I do already know how to do basic bookkeeping. I’ve done it on several jobs and for my ex’s small business, plus taken it as a college course. One of the problems is that every time this task gets passed along to the next trustee, the platform (or lack thereof) and any computer-maintained data has been lost and the next person essentially starts from scratch. I don’t know that I will even be a trustee when the trust is restated. My reasoning on the Excel spreadsheet ledger was that it would be easily handed off. We are typically not talking about more than a small number of checks in/payments out per month. We have a CPA who does the taxes for the trust.

Melissa It sounds to me that the process of handing off is the issue along with the maintenance of the information for the hand off. Besides the shortcomings I already mentioned, Excel spreadsheets aren’t easy to pass off either but, even as I’m writing this, it sounds like you’re planning to use the spreadsheet just like a paper ledger with no formulas referencing different cells on different sheets. At most, probably, a sum calculation for columns. So, in that respect, yes, a spreadsheet that you use to record your numbers just like a paper bookkeeping ledger would work. I hear “spreadsheet” and I’m like Norm the carpenter when he hears “lumber.” He hears lumber for a message board and he can imagine elaborate sliding panels when all the lumber being discussed is a 2 by 4 pounded into the ground with a cardboard stapled to it as the sign which would certainly fit the bill.

In that case, I can see it would be easy to send the file to your CPA.

But as far as the handing off process, whichever way you go (and I can see the spreadsheet is a legitimate and appropriate option), it would help to maintain a hard copy binder updated monthly or however much period you think is appropriate. Maybe even a yearly update of the paper is enough.

Good luck.

For even simpler handling, you could explore various data entry software examples like Zoho Books, which offers easy-to-use features for managing transactions without the complexity of full-fledged accounting software. Zoho Books also allows you to generate reports that are clear and easy to share with family members or your CPA, making it a practical option for keeping track of trust finances effectively.

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