Ask the Accountant… Question: If I use SAGE for my presentations and orders, why do I need QuickBooks? Answer: SAGE Online has a comprehensive system with search, presentation, CRM, project, and order management system capabilities, to name a few. They are not, nor do they want to be, an accounting system. You will not be…
Read MoreCompanies typically don’t go out of business because they lose money in a month, or a quarter, or for the year. They go out of business because they run out of cash. It can just as easily happen to those companies who are making a profit. These operators sometimes lose sight of the fact that cash flow and showing a profit are not the same things. As Joe Becker would always say, “Cash is king!” And he was right. The cash burn begins the moment you get the order. Paper…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: I just got off the phone with QuickBooks/Intuit. They told me that QB has filled all the gaps between QBO and QuickBooks Desktop so the switch into QBO would be easy. Is that true? Answer: Be very careful when analyzing software. The standard answer from a salesperson with software is that…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: I feel like each order is different with its own problems. Am I the only one? Answer: No, you are not alone. Every distributor I work with has a slightly different business with their own unique challenges. Since we custom decorate our orders, they can involve different and complex processes. The…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: How can I see what the total amount of sales I have made to a customer last year? Answer: QuickBooks has a great deal of information available to you in report form if you just know where to look. In QB Premier, go to: “Reports” (at top) > “Sales” > “Sales…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: When I am in QuickBooks, I have to change dates every time I try to run reports. Our year is July 1 to June 30. How do I change that so that our fiscal year is automatic? Answer: In QuickBooks Desktop (Pro, Premier or Enterprise), go to “Company” > “My Company”…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: There are lots on ins and outs in software, and the percentage that any user knows about is likely very small. I was working with a distributor, and he pointed out a shortcut with which I was not familiar. I have shared it below. Answer: In QuickBooks Desktop (Pro, Premier, or…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: I have set a closing date in my QuickBooks, but my employees keep making entries in the previous year anyway which messes up my books for last year. Is there a way to stop that? Answer: The best way to avoid that problem is to set a password when you set…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: In QB Premier, I am having trouble running the report of vendors that require a 1099. It’s not showing any data. How do I get that report? Answer: There are two steps. The first is to identify a vendor as 1099 eligible. For each vendor that is 1099 eligible, in QB…
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Ask the Accountant… Question: I needed help with my QuickBooks. I googled and found a number, but they didn’t help and tried to sell me a different QuickBooks program. Why? Answer: You should never google to find a way to contact QuickBooks. You will likely not find QB/Intuit, but the person on the other end…
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