“Do I need a QuickBooks Upgrade?”

I’ve been getting asked that question a lot lately! I really like QuickBooks as a small business accounting program, but one thing I’ve noticed over the years is that Intuit is really good at giving you opportunities to spend money.

Here are three situations where upgrading is definitely a good idea:

• A feature you use on a regular basis will no longer be supported
• You upgraded to a new operating system and can’t reinstall your current version of QuickBooks
• They introduced a feature in the newest version that will save you time and money or generally make you accounting life easier
==>Save up to 20% + Free Shipping Now on a QuickBooks Upgrade<==

Even if those situations don’t apply, I still encourage my clients to upgrade at least every three years.

For one thing, it makes it easier for me to support them. For another, keeping your computer up to date can be a real time saver. I’ve worked with some business who had really slow computers with an old version of QuickBooks, and it probably took me twice as long to do what they needed (which meant it cost twice as much as it should have).

Some Features Stop Working

Intuit only supports certain electronic features for the past three versions. That means when they released 2011, the clock started running on 2008 (I think May is generally the cutoff month).

So if you use online banking, credit card processing, payroll, email invoices to clients, send accountant’s copies, or a number of other things that rely on Intuit’s servers to work, you can pretty much plan on upgrading every three years.

You moved to a new operating system

QuickBooks 2007 is the earliest version that is officially supported on Windows Vista or above. I read about some workarounds to get older versions installed, but duct tape solutions like that tend to be more trouble than they’re worth with computers. If you’re not careful, you can end up wasting a lot time dealing with weird problems that could have been solved by using a program designed for the environment in which it is installed.

They introduced a new feature that will save you time and money

Sometimes upgrades don’t make any significant changes from the prior version, but other times they can introduce a new feature that will make a huge impact.

For example, a several years ago they changed the accountant’s copy so that I could reconcile my client’s checking accounts and send the reconciliation back to them to import into their company file. Before that, the only option was for me to tie up their computer or have them send a backup and not do any bookkeeping until I gave it back. I immediately asked those clients to buy the new version because it made both of our lives easier.

Click the link below to see a list of new features in the current version as well as the discounted upgrade pricing.

==>Save up to 20% + Free Shipping Now on a QuickBooks Upgrade<==
If the version of QuickBooks that you are using now works fine, none of the services you use are going expire, and there is no compelling new feature in the latest release, then you can feel comfortable holding off for awhile. I actually think it’s probably more important to use the Premier version (aka the “full version”) and upgrade less frequently than to buy QuickBooks Pro and upgrade every year.

However, I’ve found that in my business the electronic services that expire periodically are the features that save me the most time. I still remember how amazed I was the first time I emailed an invoice directly from QuickBooks, received the payment by credit card, downloaded and recorded the whole transaction (with the processing fee) automatically and watched the deposit show up in my checking account – all without leaving my desk!

So if you decide it’s time for an upgrade, just click one of the links on this page and it will take you to Quickbooks website and show the discounted price with the regular price crossed out.

After placing your order, you will be able to download and install the new version immediately. The first time you open you company file after the installation, you will be prompted to create a fresh backup (it’s OK to save this one on your hard drive) and then QuickBooks will update your data file.




P.S. If you have multiple users, you only need to update the data file once, but you will need to install the new version of QuickBooks on each computer before they can log in again.
]]> http://i2pc.com/quickbooks-upgrade/feed/ 0 http://i2pc.com/how-to-add-a-new-bank-account/ http://i2pc.com/how-to-add-a-new-bank-account/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:14:38 +0000 Jonathan http://i2pc.com/?p=69

Most of these instructions apply to adding other kinds of accounts in QuickBooks, but we will be looking specifically at bank accounts in this example.

You should have  bank account in QuickBooks for each bank account your business has (this includes PayPal). So if you open a new one, you’ll need to add it to your  QuickBooks chart of accounts as well.

1. The first step is to open your QuickBooks company file.

2. Then open the Lists menu and select Chart of Accounts (List->Chart of Accounts)



3. Click the “Account” button and choose “New”



4. You will now be asked to choose an Account Type. Select “Bank” and click continue.



5. Finally, you will be asked to enter details for the new account:

• Account Name: Choose a descriptive name so you can easily identify it on statements and drop down menus (e.g. Payroll Checking, XYZ Bank Checking, Savings, etc.).
• Subaccount of _______ : This is optional. If you have multiple accounts at multiple banks, entering the bank name in this field is a good way to group them. Otherwise I’d leave it blank.
• Description: This is kind of redundant if you picked a good account name. I usually leave it blank.
• Bank Acct. No.: Leave this blank. You can fill it in later if you decide to use online banking.
• Routing Number: Leave it blank.
• Tax-Line Mapping: This can be useful if you plan on integrating with TurboTax for Business. If you work with a tax preparer, you can skip this field.
• Opening Balance: If this is a new account, the opening balance would be zero, so there is no need to enter anything.



6. Click Save & Close and you’re done!

]]> http://i2pc.com/how-to-add-a-new-bank-account/feed/ 0 http://i2pc.com/quickbooks-accountants-copy/ http://i2pc.com/quickbooks-accountants-copy/#comments Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:57:38 +0000 Jonathan http://i2pc.com/?p=37

How to Create a QuickBooks Accountant’s Copy

1. Open your QuickBooks company file.
2. Go to File->Accountant’s Copy->Send to Accountant…
3. Follow the instructions on screen to create and send the accountant’s copy.

You will need to make a couple choices during the process:

• Set the dividing date: Your accountant will work on or before the dividing date. You will work after the dividing date. If you are sending this for your tax preparation, choose “Custom” and enter the end of your tax year for the dividing date (12/31 for calendar year tax payers).
• Create a password: This password encrypts the file while it is being transferred. It needs to be at least seven characters, contain at least one number and one uppercase letter.

Be sure to tell your accountant the password you chose…they’ll need it to open the file.

4. Click “Send” and QuickBooks will begin uploading the file. When the transfer is complete, you can continue working. Your accountant will receive an email letting them know that the file is available to download.

How to Import Accountant’s Changes

1. If your accountant emails the changes, save the QBY file to your desktop. If they give you a disk, insert it at this time.
2. Open your QuickBooks company file.
3. Go to File->Accountant’s Copy->Import Accountant’s Changes…
4. Follow the instructions on screen to create a backup and import the file you saved to your desktop or browse to the disk you inserted in Step 1.
5. (optional…but recommended) After QuickBooks tells you that the changes have been imported successfully, go to Company->Set Closing Date… click the “Set Date/Password” button and change the closing date so you don’t accidentally make changes to prior periods. At least make sure this is set to the end of your last tax year.

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P.S. If you need to restore QuickBooks to full functionality before you receive your adjustments:

1. Go to File->Accountant’s Copy->Remove Restrictions…
2. Check the box to confirm that you want to remove restrictions and click “Ok”

At this point, you won’t be able to import your accountant’s changes and will need to make them manually, so it would be a good idea to run this by them first so you both don’t end up doing a lot of extra work.

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