G Quick Books Pro Manual 2009 v5

8/6/2019 G Quick Books Pro Manual 2009 v5

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QuickBooks Pro Manualfor Development Organisations

Fifth version prepared December 2009 for users ofQuickBooks Pro 2006. For limited circulation within Mango

and selected NGOs (further information from Mangowww.mango.org.uk and [email protected])


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QuickBooks Pro 2006 - Notes for NGOs

CONTENTS

1. USING THIS MANUAL ..................................................................................... 2

2. CHOOSING THE RIGHT VERSION FOR THE ORGANISATION .................... 2

3. EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION .................................... 2

4. IT PROCEDURES ........................................................................................... 3

5. INTERNAL CHECKS AND CONTROLS .......................................................... 3

6. SETTING UP THE ORGANISATION (EASY STEP INTERVIEW) .................... 4

7. SETTING UP THE QUICKBOOKS OPENING WINDOW ................................. 5

8. SETTING UP USERS AND PASSWORDS ...................................................... 5

9. SETTING UP THE CHART OF ACCOUNTS.................................................... 6

10. USING CLASSES FOR RESTRICTED FUNDS /PROJECTS ........................ 7

11. CASH AND BANK TRANSACTIONS ............................................................... 8

12. BANK RECONCILIATION ................................................................................ 9

13. JOURNAL ENTRIES ........................................................................................ 9

14. REPORTS ..................................................................................................... 10

15. EXPORTING REPORTS TO EXCEL ............................................................. 11

16. YEAR END TASKS ........................................................................................ 11

17. SETTING UP BUDGETS ............................................................................... 11

18. FOREIGN CURRENCY ................................................................................. 12

19. CHECKLIST 1 - SETTING UP QUICKBOOKS .............................................. 14

20. CHECKLIST 2 MONTHLY CHECKS AND PROCEDURES ......................... 15

QuickBooks is a registered trademark of Intuit Inc in the United States and othercountries.


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QuickBooks Pro Manual 2009 v55 Richard Collins 2009

1. Using this Manual

This manual is for users of QuickBooks Pro 2006, which is a multicurrency version of thesoftware. At the time of writing the most recent version of QuickBooks in the UK isQuickBooks Pro 2008. This is not multicurrency and has several different working features tothose explained in this manual.

The Menus leading you to the required feature in QuickBooks are shown in uppercase in thismanual. This is to help you find you way round the software. For example, if you need tofind the option for using multi-windows instead of single window this would be shown asfollows: EDIT-PREFERENCES- DESKTOP VIEW- MY PREFERENCES. You would find theoption for selecting multi windows in the last window My Preferences.

If you need detailed information about how QuickBooks software works you should selectthe menu HELP!

This manual should be adapted to meet the needs of your organisation. In the appendicesthere are checklists to help you set up QuickBooks, and to carry out regular checks and

operating procedures.

2. Choosing the right software for the organisation

QuickBooks can only handle 8 Digits plus 2 decimal points for individual transactions. Ifyour currency has many digits QuickBooks may not be right for you. You should ask otherNGOs in the region what software they use. Alternatives might include Pastel, MYOBand SAGE carry out some research before you start!

We recommend QuickBooks Pro (not the Non Profit version unless you are based in the UK)as this has features for Budgeting and is also Multi-currency. Non UK users should not usethe Payroll add-on as this designed for the UK tax system. Check that the version hasmulticurrency at the time of writing QuickBooks 2008 does not have multi-currency.

There is a French multicurrency version that can only be purchased via a Canadian residentfrom Intuit Canada.

3. Equipment requirements and installation

Do check that your computer system is up to date. QuickBooks 2006 requires as a minimuma 200 MHz Pentium and 64 MB of RAM, and 350 MB of free disk space, plus 70 MB forMicrosoft Internet Explorer. Refer to the QuickBooks manual for further details.

It is highly desirable to run QuickBooks on a computer that has access to the internet, forregistration and updating of the software.

The QuickBooks manual that comes with the software explains how to install and activatethe software. Remember to close all open programmes, including anti-virus, before

installing the software. You should print out the details of the Serial number, Installationkey and Licence key after activating the software.


