ASM 101

Education > Accounting Studio Magic > ASM 101

"Accounting Studio Magic" is the name for our Universal, Introductory, Bookkeeping and Accounting Curriculum. A portion of it is also referred to as our "Demystification Documentation". This material represents a gateway to the positive and empowering feelings associated with being on a path that leads to Commercial Literacy. With this material you are going to begin to be able to envision an individualized Bookkeeping and Accounting Infrastructure that meets your specific needs with no more or less than what you need. Eventually, your very own "Accounting Studio" can be built by you at a lower cost and with greater privacy than you could have ever imagined, and it'll feel like MAGIC.

With these documents you are going to "learn about concepts related to Bookkeeping and Accounting" and you are going to "learn about the best way to learn about it".
With these documents you are NOT going to learn how to do it.
You are going to learn how to do it by doing it in our free, anonymous, open source, customizable, software templates with the support of other written documents, videos done by us and/or others, and hopefully with some healthy, human guidance, if you can find it.

These documents help you understand your financial and commercial landscape better. Some vocabulary will be learned in an immersive fashion. Most of the information is currently offered in Google Slides format.

For some, it will be better to start with a brief experience with the software before reading any of this.
For others, reading some or all of this first may be better for one reason or another.
Each person will need to discern what is best to maximize their receptivity while minimizing their time invested in learning how to ride a new type of bicycle. Once you've learned how to do all this with a modest amount of time invested, you will have it for life, and you will get on with other things.

This curriculum has been written for EVERYONE.

Novices - For those who have no foundations in Bookkeeping or Accounting, this starts out with a Big Picture view of the industry. We then compartmentalize things into smaller concepts that allow you to learn a lot in a little time with a framework we can reference as your knowledge grows.
Pros - For those who have spent decades in the Accounting Industry, it is CRITICAL you read through this material too. This is the baseline language everyone seeking to use ZAP Accounting Software Tools will be using to communicate. If you can't relate to them in a way that makes sense to them, it's you who will feel left out.

With these documents, anyone can make very fast progress towards becoming their very own Professional Bookkeeper.

It's only at that point in life that a healthy and mutually beneficial relationship with Accounting Literate Technology and Education providers can truly begin.
Any CPA, Professional Accountant, Educator, Government Servant, Religious Leader, Counselor, Coach, Technologist, or other interested party who can introduce this material to those seeking to become a Professional Bookkeeper for themselves is sure to win the commercial fans needed for more profitable and self-fulfilling work.

Bookkeeping is Scorekeeping for the Game of Commerce,
and We're all Commercial Players in our own Commercial Way.

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Part 1 - Introduction to bookkeeping, Bookkeeping and Accounting

Accounting vs Bookkeeping vs bookkeeping
This Presentation separates "bookkeeping", "Bookkeeping" and "Accounting" in a simple way.

"bookkeeping" with a lower case 'b' is a general term that refers to all matters related to record keeping.
"Bookkeeping with" a Capital B is a very specific subset of "bookkeeping" with very specific, initial reporting goals.
Accounting is the analysis and work that transpires after bookkeeping and Bookkeeping records are created.

An Analogy helps:

Tissue is to "bookkeeping" as Kleenex is to "Bookkeeping". Accounting is analyzing what came out !

This presentation also introduces you to a cognitive framework that divides Accounting into 4 Categories

Tax, Financial, Managerial and Cost Accounting.

In the industry, there is a clear understanding about the "bookkeeping" and "Bookkeeping" vocabulary nuance, but it's not described clearly for novices. Combine that with an oversimplified model that groups Tax & Financial Accounting as a bonded pair and Managerial & Cost Accounting as a second bonded pair, and you have grasped our most important learning shortcuts already.
Quiz (30 questions) || Presentation (15 Slides)

Part 2 - Introduction to "the Best" way to learn about bookkeeping, Bookkeeping and Accounting

Practice 1st, Theory 2nd || Small Business Scenarios || Two Software Systems

The best way to learn bookkeeping, Bookkeeping and Accounting for Small Business, Large Business or Household Management is in fact to "do" Bookkeeping for Small Business Scenarios first, with TWO types of software systems.

