Choosing the right Chart of Accounts...

[JimBoone]

You are way too intense for this little gathering of innkeepers on this forum. Your questions are better asked and answered by other experts in this field.
As for myself, I do not do any of those things you mention, and would never do them, we are operating this B&B how we want to operate it, and are in the people business, not the money crunching business. If we were, we would not have chosen a family owned and operated business that we live in, such as an inn. Your place is different to what we operate, so I cannot even come close to recognizing your needs there. If it were me, I would get on with Anthony Melchiorri, have him stop by for a cup of coffee and see what you can glean from him.
This forum is much more casual, it is a place to share and interact with other innkeepers. It does not hold all the answers, by a long chalk. We share, we cry, we send condolences or congratulations when necessary..

Gosh, I thought this was a site for sharing information, wisdom and ideas of all sorts.
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Gosh, I thought this was a site for sharing information, wisdom and ideas of all sorts.

Tamara I think you will find that most here are happy to share information, but a few comments, [1] this post is about 3 years old, I have not seen several of the folks commenting for a long time, including the original poster. [2] think you will find everyone's operation a bit different, small, larger, one person, many persons, don't know if there is a one size fits all answer to the original question. [3] I did see wisdom shared, but expect there are as many answers as forum members, many ran away for a rigid corporate world and would find it counter productive to bring those ideas of one size fits all to their innkeeping business.
This thread was brought back up by a new poster this summer looking for a chart of accounts, I believe I replied to him/her in a PM either with my chart of accounts or my email if he/she wanted to make contact, but don't know that posting that chart here would be useful to others.
I've managed or worked in finance in several businesses, what I can tell you about charts of accounts is that much depends on the operator (person entering the information), too much detail and it becomes an endless chore, too little detail and the same charge or cost might fit in several different accounts, and all that information is only really useful if we stop to look at the results and take action.
Couple of examples: [1] do I create an account for linen, bedding and towels or do I make individual accounts for each, how much time do I want to spend on this detail and how will I use that information? [2] I have a tractor/loader/backhoe, useful to me at my location, probably not useful in an uptown location. If I repair the tractor, is the expense [a] maintenance or appearance as I use the tractor to keep the place looking good, will I remember to use the same exact account two years from now?
Welcome to the forum, I think you will find most folks happy to answer questions, now will I like their wisdom or the answer that I am given, that's hard to say, but over several years that I've visited the forum I've learned and applied useful information and feel it has helped my business.