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4. IT proceduresIt is essential that your NGO has a written IT Policy which will include regulations aboutcomputer access and security, and anti-virus precautions. Regular Backups must be kept ina secure location away from the computer. An external hard drive, and CDs, arerecommended for your backups. See the Checklist in Appendix 1.

If QuickBooks is installed on more than one computer each computer must have its ownlicence. If you transfer company files across from one computer to the other this is done bybacking up (FILE BACKUP) the file to be transferred, and then restoring it on the secondcomputer (using the FILE- RESTORE menu). Do take care that the correct filenames areused during this process, so that you do not delete a needed file on the second computer bymistake.

If your computers are online the QuickBooks files are automatically updated from time totime so that your computer has the most recent version. When transferring a file from onecomputer to another you must make sure that you have the same version of the softwareon each computer. A computer with an older version may not accept a newer version file.The Automatic Update feature can be switched off on both computers if this is likely to

cause problems (FILE UPDATE QUICKBOOKS OPTIONS).

5. Internal checks and controlsAIM: To make sure that the control features of QuickBooks software are used asa part of the normal internal checks and controls of the organisation.

NGOs should never rely on software systems to provide sufficient check and controls on theaccuracy or security of their accounting systems. Reports that are produced from theaccounting software must be checked; backup kept and access to the software restricted tothe accounting staff.

QuickBooks is a flexible system and it is up to you to choose PREFERENCES that will giveyour organisation the control as to who can access the software. You can also decide if

users should be restricted in what they can do.Note that ADMINISTRATOR has total access to the QuickBooks system, including the editingor delete of past transactions entries. You should have someone other than the

Administrator who is responsible for entering transactions. This person will have their ownpassword, and will not have the Access Right to edit or delete transactions, or to enterinto previous periods. The Administrator should not be the person who does the dailyentering of transactions into QuickBooks (and one person should be responsible for all thedaily entries into QuickBooks).

The person nominated as the Administrator will typically be the Finance Director. Theperson responsible for making entries into QuickBooks might be the Accounts Assistant.The Accountant might be responsible for reviewing and printing reports and for preparinginput documents for the accounts assistant to enter into QuickBooks.

The Administrator should set up a number of controls into the system:

a) The Administrator will set up Users and determine what they can and cannot do. Forexample a User responsible for making the daily entries will not have the ability to edit ordelete past transactions entries.

b) Journal entries should be approved by the Finance Director.

c) The Administrator should choose a password (keep a copy of this with someone whodoes not make entries in QuickBooks).

d) Once management reports and annual accounts have been prepared the Administratorshould ensure that the past accounting period is Closed and password protected so that it

can only be opened again by the Administrator. This is to ensure that no changes aremade prior to the date of closure.


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6. Setting up the Organisation (Easy Step Interview)

AIM: Set up QuickBooks properly so that it works smoothly for you right from thestart. Some features that you choose at this stage cannot be easily changedlater!

Welcome work through the screens.

CompanyNGO name and addressSelect Type of Business Not for Profit organisationWhen you come to the screen Your Income and Expense Accounts make sure that youdeselect Yes and select No, I would like to create my ownAccessing your company: Users and Passwords see section 4 of this manual.

PreferencesThese are features that you can turn on or off. They can be found in EDIT-PREFERENCES. Itis a good idea to review them as they can make life easier if they are set up properly.

The Easy Step interview will prompt you on key features as follows:

STOCK defaults to NO

MULTICURRENCY defaults to NO (see section 15 in this manual)

Invoice format, Employees (only relevant in the UK),

Estimates defaults to YES; you may change this to NO unless you issue invoicesTime Tracking defaults to YES; you may change to NO unless you require time records

CLASSIFYING TRANSACTIONS defaults to NO, but you will probably want to change thisto YES (see section 8).

Two ways to handle Bills if you are not using the suppliers ledger select the first optionEnter the cheques directly

Reminders List most NGOs would not use this feature as they would have other ways tobe reminded of tasks to be carried out.

ACCRUALS OR CASH BASED REPORTING it is strongly recommended that you leave thesetting on Accrual based reports even if your accounting and reporting is cash based!

VATRemember to change the default setting to NO unless you are registered for VAT in the UK.

