Here is a unique problem that a client of mine had happen to them. They recently let their bookkeeper go. The new one was hired and called me to tell me that they had an entire years worth of invoices sitting in the "invoices to be printed" area. They wanted to clear this out since they were very old invoices. They are a "green" company and did not want to waste paper.
How do you resolve this? Well you could go back and unclick the "to be printed" button on each invoice, but that would be a silly waste of time. I told them to disconnect their printer from the computer. Now click print invoices. When it asks if the invoices print correctly, click yes. Now you can plug the printer back in and your print invoices will be cleared.
To store your company files, you can use the recommended (default) location which is called Company files or choose another location.
In years past, we used to keep the data file in the Program Files Folder. I recommend that you do not store your company files in the Program Files folder. So how do you move this file? First make a new folder in a place you will remember that you have your data file. I keep mine in a folder in my documents called, "QuickBooks Data". Next, make a back up of your data file and then restore it to the new location. Go to QuickBooks, open you new company file from the new location. Now, go to the program files, find the old file and right click delete it. Why did I have you leave the new file open? You will not be able to accidentally delete the wrong file as long as it is open in QuickBooks.
So, why is Program Files no longer a recommended location for storing company files? To accommodate upcoming operating systems, the use of the Program Files folder is limited to QuickBooks program files. If you store your company files in the Program Files folder and you update your operating system, you will be required to enter the Windows Administrator's password when working in company files.
Just a Quick tip from Intuit that is really important:
TIPS FOR INSTALLING AND REGISTERING YOUR 2010 SOFTWARE
Please be aware of the following aspects aspects of installing and registering your 2010 software. Some procedures have changed from 2009.
Updated Registration Process
Registration Occurs Online, More Automation
The new registration process in QuickBooks 2010 will prompt users to register the first time they open the program. To save users time, the new process uses the information in that company file to populate many of the registration fields.
Note of Caution. The automated part of the registration process could work against an accountant under one scenario. If accountants have their unregistered copy of QuickBooks 2010 open and also have a company file open, registration at that time would lead to the client information populating the registration form.
For Best Results. Before you install QuickBooks 2010, be sure to close any client file you may have open. If you have your own company file, open it and continue with registration.
Double-Check. During registration if you find client data in the registration fields, look for the "Clear Fields" button and proceed with registration.
This is one of my favorite times of the year. Business is slowing down and it is a great time of the year when you have more time to go through all of your records and make sure things are applied to the proper accounts. We are approaching the end of our third quarter. Here is how I re-check all of my numbers:
1. Run a trial balance sheet. Check the liabilities and payable accounts. Make sure balances are accurate. Check any accounts receivable accounts and loan receivable. Check your prepaid accounts, i.e. insurance, federal taxes paid, etc. and make sure they are correct. Make sure any mortgages balances are accurate.
2. Run a profit and Loss Report. Check all of your income and expense accounts. Make sure that there are no entries to the parent account when there are sub accounts.
These are just of couple of ways to make sure your records are accurate. You can also go through your file folders and make sure they are neat and organized. Also, if time permits, it is a wonderful time to go through your PC and get rid of any unnecessary files or organize your data files.
So, enjoy your Fall Cleaning! You will be glad you did.
Are you afraid to upgrade? Are you still using QuickBooks 1999 and "if it aint broke, why fix it?"
Well, I will tell you why. You are missing out on the many new features of QuickBooks. Features that will save you time and time equals money. I recently went to a client's site to help them with QuickBooks and found them using QuickBooks 2000. I forgot what it looks like. It was a great program back then, but the small changes that occur each year really add up nine years later. The changes are too much to list. There was no home page back then, no sorting in the bank reconciliation, etc. etc. I convinced them to upgrade and they did. I uploaded the new program and their data and they were a little aprehensive. It looks so different. But now a few weeks later and they wonder why they did not do it sooner. And you don't have to upgrade every year, but it is best to stay current. QuickBooks "sunsets" their older versions and there is very little tech support after a few years. Another reason to upgrade.
So, go for it. Upgrade away. Wait a few weeks and 2010 will be out for all to use. Enjoy the newest technology. You won't be sorry.
Lynda
Check out my website www.rhodeislandbookkeeping.com
Have you ever used the feedback button on QuickBooks? I have. Sometimes I wonder if the people at Intuit listen. But if you don't try using the button, how will they know what bugs you about the program? They love to hear from "real users" to see how we use the program and how they can improve it. They improve it every year.
Many times when the new program arrives, I leave it on my desk mulling over when it will be a good time to try it out. I usually upload my own business' data file to see how I like it and what changes they have made. Sometimes I like the changes, sometimes I do not. Sometimes my initial reaction is "why did they change...?" and then the change grows on me.
I don't want to be that older person who does not like change. So, Fall is upon us and change is coming. 2010 QuickBooks is practically in the mail for us. We shall see how it goes.
