Scott Gregory, QuickBooks Expert

QuickBooks Purchase Orders - Watch the Due Date Field

So you're busy cranking out a purchase order to your favorite vendor in QuickBooks, and you get to the "Due Date" field as shown in the sample screen shot below:

Immediately, you think that by "due date", QuickBooks is referring to the date the goods on the purchase order would be due to you.

Not so fast...

WHAT THIS FIELD ACTUALLY REPRESENTS

In reality, the "Due Date" field is actually tied to the payment terms for the vendor pulled to the purchase order. So, in the example above, if you went to the vendor center and looked up East Bayshore and looked at their "terms", you would see "net 30 days". Because of that, when a PO is created for this vendor, QuickBooks is going to add 30 days to the date of the PO and fill that in as the "due date". This very likely has absolutely nothing to do with the actual shipping date of the goods you are ordering.

BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO TRACK THE SHIPMENT

If it were me, I'd customize the PO template you regularly use. Once in the customization area, I'd remove the "due date" (or at least rename it to "Payment Due Date" or something more descriptive) and then add the "Expected Date" field that is available. In the example below, I've added the "Expected Date" field and given it a new and descriptive name.



The content of this field now has no relation to the payment terms you have defined for the vendor- and that is a good thing if you want this to be tracking the shipment date.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• What costing system does QuickBooks use for inventory?
• QuickBooks for Manufacturers and Distributors: Ideas to reduce expenses

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Simplifying Accounts Payable in QuickBooks: Using the Bill.com Inbox

I know that simplifying the bill paying process is a goal of many businesses - and there is no better option than using Bill.com.

In the coming weeks, I'm going to periodically help you take a closer look at the tools in Bill.com so you can see just how easy it is to reduce the time spent paying bills and fully automating the process.

YOUR CENTRALIZED WORKSPACE

Bill.com offers you one centralized place to gather all of the information relating to your vendor bills.

You can:

• Upload them directly from your computer or other network file storage location
• Fax the bill directly to a dedicated fax number for your business (your vendor can fax directly as well)
• E-mail the bill directly to a dedicated e-mail address for your business (your vendor can e-mail directly as well)

A CLOSE-UP OF YOUR INBOX

Here is a screen shot of what your centralized workspace looks like in Bill.com

SYNCS WITH QUICKBOOKS

There is no double-data entry involved. Enter once in Bill.com and have the information sync directly to your QuickBooks file.

GET A GREE TRIAL TO CHECK IT OUT

It is easy to see just how Bill.com works. Get a free trial today - no credit card is required. I am using it in my business, and I hope you find it valuable for yours.

RELATED INFORMATION

• Online bill payment in QuickBooks with Bill.com

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How to Handle Customer Deposits and Prepayments in QuickBooks

Handling customer deposits and prepayments in QuickBooks can be very confusing and lead to inaccurate financial reports if not handled correctly.

My new training video on the proper way to handle these transactions will provide you step-by-step instructions and the guidance you've been looking for.

WHAT THIS VIDEO TEACHES YOU

• Conversion of quotes to sales orders and how they impact your accounting
• Detailed screenshots and narration of a sample customer order that has two deposits/prepayments required before shipment
• Laser-focused insight on how each step impacts your accounting reports (balance sheet and profit and loss)
• Handling the final invoice at the time of shipment to get your sales figures correct AND take care of the deposits/prepayments
• Bonus tips on how to create a great report to help you track the details of ALL of your customer deposits
• How to keep your CPA happy by handling these deposits correctly each time, every time

All of my training videos come with a complete money-back guarantee. You can view the video online as many times as you like for 30 days or simply download the video to your computer and view it there.

For more details or to purchase "How to Handle Customer Deposits and Prepayments in QuickBooks", click the button below:

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Understanding Sales Orders in QuickBooks
• Free QuickBooks Guides and Tutorials

How Come I Can't See Account Numbers in QuickBooks?

