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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Online Record Keeping
lovemykidstoo 08:34 AM 11-19-2014
Due to me losing my record book and ultimately finding it, I've learned a lesson. I need an online record system. Does anyone use one? I don't need to bill my parents or do my taxes online, I need your regular record keeping such as time in and outs, pay, expenses, mileage. Any recommendations?
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lovemykidstoo 10:51 AM 11-19-2014
Noone uses online record keeping?
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melilley 10:59 AM 11-19-2014
I have used Minute Menu Kids Pro and like it, but now do a spreadsheet on Microsoft Works (that's all we have) and record everything on there per request of my accountant. For some reason she doesn't like MMK's way of record keeping.
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butterfly 11:18 AM 11-19-2014
This is my first year using Minute menu Pro kids. It is so easy!! I can do my in/outs, keep track of my extra hours worked, record expenses and mileage, menus, basically everything to do with my business can all be done in MMPK. I love it! We'll see how my tax person likes it, but I like it so much! I know that my mileage number is going to be huge over last year, simply because it's so easy to actually track it now...


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Sunchimes 11:22 AM 11-19-2014
Melilly, you might want to switch your records to Open Office. I had Works too. Windows 8 dropped Works. It's a mess trying to use them if you get a new computer. I used zamzar.com to convert them to Open office files. It was free and goes really fast. I'm slowly but surely going back and changing years of files. Open office is free too.
Lovemykidstoo, I also use spreadsheets. It works well with me. I can come back tonight and tell you how I set it up if that would help. Too much to type on this tablet.
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melilley 11:47 AM 11-19-2014
Originally Posted by Sunchimes:
Melilly, you might want to switch your records to Open Office. I had Works too. Windows 8 dropped Works. It's a mess trying to use them if you get a new computer. I used zamzar.com to convert them to Open office files. It was free and goes really fast. I'm slowly but surely going back and changing years of files. Open office is free too.
Lovemykidstoo, I also use spreadsheets. It works well with me. I can come back tonight and tell you how I set it up if that would help. Too much to type on this tablet.
Thanks!
I'll have to look into that! I think I downloaded Open Office once, but I don't remember what happened with that....I'm so computer illiterate, it's not funny!
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melilley 11:48 AM 11-19-2014
Originally Posted by butterfly:
This is my first year using Minute menu Pro kids. It is so easy!! I can do my in/outs, keep track of my extra hours worked, record expenses and mileage, menus, basically everything to do with my business can all be done in MMPK. I love it! We'll see how my tax person likes it, but I like it so much! I know that my mileage number is going to be huge over last year, simply because it's so easy to actually track it now...

Yeah, I love MMKP, but last year I did everything on it and when I took it to my tax lady, she told me to do a spreadsheet instead, I have no idea why. Maybe because it's all right there instead of multiple pages.? Idk. It was my first year doing taxes.
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_Dana_ 01:32 PM 11-19-2014
Originally Posted by melilley:
I have used Minute Menu Kids Pro and like it, but now do a spreadsheet on Microsoft Works (that's all we have) and record everything on there per request of my accountant. For some reason she doesn't like MMK's way of record keeping.


My CPA LOVES that I use MMKP. She said it takes a lot of the work out of it for her and gives me a discount for doing it that way.
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Sunchimes 01:32 PM 11-19-2014
Originally Posted by melilley:
Thanks!
I'll have to look into that! I think I downloaded Open Office once, but I don't remember what happened with that....I'm so computer illiterate, it's not funny!
I'll be happy to walk you through converting if it would help.
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Unregistered 02:36 PM 11-19-2014
I use Excel spreadsheets. Open Office would work the same. Then for backup I upload to Google Drive - just to be sure I don't lose it all.
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melilley 11:12 AM 11-20-2014
Originally Posted by Sunchimes:
I'll be happy to walk you through converting if it would help.
Thanks! I may have to take you up on that offer soon! I'll try it first and if I can't figure it out, I'll see if you can help. Thanks again!
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earlystart 02:55 PM 11-20-2014
I use excel spreadsheets (you could use Open Office spreadsheets too) and I save everything to a cloud drive, so that it is always backed up online. There are many free options to choose from: Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, SpiderOak, SugarSync. It's just like a regular folder on your computer, but it automatically saves it to the internet, so you can go online and download the file if anything happened to your computer. You can also have it on multiple computers so that you always have a copy of your files on every computer you regularly use.
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Cradle2crayons 05:08 PM 11-20-2014
I use forms from a private page on my website... I can click time in and out... Money in And out etc.. And it automatically outs it on my spreadsheet
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lovemykidstoo 05:00 AM 11-21-2014
Sorry, I'm just able to get back on this thread. Let me take a look and I'll be back in a bit! Thanks!
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LadyK8 08:27 AM 11-21-2014
The Excel sheet idea is a a great one. Can anyone show an example of how they keep records in Microsoft/Open Office?
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lovemykidstoo 10:41 AM 11-21-2014
I'm really lost. I'm so computer illiterate. Has anyone used Forms Facts and Figures hard copy and then switched to an online? I wouldn't mind trying to use the MMKP, but it's like $70 a yr
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melilley 12:06 PM 11-21-2014
Originally Posted by lovemykidstoo:
I'm really lost. I'm so computer illiterate. Has anyone used Forms Facts and Figures hard copy and then switched to an online? I wouldn't mind trying to use the MMKP, but it's like $70 a yr
Are you on the food program?
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Sunchimes 12:06 PM 11-21-2014
Ladyk8, I'll be happy to post mine after dinner tonight.
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craftymissbeth 12:33 PM 11-21-2014
I love MMKP, but my tax lady last year didn't like it. She really disliked that MMK had already figured the T/S% of each of my deductions and only gave totals of categories after T/S% was figured. I guess her computer software needed the totals before T/S so she still had to go through and add everything up again.

