Quickbooks is the
software of choice for small and medium-sized businesses looking for an
inexpensive software package that can be use by a non-accountant with a
minimum amount of CPA/accountant supervision.
Why should I use
Quickbooks?
Quickbooks performs
many accounting functions, such as accounts receivable, accounts
payable, time and billing, preparation of estimates and job costing.
Quickbooks also performs many payroll functions, such as calculating
payroll taxes, printing payroll checks, and completing appropriate tax
forms. The software allows you to print out a balance sheet and income
statement for any period during the year or even for comparable periods.
What is the cost of
Quickbooks?
There are several
versions ranging in price from roughly $200-$500. You can probably get
three to five years use before the version is sunseted. Basic payroll
processing will cost approximately $150 per year for tax table updates.
Quickbooks offers higher levels of payroll service similar to ADP and
Paychex for substantially more per year. In addition to the cost of the
software you will have to order new checks that are compatible with
Quickbooks and allow you to print checks to vendors and employees
directly out of the software.
User Caveat
While Quickbooks is
easy to use compared to other accounting software products, many users
make the mistake that they can generate accurate financial statements
without help from their CPA or from a knowledgeable bookkeeper. Unfortunately this is not the case.
We have had several new
and existing clients that do not have any accounting expertise try to
“go it alone” with disastrous results. We say this not because we are
looking for more work, but because our experience has shown that having
us spend a few hours from time to time reviewing your Quickbooks file
will prevent much bigger and expensive problems from developing in the
future.
How can Halla
Marlowe Coutant & Company assist you with Quickbooks?
- Custom installation of the latest version of
Quickbooks
- Initial setup of
your company’s file
- Transfer of
account balances from other accounting software
- Monthly, quarterly
or annual review of accounting data
- Review of payroll
activity
- Conversion of
Quicken to Quickbooks
- Quickbooks
training
Where can I find
more information about Quickbooks?
You can get more
information about Quickbooks at
www.quickbooks.com. If you have more questions you can email Jim
Marlowe in our office at
jmarlowe@hmcco.com or call him at 214-373-8117 x12.
Tricks and Traps for
Quickbooks
- Did you know that
American Express and Quickbooks now offer credit cards with internet
access that allow you to download your credit card transactions
directly to a credit card liability account in Quickbooks?
- Do you have
accounts payable showing up on a cash basis balance sheet? The
reason is that you have paid a bill on a date prior to the date
entered on the bill that was entered in the accounts payable
system. To correct go back and identify the bill and correct the
date so that it is prior to the date when the payment was received.
- Do you have an amount in undeposited funds on
your balance sheet even though you have deposited in the bank all
the money received from clients and customers? The reason for this
is that you have recorded a deposit that was not assigned to any
outstanding invoice. Run a customer balance detail report and look
for customers with credit balances in their account. To correct
this problem, you
should go back in and create a customer invoice for the amount
received.
- Have you gone in to reconcile your bank
account and your beginning balance in the reconciliation window does
not equal the beginning balance on this month’s bank statement? One of two things have happened. You have either changed a cleared
mark on a previously cleared transaction or deleted a previously
cleared transaction. This is particularly difficult to reconcile.
Try doing a “find” in the checking account register for the amount
that you are off. Compare your outstanding checks and deposits to
the outstanding checks and deposits on the previous month’s checking
account reconciliation report that you should have printed out. To
prevent this from happening in the future, make sure you have the
option turned on where the program asks you if you want to accept
the change to a cleared transaction.
- There are two ways of handling credit card
transactions in Quickbooks. If you have and will always pay off the
entire balance due on your credit card account each month, then you
can simply write a check to pay the balance and provide split
transaction detail categorizing the transactions into the
appropriate expense accounts. If you do not pay off the balance
each month or if you have paid off the balance in the past and cash
flow is tight to the point where you are going to pay less than the
total amount due, then you must create a new liability
account for the credit card, enter and code each charge and code
your payment to that liability account. If you do not do this, then
your accountant and the IRS have no way of knowing what the payment
was for.
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