How to Start a Bookkeeping Business in 14 Steps In-Depth Guide
In many instances, an accountant prepares the initial chart, and the bookkeeper references it while recording transactions. This is particularly true once the business accounts for its operational costs and recurring expenses. Bookkeeping is different from accounting in that it is the critical first step in tracking all business activities. While bookkeeping provides oversight into each individual transaction (in order to catch discrepancies and correct mistakes), accounting provides a thorough analysis of these numbers. Ultimately, it’s simply not necessary to pay extra for in-house accounting services for most startups. One significant decision startups face is whether to hire in-house accountants or outsource the function to an independent accounting firm.
Simplify General Ledger Accounting with ClickUp
That’s not only important for separating your business and personal finances, but can help you with your own bookkeeping come tax season. That’s partly because bookkeeping businesses don’t have a lot of barriers to entry or even a lot of startup costs to worry about. All you really need is some bookkeeping experience, access to accounting software, http://www.ods.com.ua/win/eng/db/postgres/programmer/extend.html and a way to market yourself to prospects. A bookkeeping company will offer basic bookkeeping services to another company or organization on a contractual basis. Most bookkeeping businesses provide ongoing financial support, though some companies will offer “catch-up” services for business owners that get a little behind in their books.
Acquiring Bookkeeping Skills
Reconciling bank statements is when a startup compares its bank statements to its financial records to ensure accuracy. This helps confirm what payments have been processed and the money that’s been collected. Aside from helping confirm accurate financial reporting, reconciling bank statements can also help your startup determine any discrepancies or outstanding payments. It’s suggested that your startup reconciles its bank statements at least once a month or as soon as you receive your bank statement.
How much can you make owning a bookkeeping business?
This is especially true for any overhead expenses, as they’ll mean different things when it comes to filing your tax return and your startup’s taxable income. Tracking expenses and income is something that should be done, at the most, every day, and, at a minimum, every week. All receipts should be filed or digitized to maintain accurate proof of record. Subscription-based models, one-time sales, and prepayments add layers of complexity. Understanding when to recognize revenue is crucial for accurate financial reporting. Develop a robust system for revenue recognition that aligns with your business model, ensuring that your financial statements accurately reflect the revenue generated during a given period.
For example, if a marketing expert dedicates 20 hours a week to a startup and their market rate is $50 per hour, their annual sweat equity would be valued at $52,000. This method also takes into account any out-of-pocket expenses the individual may have incurred, such as travel or materials. Cost-based valuation provides a straightforward and transparent way http://artpragmatica.ru/science/projects/9/ to quantify contributions, making it easier to justify the equity allocation to all stakeholders involved. Employee sweat equity is a common practice in startups that may not have the financial resources to offer competitive salaries. Instead, employees are compensated with equity shares, which can be a powerful incentive for attracting and retaining talent.
Having a clean, modern website will empower you to showcase your services. There are many great website builders available to help you design a website as unique as your business. She has written legal and marketing content and communications for a wide range of law firms for more than 15 years. She has also written extensively on parenting and current events for the website Scary Mommy. From University of Wisconsin–Madison, and she lives in the Chicago area with her family.
If you maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher in each course, you’ll receive a certificate upon completion. This option is best for experienced bookkeepers or individuals who are looking to make the transition to a career in bookkeeping or accounting. The next decision is whether to focus on a particular small business niche or to offer services to all small businesses. It’s much easier to become an expert in accounting for a particular business niche than for all businesses in general. Writing a business plan is something that everyone should do before starting a business.
- This way, you can avoid mixing investor funds or business expenses with your funds.
- Renting can also secure the latest gear with predictable costs rather than big new capital expenditures.
- Drafting clear client contracts is essential for transparency and smooth business operations.
- If you are a customer with a question about a product please visit our Help Centre where we answer customer queries about our products.
- Detailed mileage reports can be generated to track and claim mileage deductions.
What Is a General Ledger?
- Some newsletters offer exclusive access to learning resources, such as webinars, whitepapers, and e-books.
- Understand the liquidity of your assets, the nature of your liabilities, and the equity structure.
- A general ledger is the primary record book for a company’s financial data.
- This helps set realistic expectations for both the company and the individual.