Start DateIt is usually best to set the start date as the first day of your financial year even if you willstart to use QuickBooks at a later date. (TIP: If you have time and a good accountingknowledge it is a good idea to enter the previous years trial balance into QuickBooks anduse this to set up reports with comparative figures etc.).

Income Accounts, Expense AccountsOur advice: LEAVE Easy Step interview at this point. See section 7 below concerning thesetting up of your chart of accounts.


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7. Setting up the QuickBooks opening WindowAIM: To remove all unnecessary icons, etc from the QuickBooks opening windowand to set up a system that will enable you to access the most used menus andreports at the touch of a button!

Our suggestion: Clear all menus and icons and start with an empty page!

We suggest that you then open the Shortcut List VIEW select SHORTCUT LIST

The SHORTCUT LIST is extremely useful. You can prepare a shortcut a list of frequentlyused menus and reports and these are displayed on the left hand side of your monitorscreen. These menus and reports are then available to you at the touch of a button!

NOTE: You can keep opening as many windows as you like while using QuickBooks butmake sure that you close down unused windows from time to time. If you have too manywindows open the computer may crash!

8. Setting up Users and PasswordsAIM: To restrict access to authorised persons and to set the limits as to whateach user can and cannot do.

When you set up QuickBooks you are prompted to enter a Password for the Administrator(named as Admin). This is a first step in establishing control over access to the software.

The Administrator should not normally be the person who is responsible for the dailyentering of transactions into QuickBooks. The Administrator is a senior person with asupervisory role, and the responsibility to check that entries into QuickBooks are authorisedand accurate.

The Administrator will set up other USERS, each with a password, and will decide upon theACCESS RIGHTS of each person.

The menu to set up Users and their Access rights is found under COMPANY SET UPUSERS. Here the Administrator can Add, Edit or Delete Users. The Administrator can thenset up the password and access rights of the new user. The Access rights range from fullaccess to selective access, and where the user can modify past transactions or not.

Your organisation should have very clear procedures concerning the security ofPASSWORDS. If the Administrators password is lost, or if the Administrator is no longercontactable, the whole system could be blocked if there is no backup plan! Someone,preferably at Board level should have access to the files in this situation.


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9. Setting up The Chart of AccountsAIM: To set up your own Chart of Accounts and set up Account Numbers.

METHOD 1 Preparing your Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks.

On the SHORTCUT LIST you will see in the first section, COMPANY, the item CHART OF

ACCOUNTS. Click on this. You will then enter the chart of accounts window. There will be afew system generated accounts there (Payroll liabilities, Giro etc.)

a) The first task is to set up QuickBooks to accept account numbers:

Account Numbers - EDIT-PREFERENCES-ACCOUNTING-COMPANY PREFERENCES-USEACCOUNT NUMBERS

** ALSO SHOW LOWEST SUB-ACCOUNT NUMBER ONLY but you can only select thisonce all existing accounts have been allocated account numbers!

So go back to the Chart of Accounts and delete or edit the existing accounts and give them

appropriate numbers. Then you can return and select Show lowest sub-account numberonly.

METHOD 2 Importing your Chart of Accounts from an Excel SpreadsheetIf you have a list of your Accounts on an Excel Spreadsheet this can be directly importedinto QuickBooks. Go to FILE- IMPORT-EXCEL FILES and then follow the instructions. Theaccounts on the Excel spreadsheet should be arranged so that the account numbers are inone column; the account names (which must not exceed 32 characters) in a second column,and the account Type (i.e. Income, Expense etc. as used in QuickBooks) in a third column.

CREATING NEW ACCOUNTS we recommend Right clicking the mouse and selecting NEW. Alternatively go through the EDIT menu.

DELETING ACCOUNTS this can be done through the EDIT menu. QuickBooks will not letyou delete accounts in which transactions have been recorded

TIP: Making Accounts Inactive. If after some time you have many accounts that you nolonger use you can make them inactive (right click the mouse). If you do this werecommend that you click on the Account button at the bottom of the window and select

Show all accounts. Otherwise you can forget that they are there!

