Scott Gregory, QuickBooks Expert

Tracking Gross Profit Margins? Introducing Gross Profit Wizard Add-on for QuickBooks

Are you a manufacturer, distributor or wholesaler using QuickBooks?

If so, you know how challenging it is to evaluate your selling price, costs and gross profit margins within QuickBooks. In most cases, you have to evaluate your margins AFTER the fact by running the Sales by Item Summary or similar report.

GOOD NEWS - TRACKING MARGINS IS MUCH EASIER NOW!

I am pleased to let you know that I have co-developed a new tool that will help make it easier for you to evaluate your gross profit margins as you create quotes, sales orders or invoices within QuickBooks.

Our new add-on for QuickBooks is called Gross Profit Wizard. Here is a short video that gives you an overview of just how it works and how it can be a great tool to improve your profitability:

 

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE TRIAL COPY OF GROSS PROFIT WIZARD

I encourage you to take a closer look at Gross Profit Wizard and download a fully-functional 30 day trial. You'll quickly see how easy it is to use and how it brings much more visibility to your profit margins on each order or quote.

In addition, this software comes with a full 60 day money-back guarantee, so there is absolutely no risk to you.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

I welcome your feedback on Gross Profit Wizard. Feel free to add a comment in the box below or click the "Contact Scott" button below to send a direct response to me.

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Is Your Bookkeeper Up to No Good With Your Checkbook?

Have you double-paid your vendors by accident?

Is your bookkeeper up to no good with your checkbook?

Are there other potential "irregularities" in your QuickBooks financial information?

It is essential to know the answers to these questions so you can maintain financial control over your business.

SO MANY FINANCIAL CONCERNS, YET SO LITTLE TIME

You'd like to do some further investigation on these questions, but don't know where to start, right?

Enter AuditMyBooks.

YOUR OWN INTERNAL AUDIT TEAM - EFFORTLESSLY

AuditMyBooks software helps put a team of auditors and fraud investigators to work on your behalf. Not literally of course. The team goes to work digitally.

Once you connect AuditMyBooks with your QuickBooks data file, a complete scan of your financial information is performed.

A handy Excel report is created that recaps potential problems or areas for further investigation via 20 different reports as listed below:

Be sure to take a close look at the comprehensive list of reports above that AuditMyBooks provides. All of which come at the click of a mouse.

THE DASHBOARD HELPS YOU KEEP SCORE

AuditMyBooks keeps a handy dashboard front and center so you can see what is going on at all times (click the image for a larger view):

From the dashboard, you can run a scan of your QuickBooks file at any time, set a reminder for future scans, fine tune the settings and rules used by AuditMyBooks, and find answers to your questions in the support center.

As you can see, AuditMyBooks can be used as a tool to spot irregularities. In addition, it can be used as a great training tool for your accounting department - use the information it provides to help reduce mistakes and costly errors.

GET YOUR FREE TRIAL OF AUDITMYBOOKS

Want to "try before you buy"? Download your free trial copy of AuditMyBooks today so you can begin the crucial evaluation of your finances and uncover potential problems before they get out of hand.

AuditMyBooks is the recipient of the "Best New App" award from the Intuit Cloud Jam, a Sleeter Group "New Product to Watch" and other awards as well.

LIKE THE IDEA, BUT DON'T HAVE THE TIME?

I offer consulting services to businesses that see the value of putting a tool like this to work in their business, but don't have the time or manpower to get it going. Contact me and drop me a line. We can connect and figure out the details from there.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The median loss from occupational fraud is $160,000. How much does your business stand to lose?
• Fraud lasts an average of 18 months before it is detected. Is your business at risk?
• Small organizations are disproportionately victimized by fraud. Might that include your business too?

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Great Tool for Analyzing Inventory in QuickBooks

Many of my clients that work with inventory in QuickBooks have been looking for better ways to manage that inventory.

They want to see information about sales trends by item and dollars, potentially overstocked and understocked items and items that may need to be reordered.

Great news - there is an add-on program for QuickBooks that can help simplify your ability to manage and optimize your inventory in QuickBooks.

