QuickBooks 2011: The Missing Manual

Copyright......Page 6
Table of contents......Page 7
Missing Credits......Page 21
Introduction......Page 23
Opening QuickBooks......Page 35
Start Date......Page 36
Account Balances and Transactions......Page 37
Starting the EasyStep Interview......Page 39
Company Information......Page 40
Creating Your Company File......Page 42
Customizing Your Company File......Page 43
Beginning to Use QuickBooks......Page 46
What’s Next?......Page 47
Opening Any Company File......Page 48
Opening a Portable Company File......Page 50
Converting from Quicken Home & Business......Page 51
Converting from a Non-Intuit Program......Page 52
The QuickBooks Home Page......Page 53
Vendors......Page 55
Customers......Page 57
Employees......Page 58
The Company Snapshot......Page 59
Switching Between Open Windows......Page 60
Setting Up a Chart of Accounts......Page 63
Importing a Chart of Accounts......Page 64
Setting Up Account Numbers......Page 66
Standardizing Account Names......Page 68
Viewing Account Names and Numbers......Page 69
Creating an Account......Page 71
Modifying Accounts......Page 76
Deleting Accounts......Page 77
Merging Accounts......Page 79
Setting Up Customers and Jobs......Page 81
Creating Customers in QuickBooks......Page 83
Creating a New Customer......Page 84
Customer Data Entry Shortcuts......Page 91
Adding and Editing Multiple Customer Records......Page 92
Importing Customer Information......Page 96
Exporting Customer Information......Page 98
Creating Jobs in QuickBooks......Page 101
Creating a New Job......Page 102
Modifying Customer and Job Information......Page 104
Understanding Customer Types......Page 105
Creating a Customer Type......Page 107
Categorizing Jobs......Page 108
Adding Notes About Customers......Page 109
Merging Customer Records......Page 110
Deleting Customers......Page 112
Hiding and Restoring Customers......Page 113
What Items Do......Page 115
When You Don’t Need Items......Page 116
Should You Track Inventory with Items?......Page 117
Generic or Specific?......Page 119
Naming Items......Page 120
Subitems......Page 121
Creating Items......Page 122
Creating Multiple Items......Page 123
Creating Individual Items......Page 124
Service Items......Page 126
Service Items Without Associated Costs......Page 127
Service Items with Associated Costs......Page 128
Product Items......Page 129
Inventory Part Fields......Page 133
Other Charge......Page 136
Group......Page 138
Discount......Page 140
Payment......Page 141
Setting Up Sales Tax......Page 142
Sales Tax Codes......Page 143
Sales Tax Items......Page 144
Modifying Items......Page 146
Hiding and Deleting Items......Page 147
Deleting Items......Page 148
Setting Up Other QuickBooks Lists......Page 151
The Vendor List......Page 152
Additional Info......Page 153
Importing Vendor Information......Page 155
Filling in Expense Accounts Automatically......Page 156
Categorizing with Classes......Page 157
Price Levels......Page 159
Creating a Price Level......Page 160
Customer and Vendor Profile Lists......Page 162
Customer Type List......Page 163
Terms List......Page 165
Payment Method List......Page 167
Fixed Asset Items......Page 168
Creating and Editing List Entries......Page 170
Creating Entries......Page 171
Merging List Entries......Page 172
Hiding Entries......Page 173
Finding List Entries in Transactions......Page 175
Printing Lists......Page 176
Customizing a Printed List......Page 177
Switching Between Multi- and Single-User Mode......Page 179
Backing Up Files......Page 180
Choosing Standard Settings for Your Backups......Page 182
Backing Up Manually......Page 184
Automated Backups......Page 186
Restoring Backups......Page 190
Sending Company Files to Others......Page 193
Creating a Portable Company File......Page 194
Opening a Portable Company File......Page 195
Verifying Your QuickBooks Data......Page 196
Reviewing Problems......Page 197
Cleaning Up Data......Page 198
Running the Clean Up Company File Utility......Page 200
Cleaning Up After Deleting Files......Page 201
Tracking Time and Mileage......Page 203
Turning on Time Tracking......Page 204
Setting Up the People Who Track Time......Page 205
Setting Up Items and Customers for Time Tracking......Page 206
Filling in Weekly Timesheets......Page 207
