Are you self employed or are you considering it? Do you handle the bookkeeping by yourself? Are you seriously considering buying accounting software? Before you tackle the challenges of bookkeeping, ask yourself the following questions:

• "What type of business do I have?"
• "If somebody approached me with a similiar business as mine, would I be willing to do their bookkeeping?"
• If the answer is, "No, I'm not willing to do their bookkeeping," then ask
• "Why not?"

Here's my first bet: you don't want to do bookkeeping for another company, even if it is the same type as your own.

Here's my second bet: the reason you don't want to do bookkeeping for another business is because you know you are inadequately trained for the job. What if you made mistakes? How does this sound: incorrect income taxes, incorrect sales taxes, and incorrect employment taxes? Don't forget the potential for penalties and interest on those incorrect taxes, and the time involved to file amended tax returns. And how about the pure embarrassment of going through all that? You shudder at the thought of it.

And yet this is exactly your position if you are not trained thoroughly in accounting principles, yet do your own bookkeeping.

Ask this question: "If I don