Scott Gregory, QuickBooks Expert

3 Ways to Help Avoid an Oh-$H#% Moment with QuickBooks

Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid it - QuickBooks has bad days, just like people do sometimes.

To minimize the chances that QuickBooks is going to develop a bad attitude and cause you to have a bad day as well, take these three steps to help avoid an Oh-$H#% moment with your QuickBooks:

1. Make doubly sure your QuickBooks is being backed up EVERY DAY that you work on it AND that the backup process is working properly. I can't tell you how many businesses I have visited over the last fifteen years that "thought" their backup was working, but alas, it was not.
   
   Need a reliable backup service? Download and install Carbonite. It will be the best $59 investment you'll ever make.


2. If your QuickBooks data is being stored on a server, make sure the person responsible for the backup of the server downloads and reads "insider tip #3" from my QuickBooks backup guide. If this step is NOT done, it is very likely your QuickBooks performance will suffer (or may already be suffering a lot!)


3. Download and install the latest patches/fixes to all installed copies of your QuickBooks - yes, that includes the server too! When QuickBooks presents what I like to call these "nag messages" (as shown below), you'll want to proceed with the installation:

Keep in mind that the installation of these patches will tie up your computer for 5-15 minutes or so. However, it will be time well spent to ensure that your QuickBooks is up-to-date with the latest bug fixes and patches.

YOUR TIPS TO AVOID A QUICKBOOKS MELTDOWN?

Let us know what your favorite tip is to minimize the chances of QuickBooks giving you grief. Just drop your comments in the box below - thanks!

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Dashboard Option for QuickBooks: WebKPI

What if you need a dashboard for QuickBooks that has more power and functionality than is offered in the Company Snapshot tool?

Enter WebKPI!

POWERFUL, CUSTOMIZABLE DASHBOARD FOR QUICKBOOKS

WebKPI provides the ability to choose from a predefined library of dashboard templates or you can even build your own.

KPI is the acronym for Key Performance Indicator and this tool lives on the web as a service - hence the name WebKPI.

Here is a list of some of the features found within WebKPI:

Starting at $30/month for the base package, consider how much time WebKPI can save you when it comes to capturing and reporting the KPI for your business or organization.

WANT TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT WEBKPI?

Just fill out this quick contact form and I'll be sure to connect with you to provide some additional details and insights.

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I Paid a Bill Online - How Do I Show That in QuickBooks?

This particular question has popped up no less than five times in the last two weeks, so let's take a moment to see how to handle it in QuickBooks.

Scenario:

• You create a bill to pay a vendor within QuickBooks
• You pay that vendor with an online payment rather than cutting them a check from your internal check stock
• You need to tell QuickBooks that you paid it online, but don't see any selections that fit the need

HOW IT WORKS

You will enter the bill in QuickBooks and go to your bank's web site to pay it just as you normally do.

From there, you'll return to QuickBooks and go to the Pay Bill screen. Check the vendor bill that was paid online, and head to the bottom of the Pay Bill screen (click the image for a larger view):

To show that the bill for Middlefield Drywall above was paid online, be sure the "Method" option is set to "Check" and the option directly to the right is set to "Assign Check Number". Ensure all the other information on this screen (i.e. date, bank account, etc.) is correct and click the "Pay Selected Bills" screen.

From there, you'll see this window:

In the window above, type in Online, Online Pmt, or some other term you prefer to reflect this particular bill was paid online, then click OK. The bill will now be marked as paid, and it will show it was paid online instead of by a check.

Repeat this process for any and all other bills you have queued up in the Pay Bills screen that are being paid online.

AN ALTERNATIVE FOR YOU TO CONSIDER...

Why not take care of all this at once - pay the bill and get the online payment done all in one step?

With the Bill.com service, you can easily accomplish that and so much more, including the ability to store copies of your vendor bills and other important documents directly with your transactions. Get your free trial of Bill.com today to see how you can simplify things in your business...

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QuickBooks Enterprise 2013: 5 Features Not Found in QuickBooks Pro or Premier

QuickBooks Enterprise 2013 contains many features that the QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier versions don't have.

Here is a closer look at five of those features...

1. The ability to have more than 5 users working at the same time - QuickBooks Pro is limited to 3 users at the same time. QuickBooks Premier maxes out at 5 users at the same time. QuickBooks Enterprise can have up to 30 users (even some remotely) logged in at the same time.
   
   
2. The ability to store more than 14,500 items or customers - QuickBooks Enterprise allows for you to have up to 100,000 customers or inventory items (though I wouldn't plan on having that many). QuickBooks Pro and Premier max out at 14,500 of each. Keep in mind - there is no "early warning system" in QuickBooks Pro or Premier to let you know about getting close to these limits. You'll need to monitor your situation by pressing the F2 key to know how many you have.


3. A deeper set of user security and permission settings - QuickBooks Enterprise 2013 does a much better job in allowing or restricting access to QuickBooks data at a lot deeper level. Be sure to check out my QuickBooks User Settings and Security Guide for more information
   
   
4. The ability to keep more history in a larger company data file - QuickBooks Enterprise 2013 can handle a data file that is usually 5-7 times larger than the biggest file size that QuickBooks Pro and Premier can handle. While these aren't hard and fast numbers, ten years of hands-on experience with Enterprise shows them to be good reference points.
   
