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Accounting is difficult business, and not everyone has the mind for it. In order to get a degree in accounting, you have to spend a large amount of time in college learning the ins and outs of the profession. If you have a more creative mind, accounting may not be for you.

If you aren't a professional, but need to keep track of your own expenses, you can buy some accounting books and try to teach yourself the basics. The skills needed to take care of your home and your home business might be something you can handle. Some people choose to buy ledger accounting books to keep track of expenses and income, while others choose for software.

Software has a huge advantage over regular accounting books. If you have a basic understanding of what you are doing, you can learn how to put your information into the program, and it will do most of the work for you. It can also create reports to let you know how you are doing. You can get reports for expenses, profit, operating costs, and anything else you may need to know. Software such as Peachtree Accounting comes with customer support.

If you really want to do this, you should buy some textbooks first and get a hold on the basics. Accounting books can be found online as well as in many major bookstores. You can find more difficult books if you wish to learn everything there is about accounting or you can buy simpler guides that will teach you what you need to know without going into detail. This is great if you want to keep an eye on things, but then will hand everything over to an accountant or tax preparer at the end of the year.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money on accounting books and programs, you can look at your local library for books. You may also want to look through eBay or your local classified ads for people selling used books and used software. If you still feel lost, call your local college. They may offer simple and basic accounting courses for those with a home or small business.