Beeswax University
Learn the books.
One story at a time.
Short, friendly video courses on the money side of running a business. No jargon, no exam, no one watching. Just the ideas, shown in Beeswax, a few minutes at a time.
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Accounting 101 · Episode 1
The Accounting Equation
Meet Maya. She’s just quit her agency job to start a studio, and she’s about to find out what her business is actually worth.
5:13
Said in the episodes
Course
Accounting 101
A 26-part animated series that teaches bookkeeping by following Maya through the first year of her design studio, Northlight Studio. Each short episode takes one idea, from the accounting equation to reading a balance sheet, works it through with real numbers, and shows where it lives in Beeswax.
- Episodes
- 25
- Running time
- 1 hr 38 min
- Follows
- Maya, Northlight Studio
- Your progress
- Not started
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Unit 1: Foundations
The accounting equation, accounts, debits and credits, and checking the books add up.
Episodes 1–5
01
5:13
Watched
The Accounting Equation Maya quits her agency job to start Northlight Studio. Follow her first five transactions to see why assets always equal liabilities plus equity.
02
4:51
Watched
The Chart of Accounts Maya's shoebox of receipts meets the five types of account. Learn which live on the balance sheet, which on the profit and loss, and how a chart of accounts files them all.
03
4:48
Watched
Debits and Credits Debit means left and credit means right. Redo Maya's first five transactions properly and find out why your bank says you're in credit when you have money.
04
4:17
Watched
The Journal and the Ledger Maya's March, first in date order, then sorted by account. How the journal and the ledger hold the same entries for different jobs, and what posting means.
05
4:40
Watched
The Trial Balance End of Maya's first proper month. Build Northlight's trial balance, see what it catches and what it can't, and how it splits into the two main reports.
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Unit 2: Winning work
Why a quote is not revenue, and how a service business turns hours into money.
Episodes 6–7
06
3:41
Watched
A Quote Is Not Revenue Fern and Fold accept Maya's quote the same afternoon, but it isn't revenue yet. The quote, the invoice and the payment are three different moments, and only two go in the books.
07
3:11
Watched
Time Is What You Sell A service business sells hours, and there are only so many in a week. Work out Maya's utilisation and her real hourly rate on a fixed-price job.
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Unit 3: Getting paid
Invoices, receivables, chasing payment, retainers and deposits.
Episodes 8–11
08
3:17
Watched
Invoicing and Receivables Maya sends her first invoice to Fern and Fold. What a proper invoice needs, the entry it makes, and why money you're owed is an asset but not yet cash.
09
3:28
Watched
Getting Paid One client pays in full, one pays part, and one goes quiet. Record payments, read an aged receivables list and chase overdue invoices without the awkwardness.
10
3:09
Watched
Retainers Harbour and Co sign up for a monthly support retainer. How to record it, why predictable income is precious, and why every retainer needs clear limits.
11
3:56
Watched
Deposits and Unearned Revenue Juniper Yoga pays Maya half up front for a website she hasn't built yet. Why that deposit is a liability, and how it turns into revenue as the work gets done.
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Unit 4: Costs and timing
Cash versus accrual, bills, project profit and costs you pass on to clients.
Episodes 12–15
12
3:28
Watched
Cash versus Accrual Maya's profit and loss says one thing about September and her bank says another. Count the same month on a cash basis and on accrual, and see what each one tells you.- 13 Coming soonExpenses and Payables The other direction: the bills. Costs paid on the spot, bills with time to pay, and why money Maya owes her suppliers is a liability until she pays it.
14
3:21
Watched
Did the Project Make Money? The Fern and Fold brand refresh is done and paid, but did it make money? Add up direct costs and Maya's time at cost, and see why busy isn't always profitable.
15
3:16
Watched
Rebillable Expenses Maya bought stock photos for a client, who agreed to pay her back. How to rebill a cost so the profit on it is zero, when a handling fee is fair, and how not to forget.
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Unit 5: People
Contractors or employees, and what really happens on payday.
Episodes 16–17
16
3:58
Watched
Contractors and Employees Northlight is busy and Maya needs help: Rowan, a freelance developer, or Priya, an employee. What decides which is which, and what each one really costs.
17
3:52
Watched
Payroll Basics Priya's first payday. Gross pay, net pay, employer contributions and the payroll entry, plus why the tax you withhold is never your money.
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Unit 6: Keeping it straight
Reconciling the bank, the right month for every cost, and the tidy-ups at year end.
Episodes 18–23
18
3:48
Watched
Bank Reconciliation Maya's books and her bank disagree by more than four thousand. Work through the gap line by line, from bank fees to one payment covering two invoices.
19
3:59
Watched
Accruals and Prepayments A year of software paid for in October, and December's work invoiced in January. How prepayments, accrued income and accruals put income and costs in the right month.
20
3:18
Watched
Unbilled Work Maya has twenty hours of work for Harbour and Co that isn't on an invoice yet. Why the ledger can't see it, and why unbilled time goes stale if you leave it.
21
3:58
Watched
Depreciation Remember Maya's laptop from episode one? How depreciation spreads its cost over the years it's useful, the entry that does it, and why it isn't cash.
22
4:04
Watched
Bad Debts and Credit Notes One client disputes an invoice and another stops paying altogether. When to use a credit note, when to write off a bad debt, and how the two differ.
23
3:56
Watched
Loans and Owner's Pay Maya's loan repayments are part interest, part principal, and they go to different places. Plus how she actually pays herself, as a sole trader or as a company.
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Unit 7: Reading the numbers
The profit and loss, the balance sheet, and using them to make a decision.
Episodes 24–26
24
4:07
Watched
The Profit & Loss Northlight's first full year, line by line. Read Maya's profit and loss from income to the bottom line, and see what it leaves out.
25
4:18
Watched
The Balance Sheet A photo of Northlight on the last day of the year. Walk through Maya's assets, liabilities and equity, find out where the profit went, and close the year.
26
4:26
Watched
Reading the Numbers Should Maya raise her rates or hire a second designer? Margin, utilisation, debtor days and cash turn a gut feeling into a decision.
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