Software Updates, General Ledger and Tips & TricksTips and Tricks (cont’d) Track owner-paid business expenses •Encourage owner to use business forms of payments •Create a Credit

Mastering QuickBooks:Software Updates, General Ledger and Tips & Tricks

Presented by Dharma Diaz-Azcuy, CPAFall 2015

Introductions

WBL is a full service accounting firm

WBL’s Client Accounting Group support clients with accounting matters, software needs, special projects and controllership functions

Laura Speir, Partner-in-Charge, Accounting Services

Molly Dyer, Accounting Services Senior Staff, QuickBooks Pro Advisor

Dharma Diaz-Azcuy, Accounting Services Manager, QuickBooks Pro Advisor 15 years experience as a CPA

12 years experience as a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (2003-present)

Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting, Georgia State University

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Training Outline

1. Overview of QuickBooks

2. Software Updates

3. General Ledger• Maintaining the data base

• Maintaining the transaction

4. Tips & Tricks

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1. Overview of QuickBooks

Intuit continues its focus on the growth of QuickBooks On-Line

• Improvements more in line with desktop version• Bank feeds rules, updated “pay bills” page, improved register functionality

• Able to improve continuously (vs. once-per-year)

Desktop version will not be abandoned

• Licensing options for Desktop

versions will remain the same

• Enterprise version now subscription vs. license

Lateral growth

• Partnership with other software providers to enhance product

1. Overview

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Overview of QuickBooks (cont’d)

Desktop improvements

Using centers to improve efficiency

• QuickBooks Centers allows users to track the people and companies you do business with

• Users can manage and view all information and transactions

• QuickBooks Centers include customers, vendors and employees

Using forms improves data entry

• All of your everyday QuickBooks tasks, like invoicing, paying bills and writing checks, are done on forms

• You can reach every form in QuickBooks from the Home page or the menus

1. Overview

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Overview of QuickBooks (cont’d)

Easy way to view company information and input data Company Insights page has been improved

• A new dashboard replaces Company Snapshot feature (still available)• A more up-to-date, cleaner looking user interface• Real-time company information • Perform tasks from a single place• Preview of business financial state• Access frequent transactions

Company Snapshot• More than 20 “widgetized” graph/charts

that you can add to the screen on three separate tabs

• Some customization and printing options• Shows company’s financial state, account

balances, income breakdown, customers who owe you money, best-selling items, and reminders

1. Overview

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2. Software Updates

Insights tab in the Home window

Income Tracker upgrades

Updated Reminders window

Pinned notes

New report formatting

Updated online payments

2. Software Updates

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Software Updates

Insights tab in the Home window

• Highlights your company’s financial status and activity

• Creates high-level graphs

• Details income and expenses

• Combines pie and bar charts

Income Tracker upgrades

• Makes customer transaction information easier to find using colored boxes

• Displays unbilled time and expenses on new tab

2. Software Updates

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Software Updates (cont’d)

Updated reminders window• Customizable

• Relevant reminders with specific details• Financial calendar can be customized

Pinned notes • Pin a note to list names for vendor, customer, or

employee • It appears at the center’s top right when you

select that name in the centers

New report formatting • Shaded rows based on levels

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2. Software Updates


Updated online payments QuickBooks Payments--Eventually all other payment

accounts are going to be rolled up into this one account

New online payments feature replaced the Intuit Merchant Services, Intuit Payment Network, Intuit Go Payment, and more

Now there is one set of rates and rules, one application process, one website to manage them all

2. Software Updates

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Updated online payments If you already have a payment account and were using it

in QuickBooks, your account should automatically get converted to a QuickBooks Payments

If you already have a payment account with Intuit but have NOT used it in QuickBooks, use the Link Payment Service to Company File

2. Software Updates

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2. Software Updates

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2. Software Updates

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2. Software Updates

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2. Software Updates

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• Updated online payments


2. Software Updates

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2. Software Updates

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2. Software Updates

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Updated online payments To see your payments and reconcile with your account

select the Make Merchant Service Deposits option in the

Banking menu.


2. Software Updates

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Updated online payments This opens a window that shows you the bank activity for

your merchant account

3. General Ledger

Maintaining your database Important to maintain and protect database

Can risk losing all data due to improper maintenance

If no back-up exists, data must be restored/reentered manually

• Make sure to contact your accountant

Restoration is costly and time-consuming

Can delay financial and tax reporting

3. General Ledger

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Database maintenance (cont’d)

Most common problems are corruption, data loss

Improper shut down

Power failure

• Surge protectors

Poor work habits

• Leaving too many screens opened

• Not shutting the program down properly

PC crashes

Hardware failure

• One loose cable

Lack of data base maintenance

3. General Ledger

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Recommended file size (not to exceed) Pro/Premier 120-150 MG

Enterprise 1-1.2 gig

DB file frags should be single digit If file is too large

• Consider starting a new file

3. General Ledger

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Control “1” to get info on: • File size• DB file fragments• Total transactions• Lists

3. General Ledger

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Create a back-up!