TIP: If you have main accounts with sub-accounts where transactions are entered you maywish to write the main account names in capitals/ uppercase, or place a suffix such as a fullstop in from of the name. In this way the person making entries into QuickBooks is lesslikely to enter transactions into the main accounts by mistake.


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10. Using Classes for Restricted Funds /Projects

AIM: To set up a method for allocating transactions to individual projects andfunds and monitoring their financial activity. The QuickBooks word Class mayindicate a Fund, Programme or Project in your organisation.

Transactions may be classified as well as posted to their respective general ledgeraccount. This is very useful for NGOs if you have to track the use of restricted funds,projects, departments etc.

It may be advisable to allocate all income and expenditure to a class. In this way there isless possibility of forgetting to allocate items to a particular class.

Setting up ClassesClasses may be set up either as you enter each transaction, or by selecting the menu :LISTS- CLASS LIST and then creating a new class. Note that it is possible to create sub-classes. This is useful if you have a project that is co-funded or where you need to have asub total of income and expenditure for a group of funds or projects.

MANAGEMENT REPORTSThe PROFIT AND LOSS BY CLASS report gives a breakdown of income and expense for eachclass for the dates that you specify. There is also a column that lists all transactions thathave not been classified. This is useful as you can review each item by double clicking onthe amounts listed in the unclassified column, and then check if the transaction should havebeen entered into a particular class.

It is recommended that you check that all income and expenditure transactions have beenallocated into their respective classes

NOTE: The dates cannot straddle a financial year, and the QuickBooks year end function

does not carry forward balances for individual Classes. Work around solutions have to befound!

The year end date may be temporarily changed (in COMPANY COMPANY INFORMATION)Temporary OTHER INCOME accounts may be set up by a journal entry at the beginning ofthe year recording opening Class (Project/Fund) balances.

Create an account entitled Opening fund balance The account type is Other Income

Prepare a journal dated the first day of your financial year. Debit and credit this accountwith the opening balances on all funds. If this is done correctly debits will equal credits!

Record the balances against the correct Classes

Your management reports for Classes will show the opening and closing balance to date inrespect of each project.

No journal is required at the end of the year as the QuickBooks year end routine willautomatically zero out this Opening Balance income account.

BUDGET REPORTS FOR A SPECIFIC CLASSA budget may be prepared for a specific class. This is a completely separate operation fromrecording a budget for the whole NGO. When you enter the BUDGETING & PLANNINGMENU (see section 14 below) Additional Profit and Loss Criteria you must select ClassThe amounts you enter will NOT be integrated in your overall NGO budget.

When you need to prepare a report comparing actual against budgeted results for aparticular Fund/Project the procedure is as follows:


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select the budget report entitled BY ACCOUNT AND CLASS. When the report is displayedyou will see that the budget picks up figures for all Classes for which you have set upbudgets, and the actual results are for the whole organisation.

select MODIFY ACCOUNT menu, and the FILTER tab. The select Classes and enter thename of the Class for which you need a report. The report will then only display the actual

and budget figures for the class you have selected.

you may wish to memorise the report, or add it to Shortcut Reports list so that it is easilyretrievable.

11. Cash and Bank transactionsAIM: To enter cash and bank transactions into QuickBooks together with date,reference numbers, class allocation and other relevant details.

Cash and Bank accounts must both be set up as Bank accounts in QuickBooks.

There are two ways of recording receipts and payments in a particular bank (or cash)account :

METHOD 1a) Close open windows and then go to BANKING-WRITE CHEQUES (or MAKE DEPOSITS)

(You will find these menus on the SHORTCUT LIST)

b) Select the appropriate Bank account

c) For payments, use the tab to move from one entry to the next as follows:Cheque (or reference) no;Date;Name of the person you are paying;Memo (best to write Meme details here as it will appear in the General ledger reports)Account number/nameAmountMemo (not necessary to use this if you enter details in the first Memo space)Customer Job (not necessary if you are not using sales invoicing)Class (see section 10).

HINT: You will see that the window displays the opening cash or bank balance in the topright corner. This is a useful check if you are copying entries from a manual cash bookwhere balances are recorded.

