Elaine clapped her hands over her toddler s ears. Look out, her father-in-law Dale warned. It s that time of the month. Then he explained. Donna s got the month-end bank statements.
Looking up from her computer, Donna said, Oh no! Is it 9:30 already? I ve been so busy trying to reconcile this damn bank account, I lost track of time.
Don t worry about it, Elaine said. You re so busy, I can take him to my friend s&
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No, Donna interrupted. I promised I d babysit while you go to your yoga class. I could use a break anyway.
But Dale saw his chance to get out of the house and away from Donna s accounting-induced bad mood. He drained his cup of coffee and scooped up his grandson. You go off and bend yourself into a pretzel, Elaine. I ll take my young assistant out to the shop so Donna can finish the books.
The toddler squealed, partly because he loved spending time with his grandpa, but also because he knew about the secret candy stash Dale kept in the shop. Dale threw on his coat and boots and was making his exit while Donna shouted after him. Don t forget I still need you to find that receipt for the oil you charged to your credit card in mid-September.
Elaine slipped off her shoes and edged closer to the kitchen table. This looks& overwhelming, she said, looking at the rumpled papers.
It s not as bad as you think, Donna said. Dale s dad used to manage the books for Hanson Acres. I took over when I found out Ed s idea of handling things was to haul all the paperwork to the accountant s office in a five-gallon pail every three months.
A five-gallon pail? Elaine raised her eyebrows. He stored his receipts out in the shop. He said the pail kept the mice out. A shoe box never would have worked.
So you ve come a long way, Elaine said, looking at the table more closely and realizing that the piles weren t quite as disorganized as they d seemed from a distance.
I suppose, Donna sighed. But I ll tell you, I ve been thinking pretty seriously about giving it up.
Oh? Elaine said.
Lots of our neighbours don t do their own bookkeeping. I ran into Danielle Mytopher at the grocery store the other day. She s the bookkeeping supervisor at Wheatland Accounting, up in Fillmore. They do books for all kinds of farms.
Danielle had told Donna she d seen an increase in bookkeeping work at her business since the GST came in. Some farmers had trouble making the leap from ledgers to computers. Others just hated the extra paperwork.
Elaine considered this. But I thought working so closely with the numbers gave you a better feel for our finances.
I could still do that. I d just do it with Danielle, or someone from her office. They d print out all the reports we have now, and probably even some we ve never thought of. That way I could use my time thinking about the big picture, making sure our short-term results fit in with our long-term plans. Or even baking cookies with my grandson while you do yoga, instead of cursing this laptop until Dale can t stand to be in the house.
And it might make things easier with the bank. If a professional does the books, the numbers tend to have more credibility. It won t even hurt to have someone else running the numbers for our family business meetings. Ed s never let me forget the time I accidentally forgot to include the combine payment in our cash flow forecast.
Wasn t that the winter Dale took you to Cuba? Elaine asked.
Well, it may not have been a complete accident, Donna admitted, looking away.
And hiring a bookkeeper wouldn t cost as much as you think, Donna kept on, almost as if she was trying to convince herself as much as Elaine. Wheatland charges by the hour, and I m as organized as anybody. It won t take them that long to input my data. I know for a fact that Rick Wilson and his wife don t even open their bank statements. They just toss all the envelopes into a folder.
What does Dale say? Elaine asked.
I haven t talked to him about it, Donna admitted. But he won t say much. He s just grateful not to have to do it himself. And Dale knows how stressed it makes me. But Ed s sure to make all kinds of I told you it would be too hard for you comments, even though I ve been doing it for the last 17 years.
And his method centred on a five-gallon pail, Elaine said.
I don t know. Finances are such an important part of farm management. Maybe I shouldn t give up control. I ve been doing it for this long. And it s not as bad as I m making it sound, Donna said. It s just that the stupid September bank reconciliation is out by 18 cents and I ve spent the last three hours trying to figure out why.
Eighteen cents? Elaine said. You must ve transposed a couple of numbers. You know, typed in 45 cents instead of 54.
How do you know that?
I took a couple of accounting classes in university. If you re out by any multiple of nine, it usually means you just transposed something. Nines are magic like that.
Interesting, Donna said, looking her daughter-in- law up and down, as if seeing her in a new light. Did you like those accounting classes?
I did, actually, Elaine said. I liked the way the numbers matched up at the end.
When they matched up, Donna said, nodding sadly at her laptop. Elaine, would you like to take over the books?
Really? Are you sure?
It would be a good way for you to get more involved with the farm.
I d like that. The only time Ed let me run the combine this fall was that hot afternoon when the air conditioner broke down. Then Elaine smiled at her mother-in-law. I m glad you brought it up. I didn t want to ask. In case you felt like I was trying to take your place.
Maybe we could share the job, Donna said. What if I go through the receipts and cheque stubs and put things in order, and you do the computer work? That way we both see all the numbers.
Elaine nodded. And we ll be less likely to miss something.
Unless we need another trip to Cuba, said Donna.CG
