Post on 22-Mar-2020
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
Software Updates (cont’d)
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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Software Updates (cont’d)
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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Software Updates (cont’d)
Updated online payments
2. Software Updates
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Software Updates (cont’d)
Updated online payments
2. Software Updates
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Software Updates (cont’d)
2. Software Updates
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Updated online payments
Software Updates (cont’d)
2. Software Updates
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• Updated online payments
Software Updates (cont’d)
2. Software Updates
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Updated online payments
Software Updates (cont’d)
2. Software Updates
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Updated online payments
Software Updates (cont’d)
2. Software Updates
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Updated online payments
Software Updates (cont’d)
2. Software Updates
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Updated online payments
Software Updates (cont’d)
2. Software Updates
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Updated online payments
Software Updates (cont’d)
2. Software Updates
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Updated online payments
Software Updates (cont’d)
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.
Software Updates (cont’d)
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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Database maintenance (cont’d)
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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Database maintenance (cont’d)
Control “1” to get info on: • File size• DB file fragments• Total transactions• Lists
3. General Ledger
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Database maintenance (cont’d)
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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Tips and Tricks (cont’d)
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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Tips and Tricks (cont’d)
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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Tips and Tricks (cont’d)
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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Tips and Tricks (cont’d)
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/
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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Tips and Tricks (cont’d)
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
ddiaz-azcuy@wblcpa.com
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