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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QuickBooks Tip – Upgrading to 2011 Forms & Template Errors

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
Upgrading to QuickBooks Premier Account 2011 caused some errors with my existing forms and form templates. Earlier this week I had to bite the bullet and upgrade my own QuickBooks file, moving it from the 2008 Premier Accountant version to the 2011 Premier Accountant Edition; as part of our own move from Windows XP to Windows 7. Yes, folks just like many of you we have been moving software and multitudes of data from XP machines to Windows 7 and updating our QuickBooks company data file.  Not a fun task, but a necessary one. Upgrading our QuickBooks file was an easy task, we have a rather large QuickBooks file and the time it took to do the actual update seemed to be much faster than with previous upgrades.  Our file…
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Free QuickBooks Ebooks – FREEBIE Friday

Free & Fee-Based QuickBooks eBooks, QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
Welcome to Freebie Friday here on the QuickBooks for Contractors blog:-) Below is a list of the current QuickBooks related eBooks that we have available - I do have several new ebooks that are ready to go, but you'll have to wait until after the first of the year in order to have access to them as I'm in the midst of moving our main website to a new platform and I don't want to have to fix anymore links than necessary. What's New in QuickBooks 2011 142 pages covering the new features of QuickBooks 2011.  This eBook has been moved to our Learn to use QuickBooks in your construction business webshite where you can complete our simple request form to gain instant access to this ebook.  Request your copy…
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FREE QuickBooks 2011 Contest – Enter to Win

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
Four Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors/Consultants that I know have teamed up with Intuit to offer a total of $31,000 in FREE QuickBooks 2011 products and services. Each of these ladies have their own contest rules. It can be as easy as signing up for a newsletter to writing a review of QuickBooks Accountant 2011 to commenting on a review to joining a QuickBooks LinkedIn Group. You need to visit their websites to get the latest information on what each is giving away and how to enter each of their contests. Click on their names listed below and you will be whisked away to their web pages, which explain their give-aways.   Have fun and good luck! Ruth Perryman Michelle Long Bonnie Nagayama Laura Madeira
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QuickBooks 2011 – Can’t Verify Subscription Without Internet

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
Have you or your clients received a QuickBooks 2011 message window, when you are not connected to the internet, stating: We can't detect your internet connection, so we can't verify your QuickBooks subscription. I frequently receive this message and others when I work on my Vista laptop and it is not connected to the internet.  Is QuickBooks 2011 "phoning home" to Intuit?  I seriously believe that it is phoning home to Intuit on a daily basis - either that or I've found a bug. Background: QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2011 R3P with no internet connection on a Vista 32 bit laptop, a Windows 7 64-bit laptop AND a Windows 7 64-bit desktop; logged in as a Windows "Standard" User. Details of the problem: Boot computer normally.  The Vista (or Windows 7)…
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What’s New in QuickBooks 2011 – A Comprehensive Overview

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
Free eBook - "What's New in QuickBooks 2011 - A Comprehensive Overview". For those of you who follow this blog, you'll know that I've been posting about new features and functions of QuickBooks 2011 since early September - because I believe that it's important to learn as much as we can about new ways in which to use the accounting software that we've chosen. What many of you probably don't know, is that every year I do an "annual" review of the new features to provide our customers, subscribers of the QuickBooks for Contractors newsletter, and visitors to the Technical Support Area of our main website. This year, I'm doing something a little different and making this annual review available publicly, here on our blog! Request our FREE 142-page "What's…
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QuickBooks 2011-Estimates & More Excluded from Closing Date

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
QuickBooks 2011 offers the ability to exclude Estimates, Sales Orders and Purchase Orders from the Closing Date lock.  This is a key piece of functionality that will be attractive to contractors and other business types who often have open Estimates, Sales Orders or Purchase Orders; which I just learned about yesterday in a "New Features in QuickBooks 2011" webinar presented by Joe Woodard. The Closing Date feature in QuickBooks is designed primarily to protect transactions from previous reporting periods from being changed - for example, it is often a general practice for an accounting professional to set a closing date in a clients QuickBooks file after they have finished preparing their tax returns.  Setting a Closing Date allows the accountant to know that the client cannot go back and make…
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QuickBooks 2011-Upgrade or Not Upgrade, THAT is the question

General QuickBooks News, QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
Each year when a new version of QuickBooks is released, we are asked by our customers "should I upgrade?" and "is your software compatible with the new version". These are both important questions which deserve consideration by QuickBooks users who also use QuickBooks integrated applications.  Each year my answers are usually this: Is your software compatible with the new QuickBooks version? Yes, it is, see our compatibility announcement dated 9/28/2010. As Intuit Gold Developers we "usually" have access to new versions of QuickBooks while they are in beta status.  Usually we can obtain a beta version of the new QuickBooks version in August, so we can begin testing our software for compatibility; this type of early access usually includes the ability to obtain several different/updated beta releases; before we actually…
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QuickBooks 2011 – Batch Invoicing Increases Efficiency