EZ ANALYTICS TO THE RESCUE

The video below provides a quick overview of how EZ Analytics can be used to simplify the inventory management and analysis in your business.

 

Built by the same team behind ACCTivate - the advanced inventory package for QuickBooks, EZ Analytics focuses on some of the areas of inventory management that QuickBooks doesn't.

NEED SOMETHING EVEN MORE POWERFUL?

If your business needs even more functionality when it comes to inventory and order management (i.e. bar coding, serialization and lot tracking, landed costs, multi-location tracking and other advanced inventory concepts), you'll want to take a closer look at the full ACCTivate suite of advanced inventory software for QuickBooks.

NEED HELP MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL?

I know that inventory can be a real pain. If you need some help figuring things out when it comes to your inventory, click the contact button below. We can connect to discuss things further.

RELATED POSTS:

• How many customers and inventory items can I store in QuickBooks?
• QuickBooks inventory: why are there two cost fields?

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QuickBooks Time Tracker and Time and Billing Being Discontinued

ALERT!

If you currently use either:

• QuickBooks Time Tracker or
• QuickBooks Time and Billing

Both of these applications are being discontinued as of December 1, 2011, so the race is on for your business to find a replacement!

ALTERNATIVES TO QUICKBOOKS TIME TRACKER AND QUICKBOOKS TIME AND BILLING

If you read the Intuit announcement about these applications being discontinued, you may be led to believe that you MUST choose the eBillity option as your replacement.

That is NOT true - you are able to select from any of the time and billing solutions that integrate with QuickBooks.

MY FAVORITE ALTERNATIVE TO QUICKBOOKS TIME TRACKER/TIME AND BILLING

I have recently gotten to know the sales and management team of ClickTime and have been highly impressed with their solution to the time tracking and expense reporting needs of small businesses.

The ClickTime solution integrates seamlessly with your QuickBooks data file, so there is no double data entry involved. Their software is not installed on your local computers or network. Rather, it is accessed via a secure site on the internet. This means you don't have to wear an IT hat to install it or maintain it. They take care of all that for you.

I'll be writing more about ClickTime in future posts to help you develop a better understanding of how it works. But I know that you are pressed for time right now to find a quality alternative to the QuickBooks Time Tracker and Time and Billing applications and wanted to get this information to you.

A 30 day free trial of ClickTime is readily available for you to take a test drive.

OTHER OPTIONS

The Intuit Marketplace also provides a list of other alternatives to the QuickBooks Time Tracker and Time and Billing Products. As with any other software purchase, due diligence is essential to ensure that the solution fits your needs and expectations.

CURRENTLY USE CLICKTIME?

Feel free to post a comment below to let our community know of your experience with the ClickTime Time and Billing Solution that integrates with QuickBooks.

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Can I Run a QuickBooks Enterprise File on QuickBooks Pro or Premier?

Looking to downgrade from QuickBooks Enterprise into either the Pro or Premier versions?

Here are your options to consider:

• There is no direct way to take your existing QuickBooks Enterprise data file and open it in QuickBooks Pro or Premier. It just won't work. You'll have to take your data file and have a third-party service like QuickBooksUsers.com transfer it into the Pro or Premier format. There is a fee for this service, but it may be easily justified as it allows you to continue working with all of your historical QuickBooks data.
• You can start a brand new QuickBooks data file and start using it in Pro or Premier. It IS possible to export your customers, vendors, inventory and chart of account lists out of the Enterprise file and import that information into your Pro or Premier file. In addition, you could consider using a tool like Transaction Pro Importer to import historical transactions into your Pro or Premier file.

There are pros and cons and expenses to consider with either of the options discussed above. You'll want to understand the implications of the second option when it comes to comparing year-to-year financial results, sales reports, etc. Weigh the alternatives carefully to ensure you make the best possible decision for your business finances.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - Note that making a move of your data from QuickBooks Pro or Premier into Enterprise is quite simple. The first time you open your data file in Enterprise, it automatically updates your data into the Enterprise format.

