04Oct 2011 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks 2012 – Turning Off Annoying Pop-Up Messages & Ads

"Stuff" that drives me insane, QuickBooks 2012 - What's New, QuickBooks Corner
NOTE: These instructions also work in QuickBooks 2013 and 2014 QuickBooks 2012 has both good and bad pop-up messages - just like any other version of QuickBooks, but there is nothing more annoying than having an ad pop-up when you are working in QuickBooks.  Let's be honest, getting rid of the message is another mouse click that you have to make and if messages and ads are popping up frequently we get into the habit of not reading what they have to say and miss something that could very well be important.  This article discusses how you can turn off most of them in QuickBooks 2012. Ok, I get it - Intuit is a business that makes it's money selling software and services to it's customers; but as a customer/business…
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28Sep 2011 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks 2012 – Best Practices & Tips for Installing an Upgrade

QuickBooks 2012 - What's New
Best practices and tips for installing a QuickBooks 2012 upgrade on a computer that already has an existing version of QuickBooks in place. Remember, QuickBooks MUST be installed using a Standard User Account when you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7 AND you use QuickBooks integrated 3rd party programs - see Windows, QuickBooks & 3rd Party Apps - The Struggle Within. If you have Intuit do the upgrade, DO NOT let the Intuit rep install the new version from within your computer's Administrator account and DO NOT let them choose the "upgrade" option when they do the installation.  Also, make sure that your computer IT person is aware of the requirements and best practices - many do not. Make sure that you watch and understand what is being done…
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20Sep 2011 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks 2012 – New Batch Timesheet Creation

Free & Fee-Based QuickBooks eBooks, Payroll Tips, QuickBooks 2012 - What's New
NOTE: This feature is also available in QuickBooks 2013 and 2014. QuickBooks 2012 will include batch timesheet creation as an enhancement to the current "Use Weekly Timesheet" feature, allowing you the option to select multiple employee or vendor names for time entry.  From the information that I've seen, Intuit is marketing this feature to contractors as a timesaver, and it may be for some businesses, BUT THERE IS A CATCH...... Each group of employees or vendors that you select MUST work on the same Job, under the same Service Item AND the same Payroll Item MUST be used during timesheet creation - additionally, they must ALL work the same number of hours each day! See the Batch Timesheet function in action on our YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX0Ct3SPv50 In order to successfully…
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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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07Sep 2011 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks 2012 Announced

QuickBooks 2012 - What's New
QuickBooks 2012 release announced by Intuit.  Learn about new features and functionality.  Last year we published a 142 page eBook on the features found in QuickBooks 2011; see what we have in store for the 2012 version. Well folks, it's that time of year again.  Intuit announced the launch of QuickBooks 2012 on Twitter early this morning with a link off to an official Press Release indicating that it would be available to purchase beginning September 26 directly from Intuit websites. As an Intuit Beta Tester I've been working with the QuickBooks 2012 Premier Accountant version since the middle of July. Below is a list of just some of the new features and functionality that Intuit is saying that you can expect to find in QuickBooks 2012, per their announcement…
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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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10Jun 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Freebie Friday – QuickBooks Premier 2011, the Official eGuide

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
Freebie Friday's are all about valuable Free eBooks and eGuides, sometimes they are eBooks that we've created and other times they are eBooks that we've found on the web that we feel are valuable and could be of interest to you. Back in the "old days", when you purchased QuickBooks it came with a manual - yup, that's right I said a manual - an actual honest to goodness manual bound as a softcover book.  I have a bunch of old ones hanging around. QuickBooks doesn't come with a printed manual anymore, but there are manuals available in eBook form - downloadable pdf's, you just have to know where to look for them. You can find manuals for QuickBooks Premier, Enterprise, and Mac versions straight from Intuit's support area at…
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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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