CISA will hold a ten-workshop series on Reducing Risk & Increasing Profitability with Sound Decision Making starting in January. This series will provide farmers and business owners with sound business decision-making practices to reduce their financial risk. These workshops will provide tools for and examples of building decision making into the cycles of farm life to improve long-term profitability and sustainability. Examples in the workshops will be farm related, but the skills and methodology will be relevant to all businesses. Participation in the whole series is encouraged, and to be eligible for free one-on-one consultative support, you must attend three workshops and be a cohort meeting participant.
Dinner will be served at each session. The cost to attend the series is $90 for Local Hero members, or $18 for each individual workshop. The non-member fee is $110 for the series, or $20 for each individual workshop. Register online at buylocalfood.org or contact Devon Whitney-Deal at devon@buylocalfood.org or (413) 665-7100. If cost is a barrier to your participation please feel free to contact Devon to discuss options as we want everyone to be able to get the training they need to effectively operate their business.
Introduction to QuickBooks:
Debbe Dugan from Simply Computing will provide a brief overview of your Chart of Accounts (a listing of all your assets, liabilities, income items, costs of goods sold, and expenses) and the Item list (what do you charge for?). This class will also cover the basics of accounts receivable and accounts payable. We will explore your customer lists and how the billings process affects your income. On the flip side, we will explore paying bills and maintaining your vendor list, including ‘specialty vendors’, like contract labor. Accounts receivable vs accounts payable makes up your Profit and Loss statement.