[FUNDAMENTALS OF QUICKBOOKS] Presented by Ian Shuman, CPA Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs
October 4, 2011
1. REFERENCE A. File Types i) QBW ‐ Normal “Working” file ii) QBB ‐ Full backup file iii) QBM ‐ A “Portable File” meant for emailing (missing some preferences, log and database indexing) iv) QBX ‐ Accountant’s copy you create and send to an external accountant that allows you to work concurrently v) QBA ‐ The accountant’s copy that the external accountant is working in vi) QBY ‐ File that the external account sends back to you to import their changes (small file) vii) QBMB ‐ Backup for Macintosh B. Annual Versions (be aware of Intuit’s three‐year “Sunset” policy) i) 2006: Always‐on audit trail, centers ii) 2007: Minor improvements iii) 2008: Big improvements to accountant’s copy iv) 2009: Some multi‐currency, prompt to close, sorting in bank reconciliations v) 2010: Bolds uncleared items on bank reconciliations screen, added “Save” to most forms vi) 2011: Collapsible history pane on forms, limited B/S by class, batch invoicing vii) 2012: Inventory center, document attachment, calendar view, simpler creation of credit memos C. Different Versions i) Pro ‐ Most common ii) Premier ‐ Saves reconciliations as PDF, allows reversing entries, about 2x price iii) Enterprise ‐ Much stronger database iv) Online ‐ Great if you need it but different interface (one window at a time) v) Sideways compatible (except online edition) but not between years Notes __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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[FUNDAMENTALS OF QUICKBOOKS] Presented by Ian Shuman, CPA Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs
October 4, 2011
2. ORIENTATION and BASIC NAVIGATION A. The Tao of QuickBooks (it thinks like a database) i) No hard close because it can calculate that on the fly (i.e. closing P&L) ii) How can account numbers be optional? iii) It’s table driven instead of chart of accounts driven B. Visual Tour i) Home screen ii) Menu bar iii) Icon bar (general) iv) Icon bar (transaction specific) v) Centers C. Preferences and Display Options i) Walk through the preferences ii) My favorite options: Enter moves between fields, beep when recording, auto place decimal point iii) Desktop view and open window list D. Concept of forms, lists, items and reports i) Forms ii) Lists iii) Items iv) Reports v) Registers (and a caution about them) E. Take a Look at the Company Snapshot F. Remember the Help Menu! Notes __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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[FUNDAMENTALS OF QUICKBOOKS] Presented by Ian Shuman, CPA Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs
October 4, 2011
3. EXPENSES (MONEY OUT)
A. Two Options for Recording Cash‐Out i) “Write Check”‐ Expense and payment happen at same date (cash basis) ii) “Enter Bill” followed by “Pay Bill”‐ Expense and payment happen at different dates (accrual basis) Tip: Don’t do “Enter Bill” and then “Write Check.”
B. Online Banking i) Payments can be initiated from within QuickBooks (but internal control issues) ii) Payments can be imported from the bank activity (but probably limited to cash basis) Tip: Keep in mind that you still have to code all the transactions.
