16May 2012 by Nancy Smyth
Payroll for Work Hours & Drive Time Invoicing Problem

Payroll for Work Hours & Drive Time Invoicing Problem

Job Costing Tips, Payroll Tips, Questions from our readers, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
  Entering payroll for normal employee work hours and drive time and passing only the work hours through to client invoices is not only important but confusing.  The following question was submitted by a reader. Hello - I own a residential and commercial cleaning company.  I have several employees.  I pay from the start of the first job till the end of the last job of the day (not including lunch break).  I have my employees fill out a time tracker sheet each day that shows the time started at the first job till the end, drive time in between jobs, so on and so forth.  I enter this into QuickBooks but I can't figure out where to enter in drive time to pay the girls their hourly wage on…
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02May 2012 by Nancy Smyth
Merging Two Offices – Each Needing Access to QuickBooks

Merging Two Offices – Each Needing Access to QuickBooks

New Technology, Questions from our readers
  Merging two offices, in different locations, can be difficult - especially if each office is needing access to QuickBooks in order to enter transactions on a daily basis.  A reader submitted these questions. What is the best way to have QuickBooks 2012 running at 2 different locations and having all staff able to use it regardless of location?   How many versions of QuickBooks 2012 would we need to have for 2 locations? We have roughly 7 employees.  Thanks, Jane. Hi Jane I would recommend that you look into having your QuickBooks data file hosted by a reputable QuickBooks Hosting Provider. The Intuit Hosting Program allows end-users to have their licensed copies of QuickBooks desktop software installed on servers in an authorized remote hosting facility, and then access that software…
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24Apr 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Certified Payroll – Employees, 1099 Workers & Subcontractors

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Questions from our readers
  Certified Payroll reporting requirements for employees, 1099 workers and subcontractors causes confusion for many contractors working on prevailing wage/government funded construction projects.  This question was submitted by a reader. I'm very confused about certified payroll reporting requirements.  My workers are 1099'd so what do I put in the hours and withholding part?  What if I hired a subcontractor for the completion of the job?  Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you ~~ Diane Hi Diane, The certified payroll report that your company submits to a general contractor, project owner, or contract administrator should contain information about your W-2 employees, the ones that work directly for you, are paid via payroll checks issued by your company and who you provide a W-2 for wages earned at the end of the…
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10Apr 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Employee Social Security Numbers on Certified Payroll Reports

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Questions from our readers, The "Sunburst" Website
  Displaying employee social security numbers and addresses on certified payroll reports, which are ultimately public documents, causes privacy and identity theft concerns for many employers and employees  - not to mention confusion over reporting requirements.  This question was submitted by a blog reader.   The instructions for the Federal WH-347 certified payroll report say - The payrolls submitted shall include the following information: Name of each employee A unique individually identifiable number for each employee, or as it was suggested, the last 4 digits of the employee social security number His/her correct classification Hourly rates of pay, including any cash fringe benefits paid Daily and weekly number of hours worked Deductions made and actual wages paid Can we accept a unique individually identifiable number on payroll and is there…
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30Mar 2012 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Tip: How To Create a Summary Invoice for Customers

Customers & Accounts Receivable, Job Costing Tips, Questions from our readers, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
  This QuickBooks tip discusses how to create a summary invoice for a customer when you need to track details for job costing purposes.  This question was submitted by one of our readers. How can I print a summary invoice for an estimate that does not show all the details.  Most of my jobs are Total Contract but I really have things broke down to examine my job costs.  This break down is very confusing to customers who just want a basic contract description and price.  Any suggestions?  Thanks, Jim Hi Jim What you are experiencing is very common - a conflict between your need to good job costing an your customers need for something simple - all from the same Estimate in QuickBooks; and without having to duplicate the…
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27Mar 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Estimate to Purchase Order Blues

Customers & Accounts Receivable, Questions from our readers, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup, Vendors & Accounts Payable
  In QuickBooks it's possible to create an Estimate and then from the Estimate create a Purchase Order, Sales Order, Invoice or even a letter - but there are some drawbacks to these features as noted in the question below, submitted by a reader.  Hello, I have just upgraded from Pro 2009 to Premier Contractor 2012.  I did this so I could turn Estimates into Purchase Orders.  I spent an hour on the phone with Intuit yesterday to have them say, "oh, it can't do that".  So I am scouring the internet for someone that can help me. When you choose to create a PO from select items, the selection screen has no line descriptions.  We don't have item codes for everything we sell, that is never going to happen. …
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20Mar 2012 by Nancy Smyth

How To Setup a Scheduled Payment for a Payroll Liability

Free & Fee-Based QuickBooks eBooks, Payroll Tips, Questions from our readers
  Setting up Scheduled payments allows you to see all payroll related liability amounts that you owe for payroll taxes, health insurance, child support garnishments, etc. in the QuickBooks Payroll Center so that you can easily review the amounts and generate the payment.  Finding where you setup the payment schedule can be confusing, if you are new to QuickBooks - see this question from a reader. I have created a Garnishment deduction item, following your instructions step by step, but I did not generate the check to send to the Agency that is collecting the money.  Is there something else that I need to do to get this payroll Liability in the "Pay Schedule Liabilities" or "Custom Liability" box?  Thanks, Luz Hi Luz Usually as soon as you finish creating…
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19Mar 2012 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Cost Plus Billing: Automatic Markup of Items