   Many businesses don't even know they are at risk because their QuickBooks Pro or QuickBooks Premier data files are too big. Be sure to download my guide that talks about QuickBooks file size limits and what the options are for more insight on this critical QuickBooks issue.
   
   
5. The ability to connect remote offices easily - Working hand-in-hand with Windows Terminal Services/Remote Desktop software, QuickBooks Enterprise 2013 can easily be accessed by remote road warriors, as long as they have a connection to the internet. No messy VPN's to worry about (QuickBooks doesn't work with them anyway). Just connect to the internet and then to your QuickBooks company data.

 

Building Better Business Finances: The Inventory Valuation Summary Report

If your business uses the inventory feature of QuickBooks, it is essential to know about the Inventory Valuation Summary Report.

Located by clicking Reports > Inventory > Inventory Valuation Summary, the following appears (click the image for a larger view):

UNDERSTANDING THE INVENTORY VALUATION SUMMARY REPORT

In addition to listing all the inventory parts and inventory assemblies, this report also provides a recap of:

• On hand quantity
• Unit of measure (if used)
• Average cost of the item
• Asset value
• Sales price of the item and more...

IS THE REPORT CORRECT?

While this report provides a plethora of data, there are three key numbers within it:

• The on-hand quantity for each item
• The average cost for each item
• The total value of the inventory at the bottom of the report (not shown in the screen shot above)

WILL YOUR ACCOUNTANT HUG YOU?

In a well-functioning inventory system, the total of the inventory valuation summary report will equal the total inventory that appears on your balance sheet report (a summary of what you own and what you owe).

Does yours?

If it doesn't, here are some likely source of trouble:

• Journal entries made to "fix" the numbers - journal entries don't "fix" the inventory valuation summary report though
• Other postings directly to the inventory account without the proper quantity and cost per item being posted at the same time.

MORE THAN JUST THE TOTALS

In addition to verifying the report totals, it is essential that you verify the average costs of each item as well to ensure they are correct.

Posting errors, selling negative (where the invoice shows the on-hand is not sufficient enough to sell the item) and other missteps within QuickBooks can cause these average numbers to get out of whack very quickly. Bad cost numbers can lead to bad decisons related to gross profit margins!

Since inventory is normally a relatively large portion of the total assets of a business, ensuring that your inventory control system is providing the right results is essential to building better business finances.

NEED HELP SORTING IT ALL OUT?

Finding some leaks, cracks or sinkholes in your inventory within QuickBooks?

I can help.

Take advantage of my 25+ years of QuickBooks and accounting experience to help you get all of this sorted out and corrected. Before starting my own business, I was a CFO in charge of $4 million in inventory, so I understand the potential pain and concern you have in this area.

MORE TIPS ON BUILDING BETTER FINANCES

• Here is a link to my Building Better Business Finances library of articles

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Tax Line Mapping Feature in QuickBooks: Save Your Energy

Unless you are intent on tapping into your inner tax accountant, my advice is to skip the use of the tax line mapping feature in QuickBooks.

When you set up QuickBooks, each account that you add to your chart of accounts has the ability to be "mapped" to a tax line for use in preparing a tax return. The screen shot below shows this feature in action:

YOUR TAX CPA HAS THEIR OWN PLANS

The reason I suggest you skip this feature is this - your tax accountant will take your QuickBooks data and either convert it into their own tax preparation software or move the data around as they want it to be displayed on your business tax return.

Given that, why waste time setting this up when it won't be used? Not to mention, trying to decipher exactly what the right answer is if you did try to do it yourself may quickly serve up a small headache for you.

INSIST ON DOING YOUR OWN TAXES - WHY?

Would you do your own knee surgery? Swap out an electrical transformer on your power lines?

Some things are better left to a professional, and the preparation of your business tax return is certainly one of them. Tap into the skill and expertise of a tax pro - they will not only help you get the facts and figures for the year correct on the return, but should also provide helpful insights on tax planning ideas for the year ahead.

If the argument for doing your own taxes is that you can't afford to hire the services of a tax pro, I would counter that you can't afford not to.

AGREE? DISAGREE?

Even though I am a CPA, I don't do taxes, so I have no vested interest in this issue. However, I hear this question about tax line mapping so often, I wanted to get some unbiased advice out there for you to consider.

I look forward to your feedback, whether you agree or disagree! Just post your comment in the box below.

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Online Bill Payment for QuickBooks: Setting up a Vendor Bill in Bill.com

In our previous lesson on how to do online bill payment in QuickBooks, we took a look at the centralized inbox feature of Bill.com. As mentioned, you can fax, scan, e-mail or upload your documents directly there.

Now, the question is - how do you handle the information that shows up in the inbox?