METHOD 2 (note: Method 2 does not work for foreign currency bank accounts)

a) Close open windows and then go to BANKING-USE REGISTERb) Select the appropriate Bank accountc) Add this to your SHORTCUT Menu by clicking on the QUICKADD button at the bottom

of the Shortcuts List.d) Enter up the details of the transaction as follows:

DateReference no.Person to whom money is paid/ from whom money is receivedThe amount in the payment or receipt columnThe account number

Memo detailsPress ALT P to see a further window where you can record the Class.

TIPS:


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Click on RECORD (or ALT D). QuickBooks then saves the transaction.

QuickBooks memorises names of the person you are paying as you enter them. You aregiven a choice as to which list you would like to record the name Supplier, Employer,Customer or Other. We suggest that DO NOT use the Employer option unless you areusing the Payroll software in the UK. Place these names in Other.

You can find the account by typing in either the name or the number (but be careful if twoaccounts have similar names)

Use Control C to Copy and Control V to paste same details (or use the mouse)

If you enter a receipt as a payment or a payment as a receipt QuickBooks will not allow youto immediately correct it. You have to start entering the whole transaction again.

12. Bank reconciliation

AIM: To prepare and record regular bank reconciliations.

The process is found in the menu: BANKING - RECONCILE

HINTS: You may temporarily Leave the bank reconciliation to make an entry or to correcta figure in the bank account, while you are preparing the bank reconciliation.

It is a good idea to print out the detail report when you have finished the reconciliation. Thisis a useful control report, especially for the month at the end of the financial year.

13. Journal entries

AIM: To enter non cash/ bank transactions, year end adjustments, etc inQuickBooks.

The Journal is found in the menu BANKING MAKE JOURNAL ENTRIES


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14. Reports

AIM: To produce timely management reports at the press of a button!

You will find a large number of reports, and illustrations, in the menu REPORTS REPORTFINDER then SELECT A TYPE OF REPORT.

Once you have selected a type you will find at the top of any report menus to select thedate; to modify fonts and layout; to export to excel, to reorder transactions etc.

In the Modify menu there are sub menus to change the display and contents; filter data;change headers and fonts.

Experiment until you have the result that you want! Then QUICKADD the report to theShortcut list. It will be there for you to retrieve whenever it is required.

There are a number of settings for DATE. You can set this for actual dates or to a period oftime such as This financial year to date. The report you have listed in Shortcuts is thenautomatically updated to the current date (assuming your entries are up to date as well!)

KEY REPORTSThese should include:

Company & Financial Standard Profit and Loss AccountCompany & Financial Standard Balance Sheet

Accountant & Taxes Trial BalanceTIP: If you double click on an amount listed on the Trial Balance QuickBooks will take youto a screen displaying the detailed transactions; if you need to look at all the transactions,including those of previous periods, change the Dates setting to ALL.

Accountant & Taxes General LedgerTIP: If you do not wish to include ledger accounts for which there are no transactions orbalances click on the MODIFY menu and then click on the box marked ADVANCED (bottomright); then select In use.

Accountant & Taxes JournalTIP: This report includes all transactions, including cash. If you want a listing of generalnon cash journals only go to MODIFY; then FILTER; then select transaction type and choose

Journal.

Accountant & Taxes Account ListingTIP: It may be helpful to export this report to Excel so that you can design it to display sub

accounts etc.


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15. Exporting reports to ExcelThe export of QuickBooks reports to Excel is usually achieved without difficulty. You willfind the Export Tab just above the report that you have prepared. You should howevercheck that dates and figures in the Excel sheet are correctly formatted. If there is aproblem it could be that the Regional Settings on your computer are not the same as thosethat are assumed to be in place by your QuickBooks software. The solution to this is to

modify the Regional Settings on your computer. These settings are adjusted as follows:

Close down QuickBooks and Excel.Go to START-CONTROL PANEL- and find REGIONAL AND LANGUAGE OPTIONSEdit the format of dates and numbers as required

Note that changing the Regional and Language settings may have an impact on other Excelfiles so you should make a note of changes you have made in case you have to changethem back to the original settings.

16. Year end tasksThere will be the usual year end accounting tasks, such as adjustments for debtors,creditors and stocks, and the year end cash and bank reconciliations.

Make sure that you print out all reports. It is strongly recommended that you print out ahard copy of the whole of the General Ledger. This will be need for audit and for yourarchives, and should be retained for at least 7 years.

