But, God says - you can’t save anyone but yourself, Ez. 14:20.

Do you suppose God knew we wouldn’t get it first time?

Our outside appearance doesn’t mean anything until it’s a by-product of what’s on inside. Our faith is not to be in who we are, but in who God is.

If we’d put all that focus and energy unto our own spiritual growth, just think of great things we might accomplish!

When our relationship with God is first on our list of priorities, He gives a very special promise. He’ll leave a remnant for those we love, Ez. 14:22.

© by Joyce C. Lock http://my.homewithgod.com/blessingsandlessons/ This writing may be used in its entirety, with credits in tact, for non-profit ministering purposes.

Since 1980, Small Business Tax and Management has been providing services to business owners. Lots of resources on this site. www.smbiz.com/

Bookkeeping and Tax Programs: Quicken, QuickBooks, Turbo Tax www.intuit.com/products_services

Taxes and Accounting www.quicken.com/small_business axes_and_accounting http://www.peachtree.com/

The Top 10 Essentials for Making a Hobby Into a Business http:/ opten.org/public/AA/AA82.html Dealing Effectively with IRS http:/ opten.org/public/AN/AN23.html

CPA or Bookkeeper? Besides trading on Wall Street, I was an Operations & Accounting Manager. At one point, I had bookkeepers and a few CPA's working for me. I was able to sign off on work performed by bookkeepers but I wasn't unable to sign off on any internal audits. Why? Because I didn't have a CPA License!

So you can see, there is a difference between a CPA and Bookkeeper. Now-a-days, with Quicken and Peachtree, many of us can set up our own bookkeeping and send out invoices - if that is how we choose to use our time.

If you are a sole proprietor, you can 1) hire a CPA firm that will also do your monthly bookkeeping 2) hire a CPA firm that will help you set up your monthly bookkeeping system and then you can do your bookkeeping or hire a bookkeeper 3) hire a bookkeeper to do your monthly bookkeeping 4) do it yourself.

Personally, I did my own bookkeeping for many years (I was an accounting manager) and then brought my records to a CPA yearly. I keep up with as many tax laws etc. as I can, I guess because I like that sort of thing. Many folks don't though! Know which you are!

As my business grew, I hired a bookkeeper and worked with them to set up a monthly bookkeeping system. The system was set up as suggested at IRS Tax Class I attended - with categories names and in close order to tax forms I'll use as a sole proprietor (Schedule C & Form 8829). I'll choose names of sub-categories based on how I spend money. They also suggested that you set up your file cabinet with similarly named files.