From Our Guest Bloggers | QuickBooks for Contractors blog

14Feb 2012 by Shannon Tucker

How Well Does the New QuickBooks 2012 Condense Feature Work?

From Our Guest Bloggers, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup

QuickBooks 2012 introduced a new approach to condensing large QuickBooks data files. How well does the new condense feature work? And how does it compare to the results given by third party data condensing services, like those of AccountingUsers, Inc.? We did some tests to find out. We used the new condense function in QuickBooks 2012 (using either QuickBooks 2012 Premier Accountant Edition, or Enterprise Accountant 12) and recorded the results. We then ‘supercondensed’ those same original files. We tested “apples to apples” for seven separate QBW files. Some files were QuickBooks Pro and some were Enterprise. Results? For 3 of the 7 files we tested, the QuickBooks condense function performed pretty well. Those files were reduced in size by 57%, 58% and 73%. When we supercondensed those same…

06Oct 2011 by Nancy Smyth

The Day Has Come to Get Rid of Your CLUTTER!

Be A Better Bookkeeper, From Our Guest Bloggers

A guest blog post by Daniel Richman of The Domestic Assistants from the Ventura, California. He and his wife, Jennifer, are a whirlwind of energy and together they make up a tag team duo who "get the job DONE! The day has come to get rid of your clutter....WHAT do you do? Do you jump on the occasion? Rip, shred, and tear the junk away from your workspace? I don’t know about you, but in my business, I've seen it all. The one thing that's common about most is….the amount of paperwork. Past, present, and sometimes even future (pending) paperwork goes into the mix. We all do it, I'm guilty. So, what do YOU do? Are you reliant on your desktop/laptop computer to store the information into a hard drive?…

29Sep 2011 by John Stahl

Want More Control In Your Business? Follow the Process

From Our Guest Bloggers

In a conversation with a builder today, I noticed huge similarities between the construction process and running a successful business. This design/build contractor was stating that the best way to run a construction project was to take time to strategically outline the details and then execute the plan. He was explaining how costly and frustrating it can get when his customer makes big changes half way through the job. "Once the foundation is poured", he said, “it can be very costly to change the design. Time spent planning will always pay off down the road". After a while we began to discuss his business and how he moves through his day. "I am constantly putting out fires and sometimes ask myself if I should be doing something else with my…

08Sep 2011 by Lorien Prince

Entering Job-to-Date Costs & Billing Data at the Item Level

From Our Guest Bloggers, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup

A QuickBooks tip for entering Job-to-data costs and billing data at the item level when converting or archiving. Use this procedure to enter Job-to-date (“JTD”) costs and JTD billing so the Job Profitability Detail Report is accurate at the Item level after converting your existing Quickbooks file to a new database file, or after archiving old QuickBooks transactions. In both cases, you are bringing over beginning balances as of the conversion date into your new data file, and this procedure will prove useful for reporting on jobs that are in progress as of the conversion date. From your old data file: Run your Job Profitability Detail Reports for each job in progress to obtain the JTD cost and revenue figures as of the conversion date. In the date fields, leave…

30Jun 2011 by Jo Ellen Peters

QuickBooks Tip – How To Customize Invoices

Customers & Accounts Receivable, From Our Guest Bloggers, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup

A QuickBooks tip about how to customize invoices without purchasing pre-printed forms. You use the Create Invoice icon to invoice your customers. The invoices are plain looking, just your company name, no logo, nothing that really makes it stand out and look like a professional invoice. How would you like to customize the invoice without the cost of purchasing invoices? You can by using the customization tool available. While in the invoice, go to the Customize button at the top and click the down arrow, then click on Manage Templates and you will see this screen: Highlight the template you want to customize and click okay at the bottom of the page. The next window that opens will look like this: This window will give you several options on how…

16Jun 2011 by Joanie Mann

Reselling Accounting versus Reselling Technology

From Our Guest Bloggers

Accounting professionals are often considered to be the “trusted adviser”, working in the best interests of their client and helping overcome obstacles to business success. At the very minimum, business owners recognize that they need their accountant to get their taxes done, and that relationship alone requires a level of trust that no typical vendor can boast. Accounting professionals are also often advocates for certain computer technology and/or software solutions, largely because they are viewed as tools which facilitate a better working relationship between the client and their accountant, and which may improve the quality of information available to both. Recommendations regarding the selection of accounting software packages and solutions to record and report on business activities may be made by the accountant, and those recommendations are often accepted by…

09Jun 2011 by Jo Ellen Peters

Payroll Tip – The IRS May Hold You Liable For 941 Payments

From Our Guest Bloggers, IRS Information, Payroll Tips

A payroll tip about who the IRS may hold liable for 941 tax payments. Are you the bookkeeper or accountant for your company? Are you a signer on any of the company bank accounts? What about your client’s accounts? Do you sign on any of them? If so, you may be held responsible by the IRS for underpaid 941 liabilities. Sounds scary, but it can be true. How is it possible that can be true? The IRS says the federal income tax and the employee’s portion of social security and medicare taxes withheld is a trust fund. It is to be deposited according to the schedule they have determined for your company. The IRS cannot collect this tax from the employee, even if the employer does not pay the tax…

26May 2011 by Ray Kelly

Why QuickBooks Certification is Worthwhile in Today’s Competitive Job Market

Be A Better Bookkeeper, From Our Guest Bloggers

Intuit’s QuickBooks is the top managerial accounting program in the U.S. Anyone can put QuickBooks on their resume, but offering potential employers tangible proof keeps job seekers relevant since those credentials reflect real-world job skills. Becoming a QuickBooks Certified User verifies the certificate holder has the knowledge and skills necessary to use QuickBooks proficiently in a business setting without costly software training. About 60 years ago, bookkeepers worked for small local businesses or small firms and manually recorded entries in a large bound book. For many years, it was commonplace for accountants to graduate from college or finish their training, and then spend the next 30 or 40 years at the same job. Their employer paid for ongoing training, provided benefits and rewarded longevity. Then, the market changed. Our financially…

04May 2011 by Matt Clark

Why Does the IRS Want to Audit My QuickBooks File?

