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 

Should QuickBooks Updates Be Installed?

When you open QuickBooks you may see a message that says, “QuickBooks has recently downloaded the Rxx update. Would you like QuickBooks to install this update now?”

According to QuickBooks, "Periodically, updates to the QuickBooks software are available for download externally (by way of the quickbooks.com website) or internally through your software. These updates, also referred to as maintenance releases or patches, improve program functionality and fix known issues with the software."


In other words there maybe some issues with the software that you have not experienced yet, but the team at QuickBooks is aware of the problem and have updated the software to resolve the problem.

These updates do not cost you money. You should always install the update as soon as possible. Sometimes the update may require you to restart your computer, so plan accordingly. If you have QuickBooks installed on several computers and use the file in Multi-User mode, each computer will need to install the update.

Do not be afraid to install the update...be afraid NOT to!

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

Multiple QuickBooks Company Files

A question I often get asked by new QuickBooks users is, "Can I set-up more than one business in QuickBooks?"

The answer is YES!

You can set up as multiple company files in QuickBooks...just like you can have multiple documents in Word or multiple spreadsheets in Excel.

The fact is, you may need to set-up more than one company. If you have more than one business with separate tax ID numbers then you should have separate companies set-up in QuickBooks. However, you should only set-up one company file if you have one tax ID number for multiple companies operating as DBAs.

Setting up properly from the beginning will save you time when it comes to preparing reports for the business(es).

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

Windows 8 and QuickBooks

If you are considering upgrading to Windows 8 or buying a new computer with Windows 8 you will have to upgrade your QuickBooks to 2013. Prior versions of QuickBooks will not work properly with Windows 8.

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