"Doing" bookkeeping and accounting is easier than learning the vocabulary to talk about it. If you are adventurous, do some of it first, then add the formal vocabulary after you have something to associate with each word.
Small Business Bookkeeping is easier than Household Finance, as there are more standardized options to choose from.
Small Business Bookkeeping is easier than Big Business Accounting because there's typically far less Assets to track as well as other more complex Tax Avoidance Strategies that come into play.
This is why you should learn about Bookkeeping using Small Business Scenarios first.

As for "Two" Software Systems. Learning Small Business bookkeeping, Bookkeeping and Accounting with TWO complimentary systems that are not integrated with each other provides the greatest educational benefit. The separation between the two systems provides a level of granularity and separation that is helpful. The two systems best suited as a pair for education are 1) a Sales System and 2) a Bookkeeping System.
- Sales Systems vary widely by industry and trade. They are thought of as "Managerial" Accounting Systems as many of the details captured are generally irrelevant for Tax and Financial Accounting purposes.
- Bookkeeping Systems are fairly universal for personal accounting, small business and big business with only the "category list" (aka account list) changing. The Bookkeeping System represents your primary Tax/Financial Accounting system and seldom if ever should it actually be "connected" to your Managerial Systems, contrary to current main stream beliefs and desires.

Quiz (16 Questions) || Presentation (13 Slides)

Part 3 - Sales Systems

Sales Systems - An Introduction
This document provides our definition of a Sales System and some examples of those by name. It gives a pictorial tour of one of our Sales Systems that helps build familiarity with Managerial Accounting vocabulary. It includes a benefit comparison between our Sales Systems and those provided by others, both for education and for ongoing business use. Our systems have many benefits but they have a major drawback related to the lack of direct integration with payment systems for updating your Payments Journal and Accounts Receivable reports. They are ideal for low transaction count applications. The printing, emailing and saving that is introduced can be batch automated. We don't show you the impressive automation routines, but they've all been prototyped. For many, semi-automated processing with manual updates of payments is all that is recommended. Once you become familiar with the basics, you’ll be able to play with more automation with our systems and those of others, and you'll then be able to decide with what works best for each scenario you engage in.
Quiz (22 Questions) || Presentation (23 Slides)

Part 4 - The Sales System - Bookkeeping System Relationship

The "Sales System - Bookkeeping System" relationship is Key for Understanding a Healthy Accounting System -
This document provides a flowchart which helps cement what you saw with the sales system. It goes on to detail the deposit process and an overview of the bookkeeping process. With the Sales Systems defined, it's easier now to identify the functionality that does NOT transpire there and thus you will then understand the purpose for the Bookkeeping System. This document also details a few tasks that should NOT get done in a Bookkeeping System that may surprise many too.
Quiz (16 Questions) || Presentation - (18 Slides)

Part 5 - Bookkeeping System

Demystifying Bookkeeping THEORY and HISTORY
Bookkeeping with a Capital B has a bad reputation based on false beliefs . It's believed to be "difficult" and/or confusing by many right now. The bulk of that has nothing to do with Bookkeeping. It has to do with the Technology that has come to market since the 1980s that was not designed in a way to provide simplicity and personal empowerment with a very straight forward task. This document introduces "novel" changes we made in software to dissolve all false beliefs while encouraging you to learn about bookkeeping, Bookkeeping and Accounting via practice first, and theory second.
Quiz (30 Questions) |  View Presentation (19 Slides) || (In Document form too  View Document (8 pages) ||

Demystifying Bookkeeping SOFTWARE  - Our technology leads to a new work flow. These documents dig deeper into our "novel" Bookkeeping Software Template and the new Bookkeeping Process as we've re-defined it.
Quiz (10 Questions) | View Presentation (16 Slides)

ZAP Bookkeeping System in Images -  This document provides some introductory photos for familiarization along with a very minor introduction to vocabulary.
Quiz (10 Questions) | View Presentation (10 Slides)

AT THIS POINT YOU SHOULD START PLAYING WITH THE SOFTWARE. PLEASE SEE THE SALES SYSTEMS 101 AND/OR THE BOOKKEEPING SYSTEMS 101 MENU ITEM FOR SOME SUGGESTIONS IF YOU ARE SELF GUIDING YOUR WAY THROUGH THIS.