If your business is one that needs accounts numbers for your ledger accounts, you may be wondering why an account number field does not appear in QuickBooks.

No worries - a couple of clicks and you're in business.

To turn on account numbers in QuickBooks, click Edit > Preferences > Accounting > Company Preferences and check the "use account numbers" box, as shown below:

Once you do that, the account number box appears in each ledger account, as shown below:

WHY USE ACCOUNT NUMBERS?

In some cases, the use of an account number is really just something that has carried forward from older accounting software that wasn't able to use account names.

In others, the chart of accounts is extensive, with a lot of similar account names. The use of a number in these cases helps to ensure that the entry is being posted to the correct ledger account. For example, if you posted something to account called Computers - would you know that it was going to an asset account or an expense account?

Many accountants and accounting firms recommend the use of account numbers to avoid mis-postings. As you can see within QuickBooks, the choice is yours on whether to use them or not.

OTHER HELPFUL TIPS...

• Can QuickBooks recover a deleted transaction?
• Why does a QuickBooks journal entry require a name for customers or vendors?

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Can I Put a Range of Numbers in the Quantity Field on a QuickBooks Estimate?

If your business uses the estimate/quote module of QuickBooks, you've probably wondered about whether you can show a range of quantities for an item in the form or not.

For example, if you sell an item at one price with a quantity of 1-4 purchased, and a different price with a quantity of 5-10 purchased, it would be helpful to display these quantity ranges for easy reference.

In QuickBooks, the quantity field is reserved to hold just one value in QuickBooks. It cannot hold a range of numbers or even any special characters.

ALTERNATIVE TO CONSIDER

You can take advantage of the description column when creating a quote to display the information that you can't get to fit in the quantity field. An example below:

Since the quote form never posts to your accounting records, you don't have to worry about amounts being recorded incorrectly.

RELATED POSTS:

• How to close open estimates in QuickBooks
• How to convert an estimate to a sales order in QuickBooks

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Building Better Business Finances: Key Metric - Average Sale Per Invoice

Want an easy way to measure the sales growth of your business?

Consider adding the "average sales dollar per invoice" calculation to your key performance indicators.

How to calculate:

Average Sale Per Invoice = Total sales for the period (i.e. month) / Total number of invoices for the same period (i.e. month)

• Your total sales can be pulled from your profit and loss report in QuickBooks (assuming the data is accurate of course!)
• Your total number of invoices can also be pulled from QuickBooks - just go to your Customer Center and click on the Transactions tab in the upper left of the screen. Then click the Invoices option in the list. From there, set the date range to "Last Month", and then click on the "Num" header to sort the list by invoice number. Just subtract the ending invoice number for the period from the beginning invoice number - see the image below:
  
  
  Assuming you are using a +1 numeric sequence for your invoicing, you can quickly calculate how many invoices you created during the month and plug it in. If not, you can export this to Excel and get an invoice count that way too.

BENEFITS OF THIS CALCULATION

Average sales dollar per invoice gives you a simple way to see if your business is selling more via each transaction on average as you start to watch this trend over time.

Did the value go up? Maybe you had a price increase and that is being reflected in your figures. Maybe your sales team is having success with "upselling" while talking to customers (i.e. did you want fries with that too?)

Did the value go down? Maybe you had the same sales amount compared to a prior month, but you simply generated more invoices during the month. If that is the case, your billing department was cranking out more paper and postage, spending more non-value added time on invoicing, etc. Then you can evaluate ways to streamline the billing process.

This metric certainly isn't the only one to use as you manage the business, but it sure provides an easy way to do some trendspotting relating to your sales.

BEYOND QUICKBOOKS: MAKING SENSE OF YOUR NUMBERS

If you'd like to take a deeper look at the information stored in your QuickBooks and get some help interpreting it, please contact me.

