Ask the Accountant… Question: I’ve heard rumors that QuickBooks Desktop is going away. Is that true? Answer: I’ve heard those rumors for years, but QB Desktop (Pro, Premier and Enterprise) is improved upon year-over-year, and appears to be here to stay. I recently attended a webinar by Joe Woodard about this very subject. He quoted…
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Mapping Customer Names Into QuickBooks From Excel
Ask the Accountant… Question: I have been trying to load customers into QB Premier from an Excel file, but I keep getting error messages about duplicates. How can I fix that? Answer: Here’s the fix: QB Premier runs on lists. Once you enter data into lists, you can use that list entry over and over…
Read MoreHow Can I Look at Open Orders on QuickBooks?
Ask the Accountant… Question: Is there a dashboard in QB Premier where I can look at open orders? Answer: QuickBooks Premier has such a dashboard called Income Tracker. You can find the icon on the left side of the home page where other shortcuts are listed. The Income Tracker has tabs at the top of…
Read MoreIs My Sales Tax Report Correct?
Ask the Accountant… Question: Is there a way to know if my sales tax report is correct? Answer: I always suggest reviewing the information on your sales tax report before filing. The report is only as correct as the data you enter into QB. To begin, are you up to date with your bank and…
Read MoreHow To Use Two Item Numbers in QuickBooks
Ask the Accountant… Question: I use two item numbers for my distributorship—one is the item number I assign internally and show the customer, and the other is the supplier’s number. Can I use both in QuickBooks? Answer: Yes, QB Premier and Enterprise allow for two different fields of item numbers. When you set up an…
Read MoreWhich Invoices Are Open? When Are They Due?
Ask the Accountant… Question: How can I find out which invoices are open and when they are due? Answer: In QuickBooks Premier, go to: “Reports” > “Customers and Receivables” > “A/R Aging Detail” This report will list all of your open invoices and their due dates. It will also “age” the invoices, showing how long…
Read MoreWhich QuickBooks Edition Is Right for You?
Ask the Accountant… Question: I am downloading QuickBooks Premier. Which edition do I pick? Answer: QB Premier has multiple editions built into it. You purchase QB Premier, but select the edition when you are downloading the software. For our industry, choose the Manufacturing and Wholesale Edition. It best suits our business needs, and has a…
Read MoreIs Updating QuickBooks Hard? (Spoiler: It Depends)
Ask the Accountant… Question: Is it hard to update from my QuickBooks Premier from an earlier year to the current year? Answer: That depends on how old your current QB is. If it’s from the last three or four years, it should be a matter of installing your new QB Premier, and merely opening the…
Read MoreFinding the Right Credit Cards to Pay Suppliers and Maximize Points
Ask the Accountant… Question: How do you suggest I research credit cards to pay my suppliers and get points? Answer: Credit card points are a nice perk for our industry, but you should only use credit cards for this purpose if you pay the complete balance off each and every month. If you don’t plan…
Read MoreWhen QuickBooks Enterprise is Overkill for Your Business
Ask the Accountant… Question: I have a Promotional Products business using QuickBooks Enterprise. Our business has changed, and QuickBooks Enterprise is overkill for us now. Can we convert from Enterprise to Premier? Answer: QuickBooks makes it easy to convert from Premier to Enterprise (a more expensive product), but not convert from Enterprise to Premier. I…
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