That's easy - just go to the inbox, select "Create a New Bill" and the following window opens (double-click the image for a larger view):

As you can see in the right hand side of the window, you simply record the same details as you normally would in QuickBooks. Any of the fields with a drop down arrow has information already loaded from your QuickBooks file for easy selection. If you need to add new information (i.e. new vendor), not a problem. That information automatically syncs to your QuickBooks too.

Once entered, click the Save button and your bill is now in the queue to be selected for payment. We'll cover that in the next installment of my Bill.com tutorials.

LESS CLICKS. MORE SAVINGS.

Remember, the main reason of using Bill.com in your business is to bring a new level of efficiency and savings to the bill paying and accounts-payable process.

GET A FREE TRIAL TO SEE FOR YOURSELF

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

• Quick video to learn about how Bill.com works
• Simplifying Accounts Payable in QuickBooks - Using the Bill.com Inbox

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Can I Switch from One Version of QuickBooks Premier to Another?

This question landed in my inbox recently, so I thought we'd take a moment to review the possibilities in more detail.

A QUICK REFRESHER

The Premier version of QuickBooks is the one that has several different "flavors" available. Those are:

• Manufacturing and Wholesale Edition
• Contractors' Edition
• Professional Services Edition
• Retail Edition
• Non-Profit Edition
• General Business Edition

SWITCHING IS DEFINITELY POSSIBLE

When you install QuickBooks Premier, a screen is presented for you to select which of the above "flavors" you want to install. Make the selection and complete the installation.

So, if you wanted to change from one "flavor" to another, you would simply uninstall the version you have. From there, reinstall QuickBooks and choose another version when presented with the appropriate screen. Naturally, if you are in a multi-user environment, everyone has to make this change at the same time - you can't have some users on one "flavor" and others using a different one.

YOUR DATA MOVES WITH YOU

Making the change between versions of QuickBooks Premier does not impact your data file. It follows right along with you once you have reinstalled. Simply click File > Open or Restore Company, locate the file, and you are back in business.

Remember that there are some features that are exclusive to these various "flavors" of QuickBooks Premier. You may not see them in other versions. For example, the Sales Order Fulfillment worksheet is only found in the Manufacturing and Wholesale Edition, so you would not find it in the others.

BONUS - QUICKBOOKS ENTERPRISE WORKS THE SAME WAY!

The ability to change between "flavors" is not just limited to the Premier versions of QuickBooks.

You can also follow the steps above if you are using QuickBooks Enterprise as well.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Compatibility of QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks Premier files
• Key differerences between QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise
• When is QuickBooks Enterprise a good choice?

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QuickBooks Advanced Inventory: Understand Your True Cost Before Purchasing

If you are considering the purchase of the Advanced Inventory module for QuickBooks Enterprise, here is a key piece of information you must know...

There is more to the cost than advertised.

Here is a screen shot of the ad for QuickBooks Enterprise Advanced Inventory from the Intuit web site (click the image for larger view):

Note the emphasis on the $999/year pricing.

If you don't read the rest of the page carefully, you'll miss a key point...

In addition to the $999/year, it is also mandatory that you renew your Full Service Plan (FSP) with Intuit. If you do not, the Advanced Inventory module is no longer functional.

So, for a 5 user edition of QuickBooks Enterprise, the current FSP renewal cost is $950. This takes your total purchase price for the Advanced Inventory Module for QuickBooks Enterprise to $1,949 per year. For a 10 user edition of QuickBooks Enterprise, your annual cost runs $2,449 when you factor in the mandatory renewal of the FSP at $1,450.

THE RIGHT FIT?

The economics above in combination with the functionality of the Advanced Inventory module may make perfect sense for your business.

If so, I encourage you to order Advanced Inventory directly from me - I am a certified reseller for it.

ALTERNATIVE TO QUICKBOOKS ADVANCED INVENTORY?

You may want to compare and contrast the functionality and costs of Rapid Inventory against QuickBooks Advanced Inventory to see which is the best approach for you.

I also work closely with the Rapid Inventory team and have seen their product in action. In addition, Rapid Inventory for QuickBooks does not require you to have the Enterprise edition - it can also plug into the Pro and Premier editions.

TOTALLY CONFUSED BY ALL THIS?

If you are, I completely understand.

Contact me and we can arrange a consultation to help you sort it all out soon.

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Does QuickBooks Have a Reorder Point for Inventory Items?

Good news!

QuickBooks has the ability to set and use a reorder point (ROP) for your inventory items!

SETTING THE ROP

The reorder point is simply a numeric field within any inventory part in QuickBooks - it appears toward the bottom of the item setup screen, as shown below (click the image to enlarge it):

Once you set a value in this field, it then works in conjunction with your inventory reorder report to help identify those inventory items that may be running low and need to be ordered.

NO REORDER POINT FOR NON-INVENTORY PARTS

Keep in mind - QuickBooks does not allow for a reorder point to be set for non-inventory items, service items, groups or other classifications. For assemblies, QuickBooks allows for the creation of a "build point" which works in a similar fashion to the reorder point for an inventory part.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• What costing system does QuickBooks use for inventory?
• How to connect QuickBooks to UPS WorldShip or FedEx Ship Manager

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