Entering Time for One Activity......Page 210
Running Time Reports......Page 212
Adding a Vehicle......Page 214
Setting the Mileage Rate......Page 215
Recording Mileage Driven......Page 216
Generating Mileage Reports......Page 218
When to Pay Expenses......Page 221
Entering Bills......Page 222
Automating Recurring Bills......Page 227
Memorizing a Bill......Page 228
Using a Memorized Bill......Page 229
Creating Memorized Groups of Bills......Page 230
Purchasing Inventory......Page 231
Creating Purchase Orders......Page 232
Receiving Inventory and Bills Simultaneously......Page 235
Receiving Inventory Before the Bill......Page 237
Handling Reimbursable Expenses......Page 240
Setting Up Reimbursements As Income......Page 241
Recording Reimbursable Expenses......Page 242
Selecting Bills to Pay......Page 243
Applying Discounts and Credits to Payments......Page 245
Setting the Payment Method and Account......Page 249
Writing Checks by Hand......Page 250
Setting Up QuickBooks to Print Checks......Page 251
Printing Checks......Page 254
Writing Checks Without Entering Bills......Page 255
Using the Write Checks Window......Page 256
Adding Checks to an Account Register......Page 258
Paying with Credit Cards......Page 260
Recording Vendor Refunds and Credits......Page 262
A/P Aging and Vendor Balance Reports......Page 263
Paying Sales Tax......Page 264
Producing Reports of the Sales Tax You Owe......Page 265
Remitting Sales Taxes......Page 266
Invoicing......Page 269
Sales Receipts......Page 270
Statements......Page 271
Sales Forms and Accounts......Page 272
Creating Invoices......Page 274
Creating an Invoice......Page 275
Filling in Invoice Header Fields......Page 277
Entering Invoice Line Items......Page 282
Applying Subtotals, Discounts, and Percentage Charges......Page 287
Choosing How to Send the Invoice......Page 289
Adding a Memo to Yourself......Page 290
Creating Batch Invoices......Page 291
Setting Up Invoicing for Time and Costs......Page 294
Using the Invoice for Time & Expenses Command......Page 295
Selecting Billable Time and Costs......Page 297
Invoicing for Backordered Products......Page 300
Using Pending Invoices for Backorders......Page 301
Using Sales Orders for Backorders......Page 302
Estimating Jobs......Page 304
Creating an Estimate......Page 305
Creating Multiple Estimates......Page 306
Creating an Invoice from an Estimate......Page 308
Progress Invoicing Options......Page 310
Fine-Tuning a Progress Invoice......Page 312
Creating Credit Memos......Page 314
Creating Refund Checks......Page 315
Applying Credits to Existing Invoices......Page 316
Editing Invoices......Page 318
Voiding and Deleting Invoices......Page 319
Generating Statements......Page 321
Creating Statement Charges......Page 322
Generating Customer Statements......Page 325
Previewing Statements......Page 329
Generating Statements......Page 330
Transaction Timesavers......Page 331
Setting Print Options......Page 332
Aligning Forms and Paper......Page 334
Choosing a Print Method......Page 336
Printing in Batches......Page 337
Printing Mailing and Shipping Labels......Page 338
Printing Packing Slips......Page 340
Choosing a Send Method......Page 341
Emailing One Form......Page 342
Emailing in Batches......Page 343
Memorized Transactions......Page 344
Editing a Memorized Transaction......Page 346
Searching with QuickBooks’ Centers......Page 347
Using the Search Command......Page 349
Using the Find Command......Page 351
Managing Accounts Receivable......Page 355
Receivables Aging......Page 356
Accounts Receivable Aging Reports......Page 357
Customer & Job Reports......Page 358
Receiving Payments for Invoiced Income......Page 360
Applying Credits to Invoices......Page 364
Discounting for Early Payment......Page 366
Deposits, Down Payments, and Retainers......Page 369
Setting Up QuickBooks for Prepayments......Page 370
Recording Prepayments......Page 371
Applying a Deposit, Down Payment, or Retainer to an Invoice......Page 372
Refunding Prepayments......Page 373
Finance Charge Preferences......Page 375
Assessing Finance Charges on Overdue Balances......Page 376
Cash Sales......Page 377
Creating Sales Receipts......Page 378
Voiding and Deleting Sales Receipts......Page 379
Memorizing a Batch Sales Transaction......Page 380
