Essential QuickBooks Tips For Small Business Owners

Running a small business is a lot of work. The accounting tasks alone can be time-consuming and overwhelming.

Luckily, QuickBooks can help with many different aspects of your business. Here are some tips for using it efficiently.

Automating processes is a great way to save time in QuickBooks. It can include generating recurring invoices, importing transactions into the system, and creating customized reports.

Set Up Your Company Accounts

Track all the current assets your business has, such as checking and savings accounts, cash in hand, and investments. Ensure these are accounted for and reconciled with your bank statements and credit card records.

Choose your industry and business type when creating a new QuickBooks company file. QuickBooks will then adjust its preferences and chart of accounts to match your business.

Contact a professional accountant for support if you need help setting up these accounts. They can also help you create lists of customers, vendors, and products that QuickBooks uses when generating invoices and paying bills.

Create Bills

When you record an expense in QuickBooks, you can choose to mark it as billable or not. Quickbooks help professional service providers (accountants, attorneys, consultants, etc) track the time billed to customers in their invoices.

You can also batch-generate a group of invoices to send to multiple clients simultaneously. It saves a lot of time and is especially useful for those who offer recurring services.

Create Invoices

An invoice records the products or services you sold, which helps track payments and manage accounts receivable. In addition, it’s an important legal document that protects you and your customer.

You can create an invoice in QuickBooks from a blank form or by converting an estimate. Then, you can either email it to the client or print it. Be sure to save your work frequently so that you won’t keep your progress if you lose your connection or log out of QuickBooks. An online payment solution can simplify the process further and reduce data entry.

Create Purchase Orders

The purchase order process formally defines a business’s intent to purchase certain products or services from a vendor. It also establishes internal controls on who can buy what from whom.

To create a purchase order, you fill out the form like an expense entry. The categories (A) let you choose a chart of accounts category, and the description field allows you to add notes. You can even identify a customer in case you plan to bill the purchase to them later.

If you’re new to QuickBooks, a local ProAdvisor can help you set up your chart of accounts, products and services, customers, vendors, and invoices. They can also advise on internal processes and best practices, including how to delegate tasks.

Create Sales Receipts     

Your customers expect you to provide them with forms documenting the goods or services they pay for. Whether they pay in cash or by check, the receipt gives you the documentation you need for your records and to claim your expenses on taxes.

Use the Enter Sales Receipts feature to record daily sales summaries for all your customer payments (cash, checks, ACH, and credit card). Financial statements like balance sheets and profit and loss reports can be easily prepared by analyzing financial records. It helps in gaining insights into the financial standing of a business and making informed decisions. These statements help you assess your company’s performance and are essential for applying for a business loan.

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Create Payments

Managing the accounting tasks for your small business is complex. Using automated systems like QuickBooks can simplify the process for you and free up your time to focus on other areas of your business.

When you receive customer payments, you will want to record them immediately. It will help you avoid expenses and maintain a healthy cash flow.

Create Payroll

Running payroll is a necessary (unless you want disgruntled employees and a truckload of lawsuits) but time-consuming process. QuickBooks makes it easy and efficient to run payroll for your clients.

With integrated time-tracking software, you can quickly enter staff hours and run payroll in a few minutes. Once you’ve reviewed all the data and paid your staff, you can print paychecks or direct deposit remittance advice and file tax returns with the government.

Always remember to reconcile your QuickBooks account with your bank statements. It will help reduce manual errors.