But, you should use the Feedback button. You may even find that the changes in the new year are changes you submitted!
Okay, so this is not a QuickBooks tip. But it is a story we all can relate to. Approximately 1 1/2 years ago, I had a Lenovo computer. I always had IBM computers and now they are called Lenovo. Well, I usually spend 1.5K on a new laptop. I need it beefy due to the amount of programs and due to the fact that I need a speedy PC because I have no patience. (Bad family trait--Thanks Dad).
So, I used the Lenovo for 1/2 of a year. My printer did not ever like the Lenovo and when I was printing some pictures for my husband (I was running late for an appointment), I shut the top of the PC down to stop the print queue. Don't ever do this! I opened the screen again and lo and behold, the dreaded blue screen. It kind of looks like the old pac man screen. Very Bad!
Being very frustrated that I "fried" my hard drive on a six month old computer, I was persuaded by a friend (Mac guy) to get an MacBook. My next mistake.
Currently, QuickBooks for Mac is inferior to QuickBooks for a PC. I knew this when I purchased the Mac. The girl in the Apple store said, of course you can run windows on a Mac. I knew I would need windows since most of my clients are on a PC. They sold me VM Ware. I am pretty good wth technology. I will read directions and some of this stuff comes naturally to me. Except when it comes to a Mac. I felt like I was using my left hand as opposed to my right. I did get it to run, but Virtual PC -- just the term scares me. Do I want my data to be virtual? I know I did not for the life of me understand VM Ware. So after 6 or so more months of the Mac (another 1.5K) I put it aside. I could not get the printers to work off of it. They would work on the Mac side, but not the Virtual side. I had to keep reinstalling the printer drivers. Then one day, my Virtual side would not open. It crashed. I took it back to Apple and they wanted nothing to do with me (not their problem, the Mac side worked). Well, that is fine, but they were the ones who convinced me I could run windows "seamlessly" off of my Mac. Seamless is hardly the word I would use.
So, off to Best Buy and I buy a $650.00 Toshiba. I buy the service plan that they tell you not to waste money on. I buy the new Word/Excel office suite. Another 1K. Ugh! But, oh am I in heaven using the Toshiba. No more left hand for me. Granted, the MacBook was the most stylish and well made computer I have ever owned, but the Toshiba let me be a PC again. Hurray!
Five more months later and I try to type an email and I look at the screen and there are extra "h"s and extra "l"s all over the place. I did have a couple of keys that stuck sometimes, but now the period key doesn't work, the "n" key doesn't work and so on. I bring it to back to Best Buy and they tell me "We will have your computer back to you no later than one month". One month? Are they kidding me? This is my business PC. I cannot work without a computer for one day, let alone one month. So, what do I do?
Back to the Mac! I buy a program called "Parallels". Load it, load Windows Vista, load QuickBooks Premier, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions, upload all of my data, set up my emails.......etc. etc. I have done this far too many times in the past year and one half. I was going to gift this MacBook to my husband, so we will have to see how I do. If this parallels thing works out okay, maybe I'll become a Mac person and be really cool. Actually, that does not fit my personality. And I will give my husband the Toshiba. His learning curve will be a lot less on that machine. We shall see how it goes.
There are a few simple steps to enter fees while making a deposit. Remember, QuickBooks will not let you enter a negative deposit, but they will allow you to enter negative amounts as a line item in your deposit.
Here are the steps:
From the Banking menu or the home page, choose Make Deposits. If the Payments to Deposit window opens, select the payment(s) you would like to deposit now and click OK. Once in the Make Deposits window, select the bank account for the deposit. Click just below the last payment in the list to add an entry. In the From Account column, select the expense account from the pull-down list to be associated with the fees. Enter the amount of the fee as a negative number in the amount field. Choose Save & Close.
Well, I think Intuit would have to admit that the changes they made to their online banking for 2009 version were a flop. They have spent the better half of this entire year coming up with a revision or patch to revert the program to the wonderful online banking features that were part of 2008. Their info on the new release and the changes are below:
Online Banking
Restoring Previous Approach: Improving New Approach
In responding to concerns of our users, and especially to the concerns of you and other QuickBooks ProAdvisors, Intuit has significantly improved the online banking experience.
Changes include the ability to switch to the exact same online banking functionality (and register view) that was in QuickBooks 2008 and the restoration of missing functions to online banking in QuickBooks 2009.
You can switch between QuickBooks 2009 online banking approach (Side-by-Side Mode) and the QuickBooks 2008 Register Mode as often as you like. Your accounting data won'f be affected.
To move back and forth between these two modes, choose Edit > Preferences. Click the Checking category, and then click the Company Preferences tab.