Reconciling Excess and Short Cash......Page 382
Choosing Payments to Deposit......Page 383
Recording Deposits......Page 384
Depositing Money from Merchant Card Accounts......Page 386
Doing Payroll......Page 389
Doing Payroll Yourself......Page 390
Adding Payroll Transactions from an Outside Service......Page 392
Choosing a Payroll Service......Page 394
Applying for a Payroll Service......Page 395
Setting Up Payroll......Page 396
Setting Up Compensation and Benefits......Page 397
Setting Up Employees......Page 399
Setting Up Payroll Taxes......Page 404
Entering Historical Payroll......Page 405
Running Payroll......Page 406
Printing Paychecks and Pay Stubs......Page 410
Paying Payroll Taxes......Page 412
Preparing Payroll Tax Forms......Page 415
Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, and Petty Cash......Page 417
Opening a Register Window......Page 418
Creating a Transaction in an Account Register......Page 419
Setting Up QuickBooks to Handle Bounced Checks......Page 422
Recording Bank Charges......Page 424
Re-invoicing for Bounced Checks......Page 425
Transferring Funds......Page 427
Preparing for Every Reconciliation......Page 429
Starting a Reconciliation......Page 430
Reconciling Transactions......Page 432
Modifying Transactions During Reconciliation......Page 434
Stopping and Restarting a Reconciliation......Page 435
Correcting Discrepancies......Page 436
Undoing the Last Reconciliation......Page 438
Managing Loans......Page 439
Setting Up a Loan......Page 440
Adding a Loan to Loan Manager......Page 441
Modifying Loan Terms......Page 444
Setting Up Payments......Page 445
What-If Scenarios......Page 447
Recording ATM Withdrawals and Deposits to Petty Cash......Page 448
Recording Purchases Made with Petty Cash......Page 449
Making Journal Entries......Page 451
Balancing Debit and Credit Amounts......Page 452
Some Reasons to Use Journal Entries......Page 453
Creating General Journal Entries......Page 455
Filling in General Journal Entry Fields......Page 457
Checking General Journal Entries......Page 458
Reassigning Jobs......Page 459
Recording Depreciation with Journal Entries......Page 460
Recording Owners’ Contributions......Page 461
Generating Financial Statements......Page 463
The Profit & Loss Report......Page 464
Generating a Profit & Loss Report......Page 467
Other Profit & Loss Reports......Page 468
The Balance Sheet......Page 470
Understanding the Balance Sheet......Page 471
Generating a Balance Sheet Report......Page 472
Understanding the Statement of Cash Flows......Page 473
Generating a Statement of Cash Flows......Page 474
Other Helpful Financial Reports......Page 476
Checking for Problems......Page 479
Viewing Your Trial Balance......Page 480
Generating Year-End Financial Reports......Page 481
Generating Tax Reports......Page 484
Creating an Accountant’s Review Copy......Page 485
Sending a Copy Directly to Your Accountant......Page 488
Merging Accountant Changes into Your Company File......Page 489
Canceling an Accountant’s Review Copy......Page 490
Setting Up an External Accountant User......Page 491
Generating 1099 Reports......Page 492
Printing 1099-MISC Forms......Page 493
Closing the Books for the Year......Page 496
Managing Inventory......Page 499
Setting Up Inventory Items......Page 500
Running Inventory Reports......Page 501
How Much Is Inventory Worth?......Page 502
Inventory Stock Status......Page 505
Performing a Physical Inventory......Page 506
Adjusting Inventory in QuickBooks......Page 507
Adjusting Quantities......Page 508
Adjusting Quantities and Values......Page 510
Budgeting and Planning......Page 513
Types of Budgets......Page 514
Ways to Build Budgets......Page 515
Creating Budgets in QuickBooks......Page 516
Filling in Budget Values......Page 518
Copy Across Columns......Page 519
Adjust Row Amounts......Page 520
Creating Additional Customer:Job or Class Budgets......Page 521
Copying Budgets and Creating What-if Budgets......Page 523
The Budget Overview Report......Page 526
Budget vs. Actual Report......Page 527
Profit & Loss Budget Performance Report......Page 528
Budget vs. Actual Graph......Page 529
Working with QuickBooks Reports......Page 531
Finding the Right Reports......Page 532
Reviewing Reports in the Report Center......Page 533
