Using Quickbooks Accounting Software to Improve Financial and Production Records for Better Decision Making

Texas agricultural producers face numerous forms of risk. Many struggle to maintain economic viability while encountering undesirable weather conditions, escalating input costs and volatile commodity prices. This uncertainty has greatly increased the importance of accurate financial reporting. However, inadequate record keeping is a common problem encountered by agricultural lenders, who are often faced with requests for loan extensions due to an underestimation of costs or an overestimation of profits. A need exists to educate Texas farmers and ranchers on strong record keeping practices. To address this need, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension personnel developed two-day short courses teaching QuickBooks Financial Accounting Software. Workshops provided basic program understanding through agriculture case studies and hands-on examples.

Thirty-nine computer short courses were conducted throughout Texas from 2002-2017 with 488 participants. Class demographics showed that 46% of attendees were farmers and ranchers, 6% were accountants/bankers, and 48% were small business owners. Agricultural producers reported approximately 167,500 irrigated crop acres, 148,500 dryland crop acres, 355,400 pasture acres, 18,300 head of cows and 50,000 stocker cattle.

Evaluation results indicated QuickBooks short courses enhanced producer record keeping abilities. Participants showed improved program understanding at the conclusion of each workshop, with a 52% increase in knowledge gained. Over 96% planned to utilize their QuickBooks education to improve operational record keeping, with an estimated financial impact of $2,300 per individual. Instructor expertise and course content were also given high marks. More than 97% of attendees felt that instructors demonstrated satisfactory program knowledge, and 94% indicated that materials were well presented.

QuickBooks is a strong financial accounting program that can be adapted for agricultural use. Texas producers have gained program knowledge and improved record keeping abilities through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension short courses. These workshops enabled farmers and ranchers to increase their financial analysis capabilities, thus allowing better management decisions.