But it is also true that no small business ever became a big one without a good accounting system, so what do you do if you are not small business accountant?

Here are three options.

Use Microsoft Excel or Open Office or a Google Doc spreadsheet, this is the most basic version and at least lets you keep track of income and expenses, as you improve your spreadsheet skills you can do more sophisticated operations, but you can run a growing business like this.

You could get a free accounting program like GnuCash which does do most of what you need as small and growing business, but you may need expert help to set it up.

You can buy a software package and it is not by coincidence that Pastel sponsors the Small Business Awards because they realise that their business can grow when yours does. They are a fantastic South African success story that started here and now operate in over 50 countries and while you must pay for this option, it also allows you to enroll in one of their training courses to teach you how to use the software and the principles involved in running the accounting for your business.

You could choose any of these options, but you must choose something or face your business never reaching its potential.

Besides the massive variety available in book stores or your local library, you could also find almost anything from online book stores. Of course these all cost money so a cheap alternative is to look at what Google Books has been busy with.

They are looking to scan all books that have moved into the public domain or for which the copyright holders have given permission to be included. Currently there are over 10 million books available.

Another source is the World's largest library, the Library of Congress in America, they have over 32 million books resting on over 700km of books shelves. Their online site offers lots of interesting options.