Farm records’ keeping is an activity most farmers try to avoid. They say it is time-consuming and that they do not have the time for it.
So they ignore the activity of records keeping. However, record keeping is a very important task in farming. If you plan to be a prominent farmer with productive farms, you cannot avoid record keeping in your daily farming endeavours. Knowledge acquired from keeping good farm records in priceless.
Present-day farm operations are becoming more and more business oriented than yesterday farm operations. Being a good producer is no longer good enough to remain in business. The key to becoming a successful farmer today is being a good producer as well as a good financial manager.
The first step in being a successful farm owner/manager is keeping good, accurate records and establishing a sound record-keeping system. There is a misconception that the only reason a person needs records is to loan or report taxes. However, record keeping plays a much larger role in business. Farming is a business and records can be helpful in planning improvements for that business and making proper management decisions.
As a farm owner/manager, you need a complete and accurate farm records’ system to make informed management decisions that will help maintain or improve your business profitability. Records can help you plan and implement farm business arrangements and do estate and other transfer farming. You can use records to determine what the efficiencies and the inefficiencies are, measure progress of the business and plan for the future.
There are many farm record systems. They range from simple, hand accounting systems using pencil and paper to sophisticated double-entry computer-accounting systems, which require computer operations. Some require a mix of hand and computer operations. Choose a system that is easy to understand and designed specially for your convenience.
It should not only meet the accounting and planting needs of the farm operation, but it should also satisfy income tax, legal and other outside reporting requirements. The first step is to determine your objectives for the system – both personal and business.