Pinterest for Your Business

If you are like me and many other business owners you may be wondering how to use Pinterest for your business. I just found this great article on Intuit Small Business Blog. Click here to read the article.

Managerial Accounting (Non-GAAP Compliant) vs. Financial Accounting (GAAP Compliant)

There are two related but different types of accounting, managerial (non-GAAP compliant) and financial (GAAP compliant.)

Most day to day bookkeeping is "Managerial Accounting". This type of accounting is flexible and provides decision-making, pricing budgeting, and other information used by the business owner, internal managers, and staff. When you hire or contract a bookkeeper you are most likely getting managerial accounting.

Financial Accounting is mainly used by creditors, investors, potential investors, investment analysis, and other external users. Financial accounting must follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to provide general information for credit and investment decisions. For more information on GAAP visit FASAB. Some CPA firms perform financial accounting and prepare GAAP compliant reports.

Both types of accounting serve their purpose in the systematic recording, reporting, and analysis of the financial transactions of a business.

Rhonda H. Smith
--Your QuickBooks Coach

How to Remove Duplicate Checks in QuickBooks From a Previous Year

Question: 

Hi Rhonda,

We are trying to clear up our outstanding checks etc. in QB's and need to know how to delete/void them. Some are back to 2011. Here are a couple of different examples:

Duplicate checkcard/eft entries

Checks that were issued but have never cleared our account.

I know that we have to be careful due to our accounting method (accrual basis.) What is the best way to get rid of these?

Answer:  

As for the checks that were issued but never cashed you are actually bound to Escheat laws. That means you must keep them in your register for 5 years waiting for the person to cash the check. After 5 years you are supposed to notify the state, you would then void the original check and issue a new one to the state. The state then lists this in their online data base of unclaimed money. Believe it or not 1 in 10 people have unclaimed money...I did and so did my husband. You can see if you have any by going to unclaimed.org. Click on the various states you have lived in and enter any names you have gone by.

In order to void checks or duplicate entries the first thing you need to do is set a closing date in QuickBooks, if this hasn't already been done. If it hasn't then you must be signed in as ADMIN then go to Edit>Preferences>Accounting>Choose Company Tab>Set Date/Password>Set the date to 12/31/2012 and choose a password. Be sure you keep the password for future use...you will not be able to change entries in the closed period without this password.  

Next find the entry you want to void.  Go to Edit>Void Check or right click and select Void Check. You will see the check turn to 0.00 and say void you then click Record>Yes>enter the closing date password> and choose Yes(Recommended) when it says, "The check you are voiding is in a closed period..." This will automatically make the necessary general journal entries so you won't mess up prior period reports.

--Rhonda H. Smith

Your QuickBooks Coach

Receiving Inventory With or Without Bills in QuickBooks

When your goods come rolling in, be sure to document them correctly.

You're probably happy to see couriers delivering inventory items you've ordered since it means you can ship to customers, but recording the new stock means yet another repetitive task.

QuickBooks' tools can help with this, but you need to be sure you're using the right forms. There are two different ones that you'll use, depending on whether or not you've received a bill.  Continue reading

--Rhonda H. Smith
Your QuickBooks Coach

Payroll and Your Business

I am often asked what I recommend regarding payroll. My answer is always, "Out source payroll!"

Payroll can be a huge undertaking. A few of the many considerations are; making sure the appropriate tax amounts are withheld, tax deposits are made on time, and returns filed correctly. It is just too easy to mess up payroll.

When choosing a payroll processing company it is important to use a very reputable firm. Employers are responsible for the service's failings. According to The General Ledger, "In one recent case, when a payroll service company went bankrupt after allegedly embezzling client's money, the IRS told each client it owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes and penalties, even though each had given the service the money for the taxes." So choose wisely and have all correspondence from the IRS or State regarding your taxes come directly to you.

QuickBooks offers payroll services which integrate easily with your QuickBooks file and allow you to make Intuit QuickBooks Payroll Enhanced. This service costs less than $30 per month!
good use of the time sheet data within QuickBooks. You can learn more about QuickBooks payroll services at

Other companies such as PayChex and ADP also offer complete payroll services. An agent will meet with you and assess your needs and give you an estimate of their charges. Tip: these rate are negotiable!

Out source your payroll but be sure to use a reputable company.

--Rhonda H. Smith
Your QuickBooks Coach

Quick Date Entry in QuickBooks

Looking for a quick way to enter dates in QuickBooks? Check this out...
T = today's date
M = First day of the month you are working in
H = Last day of the month you are working in
Y = First day of the year
R = Last day of the year
+ = Move the date forward by one day
- = Move the date backward by one day

--Rhonda H. Smith
Your QuickBooks Coach

Is 2013 The Year You Finally Go Mobile With Financial Data?

Using QuickBooks Mobile, you’ll improve business relations, put out fires before they start and unchain yourself from your office computer.

There are only a few reasons why you wouldn't be using QuickBooks Mobile on your smartphone or tablet. Maybe you don’t have a smartphone or tablet. Or when you’re out of the office, you don’t want to be available for accounting work. Or you might not think that it has enough features to make it worth using.

While the first two reasons are matters of personal preference, the third just isn’t true.  QuickBooks Mobile automatically – and almost instantly – synchronizes the data from your desktop or laptop computer copy of QuickBooks. While it’s only focused on sales, not payables or payroll, you can manage receivables quite nicely whether you’re in a customer’s office or at a trade show or community event – or sitting on the couch at home.

If you would like to learn how to finally go mobile you can read more about it at http://yourquickbookscoach.com/articles/quickbooksmobile.pdf

--Rhonda H. Smith
Your QuickBooks Coach
www.yourquickbookscoach.com