QuickBooks knows your year end date and automatically closes down all income andexpense accounts on that date. The balances on these accounts are transferred to anaccount called RETAINED EARNINGS. The balance on this account represents the overallsurplus or deficit for the year on all funds and projects.

If your NGO has several funds you will need to prepare a journal on the first day of the NewYear to transfer the balance brought forward on the Retained Earnings Account to therespective funds/ project accounts.

17. Setting up BudgetsAIM: To set up an annual budget so that management accounts comparing budget withactual results may be prepared this information could also be used to prepare a cash flowforecasts.

The menu is found in COMPANY- PLANNING & BUDGETING. Follow the instructions forsetting up a budget BY ACCOUNT (not BY ACCOUNT AND CLASS)!

ZERO BUDGETSBudget figures must be entered forALL income and expenditure accounts. If there is nobudget for a certain account a Zero must be entered. The reason for this is that if noentry is made the QuickBooks report does not calculate/ display the variance between anyactual income (or expenditure) and the zero budget.

CAPITAL BUDGETSA Work around solution has to be found if you wish to include and monitor budgets forcapital expenditure during the year (Balance Sheet accounts are not included in theQuickBooks Revenue Budget).

The suggested solution is to create temporary capital expenditure accounts as OTHEREXPENSES, in addition to the accounts in the Fixed Assets Category of Accounts.Expenditure during the year is recorded here. Then at the end of the year the capitalexpenditure is transferred to the Capital accounts (fixed asset accounts).


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NOTE: QuickBooks will not allow you to use the same name for two accounts so theaccount in Other Expense should be given a slightly different name to differentiatebetween the two.HINT: Be careful when entering expenditure that you do not record it in the Fixed Assetaccount by mistake!

BUDGET REPORTS

If you wish to compare the actual results to date with the budget for the whole year youshould select This Financial Year and not This financial year to date for the periodcovered by your report. The slight problem with this is that the header at the top of theactual column will give the dates of the whole year, rather than the period for which you arepreparing the report. There are two suggested work around solutions for this. Eitherchange the Report heading to indicate the period covered by the report in respect of theactual results, or export the whole report to Excel, where the header of the Actual resultscan be changed to the dates of the period covered.

18. Foreign CurrencyAIM: To operate cash and bank accounts in more than one currency. To prepare reports in

the Home Currency and other management reports disclosing transactions in the foreigncurrencies.

If you purchase the UK version of QuickBooks Pro, but your Home Currency is a differentcurrency, you can set up the MULTICURRENCY option in QuickBooks and then select or setup a different currency as the home currency.

Once you have selected the option to run the multicurrency feature it cannot be changed.However, you can add and edit currencies.

Setting up MulticurrencyThis is set up through EDIT-PREFERENCES- ACCOUNTING-COMPANY PREFERENCES. Select

Use Multicurrency.

After Multicurrency has been activated you can add or edit currencies through LISTS-CURRENCY LIST

Hints and Tips on the use of multicurrencya) Entering exchange rates example:

Your home exchange rate is USD. You have opened a bank account for a localcurrency (Mtn) and the exchange rate is 1 USD = 25 Mtn. The exchange rate thatmust be entered into QuickBooks is calculated as follows: 1 USD divided by 25 Mtn =0.0400. Enter 0.0400 into QuickBooks.

b) Payee /Recipient names in the Foreign Currency Cash Book (using Write Cheques orMake Deposits).You cannot use the same name as those that have been used in the Home

currency bank accounts. We suggest that you add a prefix, such as . in front of thename. You will also find that when QuickBooks prompts you to either QuickAdd or

Setup a new name you will need to go into setup and set the foreign currency inrespect of the person concerned.Example : Adam Banks is the name of a supplier. He is paid in home currency andhis name is recorded as Adam Banks; He is then paid in foreign currency and hisname is listed as .Adam Banks.