I'm still going to use it, but I will just add everything up and write it down in each category so she doesn't have to do it.

OP, the cost of MMK is deductible
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melilley 01:25 PM 11-21-2014
Originally Posted by craftymissbeth:
I love MMKP, but my tax lady last year didn't like it. She really disliked that MMK had already figured the T/S% of each of my deductions and only gave totals of categories after T/S% was figured. I guess her computer software needed the totals before T/S so she still had to go through and add everything up again.

I'm still going to use it, but I will just add everything up and write it down in each category so she doesn't have to do it.

OP, the cost of MMK is deductible
My tax lady did the same thing.
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lovemykidstoo 08:46 AM 11-22-2014
Originally Posted by melilley:
Are you on the food program?
Yes I am.
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Sunchimes 02:16 PM 11-22-2014
Originally Posted by LadyK8:
The Excel sheet idea is a a great one. Can anyone show an example of how they keep records in Microsoft/Open Office?
Drat. I just spent over an hour working on this, and it won't let me upload my open office samples. Piddle. Well, I'll leave it and maybe you can make some sense of it without seeing an example. Sorry about that.

Ok, let me see if I can explain this in a sensible manner. I am NOT a bookkeeper, but I have been keeping books for my own businesses (not always daycare) since 1980. My tax person loves me and kept me as a client after she quit doing tax work since I was so organized. My technique, plus Tom's record keeping book, are a great team. I highly recommend Tom's Calendar Keeper. The only reason I went to this technique is because I live in an 1880's house in tornado alley. All of my thoughts center on preserving tax files in case of a disaster. The calendar is easy, but I didn't rest easy knowing my tax future was in a paper calendar.

I have a folder called Childcare_2014. Under that I have folders for sign in, after hours work, meals, income, and expenses. I have other folders for various things-each family has a folder to keep letters home, I have a folder for things from DFPS,

First-sign in. I only have 3 kids, so I made up a time sheet. I am not required to do time sheets, it's only for my own records. It looks like Sample A. I don't work on weekends, but I left those days in case something came up. With a new family, I have mom's initial it for a week or so, just to let them know I'm keeping up with the times. A sheet for this is also in Tom's calendar.

At the end of the week, I total the hours kids were here, write it on top, and scan it into a folder called Sign_in_2014. So, at the end of the year, I'll have 52 pages scanned into that folder. I keep the paper copies, but if there is ever a fire or tornado, I have these too. My computer is backed up on Carbonite. In the sign in folder, I also have a OO spreadsheet called weekly_hours_2014. (Notice everything has a year added to it. Keeps it simple a few years down the road. ) An example of weekly hours in Sample B.

The after hours folder is just scans of a printable monthly calendar from printfree.com where I scribble my after-hours times (cleaning, forum, etc.) Again, I keep the hard copies, this is just back up.

The meal folder is, again, scans of the paper monthly meal totals. I used the chart I got from Tom's calendar. http://www.redleafpress.org/assets/c...lForm_2014.pdf I have an OO spreadsheet called annual_meal_totals 2014. Sample C.

When someone pays, besides giving them a paper receipt, I enter the amount on Sample D. Each family has a column (B, C, D). It is set up to automatically re-calculate column E (income to date), and either column F, G, or H, depending on which family paid. At any given time, I can tell exactly how much I've made this year and how much each family paid.

Expenses are based on Tom's calendar. I found that I didn't need all of the columns, and again, that disaster neurosis, so I made my own sheet that suited my needs. Sample E. If I have a receipt that has several categories, ex, I bought a toy, some cleaning supplies, and some wet wipes, each category gets its own line. I just find that easier for me because I put the explanations on each line to remind me what I bought. If an item is for daycare use only, like a toy or wipes, I put an asterisk * next to the number. Then I can tell at a glance what is T/S and what is 100% daycare.

