Control What Info Users Have Access to in QuickBooks

Question: How can I set up QuickBooks to control what information users have access to? Answer: QuickBooks allows you to set up users and passwords under the “company” tab. When setting up a user, you can specify which information you want that particular user to see or not see, and edit or not edit. You…

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Collecting Sales Tax on Additional Charges

Question: How can I find out if I have to collect sales taxes on additional charges, such as screen charges and freight? Answer: Contact your CPA or the department of revenue for your state, because sales tax varies by state—and sometimes by county. It is most likely that these extra charges are subject to sales…

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Can I Run a Report on Amount of Sales from Customer Groups in QuickBooks?

Question: Is there some way in QuickBooks to run a report showing the amount of sales from a particular group of customers? Answer: Yes. QuickBooks allows you to define “Types of Customers.” When you open a customer in the Customer Center, click on “Additional Info” on the left side of the screen. There you can…

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How Much Can I Charge a Customer for Using a Credit Card?

Answer: The safe and easy answer is “nothing.” Some states prohibit surcharges for credit card use, period. Some states permit it but with some complicated qualifiers, like no surcharge on debit cards, surcharge limited to what you actually paid and other such language buried in your merchant service agreement. The regulations are too many, making…

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Do I Have to Collect Sales Tax for Out-of-state Sales?

Question: Do I have to collect sales tax for out-of-state sales? It depends, and it’s complicated. State governments would like to collect as much sales tax as possible and, with declining revenues over the last several years, are looking to every possible source.

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Ask the Accountant

Question: I use the order system in QuickBooks Premier. Why don’t the customer sales order and supplier purchase order appear in my financial statements?

In QuickBooks, the customer sales order and supplier purchase order are “non-posting” information. That means that they are logged in the order portion of the software, but they aren’t posted in your accounting system until:

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Ask the Accountant

Question: I am starting out as an ad specialty distributor. Is it better to set up my books on a cash or accrual basis for tax purposes?

That is a question to be answered by your CPA. As is the case with all tax laws, the answer is not cut and dry, or simple. It is contingent on many factors, such as how your business is structured, the amount of gross annual sales, and whether or not you inventory items.

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