The first time you set up a new name as a supplier or customer you will be promptedto set up an Accounts Payable account in the ledger. (This account is necessary evenif you are not using the Supplier or Customer invoiving and ledger facility inQuickBooks).

c) Reports


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You can only enter budgets in your home currency.Certain reports General ledger, Bank payments, etc can be set up to display both thehome currency and the foreign currency that was used for the transaction.

d) Differences arising re transfers from between bank accounts for different currencies.Transfers should be recorded using the menu BANKING TRANSFER MONEY. Enterthe precise exchange rate used for the transfer and after you have saved thetransaction go to the two bank accounts to check that the amounts recorded are

correct. You may find small rounding differences that will need adjustment.A suggested method of calculating and entering the precise exchange rate is to useExcel for the calculation (up to 9 decimal places) and then copy and paste the resultfrom the cell in Excel directly into the exchange rate cell in QuickBooks,

e) Transfers between two bank (or cash) accounts both designated in the sameforeign currencyThese transfers should also be recorded using the menu BANKING TRANSFERMONEY. It is important to enter the exchange rate of the foreign currency with the

Home currency, even though the transfer is between two foreign currency bankaccounts in the same currency. If this is not done QuickBooks will enter the foreigncurrency as if the exchange rate with the home currency is 1!

f) Exchange profits and losses.Your home currency equivalent balance in respect of each foreign currency bankaccount will need to be adjusted from time to time. This is due to exchangefluctuations. Your organisation should have a policy as to how often an adjusting

journal should be prepared in this respect.

The procedure to adjust the home currency to reflect the new exchange rate is asfollows:

- prepare a journal that effectively writes off the foreign currency bank balance atthe previous rate of exchange.

- prepare a second journal writing back the same foreign currency bank balance

but this time apply the new rate of exchange.


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19. Checklist 1 - Setting up QuickBooks

Has a printout been kept with the Product, Installation and Licence number of each

QuickBooks installation? ...........................................................................................

Is Automatic Update feature operating on all computers ? .........................................

Are other IT Procedures in place, including backup, password protection and security

copies? ....................................................................................................................

Have regularly required Reports been saved to the ShortCut list and

to Memorised Reports ............................................................................................


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20. Checklist 2 Monthly checks and procedures

Monthly QuickBooks Operator and Accountant (by 12th of month)

Prepare bank reconciliations (and print the QB reconciliation reports) ..........................

Check reports and make corrections where necessary ................................................

Print and file the following QuickBooks reports as permanentaccounting records:

TRIAL BALANCE .......................................................................................................

GENERAL LEDGER (includes cash and bank accounts) ................................................

JOURNALS (if required) ............................................................................................

Prepare Exchange profit/loss month end journal (inc. bank rounding adjustments) ......

Reconcile Monthly Control account with UK Office ......................................................

Reconcile Salaries control accounts ...........................................................................

Open Excel previous month file and save for current month ........................................

Print the following reports for managers

PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT (Monthly, cumulative, by Class etc) ...............................

BUDGET V ACTUAL (Monthly, cumulative, by Class etc) .............................................

BALANCE SHEET ......................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................

Export QB Reports to Excel monthly financial report file (to link in withDonor or other preformatted management Reports; to convert to othercurrencies etc):

TRIAL BALANCE (for monthly or cumulative account totals) ........................................

GENERAL LEDGER (for detailed list of transactions on each account) .........................

...............................................................................................................................

File reports & supporting documents .........................................................................

Sign and send reports to the Administrator ................................................................

Carry out back up procedures ..................................................................................

Monthly QuickBooks Administrator (for example Finance Director)

Check and countersign cash and bank reconciliations .................................................Close down past month (password protected) so that changes cannot be made ..........

Check that Operator and Accountants monthly checklist has been completed ..............

Check monthly exchange rate and distribute memo with new rates .............................

Compare exported QB report with Excel worksheet ....................................................Review Excel Management Reports and Donor Reports ..............................................

Sign and authorise reports to be forwarded to Donors/ Regional Office/ H.O. ..............

Ensure that back up copy of QuickBooks is prepared and kept in a safe location ..........

Set Close Down date and password in QB ...............................................................Give copy of password to xxx ....................................................................................

Periodic Accountant/ Administrator

Prepare and distribute updated Chart (List) of Accounts .............................................Ensure that Password and IT procedures are being followed .......................................

1st Day of new monthRecord exchange rate changes after closing down previous month..............................

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