RELATED POSTS:

• Key differences between QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise
• QuickBooks Enterprise Resource Center

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Wish You Could Automatically E-Mail QuickBooks Reports?

Have the need to generate and automatically e-mail various QuickBooks reports to clients, management or the owners of your business?

You may be very interested in the ActiveBooks add-on for QuickBooks.

SIMPLIFYING YOUR LIFE

ActiveBooks was created to help automate the tedious and time-consuming task of generating various QuickBooks reports.

You have the ability to choose from 70+ QuickBooks reports and e-mail them to recipients of your choice on a schedule you decide.

COMMON USES OF ACTIVEBOOKS:

ActiveBooks can be a great time-saver in these areas:

• Collections and sales staff that are chasing the money
• Company officers that want regular reports via e-mail
• Remote employees/contractors that don't have access to your QuickBooks
• Anyone who regularly needs QuickBooks information but who can't easily log in to get it

Watch a short demo on how ActiveBooks can send the Collections Report every morning at 7am. 

TAKE 10% OFF ACTIVEBOOKS!

As a special bonus for being a reader of my blog, I have arranged for you to get 10% off on ActiveBooks software.

I hope you find it to be a welcome addition to your QuickBooks toolkit.

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Attention Accountants/Bookkeepers: This Tool for QuickBooks Should Be In Your Toolkit

• Have you been looking for a way to detect problems that may be lurking inside a clients' QuickBooks data file?
• Has the ownership of your client expressed some concern about the quality of the work being done by their bookkeeper?
• Are there any reasons to believe that some shenanigans (i.e. theft or fraud) may be occurring at a client site?

If your answer is yes to one or more of the above, you owe it to your practice to take a closer look at AuditMyBooks, which is called "add-on software for QuickBooks".

BAD THINGS CAN (AND DO!) HAPPEN TO GOOD BUSINESSES

Don't want to believe that theft, fraud and other embezzlement schemes could happen to your clients? Take a closer look at these true stories of theft, fraud and other schemes have happened at various businesses and organization.

HOW AUDITMYBOOKS CAN HELP

AuditMyBooks was designed to automate and simplify the process of double-checking QuickBooks company files for problems.

It was created by a team of professionals with expertise in: QuickBooks, financial auditing, accounting systems and information security. They saw a need for a cost-effective and easy to use solution that helps small businesses (and of course, their accountants) identify suspect financial transactions and proactively reduce business risk.

HOW DOES AUDITMYBOOKS WORK?

AuditMyBooks is an "app", so it can be securely accessed from any computer with an internet connection.

• You create an account at the Intuit App Center
• Choose the AuditMyBooks app
• Select the QuickBooks data file that you want to review and connect it to AuditMyBooks
• Let the AuditMyBooks software run the scan and then report back to you what it found

There is a free trial of AuditMyBooks available so you can "try before you buy".

WHAT TYPE OF FEEDBACK DOES AUDITMYBOOKS PROVIDE?

Once the scan of the QuickBooks data file is complete, the AP Analyzer then provides a 17 point feedback system, that covers such critical findings within the accounts payable and check-writing areas as:

• Rounded payment amounts
• Duplicate checks
• Duplicate bills
• Above average bill payment amounts and frequency
• Checks written to cash
• Unapplied vendor credits and more

The findings can easily be exported to Excel from the AuditMyBooks report screen.

In addition, each of the "tests" that AuditMyBooks runs can be calibrated to your specific needs and requirements.

NO IT GEEK NEEDED OR ACCOUNTING DEGREE REQUIRED

The AuditMyBooks process is explained in clear terminology so that anyone can understand how it works and how to use it.

Setting it up to connect with a QuickBooks data file is not complicated - you simply browse to the folder where it resides and connect from there.

VERSIONS AND PRICING

AuditMyBooks has been designed to connect very nicely with businesses and accountants by offering two different versions:

• Business Edition: Normally runs $199 per year, but as of this posting is running at a special price of $99 per year. Ideal for the business owner that wants to keep tabs on their accounting department.
• Accountant Edition: The starter pack, which includes 1 demo subscription, 1 client subscription and free training runs $199. Each client file beyond that runs $49. 