Finding Frequently Used Reports......Page 534
Running Reports......Page 535
Printing and Saving Reports......Page 538
Saving Reports As Files......Page 539
Customizing Reports......Page 541
Date Ranges......Page 543
Subtotals......Page 544
Customizing the Columns in Reports......Page 545
Sorting Reports......Page 547
Filtering Reports......Page 549
Report Headers and Footers......Page 550
Fonts and Numbers......Page 552
Memorizing Reports......Page 553
Exporting a Report Template......Page 555
Importing Report Templates......Page 556
Online Banking Services......Page 559
Setting Up Your Internet Connection......Page 560
Applying for Online Services......Page 561
Activating Online Services for Your QuickBooks Account......Page 562
QuickBooks’ Online Banking Modes......Page 565
Downloading Statements with WebConnect......Page 566
Creating Online Items for Direct Connections......Page 567
Sending and Receiving Transactions......Page 569
Matching Transactions......Page 570
Matching Unmatched Transactions......Page 572
Adding Multiple Transactions......Page 575
Deleting Downloaded Transactions......Page 577
Sending and Receiving Items......Page 578
Matching Transactions......Page 579
Adding Multiple Transactions......Page 581
Deleting Downloaded Transactions......Page 582
Configuring Preferences to Fit Your Company......Page 583
An Introduction to Preferences......Page 584
Accounting......Page 585
Bills......Page 588
Choosing the Bank Accounts You Use......Page 589
Setting the Way Company Checks Work......Page 590
Choosing Company-Wide Payroll Accounts......Page 591
Window Preferences......Page 592
Preferences for Saving the Desktop......Page 593
Setting Up the QuickBooks Home Page......Page 594
Finance Charge......Page 595
General......Page 596
Tuning QuickBooks to Your Liking......Page 597
Company-Wide General Preferences......Page 600
Integrated Applications......Page 601
Items & Inventory......Page 602
Jobs & Estimates......Page 603
Payments......Page 604
Payroll & Employees......Page 605
Reminders on the My Preferences Tab......Page 607
Reminders for Everyone......Page 608
Reports and Graphs......Page 609
Preferences for the Reports You Generate......Page 610
Preferences That Apply to Every Company Report......Page 611
Sales & Customers......Page 612
Sales Tax......Page 613
Send Forms......Page 614
Spelling......Page 616
Time & Expenses......Page 617
Integrating QuickBooks with Other Programs......Page 619
Creating Letters and Envelopes in QuickBooks......Page 620
Using QuickBooks Contact Sync for Outlook......Page 625
Setting Up an Integrated Application......Page 628
Exporting QuickBooks Data......Page 630
Exporting Lists and Addresses......Page 632
Exporting Reports......Page 633
Importing an Excel Spreadsheet......Page 636
Importing a Delimited File......Page 638
Customizing QuickBooks......Page 641
Fast Access to Favorite Commands......Page 642
Building Your Favorites Menu......Page 643
Customizing the Icon Bar......Page 644
Customizing the Company Snapshot......Page 648
Customizing Forms......Page 651
Working with Form Designs......Page 652
Editing an Existing Form in QuickBooks......Page 655
Basic Customization......Page 656
Additional Customization......Page 659
Managing Templates......Page 661
Deleting or Hiding a Template......Page 662
Exchanging Templates Between Company Files......Page 663
Keeping Your QuickBooks Data Secure......Page 665
Assigning the Administrator User Name and Password......Page 666
Resetting the Administrator Password......Page 668
Complying with Credit Card Security Regulations......Page 669
Creating QuickBooks Users......Page 670
Adding New Users......Page 672
Restricting Access to Features and Data......Page 673
What the Access Areas Represent......Page 674
Setting Access Rights......Page 676
Audit Trails......Page 677
Installing QuickBooks......Page 679
Before You Install......Page 680
Installing QuickBooks......Page 681
Registering QuickBooks......Page 684
Setting Up QuickBooks on a Network......Page 685
Where to Store Your Company Files......Page 686
Help, Support, and Other Resources......Page 689
QuickBooks Help......Page 690
Live Community......Page 692
Other Kinds of Help......Page 694
Other Help Resources......Page 695
QuickBooks Training......Page 697
Index......Page 699