QuickTips: Tips & Tricks For QuickBooks Success
As we prepare to hunker down into tax season here at Rea, I wanted to take this opportunity to offer my assistance as you continue to look for ways to keep your resolution to “maintain better books” in tact.
Right now, Intuit is blasting the media with bookkeeping setup campaigns and, if I’m honest, they’re making it all look pretty darn easy. According to the company’s ads, all it takes to get you up and running is to click a few buttons and, before you know it, you’re up and running! Not so fast. I’m sorry to smash that dream like a bug, but I have to. After all, even though I’m a huge fan of their products, I’m still a realist.
But don’t fret. I am here to walk you through the process step-by-step. And while my method may not be limited to a few clicks of a mouse, I can assure you that it is easy – and just what you need to get 2018 off to a great start.
Step #1: Baby Steps
That software you picked, whether it’s QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online, does A LOT. Either one you choose will effectively help you manage and grow your business. That being said, don’t install the program with the hope of doing EVERYTHING right out of the box. We all have a learning curve and the last thing I want is for you to get discouraged and stop before you even have a chance to get started.
It’s easy to shelter ourselves inside our own protective comfort zones. But a good accounting system will force us to take a step outside our bubble. That’s a good thing. I promise it’s gonna be OK. Actually, it will be better than OK once you begin seeing the impact on your bottom line.
QuickBooks Product Link: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/products
Step #2: Begin With The Basics
Even if the only thing you’re doing is inputting your checks and deposits correctly, it’s likely more than what you were doing last year. And that, my friends, is a win! Just because you have the capability to print checks and create invoices doesn’t mean you have to deploy all the bells and whistles today, next week or even six months from now.
The foundation of your QuickBooks success is all about keeping it simple. When you take advantage of the program’s features slowly and over a period of time you are less likely to become overwhelmed, which will help you stay focused on your goal of full QuickBooks implementation.
Here’s the thing. if I can train a client to input a little bit of data each week and balance their bank account monthly, I am happy. Not just happy – over the MOON HAPPY. These little accomplishments are critical to your long-term success because they give us some accurate reports to work from as we continue to make inroads toward growing your business.
Keep in mind, however, that in order to master the basic step of inputting checks and deposits, you’ll need to make sure that your Company Chart of Accounts has been set up properly and that you have some basic bookkeeping knowledge to get you started. Give me a call or email Rea & Associates if you need help.
Step #3: The Next Level
Once you’ve mastered the basics and feel comfortable and confident that numbers you’re getting are accurate, you may want to take your efforts to the next level. In this case, I recommend learning how to use QuickBooks manage your cash flow.
You already know that Cash is King. Well, in this step, you have an easy (yup, I said “easy”) way to input information about your vendors, including their invoices which can then be scanned, stored and referenced later. This final step allows you to pay and print your accounts payable on a weekly basis by what is due. In other words, this step puts you in charge of managing your cash flow. No longer will your cash flow manage you.
Again, understanding the flow of each one of these processes, in addition to understanding some simple bookkeeping knowledge, is the key to your accounting/bookkeeping success.
Step #4: Consistency Is Key
The next step in your QuickBooks journey should be “Invoicing.” By now, you likely understand that inputting “Customer Information” into your QuickBooks forms format is somewhat similar to the format you used when entering vendor information. At this point, I want to encourage you to maintain consistency with regard to how you input your data. For example, if you’re utilizing customer typing, then each customer/job should have a customer type, as well as a sales tax code.
Again, while maintaining the mentality that Cash is King, by deploying the invoice/sales receipt capabilities of QuickBooks you’ll now be able to track the influx of cash into your business while streamlining the process of making customer calls to follow up on outstanding invoices. When you use QuickBooks to invoice your customers, you empower yourself to make smarter money management decisions.
Final Thoughts
Following these four basic steps will get you moving in the right direction.
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with these final thoughts…
- GET HELP! Don’t think you have to do this alone, a small investment of time and training on the front end has an even bigger payout at the back end.
- Pick the right accounting software from the start. Reach out to an accounting professional to discuss your needs and challenges. Then ask questions about what types of software are available and their capabilities.
- In data entry, consistency is the key to your success.
- When it comes to maintaining your data, repeat the mantra: “Garbage In, Garbage Out.”
By Matt Long (Wooster office)