Opportunity cost refers to the potential income or benefits that the person foregoes by investing their time and skills in the business. For example, if an advisor could have earned $50,000 consulting elsewhere but chose https://www.lyricsworld.ru/lyrics/Laura-Branigan/Mujer-contra-mujer-14552.html to work with the startup, this foregone income should be factored into their sweat equity valuation. Determining the value of sweat equity can be a complex process, as it involves quantifying intangible contributions.
We work with thousands of startups and small businesses, ranging from two founders in a garage to hundred-person teams. Our accountants, fractional CFOs, and tax specialists are dedicated to building a strong finance foundation for your business. Bookkeeping is a profitable business to start for those with an eye for detail and a head for figures. Taking on the responsibility of assisting other business owners with their bookkeeping needs will become a part of your daily routine.
Conversely, an accountant analyzes the financial information recorded by bookkeepers to offer insights and strategies for improving business operations. Abacus Professional’s team has more than 40 years of collective experience in accounting, specifically serving business accounting needs. There are different payment levels for QBO, but bookkeepers and accountants can set up a free account to run their business, access their clients’ books and track their own finances. Inside QBO, you’ll find tons of training materials that walk you through how to use the software.
Relationship of Anger with Alcohol use Treatment Outcome: Follow-up Study PMC
As a result, the person with a SUD doesn’t deal with the consequences of their actions. Don’t allow the disappointments and mistakes of the past affect your choices today—circumstances have probably changed. Protect your children, and don’t hesitate to keep them away from someone who drinks and does not respect your boundaries. Growing up in a home where alcohol use is common, can leave lasting scars. If you have children, it’s important to protect them from unacceptable behavior as well. Do not tolerate hurtful or negative comments addressed towards them.
Don’t Accept Unacceptable Behavior
Take time to think of different ways that you can avoid having a confrontation with the problem drinker and start doing those things. Once this happens, many end up thinking that their recovery is worthless, and they might decide to no more extended care about their recovery. Feelings of anger can be so powerful that they cloud their judgment and second-guess their reasons for being sober. You’ll meet millions of fellow Reframers in our 24/7 Forum chat and daily Zoom check-in meetings. Receive encouragement from people worldwide who know exactly what you’re going through! You’ll also have the opportunity to connect with our licensed Reframe coaches for more personalized guidance.
Domestic Violence
- The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that alcohol interferes with a person’s cognitive and physical functioning, inhibiting self-control and making it more difficult for a person to recognize when things have gone too far.
- They struggle with the idea that their alcoholic lifestyle was more exciting than their new one.
- If no one can defuse the tension, they may become an aggressor, escalating the situation to a violent one.
- Anger often leads to excessive drinking, which can then amplify anger issues.
- If you have a natural tendency to be angry, drinking alcohol may cause you to become aggressive.
You are going to have to look at yourself and know that the mean things they are saying about you are not true. It can be devastating when someone is seeking to experience intimacy with an alcoholic spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend and instead, the normal routine is for the alcoholic to criticize them. Parents, friends and co-workers are no exception to this character defect of “anger” commonly found in alcoholics. Table 2 displays demographic characteristics for the sample as a whole and separately by treatment condition. For both sets of analyses, mixed effects models (SAS 9.3) were used.
How Music Therapy Works in Substance Abuse Treatment
Additionally, when you don’t reflect on mistakes you’ve made, you’ll probably repeat them. To combat aggressive behavior when drinking, individuals should consciously seek help. It’s sometimes easier for angry people to become aggressive when they’re inebriated. A slight annoyance may turn into an infuriating problem, thanks to alcohol.
The relationship of state/trait anger with treatment alcoholism and anger outcome among alcohol users was assessed through percentage score, mean and standard deviation. When you get involved in alcoholism support group meetings, you can learn from the wisdom of others. For instance, you can go into another room, close the door and lock it. They unconsciously try to do things to those around them in order to get a negative reaction out of others. Once the “other” person is acting like a loon, then the alcoholic can point their finger at the other person’s behaviors instead of looking at their own. The sad part of all this is that we are left being angry, then they go get plastered.
- Clinically, not all alcohol-involved clients accept the philosophies and approaches of AA and other mutual-help groups.
- While anger is an emotion you experience when you feel threatened, aggression is a hostile behavior that results in physical or psychological harm to yourself or others.
