Ask the Accountant… Question: I have someone doing my bookkeeping, but I really don’t know anything about QuickBooks. What reports should I look at every month? Answer: There are six reports that provide a practical overview of your business. First, create, or have your bookkeeper create: 1. The balance sheet 2. The profit and loss statement…
Harriet Gatter
Ask the Accountant… Question: Is there a dashboard in QB Premier where I can look at open orders? Answer: QuickBooks Premier has such a dashboard called Income Tracker. You can find the icon on the left side of the home page where other shortcuts are listed. The Income Tracker has tabs at the top of…
Ask the Accountant… Question: Is there a way to know if my sales tax report is correct? Answer: I always suggest reviewing the information on your sales tax report before filing. The report is only as correct as the data you enter into QB. To begin, are you up to date with your bank and…
Ask the Accountant… Question: I use two item numbers for my distributorship—one is the item number I assign internally and show the customer, and the other is the supplier’s number. Can I use both in QuickBooks? Answer: Yes, QB Premier and Enterprise allow for two different fields of item numbers. When you set up an…
Ask the Accountant… Question: I have sales in several states. Do I have to collect sales tax in states other than my own? Answer: Sales tax has always been a complicated issue, and it was made infinitely more complicated by the Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair in 2018. The decision means that…
Ask the Accountant… Question: Do You Know Where Your Order History Is? Answer: I have been working with OrderMaster users recently, because this software system is no longer supported by the manufacturer and the software is crashing. Hundreds of distributors have been using OM for as long as 20 years. It is now failing because…
Ask the Accountant… Question: How can I find out which invoices are open and when they are due? Answer: In QuickBooks Premier, go to: "Reports" > "Customers and Receivables" > "A/R Aging Detail" This report will list all of your open invoices and their due dates. It will also “age” the invoices, showing how long…
Ask the Accountant… Question: I am downloading QuickBooks Premier. Which edition do I pick? Answer: QB Premier has multiple editions built into it. You purchase QB Premier, but select the edition when you are downloading the software. For our industry, choose the Manufacturing and Wholesale Edition. It best suits our business needs, and has a…
Ask the Accountant… Question: Is it hard to update from my QuickBooks Premier from an earlier year to the current year? Answer: That depends on how old your current QB is. If it’s from the last three or four years, it should be a matter of installing your new QB Premier, and merely opening the…
Ask the Accountant… Question: How do you suggest I research credit cards to pay my suppliers and get points? Answer: Credit card points are a nice perk for our industry, but you should only use credit cards for this purpose if you pay the complete balance off each and every month. If you don’t plan…
Ask the Accountant… Question: Is there a good way to keep track of documents related to purchase orders? Answer: We certainly have a lot of paperwork attached to the orders in our industry! It is a challenge to keep a record of orders and the attending documentation. Keeping paper files can be cumbersome, but see…
Ask the Accountant… Question: What numbers do I call if I have a problem with QuickBooks? Answer: Let me introduce you to www.softwarediscountcenter.com. In addition to being a quality reseller of QB products, they also have a help desk. Click the "Help" tab Select "Support and Training." Here there are numbers to contact QB. Let…
Ask the Accountant… Question: I have a credit from a supplier for a mistake in an order. How do I enter that in QuickBooks? Answer: To enter a credit from a supplier in QuickBooks Premier to be used at a later time, follow these instructions. Go to "Enter Bills" Click "Credit" at the top of…
Ask the Accountant… Question: If I do my taxes based on when I get paid for orders, does that mean I pay my sales taxes the same way? Answer: Not necessarily. The basis with which you calculate your income taxes does not have to be the same as your sales tax basis. There are two…
Ask the Accountant... Question: Can I run more than one company when I buy QuickBooks? Answer: Yes and yes, but.... Yes: QuickBooks Pro and Premier allow multiple company files for one flat fee, which makes these two versions of QB an even more cost-effective accounting software for those running multiple business entities. One word of…