C. Voiding Checks i) Will go back and change the original entry on the original date ii) Works slightly better if from a period that is “Closed” via the closing date Suggestion: Always use a journal entry (debit cash, credit something) and then clear both in the next bank reconciliation. D. Other Cash Payments i) EFT transactions and wires are usually entered by journal entry, “Write Check” or “Pay Bill” ii) What about payroll? E. Credit Memo i) Go to Vendor/Enter Bill and select “Credit” in the toggle buttons on top left and apply this credit memo to a future bill Notes __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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[FUNDAMENTALS OF QUICKBOOKS] Presented by Ian Shuman, CPA Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs
October 4, 2011
4. REVENUE (MONEY IN)
A. Three Options for Recording Cash i) “Create Invoice” followed by “Receive Payment” (accrual basis, tracks history) ii) “Enter Sales Receipt”‐ Similar to above but same date (cash basis, tracks history) iii) “Make Deposit” ‐ When you are not tracking donor/customer history (cash basis, no history) Tip: If you have created an invoice then do not record revenue when the payment is received. B. Undeposited Funds i) This account is used to group “Receive Payment” transactions into a single deposit ii) This makes the bank reconciliation much easier iii) Not necessary if you are using “Make Deposit” iv) In theory, the account should go to zero every time there is a deposit C. Credit Memos and Refund i) To create a credit memo just go to Customer/Create Credit memo ii) You can then apply this to an open invoice or issue a refund by selecting “Use Credit To” from the transaction icon bar
Notes __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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[FUNDAMENTALS OF QUICKBOOKS] Presented by Ian Shuman, CPA Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs
October 4, 2011
5. HODGE‐PODGE: CREDIT CARDS, JOURNAL ENTRIES AND BANK RECONCILIATIONS
A. Two Options for Recording Credit Card Charges i) Often entered in total through accounts payable when the bill arrives ii) Advantage of entering each charge individually as a credit card charge: (1) The activity can be tracked by vendor (not just name of credit card) (2) Better tracking of dates when expense is incurred (if month to month reporting matters) (3) Much better if not paying entire amount due (4) Can be reconciled the same way a bank account is (5) … But it’s more work
B. Journal Entries i) Generally these are used for any transaction not represented by a form ii) That often means cash is not involved C. Bank reconciliations i) Very easy ii) Everything that affects cash automatically shows up in bank reconciliation screen iii) “Hide Transactions After Statement Date” is your best friend iv) “Beginning Balance” is calculated from the register v) Then simply click on everything that appears on the bank statement and “Difference” should be zero vi) If not, the “Reconcile Now” button will give you the option of automatically posting a journal entry to an expense account called “Reconciliation Adjustments” for the difference. vii) When finished, select “reconcile now” to generate a report and update the register Recommendation: Don’t ever use the automatic adjustment feature! Notes __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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[FUNDAMENTALS OF QUICKBOOKS] Presented by Ian Shuman, CPA Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs
October 4, 2011
6. BASIC REPORTING A. Overview i) Can be accessed under “Reports” on menu bar or from the report center ii) Reports menu is grouped by area iii) Drilldown: Double click on any number to go from report to ledger detail to actual form
B. Visual Tour i) Review the buttons ii) Dates, Columns and sort iii) Refresh anywhere!
C. Modifying the Report (Easy but Limited) i) Display ‐ Defining the report ii) Filters ‐ Literally like placing a filter so you only see a subset iii) Limitations (1) Rows are always defined by chart of accounts (2) Cannot create custom reports (3) Report is generally a single time period (but can be any time period) (4) Ability to pick and choose columns is limited
D. Memorizing Reports i) Make changes and then hit “Memorize” ‐ will prompt you to name the report ii) You can create your own report groups iii) Have to memorize again to change what is memorized ‐ will prompt for “Replace” or “New” Note: The dates in memorized reports will only change if date field is relative.
E. Can use classes or jobs (or both) to segregate P&L activity in columns. These are user defined. Notes __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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[FUNDAMENTALS OF QUICKBOOKS] Presented by Ian Shuman, CPA Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs
October 4, 2011
7. EIGHTEEN COMMON QUICKBOOKS ERRORS A. Everyone uses the same log in (and it’s the admin user’s login) B. Adding, deleting or changing transactions in prior years (after records are “Closed”) C. Having WAY too many windows open and then wondering why the software is so slow D. Dangling payable transactions i. Entering a bill followed by write check ii. Deleting a paid bill but not the bill payment E. Dangling receivable transactions i. Entering a receivable and then recording revenue through “Make Deposits” ii. Using “Receive Payments” when there is no A/R recorded F. Using the register to clear bank transactions G. Having the same customer or vendor name multiple times using slightly different spellings H. Entering payroll at net instead of gross I. Not entering electronic payments or deposits at all J. Changing or voiding cash activity after the transaction has been cleared in a bank reconciliation K. In a bank reconciliation, clearing a transaction dated after the bank statement date L. Posting memorized transactions by accident M. Using the “Reconcile Now/Enter Adjustment” button N. Posting similar transactions inconsistently O. Not doing bank reconciliations at all P. Not using classes for a P&L transaction (if your file uses them) Q. Putting all credit card payments to an expense account called “Credit Card Payments” R. Working in the wrong file 7 | P a g e