Ability to Use Register Mode (QuickBooks 2008 Online Banking)
Release 8 addresses the request from some heavy users of Online Banking to provide the same approach that had existed in QuickBooks 2008. We call this approach the Register Mode. In contrast, the default approach to online banking in QuickBooks 2009 is called the Side-by-Side Mode.
You can switch between the QuickBooks 2009 online banking approach (Side-by-Side Mode) and the QuickBooks 2008 Register Mode as often as you like. Your accounting data won't be affected.
To move back and forth between these two modes, choose Edit > Preferences. Click the Checking category, and then click the Company Preferences tab.
Improvements to the Side-by-Side Mode (QuickBooks 2009)
With Release 8 we have made the following changes to the redesigned QuickBooks 2009 online banking to restore functionality that was available in previous versions.
QuickFill now supports account numbers.
Online banking remembers the last account used for all name types (customers, vendors, employees, and other names).
Enter new names, accounts and classes using QuickAdd.
Enter items on purchase transactions by using Ctrl+E to pre-fill the QuickBooks check or credit card charge form.
Tab through fields on transactions using the "enter moves between fields" preference.
Amount fields support "automatically place decimal point" preference.
Save online banking transactions to QuickBooks using the Enter key or Ctrl + Enter.
Select which accounts to download transactions from within the Online Banking Center.
We just received an email regarding the newest release of QuickBooks. What are the changes? They say that we will be able to clean up many errors in transactions all at one time (instead of individually). This is good if you get a data file where someone has made the same error all year and you need to correct it. Instead of going to each individual transaction, you will be able to fix them all at once, therefore, saving a lot of data entry time.
It is also going to have a document management feature where you will be able to electronically "paperclip" documents to QuickBooks transactions to stay organized and save time finding what you need. You can scan documents directly into QuickBooks, or attach electronic files already on your PC.
Store receipts, statements and more online (in the Internet cloud) for easy sharing
Easily attach documents to any customer, vendor, employee, account or transaction
Scan dozens of documents at one time — simply insert blank pages in between and QuickBooks creates individual files7
Keep important documents at your finger-tips and backed-up online
Streamline collecting and matching documents from clients to specific transaction
That is just a few of the items outlined in an email to ProAdvisors on Wednesday. Keep watching for more info on the 2010 version once I have it in my hands and can peruse it.
As a ProAdvisor, I feel like a hero when I come to a client's site who claims they are missing information that they entered before. They tell me "QuickBooks did not save my entire last month of records!"
Usually, I arrive and find that there are multiple copies of the data file on the client's PC. They thought if they duplicated it, it was the same as backing up the file. Once we find the correct file, we open it in QuickBooks, shrink QuickBooks on the screen, locate all the data files and delete the duplications. QuickBooks does not allow you to delete the open file, so if you leave it open on your PC, you will not be able to delete the working file.
Has this happened to you? Especially as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor that goes to many offices, has many different printers that you have to deal with. Does the check go in facedown, straight up, upside down.....?
SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER TO PRINT THE CHECKS IN THE PROPER ORDER
The option to collate copies has been selected in the printer driver. When this option is selected, the printer will print a complete set of pages in a document followed by another complete set. For example: one copy of page 1, page 2, and page 3; followed by another copy of page 1, page 2 and page 3. QuickBooks considers each check a complete document.
When collate is turned on, three checks printed with two copies will print in the following order: Check #1, Check #2, Check #3, Copy #1, Copy #2,Copy #3.
If collate is turned off, that same set of checks will print out in this order: Check #1, Copy #1, Check #2, Copy #2, Check #3, Copy #3.
To resolve this issue:
From the QuickBooks File menu, choose Printer Setup.
Select Check/PayCheck from the Form Name drop-down list.
Make sure that the correct Printer name and Printer type are selected for your printer, and then click Options.
Locate the Collate option and change as necessary.
Note: Because different drivers have different options, please consult your printer manual or the printer manufacturer's technical support options for more help.
What if pages or checks are printing in reverse order? Some printers default to printing pages in reverse order, printing the last page first. The same thing will happens with your checks when using these types of print.To resolve this issue, open the Properties of the printer driver used as the default printer. Look for an option that determines whether the first or last page prints first.
Sounds scarey? You bet it is. Especially if you have an older version of QuickBooks. QuickBooks does have a password retrieval/removal system as follows:
Troubleshooting the Administrator password
QuickBooks 2009 or QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 and QuickBooks 2008 or QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 8.0:
When prompted for the password on the QuickBooks Login Screen, click Reset Password.
Answer the security question.
QuickBooks 2007 and earlier or QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 7.0 and earlier:
Be sure you are opening the company file associated with the password.
Click the Cancel button on the login screen.
Select the QuickBooks File menu and select Open Previous Company.
Try to open several files to see if your password works in any of them.
There is also an Automated Password Reset Tool is a free, downloadable tool that lets you reset the administrator password on company files last opened in QuickBooks 2006, 2007, 2008, or 2009 or Enterprise 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 or 9.0.