- Alcohol can provoke different emotional responses for different people.
- Seeking help is essential, but remember, managing anger and recovering from alcoholism requires effort.
- One study found that chronic alcohol use decreases the function in the prefrontal cortex, which plays a key role in impulse control.
After you sign-up, you will also be presented with an entire audio lesson course that can teach you how to handle situations involving angry alcoholics. Make a commitment today to start learning how to protect yourself from the horrible effects of dysfunctional relationships. When someone allows anger to build up over time, they’re more likely to suffer an explosion. During this time, individuals often can’t reason, which leads them to risky behaviors, such as drinking again. When someone enters recovery for alcohol abuse, they usually struggle with anger problems and emotional regulation.
What’s Behind the “Angry Drunk” Phenomenon.
Typically, support groups have professional leaders, like social workers or psychologists, so you can ensure you’re getting expert advice. Unfortunately, feeling aggressive from alcohol can stem from more than one variable that’s beyond your control. Aside from existing anger issues, people can turn into aggressors when drinking for several reasons. Becoming angry or irritable when you drink is a relatively common experience — an often-cited body of research by the World Health Organization notes that aggression has a closer link to alcohol than any other kind of psychoactive drug. There are several risk factors, all of which impact people differently. But in real life, a person who loses control of their emotions when they drink is anything but entertaining.
Addiction Treatment Services
- The contemplative stage ends with the decision to make a change, yet further steps such as preparation, action, and later maintenance and likely relapse are usually needed before the addiction is controlled.
- Those who are dependent on alcohol should participate in alcohol addiction treatment to break the cycle.
We considered anger measures and indices of AA involvement as potential candidates in this regard. Alcohol dependence and significant alcohol involvement not reaching the level of dependence are often comorbid with a variety of anger-related consequences including interpersonal violence and conflict (Chermack et al., 2010). Research has strongly supported the inclusion of efficacious interventions to address this serious problem area as a part of alcohol dependence treatment (Chermack et al., 2008; Rothman et al., 2008). During-treatment improvements in the remaining anger and anger-related cognition measures predicted clients’ positive posttreatment alcohol involvement; however, predictive strength was not significantly different between treatment conditions.
Best Payroll Software for Small Businesses
When you launch a payroll, they show you a list of employees (and possibly contractors; you may run them separately) and their pay rates. You first check to make sure the pay period and pay date are correct. After that, you simply enter the number of hours worked, where applicable, in the appropriate pay type boxes (regular, overtime, vacation, and so on) or import them. Though the exact order varies, some services walk you through pages of questions in an orderly, step-by-step fashion. These setup wizards ask for information about your company, such as address and Employer Identification Number (EIN).
Payroll Apps Have Many Benefits
There are better, less expensive https://www.bookstime.com/ payroll services that you could use as a standalone or integrated service. QuickBooks Online is the best overall small business accounting service, and it integrates beautifully with QuickBooks Payroll. If you don’t use QuickBooks for accounting, you can still use QuickBooks Payroll as a standalone application.
Best Online Bookkeeping Services of 2024
We include Square Payroll among the best online payroll services because of this powerful connection. By itself, however, Square Payroll is expensive (considering its scope) and not as feature-rich as its competitors. It can handle more than 100 employees, but it’s best for companies with fewer than 10. A simple, inexpensive, integrated accounting application called Patriot Software Accounting adds to its appeal. OnPay is ideal for small businesses new to payroll, though it can also handle hundreds of employees. The service doesn’t pile on extra fees the way some payroll services do, so it’s good for small businesses on a budget.
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They do wish that Justworks offered more in the way of integrations with popular accounting and other software and some express the need for more customizable platform features. From start-ups to established enterprises, businesses rely on accurate and insightful financial information in order to maintain profitability and capitalize on new opportunities. The leading online bookkeeping bookkeeping and payroll services services offer many levels of security. Among the benefits of these meetings are the opportunity to discuss upcoming financial goals, budgeting, and expansion plans, as well as to understand the tax implications of business decisions.
Bench: Overall Best Online Bookkeeping Service
- Is budget your top concern when it comes to online bookkeeping services?
- The allotted compensation can significantly impact employee retention and your business’ cash flow.
- However, customer service is often unresponsive and they wish the time keeping app were included in RUN by ADP’s plans.