Run defragmentation routinely• Fragmentation slows down the system

Run utilities in QuickBooks • Verify and/or rebuild data

Create a portable file• Restore the portable file into new file, do not replace

Resort lists• Unhide inactive lists items

Copy data file to USB with no other files in it• Run defragmentation

Condense data

3. General Ledger

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3. General Ledger

Overview A complete record of all financial transactions

over the life of the company

Holds account information needed to prepare financial statements

Gathers accounting data from all sub-ledgers

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Payable

Sales Tax

Payroll

3. General Ledger

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Working with the General Ledger

How to save time entering data• Memorize transactions• Duplicate transactions• Income tracker

• Record invoice from sales order• Receive multiple payments• Email multiple invoices

3. General Ledger

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Accurate reporting requires data maintenance

Apply credit memos • Customers • Vendors

Correct misapplied payments or credits

Identify old outstanding checks • Void• Reissue

Set up closing date

3. General Ledger

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General Ledger

Use forms when ever possible• Invoices, receive payments and credit memos• Bills, pay bills and credit memos• Transfer funds

Avoid journal entries to the following accounts:• Accounts Receivable• Accounts Payable• Bank Accounts

When is it okay to use journal entries?• Record depreciation expense • Record payroll• Recording year end transactions• Reclassifications and corrections• Recording owners contributions other than cash

3. General Ledger

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4. Tips and Tricks

Admin Login

• Create a login for each user

• Limit the use of the admin user

4. Tips & Tricks

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Tips and Tricks (cont’d)

Editing Payments linked to Deposits

• Why?

• May have been posted to wrong customer

• Want to preserve the clear status

• How?

• Create a new payment

• Add it to the deposit

• Delete the incorrect payment

4. Tips & Tricks

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Adjust items to create correct sales reports• Why?

• Accounts impact the general ledger and itemsimpact sales reports

• Correcting one and not the other results in sales report not matching the general ledger

• How?• Use a form (bill, invoice or check for $0) rather

than recording a journal entry

4. Tips & Tricks

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Track owner-paid business expenses• Encourage owner to use business forms of

payments

• Create a Credit Card account named “purchases by owner”

• Owner may either be reimbursed or balance may be transferred to loan from owner or contribution to company

4. Tips & Tricks

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Prevent users from making

changes to chart of account

• Use the 1099 setup

• Use one of the categories you will never use in the normal course of business

• Link all unlinked accounts to the category chosen above

4. Tips & Tricks

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Terminate QuickBooks on a

workstation

• Available with Pro, Premier, Accountants and Enterprise

• Use chat screen to close file

• Unsaved data will be lost

4. Tips & Tricks

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Tips and Tricks: Use Your Preferences

Configure company and user

preferences

Saves time

Streamlines daily data entry

4. Tips & Tricks

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Use Your Preferences

“Show lowest subaccount only”• Prevent users from posting to main accounts

Checking: select preferred bank accounts• Automatically pulls up correct account

Show/not show Home page when opening a company file

Enable the “search” function to appear on each screen

If you do not bill expenses turn off “mark all expenses as billable”

If your company does reimbursable expenses, turn on “track reimbursable expenses as income”

4. Tips & Tricks

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Use Your Preferences

• Keep QuickBooks running for quick startups

• Program launches faster

• Launches when you reboot your computer

• Uses more of your computer’s memory

• Turning on “automatically calculate payments” automatically writes off insignificant balances

• “Prompt me to refresh” avoids refreshing reports after each transaction is changed

4. Tips & Tricks

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Customize Settings

4. Tips & Tricks

Allow QuickBooks to sync with Outlook contacts

Build your favorites menu

Customizing the icon bar

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Customize Settings

4. Tips & Tricks

Allow QuickBooks to sync with Outlook contacts

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http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/tools/contact_sync/

http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/tools/contact_sync/

Resources

4. Tips & Tricks

Websites in QuickBooks that Intuit has tested and work well with QuickBooks

Intuit App Center (http://appcenter.intuit.com)

Intuit Marketplace (http://marketplace.intuit.com)

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http://appcenter.intuit.com/


Exiting QuickBooks• Close all opened reports

• Click on file and exit

• Backup regularly

4. Tips & Tricks

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Questions?Dharma Diaz-Azcuy

770-512-0500

[email protected]

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Documents

Software Updates, General Ledger and Tips & TricksTips and Tricks (cont’d) Track owner-paid business expenses •Encourage owner to use business forms of payments •Create a Credit