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QuickBooks 2008 Solutions Guide for Business Owners and Accountants

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QuickBooks 2008 Solutions Guide for Business Owners and Accountants

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Description

  • Copyright 2008
  • Dimensions: 7" x 9-1/8"
  • Pages: 528
  • Edition: 1st
  • Book
  • ISBN-10: 0-7897-3711-6
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-3711-3

QuickBooks 2008 Solutions Guide for Business Owners and Accountants contains a wealth of information useful to both the business owner and the accountant who services such businesses. To make finding the right information easier,  the book is organized into chapters specific to each accounting module in QuickBooks.

The author has worked many years with businesses that use QuickBooks to manage their financials and knows that every company has its own unique needs, yet all share one common goal—to more accurately track how the business is performing financially.

The goal of this book is to provide easy-to-read and easy-to-follow QuickBooks “consulting” advice that business owners, bookkeepers, or accountants can use. After reading the chapters in this book, business owners and accountants will be able to efficiently troubleshoot a QuickBooks data file and make needed corrections, so they can accurately report how the business is performing financially.

This book helps you

o        Get started with a QuickBooks data file and learn how to modify the file you already have

o        Analyze your data and troubleshoot reports

o        Review and correct any data errors in your balance sheet accounts such as Banking, A/R, Undeposited Funds, Employee Advances, Inventory, A/P, Sales Tax, and Open Bal Equity Account

o        Use the tools in QuickBooks to properly review your payroll data and avoid costly mistakes

o        Efficiently share your business data with your accountant

o        Make the most of the QuickBooks reporting tools

Laura Madeira graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a major in accounting and is a certified trainer for Intuit’s Certified Trainer Network. As a member of this select group, she provides training to accountants and consultants each fall when the new version of QuickBooks is released.

She also is a guest instructor for Intuit at many trade shows throughout the year, and she writes published QuickBooks technical documentation and presentations for Intuit.

Laura owns a software and accounting firm that has for more than 20 years helped a large variety of businesses manage their financials using Intuit’s QuickBooks software (Intuit’s Quicken in those early years). In fact, she has been training users on QuickBooks since the very first version was released many years ago.

Category     Business | Finance

Covers         QuickBooks 2008

User Level    Intermediate—Advanced

Front cover quote:

“Laura Madeira has created an extremly valuable QuickBooks resource that belongs on every business and accountant’s bookshelf”

—Rich Walker, CPA, Intuit Accountant Relations

Sample Content

Online Sample Chapter

Reviewing and Correcting Item List Errors in QuickBooks 2008

Downloadable Sample Chapter

Download the chapter

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Creating a New QuickBooks Data File

EasyStep Interview—Overview

    Select a Start Date

    Enter Bank Account Information

    Review Income and Expense Accounts

Converting from Other Accounting Software to QuickBooks

    Converting from Quicken to QuickBooks

    Converting from Peachtree, Small Business Accounting, or Office Accounting to QuickBooks

    Converting from QuickBooks for Windows to QuickBooks Online Edition

    Converting from QuickBooks Pro for MAC to QuickBooks for Windows

Setting Up a QuickBooks Data File for Accrual or Cash Basis Reporting

    Cash or Accrual Basis Startup Transactions: Accounts Receivable

    Cash or Accrual Basis Startup Transactions: Accounts Payable

    Cash or Accrual Basis Startup Transactions: Bank Account Statement Balance

    Cash or Accrual Basis Startup Transactions: Checking Uncleared Bank Checks

Creating a QuickBooks Data File Checklist

Chapter 2 Reviewing the QuickBooks Chart of Accounts

Understanding the Chart of Accounts

    Assets

    Liabilities

    Equity

    Income

    Cost of Goods Sold

    Expense

Importing a Chart of Accounts

    Importing from an Excel File Format

    Importing from an Intuit Interchange Format (IIF) File

Preferences That Affect the Chart of Accounts

Accounts That QuickBooks Creates Automatically

Methods to Troubleshoot and Correct Chart of Account Issues

    Removing Duplicated Accounts by Marking an Account Inactive

    Merging Duplicated Accounts

    Wrong Account Type Assigned to a Chart of Accounts Listing

    Assigning or Removing a Subaccount Relationship

Chart of Accounts Chapter Checklist

Chapter 3 Reviewing and Correcting Item List Errors

Understanding the Differences Between the Chart of Accounts, Items, Classes, and Customer Types