- To learn more, read our review of Wave Accounting, which is linked above.
- Most of the payroll services we review offer basic HR components, such as online W-4 and W-9 forms, new-hire reporting, document templates, and document storage.
Employees access the mobile app to view their paychecks, review and manage their benefits and access their tax documents. In addition, they can track their vacation days and request time off using the mobile app. Finally, as an added perk, employees can use the app to access TriNet-offered discounts on technology, groceries and other products.
Unfortunately, InDinero doesn’t have many integration options, but if you already use the software they integrate with, it’s a very robust solution. Merritt Bookkeeping has the most competitive pricing on our list and is the only one to offer a flat rate for all types of businesses. Unfortunately, if flexibility is what you’re looking for, Merritt Bookkeeping may not be for you since you can only import data from QuickBooks Online. If you’re looking for something very cheap and simple and your business is in its very early stages, the affordability of Merritt Bookkeeping makes it a good choice.
What to Expect From an Online Bookkeeping Service
While Bookkeeper.com didn’t make our list of the best online bookkeeper services, it’s one of the few providers that will file a sales tax return for you. Read adjusting entries our review of Bookkeeper.com if sales tax return filing is important to your business. Pilot is a financial services firm that provides bookkeeping, tax, and CFO advisory services for startups and small businesses.
QuickBooks Accounting Help and Assistance
If you need to share files with your bookkeeping team, it’s as simple as uploading a file. If you’re several years behind on your bookkeeping and taxes, you can get caught up and filed with Catch Up Bookkeeping. A year end package with everything you need to file comes standard with Bench. With our Bookkeeping & Tax plan, you get expert tax prep, filing, and year-round tax advisory support.
DEPco Accounting Personal and Business CPA, CGMA Marietta, GA
We invite you to get to know the team that will be working closely with you to grow your business and achieve your financial goals. Community anchored businesses play a vital role in fostering local economies and strengthening neighborhoods. Safe Haven Accounting is committed to supporting these businesses with tailored accounting solutions that align with their community-focused missions. Vishuchi brings with her a wealth of experience accounting georgia in audits, financial analysis, reporting and retail banking operations in the financial services, entertainment and hospitality industries. An MBA from Emory University, she has a passion for accounting and relationship management and is currently pursuing her CPA certification.
- Safe Haven Accounting Services provides personalized bookkeeping and financial services for individuals, solopreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits.
- Our tailored accounting solutions encompass everything from bookkeeping to financial analysis, helping entrepreneurs navigate financial challenges and seize growth opportunities.
- She has also been part of corporate accounting teams managing SG&A analysis, intercompany accounting & reconciliations, transfer pricing analysis and revenue & COGS analysis.
- From bookkeeping and coaching to budgeting, consulting, tax preparation, tax planning, financial counseling we offer a holistic approach tailored to your unique needs.
- Therapists devote their time and energy to helping others, and at Safe Haven Accounting, we’re here to support their financial well-being.
- Founded in 2001, Ellison Accounting Services, Inc has two accountants, each with a BBA degree in Accounting from West GA College.
Senior Financial Analyst
Safe Haven Accounting offers comprehensive accounting support to businesses across various industries, ensuring that profitability remains at the forefront of their operations. From financial statement analysis to tax planning and compliance, our experienced team provides strategic insights and personalized solutions to optimize financial performance. Let us be your trusted partner in navigating the complexities of business finance, so you can achieve sustained growth and profitability. Service providers across various industries trust Safe Haven Accounting for comprehensive bookkeeping solutions that support their business objectives.
To qualify for funding your business needs to be at least a year old.
- S&H Accounting adopts a hands-on approach so we can be an integral part of your team.
- S&H Accounting maximizes its resources and provides a hands-on approach to help clients make the most out of their tax returns and have a seamless cash flow.
- Welcome to the beautiful coastal region of Georgia, where rich history meets stunning landscapes, and unique businesses thrive.
- From expense tracking to tax planning, we provide personalized support to help you achieve greater efficiency and profitability in your solo venture.
- Safe Haven Accounting specializes in providing accounting support tailored to the unique needs of nonprofits, including grant management, fund accounting, and compliance assistance.
- Our specialized accounting services for therapists encompass billing support and tax planning tailored to the unique needs of mental health professionals.
