Contents

Introduction

1 Setting Up Your Company Accounts with the EasyStep Interview

Introduction

Installing QuickBooks

Registering QuickBooks

Setting Up QuickBooks in a Multiuser Office

Transferring Data from Older Versions of QuickBooks

Transferring Data from Quicken

Practicing with the Sample Company Files

Entering Data for a New Company

Setting Up a Bank Account

Setting Up Income and Expense Accounts

Stopping, Restarting, and Completing the Interview

2 Setting Up and Using Payroll Features

Introduction

Setting Payroll and Employee Preferences

Setting Up Employees

Setting Up Employee Payroll Information

Setting Up Employee Payroll Taxes

Setting Up Sick and Vacation Benefits

Setting Up Payroll Deductions

Paying Employees

Printing Paychecks

Using Direct Deposit

Preparing and Paying Payroll Liabilities

Creating Employer Payroll Reports

Reporting Payroll Taxes with Form 941

Paying Federal Unemployment Compensation Taxes with Form 940

Preparing W-2/W-3 Forms

Setting Up Independent Contractors for 1099 Forms

Setting 1099 Preferences

Issuing 1099 Forms

Outsourcing Payroll

3 Adding or Changing Information After the Initial Company Setup

Introduction

Setting General Preferences

Setting Desktop View Preferences

Setting Accounting Preferences

Adding Accounts

Using Account Numbers

Sorting Lists

Displaying Lists on Forms

Adding Customers

Working with the Customer Center

Adding Vendors

Adding Items

Adding Multiple List Entries: Customers, Vendors, or Items

Adding Information “On-the-Fly”

Moving Items on a List

Creating Subitems

Editing Information on a List

Marking List Items Inactive

Deleting Entries on a List

Merging Entries on a List

Printing Lists

Searching for Transactions

4 Invoicing and Collecting Income

Introduction

Setting Customers’ Preferences

Creating an Invoice

Creating Batch Invoices

Previewing or Printing Invoices

Emailing an Invoice

Charging (or Billing) Expenses to a Customer

Setting Finance Charge Preferences

Creating a Monthly Statement

Receiving Payments for Invoices

Issuing a Credit or Refund

Recording Cash Sales/Sales Receipts

Making Bank Deposits

Receiving Advances, Retainers, and Down Payments

Issuing Discounts

Tracking Accounts Receivable

Using the Income Tracker

Working with the Customer and Payments Snapshots

Viewing the Open Invoices Report

Using the Collections Center

Creating a Collection Letter

Recording Bad Debts

Recording Bounced Checks

Working with Multiple Currencies

5 Making Purchases and Recording Payments

Introduction

Setting Purchases and Vendors Preferences

Working with the Vendor Center

Using Purchase Orders

Reporting on Open Purchase Orders

Receiving Goods

Receiving a Partial Order

Viewing Aging and Unpaid Bills Reports

Paying Bills

Taking Discounts

Using the Check Register

Editing Bill Payments

Deleting Bill Payments

Setting Checking Preferences

Writing Checks

Printing Checks

Voiding Checks

6 Collecting and Paying Sales Tax

Introduction

Setting Sales Tax Preferences

Creating a Sales Tax Item

Creating a Sales Tax Group

Charging Sales Tax to Customers

Entering Tax Status of Inventory Items

Selling Tax-Exempt Items

Selling Items to Tax-Exempt Customers

Producing Monthly Sales Tax Reports

Paying Sales Tax

Taking a Discount for Early Payment

7 Using Time-Saving Features

Introduction

Memorizing Transactions

Memorizing a Group of Transactions

Using Memorized Transactions

Scheduling Recurring Transactions

Changing Memorized and Scheduled Transactions

Removing Memorized Transactions

Setting Reminders Preferences

Using Reminders

8 Job Cost Estimating and Tracking

Introduction

Setting Jobs and Estimate Preferences

Setting Up a Job

Tracking Job Status and Type

Using the Job Type Feature

Tracking Other Job Info

Working with Estimates

Invoicing Against an Estimate

Reporting on Job Estimates Versus Actuals

9 Tracking Time

Introduction

Setting Time Tracking Preferences

Installing the Timer

Exporting Information to the Timer

Creating a New Timer File

Creating a Timer Activity

Using the Timer

Sending Timer Data to QuickBooks

Importing Timer Data into QuickBooks

Viewing Timer Transactions

Editing Timer Transactions

Invoicing the Customer for Timer Activities

10 QuickBooks Tips and Tricks

Introduction

Setting Spelling Preferences

Creating a Budget

Preparing Budget Reports

Setting Up Classes

Using Classes on Sales and Purchase Forms

Reporting on Classes

Creating Payment Terms

Customizing Forms Design

Customizing Forms Data

Making Journal Entries

Using the QuickBooks Remote Access Feature

Creating Mailing Labels

11 Using Bank Feeds and Online Banking

Introduction

Choosing Bank Feeds Mode

Activating Bank Feeds

Retrieving Online Transactions

Manually Importing Transactions

Quick Add Transactions to QuickBooks

Adding More Details to Transactions

Batch Adding Transactions

Automatically Assigning Names and Accounts

Assigning Transactions to Open Vendor Bills

Deleting Transactions

Making Online Payments

Canceling Online Payments

Transferring Money Between Accounts

Getting Reports of Online Transactions

12 Preparing Income Tax Returns

Introduction

Choosing the Correct Income Tax Form

Assigning Tax Lines to New or Existing Accounts

Using the Income Tax Reporting

Making Estimated Tax Payments

Creating a Tax Return

13 Data Backup and Security

Introduction

Backing Up Your QuickBooks Company File

Restoring Backed-Up Information

Using the QuickBooks Online Backup Service

Adding or Editing the Administrator Password

Adding New or Editing Existing Users

Closing Financial Records at Year-End

Creating a Closing Date Exception Report

14 Using Inventory Features

Introduction

Activating Inventory

Setting Up Inventory Items

Adding to Your Inventory

Editing Inventory Items

Creating an Inventory Group

Managing Sales Orders

Setting Up Reminders to Replenish Your Inventory

Preparing Inventory Reports

Counting Your Inventory

Adjusting Inventory Quantities

Adjusting the Default Price of Inventory

15 Recording Your Assets

Introduction

Reconciling Your Bank Statement

Recording Bank Account Transfers

Tracking Petty Cash

Receiving Credit Card Payments

Recording Deposits as Assets

Purchasing Fixed Assets

Entering Depreciation

Selling Fixed Assets

16 Recording Owners’ Equity

Introduction

Understanding the Opening Balance Equity Account

Recording Owners’ Distributions

Entering Prior Period Adjustments

Viewing Transactions in Retained Earnings Account

17 Recording Liabilities

Introduction

Managing Accounts Payable

Recording Payroll Tax Accruals Without a QuickBooks Payroll Subscription

Setting Up Credit Card Accounts

Accounting for Deposits or Retainers

Recording Loans

Using the QuickBooks Loan Manager

Recording Loan Payments

18 Working with Reports in QuickBooks

Introduction

Looking at the Company Snapshot

Using the Report Center

Setting Report and Graph Preferences

Modifying Reports

Creating and Using Report Groups

Memorizing Reports

Importing and Exporting Report Templates

Understanding Sharing and Contributed Reports

Learning Other Reporting Tips and Tricks

Workshops

Introduction

Project 1: Creating Your Own Favorites Menu

Project 2: Customizing the Company Snapshot

Project 3: Using Document Management

Project 4: Color-Coding Your Accounts

Project 5: Using To Do Notes

Project 6: Using the Lead Center

Index