Question: Is there a good time to convert from one accounting system to another? Answer: Actually, you can convert at any time of the year, but there is a “best time” that makes things as fast and easy as possible. If your fiscal year is Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, the best time to convert…
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Question: Should I put the real shipping or in-hands dates on the orders I send to suppliers? Answer: I always built in a cushion of a few days to prevent 11th hour heroics and to be prepared for client ignorance, like neglecting to tell me the event is at 8 a.m. or that they need…
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Question: How do I know how many QuickBooks Users I need to start? Answer: My advice is less. I prefer to err on the side of saving money and minimizing the number of users until knowing exactly how many users are needed. And it’s wise to have as few people as possible inside your accounting…
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Question: I have been working for a Distributor for a few years, but am thinking of leaving them and starting out on my own. What steps should I take? Answer: Starting a business from scratch has many variables to be addressed, here are four from the accountant’s perspective. 1. Be sure you are free of…
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Question: I am planning to grow my business. Should I just start out in QuickBooks Enterprise? Answer: “Big” is a relative concept. I have several ad specialty distributor clients who generate $3 million in annual sales, and QB Premier serves them perfectly well. QB Enterprise does have more features than Premier, but many are not…
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Question: I have customers that pay me by credit card, but the credit card company takes out fees. I am receiving less than the total amount on the invoice. How do I handle that in QuickBooks Premier? Answer: I am seeing this situation more often, where the credit card company takes out the fees and…
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Question: I am creating an item in QuickBooks Premier, and it makes me select it as “Tax” or “Non for Sales Taxes.” Sometimes it is taxable and sometimes not, depending on the customer. What do I do? Answer: If an item is ever subject to sales tax in your state, create it as a tax item.…
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Question: Can I just switch from cash to accrual basis in my company? There is a button to do that in QuickBooks. Answer: Generally, you cannot switch your basis from cash to accrual or accrual to cash without a significant and legitimate business reason, and a government sanction, too. That being said, QuickBooks does have…
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Question: I have sales reps that I pay based on gross profit. Can I do these reports in QuickBooks? Answer: Unfortunately, no, QuickBooks does not calculate gross profit by sales rep for non-inventory items, which is 98 percent of our industry. I am working on a solution to this problem for some of my clients,…
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Question: Do I need to make changes to my supplier’s PO to match the supplier invoice? Answer: Yes, and making this adjustment is a standard and absolute best practice in our industry. The supplier’s invoice almost always differs from the original purchase order, and it is the final invoice numbers that need to be correctly…
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