BF 204: QuickBooks for Farmers

Building Farm Financial Records to Measure Success

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Building Farm Financial Records to Measure Success

This course is an introduction to QuickBooks, designed to provide an overview of the QuickBooks Pro software application. It will cover the basic features, such as sales tax, inventory, invoicing, adjustments, and year-end procedures. Students will gain hands-on experience in the concepts presented, as well as guidance on applying the concepts to their own farm.

PLEASE NOTE: QuickBooks software is NOT included in this course and will need to be purchased separately if you want to use it long-term on your farm. You can participate in this course using the free 30-day trial of the online version of QuickBooks; your instructors will provide instructions to get started with this.

While the course is instructor-led with weekly webinars for 6 weeks out of the year, students will be able to proceed at their own pace through the course material.

Target Audience

All levels: This course is appropriate for people at all levels of farm experience who seek to get started using QuickBooks for their farm business record-keeping. Some understanding of elementary bookkeeping and accounting principles are helpful, and some previous exposure to QuickBooks will make the acquisition of skills much easier but is not essential. If you are actively using QuickBooks and would like to improve your use of the software, this course may be too basic for you. Read through the syllabus below to make sure the topics covered will be useful.

Course Objectives

After competing the 6-week course, including hands-on practice, students will:

  • Show proficiency in setting up chart of accounts, item lists, customer lists and vendor lists
  • Be able to track income, whether using invoices or not
  • Be able to track expenses
  • Know what reports can be useful to them to monitor business finances
  • Know year-end closing and other year-end procedures
  • Know how to backup and restore data files

Webinars and Schedule

The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in Teachable. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the interface of the course for 6 weeks each year to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from presenters and ask questions in real time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.

Webinars

In 2025 this course will be offered live for 6 weeks on Tuesdays from 7:00 – 8:00 PM (Eastern) from September 23 – October 28. While we encourage live attendance, so you have the opportunity to engage with presenters and ask questions, all webinars are recorded and posted in the online classroom to watch anytime. Once enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely, and can return to participate in the live webinars in future offerings of the course if you wish. Join us!


Your Instructor


Steve Hadcock + Desiree Keever
Steve Hadcock + Desiree Keever

Steve Hadcock is a Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator with the Capital Area Agricultural and Horticulture Program who works with new and beginning farmers. He provides education on an individual and group basis to those interested in beginning a farm and for those who have been farming for less than 10 years.

Desiree Keever is a Farm Business Management & Ag Economic Development Educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County. She has a background that blends a lifelong commitment to production agriculture, business management and educational development, delivery and assessment. Desiree was raised on a dairy farm in Otsego County where her family milked cows for 3 generations, recently electing to transition to a cow/calf beef and hay operation. For the last 10 years, she and her husband, John, along with their son run a freezer trade beef, pork, and poultry operation. They also enjoy breeding, exhibiting and marketing registered swine, as well as maintaining a select group of dairy animals.

A Cornell alum with a BS in animal science, Desiree was a Dairy Fellow, Farm Credit Fellow, and a Cargill Agribusiness Fellow. She then went on to complete her Juris Doctor at Western New England School of Law. She returned to the family farm operation while concurrently serving as the Director of Operations for Cooperstown Medical Transport and consulting part-time with New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH). Most recently she served as a professor in Business Management at SUNY Delhi. She came to Cornell Cooperative Extension excited to return to her agricultural roots, bringing her personal and professional selves together in service to her lifelong passion.


Student Testimonials

“It was very helpful having the instructors cover basic business management as it relates to the QuickBooks program and not spend the class time showing us how to physically click through the menus on QB. I liked how that was covered in the videos and class time was reserved for discussion and questions.”

“My farm books were a mess. You really got me straightened out and set up with a system that is both manageable and SO useful!”

Course Curriculum


  General Course Resources
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  Week 1: Getting Started with QuickBooks Configuration
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  Week 2: Setting Up Chart of Accounts and Items
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  Week 3: Tracking Farm Income
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  Week 4: Methods to Track Expenses
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  Week 5: Handling Assets and Liabilities
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  Week 6: Reporting Options and Analysis
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course officially starts on the date given above, when the instructors get involved and begin hosting live weekly webinars. If you are registering after the webinars have concluded for the year, you will have immediate access to all the course materials, and will be able to participate in the next year's webinars if you choose to.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 7 days of the course and we will give you a full refund.

Online Course Tiered Pricing

The Cornell Small Farms Program offers a tiered pricing model to provide greater access to our online courses. To determine your course enrollment cost, please consult the chart below, and honestly identify your current financial situation.


We realize that not everyone is able to afford the price of our courses, so we also offer a small number of scholarships each year to New York State residents. To apply, please read scholarship requirements and complete the application here.

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