    Chart of Accounts

    Items

    Classes

    Customer Types

Using Item Types in QuickBooks

Finding Item Errors in QuickBooks

    Reviewing Accounts Assigned to Items

    Item Listing Report

    Profit & Loss Summary Report

Fixing Item Errors in QuickBooks

    Correcting One-Sided Items

    Making an Item Inactive

    Merging Items

Creating Items as Subitems

Item List Review Checklist

Chapter 4 Easily Review Your QuickBooks Data

Choosing a Reporting Basis

Reviewing the Balance Sheet

    Account Types

    Prior Year Balances

    Bank Account Balance(s)

    Accounts Receivable

    Undeposited Funds

    Inventory

    Other Current Assets

    Fixed Assets

    Accounts Payable

    Credit Cards

    Payroll Liabilities

    Sales Tax Payable

    Other Current Liabilities and Long-Term Liabilities

    Equity

Additional Data Reviews

    Payroll Summary Total and Payroll Expense Total

    Sales by Item Summary Compared to Total Income

    Net Income or (Loss) Agrees with Balance Sheet

    Reconcile Discrepancies Account

    Cash Basis Balance Sheet Has Accounts Receivable or Payable

Chapter 5 Power Reports for Troubleshooting Beginning Balance Differences

How Can These Power Reports Help Me?

The Working Trial Balance Window

Tracking Changes to Closed Accounting Periods

    Setting a Closing Date and Password

    Setting User-Specific Security

    Creating the Closing Date Exception Report

Using the Audit Trail Report

Using the Credit Card Audit Trail

Using the Voided/Deleted Transactions Summary or Detail Report

Creating the Retained Earnings QuickReport

Using the Ctrl+Y Keyboard Shortcut

Running the Transaction List by Date Report

Documenting Changes Made to a Data File

Chapter 6 Bank Account Balance or Reconciliation Errors

The Importance of Correct Bank Balances in Your QuickBooks Data

Reconciling a Bank Account for the First Time

    Verify That the Bank Account Has Not Been Reconciled

    Verify That All Banking-Related Transactions Have Been Entered

    Identify All Uncleared Transactions

    Complete the Multiple Year or Month Bank Reconciliation

Troubleshooting an Incorrectly Reconciled Bank Account

    Review Uncleared Bank Transactions

    Reviewing Previous Bank Reconciliation Reports

    Locating Bank Account Reconciliation Discrepancies

    Reviewing the Voided/Deleted Report

    Restarting a Previously Completed Bank Reconciliation

    Undoing a Previous Bank Reconciliation

Reconciling with an Adjustment

Bank Reconciliation Troubleshooting Checklist

Chapter 7 Reviewing and Correcting Accounts Receivable Errors

Accounts Receivable Forms and Workflow

Preferences That Affect Accounts Receivable

    Sales & Customers Preferences

    Checking Preference

    Finance Charge Preference

    Jobs & Estimates

    Reminders

    Reports & Graphs

    Send Forms

    Spelling

    Sales Tax Preference

    Time and Expenses

Reports to Review When Troubleshooting Accounts Receivable Errors

    Reconcile Balance Sheet Accounts Receivable Amount to A/R Aging Summary Total

    Review Open Invoices Report

    Generate a Missing Customer Invoices Report

    When an Accounts Receivable Balance Appears on a Cash Basis Balance Sheet

Correcting Accounts Receivable Errors

    Removing an Open Balance from a Customer Invoice

    Correcting Customer Payments Applied to the Incorrect Invoice, Customer, or Job

    When a Credit Memo Is Applied to the Wrong Customer Invoice

    When Deposits Were Made Without Using the Receive Payment Form

    Grouping Deposited Items

    Eliminating the Print Queue for Customer Invoices Marked to Print

Unique Customer Transactions

    Recording Your Accountant’s Year-End Adjusting Journal Entry to Accounts Receivable