THE AUDITMYBOOKS TEAM

I have been quite fortunate to work with them as part of their affiliate program. This has allowed me to watch the software grow into a very helpful tool that can be used across many businesses and industries that are using QuickBooks.

The best thing that could happen is that you use AuditMyBooks and find out your books (or those of your clients) are in good shape to put everyones' mind at ease.

Just think of the benefits to everyone of using AuditMyBooks and discovering problems before they burst into something really bad...I think they would call that "priceless"...

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Organize Your Receipts for Tax Time and Import into QuickBooks

Yes, it is that time again...

The annual madness surrounding the compilation of data and preparation of your business taxes.

CONSIDER A NEW (AND MUCH BETTER!) APPROACH

Sure, you can take your bag of receipts to your CPA like you always do to get your taxes done. Keep in mind that this approach very likely leads to the loss of critical tax deductions, since your CPA can't make heads or tails out of some of the information you've given them.

Or, you could simplify your life as well as that of your CPA by investing in a service like that offered by Shoeboxed.com.

AN OVERVIEW OF SHOEBOXED.COM

The Shoeboxed.com service is based on a very simple workflow (see the service in action on the video located on their home page):

1. You gather your business receipts, put them in an envelope and send them off for scanning and processing (or, you can do your own scanning and categorization).
2. The Shoeboxed data team scans and organizes your receipts
3. You view your information online, print it, download it or send it to your CPA all nice and organized.

DOWNLOAD TO YOUR FAVORITE SOFTWARE

Once the data has been scanned and organized, you can download the reports into a number of different data formats, including:

• QuickBooks
• Quicken
• Excel
• PDF
• CSV
• Freshbooks
• Bill.com and others

CAPTURE INFORMATION ON YOUR MOBILE PHONE

Shoeboxed.com gives you the ability to snap a picture of your receipt and get it added to your account with ease.

They also offer free iPhone apps for business card and receipt scanning.

PRICING

Shoeboxed.com offers the following pricing:

• Free trial for 30 days
• A "DIY" plan at no cost
• Lite plan - $9.95 per month
• Classic plan - $29.95 per month
• Business plan - $49.95 per month

Annual plans are also offered that provide additional discounts

Each plan has a different set of features and benefits, so be sure to assess which option best suits the needs of your business.

Multi-user accounts (for accountants, CPAs and corporate workgroups) are also available.

THE KEY BENEFITS

Shoeboxed.com can help your business in two critical ways:

1. Allows you to be FAR more organized and up to date DURING the year. Having information about the expense trends of your business during the year is essential to managing your finances.
2. Allows your CPA to spend a LOT MORE value-added time and thought on the best ways to minimize your taxes instead of the time they currently waste just sorting out the mess you give them each year (right about April 13th...)

Are you currently using Shoeboxed.com in your business? If so, drop us a note in the Comments section below to let everyone know how it is working out for you.

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Average Cost and Inventory in QuickBooks

If you are working with QuickBooks inventory items (or plan to work with inventory items in the future), it is important to understand how QuickBooks tracks the cost for them.

The Windows versions of QuickBooks use what is known as the "average cost" for calculating inventory costs. The average cost is just like it sounds - QuickBooks continually calculates the average of the costs involved when inventory is purchased.

A basic example - if you purchase 10 widgets at $1, and another 10 widgets at $2, QuickBooks will calculate your average cost as $1.50 each.

This value is displayed at the bottom of the inventory item screen as shown below:

You may also hear other inventory costing terminology kicked around by us "accountant-types". Terms such as FIFO (first in, first out), LIFO (last in, first out), Specific Cost, Landed Cost and other mind-numbing words. All of these other methods of costing don't matter to QuickBooks - it doesn't understand them. QuickBooks lives in the world of average cost.

