Maybe your book-keeping strategies are top-notch, and you have it all together – or maybe recordkeeping isn’t the favorite part of your lifestyle. Dreaded as it is, it’s a very vital part. It’s hard to know where you’re at, what you should do and how to pivot, if necessary without proper bookkeeping. It doesn’t have to be hard. Consider these five tips to make bookkeeping less dreaded.

Tip No. 1: A set place to send information

When you’re in the field during the busy seasons, it’s hard to have a system for recordkeeping that will translate to being able to find those numbers when you need them. However, knowing how much a field produced, what seed was planted or what you put on it is vital.

An easy solution to this: Create a “junk” email or a different account than the one you use on a regular basis. Add this email to a group text between you and whoever needs to know this information immediately and your “junk” email. Strictly use that message thread for anything and all things that need to be recorded. Avoid adding casual conversations and other information like grocery lists in this message thread. This place is simply for farm recordkeeping.

Whenever you’re planting, send a message to this group text with your location, what planter you’re using, which brand and seed number it is, etc. The date and time will be recorded when you send the message. Whenever you leave a field, send a message with the total acres planted. Don’t wait for that night; details will be forgotten, and the effectiveness of the system will be jeopardized. It’s super simple on those rainy days that paperwork gets done to go back and have those numbers in one spot.

Tip No. 2: Maps

Create a book with all field maps in it, along with a blank page with each of the maps. Whenever you get done fertilizing, planting, spraying or harvesting for the day, take a highlighter and mark the area that is completed. Do this daily. It’s handy to refer to the group text with the junk email during this point. If you don’t do this daily, the group text should have very detailed information, because you will forget. Have a different color highlighter for each action performed, and create a key so everyone involved understands what the highlighters mean.

For example, use pink highlighter to show everything that was fertilized. Then on the blank page, write what tractor and implement was used, what product, amount of product, how many acres and the date. If you have multiple operators, put who did the application.

When planting season rolls around, use a green highlighter. Write what variety of seed was planted, what day it was planted, which tractor and planter, and any other settings that may be useful to know later. The more details, the better. You can even do this while you’re working if you have auto-steer. Don’t put it off thinking you’ll remember; just write it down to begin with and give your brain the space back.

Tip No. 3: Receipt organization

No matter who does the books on your operation, they must have adequate information in order to do it efficiently. It’s very handy to have organized records you can access and find with ease. Developing a system to get your bookkeeper that information is vital.

Put a Manila envelope in the glove boxes of your vehicles. When you purchase something, put the receipt in the envelope in your glove box. Put a pen in the envelope and, before you put the receipt in, write on the receipt what it was for. For example, which tractor the part was for. That way, your bookkeeper can itemize it out and you can know which part of your operation is making you money and what is costing you. Also, they will be fully aware if it was labor or parts.

Avoid handing a huge envelope stuffed with receipts to your bookkeeper a week before your tax appointments. Make a habit of cleaning it out at least once a week during the busy season. Set a reminder on your phone to remind you to take receipts inside. Have a designated basket at your bookkeeper’s desk for your receipts so they don’t get lost on the desk, so they can process them as they are able and the receipts are out of the pickups.

Tip No. 4: Deadlines

Schedule quarterly meetings with your accountant. It’s hard to get too far behind with paperwork and data entry when you have set meetings. Having these meetings keeps you on track both with having paperwork up to date and knowing how to proceed with your operation. Knowledge is power when it comes to making management decisions. If quarterly meetings aren’t an option, set up a way to evaluate your current methods throughout the year. Make it non-negotiable to always know where you are financially.

Tip No. 5: Cow records

If you’re a cattle producer and want to do handwritten records, get a spiral-bound notebook. The cheapest one available will serve the purpose, then write down everything. Write down which cows are in which pasture or pens. List each of the tag numbers on a single piece of paper under the pasture name. If there are too many to count, make columns on your list. Put a checkmark whenever you see the cow and an x for when you see the calf. Make notes about when you put the bulls in and when you pull them. Make notes about when cattle are sick and what you doctored them with. Make notes about how much you’re feeding them. Make notes about which ones don’t look the greatest in the winter. Make notes about the ones you had to help start their babies. The key is: Make notes about everything.

There are lots of apps and software systems that you can do this online with. Don’t get overwhelmed. If all of them are too much, buy the spiral notebook. Don’t put off recordkeeping because you don’t know which app is best. Just start writing things down in your designated cattle notebook.

There are very few people who love paperwork, and I sure haven’t found very many farmers who would rather be inside doing bookwork than outside with their land. It doesn’t have to be pulling teeth. Do these simple things to make paperwork painless and stress-free, or as close as it can be.