"Stuff" No One Ever Told Me About..., From Our Guest Bloggers, IRS Information

If you are reading this article then it is likely that you or your client has received a request to submit a QuickBooks file in conjunction with an IRS Audit or an audit by another government agency. The Internal Revenue Service started this new level of enforcement in 2010 in which their agents are now requiring the actual accounting database (be it QuickBooks or another accounting software) as a part of the audit process. Certainly, government revenue departments can use information to gather any sort of data relevant to an audit. In my role in helping clients prepare their files for submission to these governmental agencies I have noticed some patterns in what the IRS seems to be looking into and I wish to share that with you here. Improper…

21Apr 2011 by Matt Clark

Avoid the Intuit Up Sell Machine

From Our Guest Bloggers, General QuickBooks News

Recently, many ProAdvisors and QuickBooks customers alike, have been complaining because the standard reply whenever you talk to QuickBooks Support is, "you need to upgrade to QuickBooks Enterprise", as if QuickBooks Enterprise could part the Red Sea, should you need that in your accounting software. The practice has become almost comical and it highlights a true disconnect between Intuit actually hearing its clients in need of solutions versus their perceived opportunity to close another sale. First, a little background. Microsoft attempted to compete directly with Intuit by introducing Microsoft Small Business Accounting Software in 2007. In response, Intuit slashed its prices on the Pro product so that Microsoft couldn't beat them on cost at the low end. Thus, Microsoft couldn't get a foothold in the market. The good news for…

14Apr 2011 by JProfitt

Prevailing Wage Jobs and the Compensation Package

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, From Our Guest Bloggers, The "Sunburst" Website

A prevailing wage job is typically a government funded project. The Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Acts govern federal projects. Most states have a prevailing wage law, but there are some that do not so it is a good idea to know the rules before you bid a project. Governments, in their idea of fairness, mandate union rules and compensation packages on the jobs. So, one of the simple ways to prepare yourself to do prevailing wage jobs is to have an action plan at the ready that will allow you to cope with the requirements. We will briefly discuss the compensation package. All prevailing wage projects will come with wage determination schedules that detail the base rate and fringe rates for all craft and trades. The base rate most likely…

31Mar 2011 by Joanie Mann

Everything you always wanted to know about the Authorized QuickBooks hosting providers

From Our Guest Bloggers, General QuickBooks News

In a previous article on my own blog entitled “Everything you always wanted to know about the QuickBooks hosting program but were afraid to ask” , I mentioned that I would be providing information on what makes these providers different. I still intend to do that, but I must proceed delicately. You see, I am employed by one of the Commercial QuickBooks hosting providers, InsynQ, and while I make every attempt to be fair and unbiased, the other providers may not necessarily see my motivations as being all that altruistic. Rather, there is a great potential for them to perceive that my blog posts about QuickBooks hosting providers is simply a way to put InsynQ above the rest. So, I will proceed with my reviews of the various hosting service…

24Mar 2011 by Randal DeHart

Construction Accounting – Why You Should Outsource It

From Our Guest Bloggers

Why Outsource Your Construction Bookkeeping? A Simple Explanation Of Construction Accounting And Why You Should Outsource It: It is probably the most difficult and complex accounting system ever invented It is deceptively simple, it looks easy, like flying a plane 85% boring, 15% sheer terror At the auction every contractor learns the true cost of cheap accounting EXTERNAL Accounting is all about things going on OUTSIDE your business: Financial Statements for bank loans, lines of credit, investors and bonding requirements Tax returns for local, state and Federal tax returns Bankruptcy court filings, some firms do not generate financial statements until they are here All of these reports and forms are of limited use to the contractor INTERNAL Accounting is all about things going on INSIDE your business: Current bank balances…

10Mar 2011 by Charlie Russell

QuickBooks Tip – Understanding QuickBooks Inventory Cost

Be A Better Bookkeeper, From Our Guest Bloggers

If you are using QuickBooks to manage your inventory, you need to understand how QuickBooks deals with the cost of inventory items. Unfortunately, the term “cost” is used in several different ways, and it can get confusing. Here is a quick rundown of how QuickBooks handles things. I’ll focus on Inventory Part items, which are the true “inventory” items in QuickBooks, with a little detour to talk about Inventory Assembly items. Cost Fields in QuickBooks If you look at an Inventory Part item, you will see that there are two cost fields. Cost, on the left, is a "reference" field. That is, it doesn't have any direct bearing on the valuation of your inventory, the cost of your inventory in your inventory asset account. I wish they had another name,…

03Mar 2011 by Shannon Tucker

Warning Signs: Is Your QuickBooks File Getting Too Big?

From Our Guest Bloggers, General QuickBooks News, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup

Have you ever had a dream where you desperately needed to run fast (you’re being chased by Sasquatch, say) but your feet just won’t go? Your feet can only go in slow motion? If some of your QuickBooks reports seem stuck in molasses, or it’s taking a minute or more to save an invoice, that’s about as fun as a bad dream. Performance problems in QuickBooks are one warning sign that your QuickBooks data file is probably getting too big. (How big is too big? We’ll look at that in a minute.) Another warning sign is when you get random errors or crashes in QuickBooks. It doesn’t crash ALL the time, and you can’t reproduce the problem whenever you want (as if you want to!) But QuickBooks sometimes flakes out…

Category: From Our Guest Bloggers