    When a Customer Is Also a Vendor

    Recording Customer’s Bounced Check

Accounts Receivable Checklist

Chapter 8 Troubleshooting and Correcting Errors with the Undeposited Funds Account

The Purpose of the Undeposited Funds Account

Preference Settings that Affect Undeposited Funds

Reviewing the Balance in the Undeposited Funds Account

    Creating an Undeposited Funds Detail Report

    Creating a General Ledger Report of the Undeposited Funds Account

    Reviewing the Open Invoices Report

    Viewing Deposits in the Bank Register

    Viewing the Deposit Detail Report

Fixing Errors with the Undeposited Funds Account

    Removing Old Dated Payments in the Undeposited Funds Account

    Reconciling Your Bank Register with the Bank Statement’s Deposits

Undeposited Funds Account Checklist

Chapter 9 Handling Current Asset Accounts Correctly

Defining an Other Current Asset

Reviewing and Troubleshooting the Other Current Asset Accounts

    Matching Other Current Asset Balances to an Outside Document

    Creating a Custom Transaction Detail Report

    Reconciling Other Current Asset Accounts

Troubleshooting and Creating Unique Other Current Asset Account Transactions

    Correcting Balance Errors in Your Other Current Asset Accounts

    Deducting Employee Loan Payments from the Employee’s Payroll Checks

    Recording Prepaid Expenses in QuickBooks

    Tracking Customer Retainage in QuickBooks

Other Current Asset Accounts Checklist

Chapter 10 Reviewing and Correcting Inventory Errors

Overview of the Accounting for Inventory

Preferences That Affect Inventory

Inventory Processes and Forms and Their Effect on Accounting

Reviewing and Troubleshooting Inventory Balances

    Perform a Physical Inventory Count

    Reconciling the Inventory Valuation Summary Report with the Balance Sheet Inventory Balance

    Reviewing the Recorded Average Cost Valuation

    Reviewing Aged Open Item Receipts

    Reviewing Aged Accounts Payable

Correcting Inventory Errors

    Creating an Inventory Quantity Adjustment

    Creating an Inventory Value Adjustment

How QuickBooks Handles Negative Inventory

    When Inventory Has an Average Cost from Prior Purchase Transactions

    When Inventory Does Not Have a Prior Average Cost

Inventory Summary

Chapter 11 Reviewing and Correcting Accounts Payable Errors

Accounts Payable Forms and Workflow

    Accounts Payable Forms

    Accounts Payable Workflow

Preferences That Affect Accounts Payable

    Accounting

    Bills

    Checking

    General

    Reminders

    Reports and Graphs

    Tax:1099

Reports to Review When Troubleshooting Accounts Payable Errors

    Reconcile Balance Sheet Report Accounts Payable Balance to A/P Aging Summary Report Total