The Password Reset Tool does not work with QuickBooks for Mac files or with files last opened with QuickBooks 2005 or earlier or QuickBooks Enterprise 5.0 or earlier. You can still access your file but you will have to use QuickBooks Remove your Password Tool and pay the fee to access the file.
And if you are using an older version, time to upgrade.
Today I finally passed the new testing for 2009 QuickBooks Advanced Certification. Has anyone tried to take this test? It is very difficult. I have been working on it on and off for many months. It is long, complicated and you have to be very careful answering and reading the questions. Sometimes, the way you approach an issue in QuickBooks, while still correct, is not the way they want this answered in the Advanced test.
The other hard part about this test is when you have to run your own business, you do not have time to spend on this test. I would love to see how many hours the people who put this test together assumed the person who would be considered advanced should have to spend on it. 40 hours? 50 hours? 100 hours?
Now that I have completed this elite testing, I don't want Intuit to make this test easier for the user. I spent many hours working on it to advance my skills and I did this to put me at the top of their lists. I have always prided myself for being an "A" student all of my life. The main thing to remember is that at any age, you are always learning. While I felt that some of the questions were set up to "trick" the student. You have to be very careful in reading the rules of the questions. This, to me, has nothing to do with QuickBooks knowledge, but this test is set up this way. It was kind of like a Rubik's cube.
So, now I have passed the newest Advanced Certification. I am so excited because all of my hard work and many hours has paid off.
Check out my website www.rhodeislandbookkeeping.com
This is a pet peeve of mine. Have you ever paid a vendor with a credit (because you have your default setting set to automatic) and then realize that that is not the bill you wanted to apply the credit to. Well it is easy enough to delete the payment and repay it. But now your credit does not show up on your bill payment stub. UGHHHH!
This is the work around for that issue so your vendor can apply the credit properly:
Bills that are completely paid with bill credits will not appear on the bill payment voucher.
To see a list of bills paid by bill credit:
1. Locate the bill credit that was used to pay the bill. Note: The Advanced Find feature found in the QuickBooks Edit menu can assist in locating transactions. Select filters pertaining to the bill credit (for example, Transaction Type, Name, and Date Range), and then click Find. Double-click the item in the results area to open the form. 2. Click the History button at the top of the form window. 3. Click Print to generate a list of bills that were paid with the credit.
Lynda Check out my website www.artesanibookkeeping.com
This is a message for all of my Mac users. If you are using QuickBooks Mac version on your Apple computer, DO NOT UPGRADE TO SNOW LEOPARD UNTIL QUICKBOOKS RELEASES A PATCH. You will have problems with your program. Apparently Apple released it's new operating system a little earlier than was expected and QuickBooks is trying to get their patch ready for the new operating system. I will update you when I have more information regarding the QuickBooks patch.
Of course, if you are using parallels or boot camp and a windows version of QuickBooks, your system will be fine.
I have been hanging out checking the QuickBooks websites and watching the ballgame on TV. I came across a wonderful link with a ton of options for some downloadable (is that a word?) PODCASTS.
Just click the podcast link above and check them out. There was one that should be great for a new business owner. We all start our business out this way, "Sole Proprietorship". It is the most inexpensive way to begin a business. I plan on putting it on my i-Phone so I can listen while I am running (exercising) in the morning. These were all made by ProAdvisors, so they should be good.
While perusing the QuickBooks forum, I came across an answered question regarding the Opening Balance Equity account. It pretty much had a few answers which soon became a place for ProAdvisors to vent about this account to the makers and developers of QuickBooks. Why do ProAdvisors hate this account?
Well, it is because it is a place where the system puts the other half of a transaction during the set-up of a new company. QuickBooks advertises that it is an easy to use program (which it is), but what happens is, when the novice "bookkeeper or business owner" sets up his or her QuickBooks data file, you need to start with your Trial Balance from the prior year. In essence, you should have no balance in that opening balance equity account when you have successfully set up your accounting.
I just had to laugh at the responses from ProAdvisors regarding this account. They have to realize that QuickBooks has to put the monies somewhere while you are in set up. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have had to fix this account in my years of helping clients with QuickBooks. But, oh well, it keeps me in business. Yes, you should have your CPA or a ProAdvisor help you with set-up of your records with your new accounting system. But with a little research, you can do it yourself.
So, the tip of the day is in answer to a question that I answered on Intuit's QuickBooks forum:
Question: How do I get the proper checkbook to open for my operating account? When I open checking, it opens to my payroll account. Please Help!
Answer: If you would like the account to always show up when you open the checking account, or when you pay bills, go to edit > preference > checking > select default accounts to use. This is where you can set your appropriate checking account to show up when you open segments of QuickBooks.
Lynda
Check out my website www.rhodeislandbookkeeping.com