With our support, small businesses can streamline operations, optimize cash flow, and achieve sustainable expansion while staying focused on their core objectives. In the fast-paced world of retail, accurate financial management is essential for success. Safe Haven Accounting understands the challenges retailers face, from inventory management to sales tracking and cash flow optimization. Our tailored accounting solutions for retail businesses streamline processes, improve assets = liabilities + equity efficiency, and provide valuable insights to drive informed decision-making.
Ellison Accounting Services Inc
With our expertise, you can focus on delivering quality care while we handle the financial side of your practice, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and financial stability. At MST, we believe the strength of our team is the foundation of our success. Our skilled professionals bring a wealth of knowledge, talent, and experience in the accounting and financial sectors, ensuring that our clients receive exceptional service and advice.
MANAGING PARTNER
Whether you’re a consultant, freelancer, or professional service firm, our team offers personalized accounting support to streamline operations, manage cash flow, and optimize profitability. With our expertise, service providers can focus on delivering exceptional services to their clients while we handle the financial details. For individuals seeking personalized bookkeeping services, Safe Haven Accounting offers dedicated support to manage personal finances efficiently. Whether you’re tracking expenses, optimizing investments, or planning for the future, our team provides personalized bookkeeping solutions tailored to your unique financial goals. Let us alleviate the burden of financial management so you can enjoy peace of mind and focus on what matters most to you. Therapists devote their time and energy to helping others, and at Safe Haven Accounting, we’re here to support their financial well-being.
Investment Accounting Manager jobs
From expense tracking to tax planning, we provide personalized support to help you achieve greater efficiency and profitability in your solo venture. Safe Haven Accounting Services provides personalized bookkeeping and financial services for individuals, solopreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits. Let us be your trusted partner, navigating the complexities of your finances so you can focus on what truly matters.
Years of experience
Partner with us to ensure your retail business operates smoothly and profitably in today’s competitive landscape. Nonprofit organizations play a crucial role in serving communities, and at Safe Haven Accounting, we’re dedicated to helping these organizations thrive. Our tailored accounting solutions for nonprofits include grant management, fund accounting, and financial reporting designed to support transparency and accountability. Let us empower your nonprofit to fulfill its mission more effectively by providing reliable financial insights and strategic guidance. Nishita brings over 12 years of experience in GAAP accounting, tax preparation and planning with clients from various industries. She has also been part of corporate accounting teams managing SG&A analysis, intercompany accounting & reconciliations, transfer pricing analysis and revenue & COGS analysis.
Welcome to the beautiful coastal region of Georgia, where rich history meets stunning landscapes, and unique businesses thrive. In this exceptional community, MST is proud to offer top-notch accounting and financial services to help local businesses flourish. From bookkeeping and coaching to budgeting, consulting, tax preparation, tax planning, financial https://www.bookstime.com/articles/bookkeeping-for-chiropractors counseling we offer a holistic approach tailored to your unique needs. Ellison Accounting Services, Inc. offers a complete range of accounting services, including general ledger, bank reconciliation, and sales tax reporting to state agencies. We prepare professional financial statements as well as tailor-made financial analyses that can help business owners manage their finances efficiently and accurately.
Consumer Price Index CPI Definition, Calculation, & Uses
The Bureau of Labor Statistics samples 80,000 prices monthly to calculate the CPI, weighing the index for each product or service in proportion to its share of recent consumer spending to calculate the overall change in prices. The calculation also factors in the substitution effect as consumers shift spending away from the products rising in price on a relative basis. To calculate the CPI, data is collected on the prices of a set of goods and services that reflect the how can i buy bitcoin in the uk typical spending patterns of households in a given region or country. These items in the basket are assigned different weights based on their significance to consumers, and their prices are tracked over time. This key economic metric is based on prices that consumers pay for goods and services throughout the U.S. economy. The percentage change in CPI over a period of time is referred to as the inflation rate.
What is the Consumer Price Index?
Mortgage rates (and other forms of long-term debt) are often impacted by rates set by government agencies. As the CPI increases and the government enacts policy changes to slow inflation, rates often increase. On the other hand, landlords may use CPI information to adequately assess what annual rent increases for renters should be. CPI-W is used to adjust Social Security payments as well as other federal benefits and pensions for changes in the cost of living. It also shifts federal income tax brackets to ensure taxpayers aren’t subjected to a higher marginal rate as a result of inflation. The BLS collects about 80,000 prices fully automated trading monthly from some 23,000 retail and service establishments.