Customers & Accounts Receivable, Questions from our readers
  QuickBooks can do Cost Plus OR Time and Materials billing, however, Markups can only be calculated on Expenses.  See this question submitted by a reader and learn about ways that you can mark-up Items. In QuickBooks Premier for Contractors is there a way to apply automatic markup on a Item when creating a time and materials invoice? In Premier, from everything I've read, asked experts, and surfed the web; a vendor purchased item that is to be applied to a job should be regarded as a non-inventory item, and applied to a COGS account.  In entering the vendor's bill the bill is recorded as an Item which then can be automatically linked to the customer on a time and cost invoice.  Since the columns of the invoice can not…
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16Mar 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Prevailing Wage-Paying More Than the Wage Decision Requires

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Questions from our readers
  The Wage Decision provides you with the minimum amounts (base rate and fringe rate) that you must pay your employees when they work on a Prevailing Wage job - but confusion often happens when you actually pay your employees more than what the Wage Decision requires.  See this question from a reader. We pay up and above the wage decision that we have. I need to know how to account for fringe benefits in cash that are already included in the base pay for us. For example the wage decision for an operator is $12.98 base with $3.31 fringe. I pay my operator $22 an hour. So the pay is up and above the rate. So on the form how to I show that?  Do I have to show…
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06Mar 2012 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Tip: Prior Amount Totals for Invoicing from Estimates

Customers & Accounts Receivable, Questions from our readers, QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup
  A QuickBooks tip for getting prior amount billed totals to appear when creating Progress Invoices from an Estimate; when you've either had to start a new QuickBooks company file or you are switching from another accounting software. I'm trying to get my JTD beginning balances to appear in the "Prior Amount" totals prior to preparing my first invoice.  I used your "To enter the JTD billing for each job" information to create JTD prior invoicing amounts.  When I create a new invoice there were no prior amounts or percentages shown on my progress invoice.  When I create an invoice stating the percent to bill, it calculates my percentage based on the estimate amount only--No JTD amounts show up.  I did create an invoice with a dollar amount and saved…
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05Mar 2012 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Tip – Back Charges After a Job is 100% Complete

Customers & Accounts Receivable, Questions from our readers
A QuickBooks question and tip about handling back charges or other changes after a job is billed at 100%. First...I love your blog...totally! My question: I've got a client who uses estimates and prepares their progress billings from the estimates.  They have had a couple of jobs in which the job is 100% billed out (but not yet 100% collected - there is outstanding A/R) and then the owner disputes something and they have to do a backcharge, therefore, reducing the total amount of the project.  We change the estimate with a change order to reflect the decrease in the overall contract amount. We would like to "connect" that change to the invoicing/progress billing cycle on the job but since the job is all billed out, the only "invoice" that…
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27Feb 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip: Union Benefits Calculated Against Hours NOT Wages

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Payroll Tips, Questions from our readers
  Union fringe benefits can be calculated in a number of ways; some are based on a percentage of gross wages while others are a fixed dollar amount per hours worked.  Either way you look at it, it can become pretty complex.  Take this question from a blog reader for example. I have union benefits that are calculated against the employee's hours, not gross wages.  How do I do that in QuickBooks? A.  In QuickBooks you want to set up your union benefits as Company Contribution Payroll Item types. I find it to be faster if you go to the Lists menu -> Payroll Item List -> click the Payroll Item button at the lower left -. choose New -> and Custom Setup -> and Company Contribution. When setting up…
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22Feb 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip – One Payroll Wage Item With Different Rates

Payroll Tips, Questions from our readers
  A payroll tip that discusses the hazards of having one payroll wage item in the QuickBooks Employee Record multiple times - with each entry having a different rate of pay.  This question was originally submitted through the "Ask the Expert" form. I have employees who have several different pay rates and, therefore, I have the same payroll item in their QuickBooks employee record multiple times but with different rates of pay.  When I generate Payroll Summary Report, it might show that I paid 20 hours at $60.00 (one of the rates) when I really entered the hours in the Pay Employees Screen at the $30.00.  How can I get the reports to match the hours to the rate that I entered.  I'm so frustrated! Any help or suggestions that…
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20Feb 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tip – Handling 1 Employee with 2 Union Benefit Packages

Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Questions from our readers
  A payroll tip for handling one employee with two different  wage rates and union fringe benefit packages on a single paycheck.  The following question was submitted through our "Ask the Expert" form. How do I setup one employee to be paid weekly, with two entirely different wage and benefit rates, depending on the customer or item; through a single paycheck?  I would like to set it up to just select one rate or the other and have the appropriate wage rate, benefits and contributions be automatically selected.  This is for one employee working with two different unions, so the fringe benefit liabilities go to different parties on different liability checks. Any suggestions would be appreciated. A.  While the expensive construction specific software programs can handle this easily, QuickBooks will…
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