The only thing I don't scan and put online is my mileage book, and I should do that.

At the end of the year, I buy Tom's book, Family Child Care Tax Companion. The 2014 issue will go on sale in early January I think. I go through, pull out the numbers I need, plug them in where Tom's instructions indicate and give the book, along with the info that isn't related to child care (my husband also has a business), and I'm done. She plugs the numbers into her program, and that's it. Now and then, I will mess something up and her program kicks it back so she has to call me. I actually could probably get a tax program and do it myself, but even after 35 years of being in business, I still can't figure depreciation. I'll pay her just to avoid thinking about that. Her rates are very low because basically, my record keeping makes her job a piece of cake.

Sorry the upload didn't work. I'll try to find a work around if you need it. Just ask!
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LadyK8 12:21 AM 11-23-2014
Originally Posted by Sunchimes:
Drat. I just spent over an hour working on this, and it won't let me upload my open office samples. Piddle. Well, I'll leave it and maybe you can make some sense of it without seeing an example. Sorry about that.

Ok, let me see if I can explain this in a sensible manner. I am NOT a bookkeeper, but I have been keeping books for my own businesses (not always daycare) since 1980. My tax person loves me and kept me as a client after she quit doing tax work since I was so organized. My technique, plus Tom's record keeping book, are a great team. I highly recommend Tom's Calendar Keeper. The only reason I went to this technique is because I live in an 1880's house in tornado alley. All of my thoughts center on preserving tax files in case of a disaster. The calendar is easy, but I didn't rest easy knowing my tax future was in a paper calendar.

I have a folder called Childcare_2014. Under that I have folders for sign in, after hours work, meals, income, and expenses. I have other folders for various things-each family has a folder to keep letters home, I have a folder for things from DFPS,

First-sign in. I only have 3 kids, so I made up a time sheet. I am not required to do time sheets, it's only for my own records. It looks like Sample A. I don't work on weekends, but I left those days in case something came up. With a new family, I have mom's initial it for a week or so, just to let them know I'm keeping up with the times. A sheet for this is also in Tom's calendar.

At the end of the week, I total the hours kids were here, write it on top, and scan it into a folder called Sign_in_2014. So, at the end of the year, I'll have 52 pages scanned into that folder. I keep the paper copies, but if there is ever a fire or tornado, I have these too. My computer is backed up on Carbonite. In the sign in folder, I also have a OO spreadsheet called weekly_hours_2014. (Notice everything has a year added to it. Keeps it simple a few years down the road. ) An example of weekly hours in Sample B.

The after hours folder is just scans of a printable monthly calendar from printfree.com where I scribble my after-hours times (cleaning, forum, etc.) Again, I keep the hard copies, this is just back up.

The meal folder is, again, scans of the paper monthly meal totals. I used the chart I got from Tom's calendar. http://www.redleafpress.org/assets/c...lForm_2014.pdf I have an OO spreadsheet called annual_meal_totals 2014. Sample C.

When someone pays, besides giving them a paper receipt, I enter the amount on Sample D. Each family has a column (B, C, D). It is set up to automatically re-calculate column E (income to date), and either column F, G, or H, depending on which family paid. At any given time, I can tell exactly how much I've made this year and how much each family paid.

Expenses are based on Tom's calendar. I found that I didn't need all of the columns, and again, that disaster neurosis, so I made my own sheet that suited my needs. Sample E. If I have a receipt that has several categories, ex, I bought a toy, some cleaning supplies, and some wet wipes, each category gets its own line. I just find that easier for me because I put the explanations on each line to remind me what I bought. If an item is for daycare use only, like a toy or wipes, I put an asterisk * next to the number. Then I can tell at a glance what is T/S and what is 100% daycare.

The only thing I don't scan and put online is my mileage book, and I should do that.

At the end of the year, I buy Tom's book, Family Child Care Tax Companion. The 2014 issue will go on sale in early January I think. I go through, pull out the numbers I need, plug them in where Tom's instructions indicate and give the book, along with the info that isn't related to child care (my husband also has a business), and I'm done. She plugs the numbers into her program, and that's it. Now and then, I will mess something up and her program kicks it back so she has to call me. I actually could probably get a tax program and do it myself, but even after 35 years of being in business, I still can't figure depreciation. I'll pay her just to avoid thinking about that. Her rates are very low because basically, my record keeping makes her job a piece of cake.

Sorry the upload didn't work. I'll try to find a work around if you need it. Just ask!
Please do not apologize. What you did was more than enough and you didn't even have to do it. Thank you so much!
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