A Question of Balance An important function of any business is bookkeeping. Somebody has to write down the checks and the deposits that were made. The man in the corner store next to Mama’s computer lab never writes anything down: he keeps it all in his head and does an excellent job. Mama tried that, but whatever I put in my head has a tendency to leak. So, for the Computer Mama (and most businesses) a spreadsheet is a good way to document the business transactions. Let's start with a check book.   Go ahead—Start the Program Microsoft Excel. What Do You See? Is there a Title Bar that says Book 1-Microsoft Excel? Yes. Is there a Home Ribbon with the Clipboard, Font and Alignment Groups? Yes. If your screen looks similar to the example on this page, then you are ready to get started.