Question: Is there one screen in QuickBooks Premier where I can look at my open sales orders and invoices? Answer: Yes, QuickBooks has a feature called “Income Tracker” that does just that. Go to “Customers,” then “Income Tracker.” The dashboard shows a current accounting of various income segments. At the top, you will see totals…
Read MoreChannel: Ask the Accountant
Customizing Quickbooks for Promotional Products Distributors
Question: Are there any reports in QuickBooks that are designed specifically for the ad specialty industry? Answer: Unfortunately, there are no ad-specialty-specific reports, but all of the reports on QuickBooks can be customized. And some have been put to good use by distributors. If you have loaded QuickBooks Premier specifying the Manufacturing and Wholesale Edition,…
Read MoreWho Made All These Errors?
Question: We have some recurring errors in our QuickBooks. No one will take ownership of the errors, but I need to find out who made them. Is there a way to do that? Answer: QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise have a report that should give you that information. It’s called an “Audit Trail.” This will list…
Read MoreAdding Data to Stock Reports
Question: Is there a way to add data to stock reports in QuickBooks? Answer: QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise allow a great deal of customization of its reports, but sometimes you will want to add, rearrange or manipulate data beyond the scope allowed in QuickBooks. In that case, you can export that QuickBooks report to an…
Read MoreMaking Default Templates
Question: How do I make a template in QuickBooks to be the default template for sales orders, purchase orders or invoices? Answer: QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise do not have a means to designate a “default” template, but there is a workaround to achieve the same result. Go to “Lists” and then “Templates.” The list shows…
Read MoreWhy Use QuickBooks Over Other Software?
Question: My accountant wants me to start using QuickBooks Premier instead of industry software. Why? Answer: As described in another blog, QuickBooks Premier works very well for our industry, but your accountant may or may not know that. Likely, your accountant knows how to work within QuickBooks since it is the No. 1 accounting software…
Read MoreDon’t Do Unnecessary Work
Question: In QuickBooks, I prefer to set up items as categories, such as apparel or pens, and type in the individual descriptions. Is there any reason not to do it that way? I feel like I’m going to end up with too many items otherwise. Answer: I can understand why you might want to do…
Read MoreSetting Up Non-Inventory Items
Question: I have my non-inventory items set up in QuickBooks, but I don’t see anything in my cost of goods sold account, and my sales numbers seem very low. Why is that? Answer: Chances are you don’t have your non-inventory items set up correctly. This is a common error for our industry, and one of…
Read MoreCorrectly Updating QuickBooks
Question: I am using an older version of QuickBooks and want to upgrade to the current year. What should I do to prepare for this? Answer: First of all, back up your current QuickBooks file. Then, run your balance sheet, and profit and loss (income) statements on both the accrual and cash bases for the…
Read MoreCombining Duplicate Customers in Quickbooks
Question: I have created a duplicate customer in QuickBooks that has a slightly different name. How do I combine them into one customer account? Answer: Go to “customers” > “customer center.” Highlight the customer name you want to change, right click on it and click “Edit Customer: Job.” Change the customer name to match the…
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