienced hoof-care professionals and find out what they recommend. Schedule a meeting with an accountant so that you’ll be sure to cover the basics.

Check out free resources such as the federal government’s Small Business Administration website (www.sba.gov).

Most importantly, make a commitment to keeping your books current.  Get in the habit of entering the data after every horse, or at least after every stop. Schedule regular reviews of your books and bookkeeping methods.

Good bookkeeping alone won’t make your business profitable. But poor recordkeeping has been the cause of demise for more than a few hoof-care businesses. Don’t let yours be one of them.