Customers & Accounts Receivable, QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
Batch Invoicing, is a very useful new feature of QuickBooks 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.  It allows small business owners to create an invoice that can then be sent to multiple customers. I'm sure there are many good examples of companies that would find this feature beneficial.  A good example, that comes to mind, for using the Batch Invoicing option, would be a landscaper or a garbage collection company to bill customers weekly for mowing or trash removal. Batch Invoicing is not available when Multi-Currency has been enabled in the Company Preferences tab of the Multiple Currencies Preference.  (Edit menu -> Preferences -> Multiple Currencies -> Company Preferences tab.) The Batch Invoicing option uses individual customer information; such as, terms, sales tax, and preferred send method for invoices.  BEFORE you…
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QuickBooks 2011-New Collections Center Helps Business Owners

Customers & Accounts Receivable, QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?
The Collections Center is a new feature in QuickBooks 2011, however, it is also available in QuickBooks 2012, 2013, and 2014; that help business owners and Accounts Receivable personnel manage their  Accounts Receivable by easily identifying customers with overdue or nearly overdue payments, by "flagging" them - without having to run any of the following reports, to find out this information: Collections Report Accounts Receivable Aging Detail Accounts Receivable Aging Summary Open Invoice Report Additionally, this feature also provides the ability to efficiently contact customers with requests for payment of overdue invoices, or to remind them that a payment will soon be due. To enable this option, begin by going to the Customer Center.  Select the Customers & Jobs tab.  Right-click in the Customers & Jobs List and choose Customize…
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QuickBooks 2011 – New Balance Sheet by Class Report – Part 11

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?, Reports
The Balance Sheet by Class Report was first introduced with QuickBooks 2011, however, it is also available in QuickBooks 2012, 2013, and 2014; has specific requirements for handling many or our normal day-to-day transactions. These requirements remain unchanged from the original introduction in QuickBooks 2011.. In this last installment of our 11-part series on the Balance Sheet by Class Report, we'll discuss how you cannot use the Funds Transfer window to transfer funds between classes - instead you will have to make a journal entry to transfer funds between classes. As we discussed in Part 2, accounting professionals and end users will need to change their procedures when creating journal entries so that they were balanced, by making sure that when creating a journal entry that Debits MUST equal Credits…
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QuickBooks 2011 – New Balance Sheet by Class Report – Part 10

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?, Reports
The Balance Sheet by Class Report has specific requirements for entering Vendor Bills which are assigned to different/multiple classes, then entering a Bill Credit with a different proportion of the same classes created unbalanced classes on a Cash Basis Report and creates Account Payable misclassifications on accrual basis reports. The Balance Sheet by Class Report was first introduced with QuickBooks 2011, however, it is also available in QuickBooks 2012, 2013, and 2014; has specific requirements for handling many or our normal day-to-day transactions. As of 9/29/2010 there is a "bug" that effects the Profit & Loss by Class report when it displays the final vendor payments, which then also adversely affects the Balance Sheet by Class Report. I have submitted this "bug" to Intuit and will come back and complete…
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QuickBooks 2011 – New Balance Sheet by Class Report – Part 9

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?, Reports
The Balance Sheet by Class Report was new in QuickBooks 2011, however, it is also available in QuickBooks 2012, 2013, and 2014; has specific requirements for handling many or our normal day-to-day transactions. and it gives users the option of selecting “Classes” (fund, location, profit center, or other category) as their column/class grouping. Over the last several days, I’ve been discussing and sharing some information about how we all will need to change our data entry procedures in order to utilize the Balance Sheet by Class Report available in QuickBooks 2011; little did I realize when I started delving into the specifics of this report, that making it work would be so complex. Previous QuickBooks 2011 – New Balance Sheet by Class Report  Parts 1 - 8 include: Part 1,…
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QuickBooks 2011 – New Balance Sheet by Class Report – Part 8

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?, Reports
The Balance Sheet by Class Report was first introduced with QuickBooks 2011, however, it is also available in QuickBooks 2012, 2013, and 2014; has specific requirements for handling many or our normal day-to-day transactions; and it gives users the option of selecting “Classes” (fund, location, profit center, or other category) as their column/class grouping. Over the last several days, I’ve been discussing and sharing some information about how we all will need to change our data entry procedures in order to utilize the Balance Sheet by Class Report available in QuickBooks 2011; little did I realize when I started delving into the specifics of this report, that making it work would be so complex. Previous QuickBooks 2011 - New Balance Sheet by Class Report  articles include: Part 1, we touched…
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QuickBooks 2011 – New Balance Sheet by Class Report – Part 7

QuickBooks 2011 - What's New?, Reports
The Balance Sheet by Class Report was first introduced with QuickBooks 2011, however, it is also available in QuickBooks 2012, 2013, and 2014; has specific requirements for handling many or our normal day-to-day transactions; it gives users the option of selecting “Classes” (fund, location, profit center, or other category) as their column/class grouping. Over the last several days, I’ve been discussing and sharing some information about how we all will need to change our data entry procedures in order to utilize the Balance Sheet by Class Report available in QuickBooks 2011. In previous articles: QuickBooks 2011 – New Balance Sheet by Class Report – Part 1, we touched briefly on the fact that transactions will have to be entered in a very specific manner and there are many data entry…
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