So you’re using QuickBooks Premier. That’s great!
Although it’s an indispensable tool when it comes to bookkeeping, most business owners never use Quickbooks Premier to its full potential. Some of its most useful features are sometimes hidden in plain sight. And you don’t know what you don’t know. In essence, the software is easy to use and adaptable to most small businesses, however, it does require a bit of practice to make it really sing. Here are ten ways you can make the most of your Quickbooks Premier experience as a small or medium sized business owner:
1. Customize and Simplify
Whether it’s the icon bar, the chart of accounts, or the user access settings, customizing your financial information to suit your business needs will help save time and increase productivity. You can eliminate clutter and boost your efficiency by modifying the icons to show only the most relevant features of your business. The same applies to user access information. Customize your settings so that only those who need to have access to your sensitive business data can log in to view it.
-
Organize Your Chart of Accounts
A lot of small business owners go through the setup wizard without paying much attention to their chart of accounts details. What happens is that the software determines your income and expenses to match your business needs. This often leads to an overcomplicated chart or multiple accounts that could otherwise be merged to ensure a more organized and accurate cash flow. Make sure you simplify your chart of accounts so that QuickBooks Premier shows only the most valuable reports to your business.
-
Reconcile All Applicable Accounts
Reconciling all your accounts, including receivables, payables, inventory and payroll registers, is the most important part of the bookkeeping system. This applies to all accounts that have monthly or quarterly statements, including credit cards, bank accounts, loans and lines of credit as well as payroll liabilities. Whenever you come across a transaction you don’t know how to handle, use ‘Quickbooks’ ask my accountant’ feature to review and reconcile it.
-
Manage Your AR and AP Efficiently
Whenever you need to pay your bills, suppliers or employees, you can access an Accounts Payable report and keep track of your transactions. Generally, accounts receivable and accounts payable functions are very straightforward and easy to use. The problem starts when there is a user error involved. This means that the money is either not sent or received appropriately. Pay attention to your customer’s payment when you create an invoice and make sure you deposit the money correctly. This way, you will not overstate your income or your expenses.
-
Purchase a User Seat For Your Accountant
If you have an accountant or bookkeeper or financial planner who regularly looks at your books, or assists with tasks like reconciliation, things will be a lot easier if they have their own user login to your account. Purchasing another user license and hosting so they have remote access will save you tons of man-hours exporting and printing reports for them, or downloading and sending them copies of your file. They can also make updates in real time
-
Memorize Your Financial Reports
QuickBooks Premier has the Memorized Reports feature, which is basically like a Bookmark for a specific report that you access often. By creating custom financial reports, you can become more organized and productive. Choose those reports that you use on a frequent basis and memorize them in a separate folder for instant access. Whether it’s a weekly, monthly, or quarterly record that you need, you can use Quickbooks’ memorized reports to quickly check KPIs.
-
Back up your data
Backing up your data is as important as any other step. You have the option of either storing your information on a removable data storage device or using QuickBooks’ Online Backup Service in exchange for a small monthly fee. When you choose to store your data in the cloud, you have the guarantee of being able to recover your files from any computer connected to the Internet.
-
Start using QuickBooks Messenger
The QuickBooks Messenger tool is a great way to keep up with customers or employees without losing track of your current transactions or wasting precious time. It is accessible in multi-user mode when more than one QuickBooks Premier user is logged in at one. The best thing about QuickBooks Messenger is that it allows you to communicate with other users who are logged in on the company, either from your personal or multiple online accounts. Collaborate more efficiently and save time by using the Messenger tool in multi-user mode.
-
Use the Class Drop-Down Box
Quickbooks Premier classes are responsible for categorizing and tracking your data into locations or departments. When you access class tracking from the preferences menu, you have a clearer picture of your profits and losses. Each time you enter a transaction, you can assign it to a certain class, whether that is marketing, advertising, or anything related to your business. This will help your company keep up with all sources of income.
-
Use Quick Math Calculator
This feature can simplify your payment process by allowing you to do the math right on the spot. Simply click inside a field of a check, for example, and type the numbers just as you would on a regular calculator. Apart from being very easy to use it also helps save time and speed up the bookkeeping system.
There are thousands of ways to customize QuickBooks and so many features that the average user doesn’t know about. Make sure your company is using it to the best of its ability.