Making Pricing and Business Strategy Decisions
The basket of goods and services used for CPI includes popular items that Americans regularly purchase. The current cost of the basket is compared to its cost in the prior year, and then multiplied by 100 to determine the percentage. Then, there is the point that a rise in interest rates designed to halt inflation could paradoxically make inflation appear higher if current interest rates showed up in the index. Economists’ principles are not acceptable to all, nor is their insistence on consistency between the treatment of owner-occupied dwellings and other durables. This distinction may seem like a matter of semantics, but it means PCE’s able to better track expenditures that consumers do not pay for directly, like medical care paid for by employer-provided insurance or Medicare and Medicaid.
Because the CPI is based on consumer spending, it doesn’t track third-party reimbursements for healthcare and significantly underweights healthcare relative to its proportion in the GDP as a result. On the other hand, criticism concerning the quality adjustments used in the CPI has been widely discounted by economists. The owners’ equivalent category models the rent equivalent for owner-occupied housing to properly reflect housing costs’ share of consumer spending.
Finance Strategists is a leading financial education organization that connects people with financial professionals, priding itself on providing accurate and reliable financial information to millions of readers each year. The articles and research support materials available on this site are educational and are not intended to be investment or tax advice. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. For information pertaining to the registration status of 11 Financial, please contact the state securities regulators for those states in which 11 Financial maintains a registration filing.
It does not require an estimate of how much that identical person is paying now on the actual house she bought in 2006, even though that is what personally concerns her now. Even with the necessary adjustments, the national-account estimates and household-expenditure surveys usually diverge. Savings and investment are always excluded, though the prices paid for financial services provided by financial intermediaries may be included along with insurance. Finally, PCE’s basket of goods is less fixed than CPI’s, which helps it account better for when consumers substitute one kind of good or service for another when it gets more expensive. As the price of beef rises, for instance, consumers may shift to purchasing more chicken.
Why You Can Trust Finance Strategists
The Bureau of Labor Statistics used the surveys to select more than 200 categories of goods and services to monitor. The CPI increases or decreases based on average price movements inside the market basket. Too much inflation suggests that an economy is facing serious troubles—but negative inflation, otherwise known as deflation, is an even bigger problem.
Thus response burden is markedly reduced, accuracy is increased, product description is more specific and point of purchase data are obtained, facilitating the estimation of outlet-type weights. Weight averages of these, in turn, provide sub-indices at a higher, more aggregated level (e.g. clothing) and weighted averages of the latter provide yet more aggregated sub-indices (e.g. Clothing and Footwear). The BLS calculates CPI inflation by taking the average weighted cost of a basket of goods in a given month and dividing it by the same basket from the previous month. The two most frequently cited indexes that calculate the inflation rate in the U.S. are the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE). Because the CPI Index is so crucial to economic policy and decision-making, its methodology has long been controversial, drawing claims it either understates or overstates inflation.
- It doesn’t cover spending by people living in farm households, institutions, or on military bases.
- This is just a matter of rescaling the whole time series to make the value for the index reference period equal to 100.
- The basket of goods and services includes food, housing, transportation, healthcare, and entertainment.
- Real GDP is measured by dividing nominal GDP (GDP measured in current prices) by the CPI for the same period and then multiplying the result by 100.
For instance, if the price of a computer stays the same, but the computer’s processing power doubles, the CPI may not accurately reflect the increased value of the computer. Investors use the CPI to identify potential opportunities and risks in various industries. For example, industries that are highly sensitive to changes in the what is a white-label broker in forex CPI, such as healthcare and housing, may present opportunities or risks depending on the direction of inflation. As a writer, Michael has covered everything from stocks to cryptocurrency and ETFs for many of the world’s major financial publications, including Kiplinger, U.S. News and World Report, The Motley Fool and more.
How the weights are calculated, and in how much detail, depends upon the availability of information and upon the scope of the index. The result is that it is difficult to use data sources relating to total consumption by all population groups. The index reference period, usually called the base year, often differs both from the weight-reference period and the price-reference period.