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…
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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…
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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…
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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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Question: I am interviewing a bookkeeper who is familiar with QuickBooks. Is that all I need to know? Answer: No! Setting aside the issues of the complexity of a bookkeeper’s former experience, which is the subject of another blog, you need to know more about which QuickBooks this person has used in the past. QuickBooks…
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Question: Is there a way to view my profit by type of customer? Answer: QuickBooks has a function within it to allow segmenting your business in reports. It is called “classes.” You can create a set of classes, which you enter into QuickBooks and apply to customers, vendors or other categories. For instance, you can…
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Question: I called Intuit/QuickBooks support and was told something that I know is not the way we do business. How can that happen? Answer: We have a complex and unique business. We do not fit typical business models, and it is confusing to many bookkeepers, CPA’s and, yes, even QuickBooks support on occasion. Recently, a…
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Question: In QuickBooks, do I set up my items as “non-inventory part” or “inventory part?” Answer: Most always, ad specialty transactions are of the “non-inventory part” variety. The items ordered are customized to our clients’ specifications—drop shipped directly to them, and we, the distributor, do not take physical possession. And in QuickBooks, these transactions are…
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Question: I want to be able to invoice and receive payments electronically from clients and have them entered automatically in QuickBooks. What are my options? Answer: Currently, the best two options you have are Intuit Merchant Services and a service that integrates with QuickBooks called “Bill&Pay.” Intuit Merchant Services, being a QuickBooks service, is the…
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Question: I need to change sales tax settings for a large number of my customers. Do I need to go into each customer to make the changes? Answer: No, fortunately! QuickBooks has a wonderful feature to save you time with that chore. Go to “Lists”>”Add/Edit Multiple List Entries”>”Select Customers” from the dropdown box at the…
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