    Review the Unpaid Bills Detail Report

    Reviewing Aged Open Item Receipts

    Reviewing Item Setup

    When an Accounts Payable Balance Appears on a Cash Basis Balance Sheet

    Reviewing and Printing Year-end Vendor Tax Forms

Correcting Accounts Payable Errors

    When a Vendor Was Paid with a Check

    Misapplied Vendor Credit

    Removing Aged Open Item Receipts or Vendor Bills

    General Journal Adjustments to Accounts Payable

Unique Accounts Payable Transactions

    When Your Vendor Is Also Your Customer

    Recording Vendor Prepayments

    Entering Mid-year 1099 Balances

    Taking Discounts on Vendor Bills

    Memorizing Recurring Transactions

    Depositing a Vendor Refund

    Paying and Recording a Credit Card Bill

Accounts Payable Checklist

Chapter 12 Reviewing and Correcting Sales Tax Errors

Preferences That Affect Sales Tax

Sales Tax Items, Groups, and Codes

    Creating and Using Sales Tax Items

    Creating and Using Sales Tax Group Items

    Creating and Using Sales Tax Codes

Assigning Sales Tax Codes to Products or Services

Assigning Sales Tax Codes and Items to Customers

Reports to Review When Troubleshooting Sales Tax Errors

    Reviewing Customer Lists for Tax Code and Tax Item Assigned

    Reviewing Item List for Tax Code Assigned

    Reconciling Total Sales to Total Income

    Reconciling Sales Tax Liability to Balance Sheet Sales Tax Payable

    When a Check or Bill Form Was Used to Pay Sales Tax

Properly Paying Sales Tax

    Paying Sales Tax Without an Adjustment

    Paying Sales Tax with an Adjustment

Correcting Sales Tax Errors

    When a Check or Bill Form Was Used to Pay the Sales Tax

    When the Sales Tax Liability Report Shows Past Sales Tax Due

    When Total Sales Does Not Equal Total Income

Unique Sales Tax Transactions

    Tracking and Collecting Multiple Sales Tax Rates

    When Your State Imposes a Maximum Sales Tax

    Multiple Sales Tax Rates on One Invoice

    Issuing Credit Memos When Sales Tax Should Not Have Been Charged

Sales Tax Checklist

Chapter 13 Reviewing and Correcting the Opening Balance Equity Account

Purpose of the Opening Bal Equity Account

Transactions in the Opening Bal Equity Account

    Bank Statement Ending Balance Entered in the EasyStep Interview

    Opening Balance in the Add New Account Dialog

    Entering a Total Value for a New Inventory Item

    Bank Reconciliation Adjustments (QuickBooks 2005 or Older)

    Accrual Basis Startup Records

Reports to Review and Troubleshoot the Opening Bal Equity Account

Closing Opening Bal Equity into Retained Earnings

Setting a Closing Date and Password

Opening Bal Equity Checklist

Chapter 14 Reviewing and Correcting Payroll Errors

Payroll Service Options

Payroll & Employees Preference

Payroll Forms and Workflow in QuickBooks

    Payroll Forms

    Payroll Workflow

Using the Payroll Setup

Using the Run Payroll Checkup Diagnostic Tool

Reports to Review When Troubleshooting Payroll

    Payroll Item Listing

    Comparing Payroll Liabilities Balances to the Balance Sheet

    Compare Payroll Summary to Filed Payroll Returns

Adjusting Payroll Liabilities

Unique Payroll Transactions and Processes

    Scheduled Payroll and Liabilities

    Deposit a Refund of Payroll Liabilities

    Reprint a Lost Payroll Check

    Setting Up Payroll Mid-Year

    Paying a Taxable Bonus

    Employee Loan Payment and Repayment

    Adjusting an Employee Paycheck

Payroll Checklist

Chapter 15 Sharing Data with Your Accountant or Your Client

Sharing QuickBooks Data

    Benefits for the Business Owner

    Benefits for the Accountant

QuickBooks File Types

    Choosing a Method to Share Data

Data Sharing for the Business Owner

    Reviewing Your QuickBooks Data

    Using the Accountant’s Copy Feature

    What the Business Owner Can and Cannot Do

    Importing Your Accountant’s Changes

    Canceling an Accountant’s Copy

Data Sharing for the Accountant

    Preparing Your Client for the Data Exchange

    Working with an Accountant’s Copy File

    What the Accountant Can Do

    What the Accountant Cannot Do

    Returning the Accountant’s Copy Change File to the Client

    What to Request from the Client When the Import Is Complete

    Converting the Accountant’s Copy to a Regular Company File

Sharing Data Checklist

Chapter 16 Reporting Tips and Tricks

Using the Report Center

Reporting Preferences

    My Preferences

    Company Preferences

Modifying Reports

    Modifying Options Available on the Report Window

    Modify Report Button

Report Groups

    Creating Report Groups

    Using Report Groups

    Managing Report Groups

Memorized Reports

Exporting and Importing Report Templates

    Exporting a Report or Report Group Template

    Importing a Report or Report Group Template

Exporting Reports to a .CSV File or to Excel

Emailing Reports

About Financial Statement Designer

0789737116   TOC   10/31/2007

Index

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Introduction

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Updates

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