Week 2 of 12 · Discover
Bookkeeping foundations
Milestone: Sample company ledger. Format: Instruction + ledger lab.
Persona side project — your client list
Open your Client Roster (spreadsheet or card file). Columns: name, how you know them, likely need, last contact, next action, date. Add at least 10 warm names. You are building your own clientele list—not a class fantasy list. No purchased data. Privacy: do not store SSNs or tax documents for prospects.
Learning objectives
- Explain the accounting equation and why every transaction has at least two effects.
- Build a simple chart of accounts for a service firm.
- Record source documents into a sample company ledger with dates, memos, and references.
- Distinguish an expense from a draw, and a sale from a deposit.
Core instruction
Core ideas
Bookkeeping is the disciplined story of money: what came in, what went out, what is still owed, and what the owner has taken. You will use a fictional service company (not a live client) so privacy is protected from day one.
Chart of accounts you must know
- Assets: bank, undeposited funds, accounts receivable.
- Liabilities: accounts payable, sales tax payable (if taught), credit card.
- Equity: owner capital, owner draws, retained earnings.
- Income: professional services, bookkeeping packages, tax-prep support (as designed by your instructor).
- Expenses: software, insurance, contractor, supplies, professional development.
Documentation standard
No entry without a source: invoice, bill, receipt, bank notice, or written memo. If the paper is missing, you write “pending source” and follow up—you do not invent.
This week’s work
- Create a chart of accounts (15–25 accounts) for the sample company.
- Record at least 12 transactions spanning sales, bills, owner activity, and a bank fee.
- Submit the sample company ledger with a one-page notes sheet of questions you still have.
How we know you are ready
Every transaction is dated, referenced, and balanced. Account names are consistent. The ledger could be handed to a reviewer without oral explanation.
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