It’s a safe bet that you didn’t enter this industry because you enjoy business. Few business tasks are less appealing, or as necessary, than bookkeeping.

Just as horseshoers have different styles and needs in their operations, accounting can be as simple or as complex as a person wants.

The Minimum

Before you figure out how to keep your records, you need to understand there is a minimum of which you need to document:

1. Client Information. This includes your clients’ names, addresses and phone numbers. Be sure to get home, cellular and work numbers from clients. If you use a computer, get their e-mail address, too.

2. Horse Information. Here you’ll list the horses, their owners, when the horses were last worked on and what they will need next time. The latter will be important for when you need to bring equipment on the barn call the next visit. Be detailed about what you did with each horse, as it will help you provide the client with a detailed bill. You may want to include other information here, such as the client’s preferred veterinarian.

3. Income. For each client, list the money you have made, as well as what you are still owed. Be sure to record the dates for when you notified the clients of any outstanding bills.

4. Expenses. Detail how much you have spent on each job and on what items. Account for everything from the nails driven to the shoes used to pads or any other extra item. It is important to be detailed on what you have done for each horse, as it will help you itemize what you spent per horse when trying to understand your overall costs.

Pen and Paper

With $50 and one trip to the office supply store, you can be in business.

To keep track of clients, an indexed address book is required. This allows you to add and remove clients so it doesn’t fill up with useless information.

Next, you will need invoice pads. You can buy these at local supply shops or print shops. Also, buy some carbon paper to make copies of the invoices for the clients who pay later. This way you have an exact record of what you left with them. That carbon copy is important for recordkeeping if there is a later question or dispute about the bill. When you write an invoice for someone who is going to pay while you are at the barn, a carbon copy is not necessary. Clients legally don’t hav eto pay you without a detailed invoice.

To store the carbon copies of the receivable invoices, buy an indexed folder with pockets labeled from A to Z. When payments come in, the carbons are removed. Periodically, go through the folder and see who has unpaid bills.

To track income, use two different books. First, you have the daily work sheet to tally each day’s income. Second, use the carbon copies from your deposit slips to tally your monthly income.

For tax purposes, it is very important to track all deductible expenses. The old reliable method of storing receipts in a shoebox will still suffice. When it is tax time, everything is sorted out and tabulated.

Make sure you retain a safe-keeping system to organize your collected information. For example, a three ring binder holding your paperwork should be safe. You may want to transfer complete data to another three-ring binder in your home office. I must keep this up-to-date and accurate for future reference.

Maintaining a daily to do list that also looks ahead to the following day. This will remind you of what you need to restock or special things to do for clients.

 

There are many options in billing and records, from the trusted pen and paper to modern methods that allow you to not only bill, but collect credit card payments before the groom gets the horse back in the stall.

Modern Options

The pace of technological developments can be dizzying at times. However, the ultimate advantages of incorporating some form of computer record keeping into your business can offset any learning curve, once you get the hang of the new system.

Having all your information in a computerized system also allows for efficient data sorting and report generation. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration website (www.sba.gov), most business owners, “... don’t realize that financial statements have a value that goes far beyond their use to prepare tax returns or loan applications.”

Being able to run and review computer-generated reports allows you to assess the current health and profitability of your business, make decisions about variables such as fees and supply inventories plus identify unpaid invoices for follow-up. Keeping computerized records also allows for easier sharing of information among those who need to know, whether they’re clients, consulting veterinarians or your long-suffering accountant.

Whether you decide on a desktop or laptop computer version or a mobile/smartphone version of software will depend on how you work, such as your need to access and input information on the road or at home and invoicing preferences.

You can always use a generic progam for accounting, but you should consider a farrier-specific program. Several record keeping options designed specifically for the farrier industry are AmBrit Software’s Farriers Manager; Backroads Data Forge Ahead and iForgeAhead; and RJRain’s MasterList Manager.

AmBrit Software’s Farriers Manager (www.ambritsoftware.com) has segmented their software into “topic buckets” such as accounts, appointments, clients, contacts, horses, items and reports. They’ve also developed a seamless integration between their desktop software and their mobile version, meaning multiple users can access data and input information at the same time via mobile devices, and that all information syncs up with the computer software through the Internet.

Farriers Manager runs on both Windows and Mac operating systems. The company recently introduced Farriers Manager Mobile, a cloud-based software program.

Backroads Data’s Forge Ahead (www.backroadsdata.com) is Windows-based, but with their new mobile iForgeAhead they’ve brought Apple options into the mix as well as smartphones and tablets. Organized into modules such as accounting/financial, contacts, horses and scheduling, the mobile version has automatic back-ups of data and allows multiple users, while the Forge Ahead version requires that users manage their own back-ups.

RJRain’s MasterList Manager is a Mac-only, client-based scheduling utility built especially for farriers.

Pay Someone To Do It

Another option is hiring a professional to do your bookwork. In the time it takes you to shoe a horse, you can pay someone and have the accounting job done better than what you would have probably done.

This makes more sense when you have more income. Plus, a professional will likely be more knowledgeable about tax law.

To find a competent accountant, ask other farriers in your area who they are using. Someone who is familiar with shoeing will easily recognize your business expenses.

There is nothing worse than the “coulda, woulda, shoulda” moment when you know you have screwed up.

Find a System That Works For You

One of the benefits of being an independent businessman is the ability to make decisions based solely on what you want to do. This applies to how we conduct our businesses and ourselves. It all comes down to making our own decisions that we think are correct.