18Jun 2013 by Nancy Smyth
QuickBooks Automatic Updates & Critical Fixes-What’s Your Policy?

QuickBooks Automatic Updates & Critical Fixes-What’s Your Policy?

General QuickBooks News, QuickBooks Add-Ons
A QuickBooks automatic update for QuickBooks Pro 2013, Premier 2013 (all versions or flavors - Contractor, Manufacturing, Professional Services, etc), and Enterprise 13.0 (all versions or flavors) - referenced as simply QuickBooks 2013 for the balance of this article, beginning right around June 3, 2013 with the last round of the update being released today, has created more problems than it fixed for many users and 3rd party developers. The QuickBooks Automatic Update feature has been around for years, you'll find this option when you open QuickBooks -> go to the Help menu -> and choose Update QuickBooks -> and click on the Options tab.  Here you'll see the Automatic Update option.  In all the versions (Pro, Premier, Enterprise)  - EXCEPT the Premier Accountant edition if you are a Certified…
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27Sep 2012 by Nancy Smyth
QuickBooks 2013 Upgrade Do’s, Don’ts & Frequent Questions

QuickBooks 2013 Upgrade Do’s, Don’ts & Frequent Questions

General QuickBooks News, QuickBooks 2013 - What's New?, QuickBooks Add-Ons, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
QuickBooks 2013 can be purchased right now directly from Inuit websites or through Authorized Intuit Affiliate links - however, it won't be in stores until the middle of October. Many companies will want to upgrade right away.  However, it seems that each year when Intuit announces a new version of QuickBooks, I'm overwhelmed with phone calls and emails from clients and customers asking a multitude of questions about the new version.  Here is a list of do's, don'ts and frequent questions. Frequently Asked Questions: Should I/Do I NEED to upgrade to QuickBooks 2013? I'm usually very conservative in regards to this question, especially the last few years with money being so tight for everyone, but typically my answer is: If you are currently using a version of QuickBooks that Intuit…
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10Sep 2012 by Nancy Smyth
QuickBooks 2013 Announced

QuickBooks 2013 Announced

General QuickBooks News, QuickBooks 2013 - What's New?
Intuit has just announced the release of QuickBooks 2013 (today – 9/10/2012) - view the announcement here. I’ve been actively involved in working with QuickBooks 2013, as an Alpha and a Beta tester, since the end of June. According to Intuit, this year, a top request that they heard from customers like you was to make the product easier to use so you could work more efficiently – no additional features, just a better experience.  As Intuit began planning for the release of QuickBooks 2013, they determined that updating the look and feel was a key way to deliver on their objective to make QuickBooks easier to use.  They felt there was an opportunity to remove some of the complexity and clutter while also creating more consistency across the product.…
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16Sep 2011 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Tip – File Size & DB File Fragments What Do They Mean?

Be A Better Bookkeeper, Free & Fee-Based QuickBooks eBooks, General QuickBooks News, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
The size of your QuickBooks file and the number of DB File Fragments determines the health of your QuickBooks company data file. Most people don’t periodically check the health of their QuickBooks file to help prevent data corruption – mainly because they don’t realize that they should or even how to go about it. Monday's blog post - Basic File Maintenance Before & After You Upgrade - talked about checking your current file size and health before before you upgrade to a new version of QuickBooks.  In reality, you should periodically check this information just to see how healthy your file is or isn't. To check the size of your own QuickBooks file – with QuickBooks open press the CTRL and the 1 keys at the same time OR press…
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06Sep 2011 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Tip – How To Rebuild Your QuickBooks Data File

General QuickBooks News, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
This QuickBooks Tip provides instructions for how to rebuild your QuickBooks data file.  The rebuild function will help maintain the overall health of your file. Is your QuickBooks file very large?  Is it running slow?  Are you in a multi-user environment where 2 or more people are inputting a lot of information on a daily basis?  If you answered yes to any of these questions you would probably benefit from rebuilding your data file on a regular basis. The QuickBooks Rebuild Data function is like a cleaning lady.  When you access the rebuild function it looks at all of the information in your file and makes sure that it has been filed correctly.  Think of your desk, covered in piles of papers that need to be filed.  Before you actually…
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29Jun 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Intuit QuickBooks Payroll Changes

General QuickBooks News
Intuit QuickBooks payroll changes in the upcoming months includes price increases for Basic, Enhanced and Assisted Payroll and the retirement of Complete Payroll. Pricing Changes: Basic Payroll (effective 9/1/2011) Enhanced Payroll (effective 9/1/2011) 1 to 3 employees $135.00 $295.00 Assisted Payroll $69.00 per month (1) Assisted Advantage $135.00 per month (2) 4 or more employees $249.00 (1) $395.00 Per-employee fee $2.00 per payroll (2) (1) this price is unchanged from current rates. (2) The $2.00 per-employee fee is being standardized, but other fees may vary, depending on your service plan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Complete Payroll Discontinued on December 21, 2011 Source:  Intuit ProLine News Central - dated May 13, 2011 We want to make sure you are aware of significant changes to the Intuit® product lineup well in advance. As of December…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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02Mar 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Create a QuickBooks External Accountant User For An IRS Audit

Be A Better Bookkeeper, General QuickBooks News, IRS Information
Giving your QuickBooks company data to an IRS Auditor is almost like inviting a stranger into your home - you don't know what they will do, and at this point in time, I haven't found any information on exactly what an Auditor will look for or what they will do once they do get their hands on your data file. To be honest, I don't even know if they are required to return your QuickBooks (or Peachtree) data file to you once they are done.  I do have to assume that they are required to do so, but you never know........... Hopefully, you will follow the suggestions outlined in An IRS Audit and They Want Your QuickBooks File - Best Practices article and provide a data file that ONLY contains…
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28Feb 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Your QuickBooks Company Data File, the IRS and You

Be A Better Bookkeeper, General QuickBooks News, IRS Information, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
Yes, it's true.  The IRS can *LEGALLY request a backup of your QuickBooks (or Peachtree) company data file if you are being audited. BACKGROUND: In 2010, the IRS purchased somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 licenses for the QuickBooks 2010 Premier Accountant Edition from an ISP (Inuit Solutions Provider) and not directly from Intuit as it is made to look in announcements (SEE NOTE BELOW). Approximately 1,100 agents were trained to utilize QuickBooks and these agents have been instructed to obtain a copy of the taxpayer's data base for the year under examination ONLY when it is necessary.  This method of examination of taxpayer records will not be used in all cases -- however, it will be up to the examiner. When requested, the electronic files should be provided on a…
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