CPAs everywhere will often debate the pros and cons of each of these inventory costing strategies. In some businesses and/or certain industries, the use of average cost isn't the best option and alternative software must be explored (more on that in a moment).

However, for a majority of small businesses, the use of average cost to value the inventory is perfectly acceptable and shouldn't entail any filibusters about why to use it. Just use it. The time spent arguing about the costing method could be far better spent actually tracking the inventory properly in many cases!

WHAT IF SOMETHING OTHER THAN AVERAGE COST IS NEEDED?

Good news if that is the case...

There are several really good advanced inventory software add-ons that "bolt into" QuickBooks and provide costing such as FIFO, etc. These software packages also provide inventory functionality that may not be found within  QuickBooks - such as lot tracking, serial number tracking, and more.

The benefit of going the "add-on" approach is this - your business can continue using QuickBooks for your core accounting and financial reporting needs. No need to throw that out or lose your investment. You just gain the benefit of the features and functionality found in the inventory software add-on.

NEED GUIDANCE ON INVENTORY?

I spent over ten years being the point person responsible for over $4 million of inventory when serving as a CFO, so I've worked through a lot of issues you are probably contemplating.

Let me put that knowledge to work to help you make the right decisions when it comes to your inventory and QuickBooks. Click the "Contact Scott" button below so we can connect and talk further.

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Say Goodbye to Warehouse Management Module in QuickBooks Enterprise

Here is some breaking news especially for those using the Warehouse Management software that has been included with QuickBooks Enterprise.

From the Intuit news release:

"Beginning January 1, 2011, Intuit will no longer be supporting Warehouse Management.  To help prepare for this transition, as of September 27, Intuit will no longer be selling Warehouse Management.  Customers who wish to continue using the service after January 1, 2011 must purchase a subscription directly from AccuCode Inc.  

What does this mean for me?
AccuCode is the developer of the Warehouse Management service and currently hosts the product while Intuit markets and sells the product, manages the billing and provides technical support.   
 
As of January 1, 2011, Intuit will no longer be supporting Warehouse Management.  At that time you will benefit from a consistent experience with one service provider as AccuCode will continue to host and maintain the application, while also managing the billing and providing customer support.  

What do I need to do?

You do not need to do anything at this time.  Subscriptions to Warehouse Management ES will continue to work just as they have in the past.  Intuit will continue to manage the billing and provide your customer support through December 31st.  You can reach the Intuit support team by calling 866-340-7237.
 
Over the next 90 days we will provide you with additional information about these changes, including how refunds will be issued for Warehouse Management pre-paid service plans at the time of the transition and the steps to follow if you wish to continue using Warehouse Management after January 1, 2011." (end of Intuit news release)

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT

Intuit mothballs another highly touted "additional feature" of their Enterprise software, just as they did with the Business Intelligence module and the phase out of the Sales Management beta project that ran for nearly a year. Will we see the same fate for the Field Service Management module in QuickBooks Enterprise 2012? We'll have to wait and see on that.

WHAT SHOULD YOU REALLY DO NOW?

My suggestion is that you invest the time to review other advanced inventory modules that can serve as very good (maybe even better) substitutes for the Warehouse Management module. These software apps have complete integration with QuickBooks:

• Acctivate - your contact at Acctivate is Ryan Moeller at (817) 870-1311
• FishBowl Inventory - your contact at FishBowl is Chris Mann at (800) 774-7085 x. 4111

I'm sure you have invested a lot of time and sweat equity into getting the Warehouse Management module going. I think it will be in your best interest to compare other advanced inventory alternatives at this time as well, especially if you have found the Warehouse Management solution to be missing some key features or functionality.

Intuit is releasing a new "Advanced Inventory" module for QuickBooks Enterprise 2011. I'll have more details on that feature in an upcoming post. I do know that the cost for the software is $699 per year. I'll know more of the specifics soon. Given their history in relation to modules for Enterprise, I'd be wary of investing in this new program just yet.

If you find the prospect of evaluating new inventory software to be a daunting task, no worries! Contact me and I can arrange a consultation with you on your best plan of action from this point.

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