MORE BUILDING BETTER BUSINESS FINANCE IDEAS

• Stop driving to the bank - benefits of "remote deposit"
• Ideas for streamlining and automating
• 5 really bad business finance mistakes to avoid

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Upcoming QuickBooks Training Sessions for You

I welcome you to join us for the following online seminars coming up soon:

• QuickBooks and Excel - Moving Information In and Out

Trying to make heads or tails out of importing or exporting information between QuickBooks and Microsoft Excel?

Get a handle on how to exchange information between your QuickBooks company file and Microsoft Excel in this content-packed, not-too-technical online seminar.

Details and Registration (early registration discount ends March 9, 2013)



• Reconciling Bank Accounts and Credit Cards
  
  Invest an hour or your time to learn how to use the reconciliation tools within QuickBooks to keep your books clean, organized and up-to-date. Use the practical knowledge from this one-hour online seminar to minimize confusion and inaccuracies in your accounting reports.

        Details and registration (early registration discount ends April 5, 2013)

Tip for Better QuickBooks Performance

Before you close out of QuickBooks at the end of each business day, take one quick, extra step that will save time when you re-open QuickBooks the next day...

Simply click on Window in the menu bar, then Close All.

This one step will close ALL the open windows you have in QuickBooks at one time (a timesaver right there) AND will also help optimize QuickBooks to open faster the next time too. If you are in the midst of entering a transaction when you do this, QuickBooks will ask if you want to save it or not, so no worries about losing anything.

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What Costing System Does QuickBooks Use for Inventory?

When it comes to valuing your inventory in QuickBooks, you'll find that it uses a weighted-average costing system.

Keep in mind that two costs are being tracked for your inventory items (and inventory assemblies as well), but only one of them actually posts to your accounting records. Let's take a closer look at the screen shot below of a sample item:

• Average cost - this figure is the one that is used to value your inventory and/or what posts as the cost of goods sold when the item is used on an invoice.
• Purchase cost - this figure is what appears on purchase orders only. This value is not reflected in the accounting records, since purchase orders do not post to them. The purchase cost is worked into the average cost calculation when the items are received into inventory and the bill to pay the vendor is created.

WHAT IF I NEED ANOTHER INVENTORY COSTING SYSTEM?

If your business needs an alternate costing system, such as:

• FIFO (first-in, first-out)
• Landed Cost

you will want to explore one of the advanced inventory management packages that integrate with QuickBooks.

Software such as ACCTivate and FishBowl Inventory can provide these alternate costing systems. In addition, they can also handle other inventory tasks that QuickBooks can't, such as bar-coding, serial and lot number tracking, and other tasks common to working with inventory. Both of these packages provide full integration with QuickBooks so that there is no duplication of work or data entry.

QUESTIONS ON QUICKBOOKS INVENTORY?

In many cases, the tools inside of QuickBooks work very well when it comes to the inventory needs of a business. In others, we have to find an alternate solution.

If you need help making sense of it all, please contact me. We can arrange a time to evaluate the specifics of your situation and determine the best approach.

MORE HELPFUL TIPS

• Connect your QuickBooks to UPS WorldShip and/or FedEx Ship Manager
• Find inventory parts faster within QuickBooks

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How to Have Two Company Files Open at the Same Time in QuickBooks

QuickBooks Enterprise has a feature that QuickBooks Pro and Premier do not - the ability to have two company files open at the same time.

Accessing both company files is as easy as clicking a button on the menu as shown below:

Once you begin the process of opening a second company file, QuickBooks will let you know that there are some limitations in terms of what can and can't be done in the secondary file when it is open. This screen will appear as a reminder:

This article from the QuickBooks support site provides additional details on the restrictions when using the second company file in QuickBooks.

Interested in purchasing QuickBooks Enterprise for your business? Be sure to contact me - I am a Certified Reseller of Enterprise and will ensure you get unbiased answers to all your questions and the best pricing possible.

RELATED INFORMATION

• Key differences between QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise
• QuickBooks Enterprise: Seven Critical Situations When It Makes Sense for You

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