Trust Your Instincts

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 client had purchased Intuit/QB support. I was working with her on a system conversion, but she called Quickbooks support for an unrelated question. She spent more than an hour disputing the support rep’s claims that all of her items should be inventory parts when my client knew full well they were not.

There is a fairly common business model labeled as “distributor,” and this model typically holds inventory. So, it’s not surprising that Quickbooks thinks we do too.

As you most likely know by now, ours is a complex and unique business. Be alert to advice that goes against what you know and take it with a grain of salt. It may not always be correct.

And when in doubt, ask the accountant.

QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise can be modified to better serve ad specialty distributors. Harriet Gatter is a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, a former accounting professor and a former ad specialty distributor. She advises ad specialty distributors to use QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise, often in conjunction with other industry-specific software, to manage the complexities of the ad specialty business, with the results being time saved, errors eliminated and an overall accurate accounting of your business. Contact her at [email protected]

Please email accounting questions you would like considered for the column to [email protected] with the subject line of “Ask the Accountant”

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