Are you wondering about the best way to learn QuickBooks? 

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Pam

Are you wondering about the best way to learn QuickBooks?

Don’t be frazzled…there are lots of great resources available to you to learn QuickBooks depending on what works best for you! Here are just a few of those great resources!

Best Ways to Learn QuickBooks:

  • Hands on – if you are the type that easily picks up software, then you might just want to jump in and get your feet wet by hands on experience. Though do remember, this tool is made to be simple; however, you have to have some basic understanding of bookkeeping, accounting and general business to make it a truly useful tool.
  • YouTube – YouTube has lots of great videos to help you with various QuickBooks topics. 
  • QuickBooks Blogs – here are a few great resources
  • QuickBooks Live or Online Training. There are various avenues you can go for this as well.
    • QuickBooks Training from Intuit
    • Check your Small Business Development Center at your local College/University to see if they offer QuickBooks training. Historically, many of us QuickBooks ProAdvisors have worked with various Centers to offer QuickBooks Training.
    • Here’s a great list of various training opportunities as well including Real World
  • Work with your local QuickBooks ProAdvisor or accountant for hands on training. I work with clients all over the world with remote online training at a time that is convenient for all. With technology these days, personalized training is easy to find!

Remember, there are lots of ways to gather information about QuickBooks, you simply have to find the method that works best for your particular situation. Are you looking for generic group training? Personalized hands on training? Or a combination of both. Most likely, you will use a blend of the above methods to build your QuickBooks expertise.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to pam@rppc.net or 816.885.0487

 

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How To Keep Your Online Customers Happy And Loyal

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Pam

 

 

 

 

Photo via Pexels.

How To Keep Your Online Customers Happy And Loyal

There is a contradiction at the heart of online business. On one hand, the internet has demolished many of the traditional barriers to entrepreneurship, making it easier than ever to start your own venture. On the other, businesses now compete in a mind-bogglingly crowded global marketplace, making it harder to attract and maintain customers. Here are a few simple tips to help you overcome this.

Retention Over Acquisition

 It is both cheaper and more profitable to retain a customer than to attract a new one. Many businesses focus on drawing in a constant flow of new customers, when their priority should be to keep the existing ones happy. There are many strategies for this, from having an inspirational mission to offering the best convenience or using a subscription model.

Brand & Personality

Brand isn’t just a logo. Your brand encompasses your customer service, your voice, your communication channels, and your people. One way to stand out is to inject your brand with personality – be wary of corporate “sales” language, boring visuals, and impersonal service.

Make sure you choose the right support channels. In order to do this, you need to determine which channels your staff are familiar with and which channels your customers use. For example, if you have someone on the team who is a whiz at social media, it can be a good idea to focus on support through Twitter. If your target audience is older and prefers to speak on the phone, you will need to train or hire staff accordingly.

By the way, what you’re thinking of when you think of “brand” is brand identity. Again, this goes beyond a mere logo. The whole visual identity of your brand should be powerful and coherent. This complete guide to building a brand identity can help you perfect this, even if you’re not naturally a creative type.

Winning Websites

If you’re in e-commerce or digital services, your website is your business. You wouldn’t place a brick-and-mortar store in a shady, unstable-looking building, so you shouldn’t use anything but a reliable, market-leading web hosting service.

GoDaddy is one example of a solid choice. You may only know them from the commercials, but they have been one of the biggest names in the business for decades. They offer great support and many tools, all for an affordable price. This review of GoDaddy by Digital gets into greater detail on their services.

Perfect Delivery

If you’re selling a physical product, your shipping and delivery channels are just as important as any other part of your business. Customers nowadays are used to super-quick delivery and generous return policies, so it will be difficult to compete if you’re not willing to offer that. Merchant Maverick has a useful guide to the best shipping platforms available, including some great options for small businesses.

The single most important thing you can do to keep your customers happy is to provide a quality product or service. Spend some time (and, if you have it, money) perfecting your website, your customer service channels, and your delivery. Do your research to find the best platforms for each task, and always put quality first. Support this with a considered and coherent brand – preferably one that feels unique and personal – and you’ll have a winning recipe for success.

Lucy Reed – lucy@gigmine.co

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How to add bank rules in your QuickBooks Online

Posted on June 1, 2019 by Pam

How to video to show you how to add bank rules in your QuickBooks Online file. You can add multiple bank rules and narrow it down by bank account, class, location and more!

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How to prepare a Profit & Loss Comparison with QuickBooks Online

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Pam

How to prepare a Profit & Loss Comparison report as well as some tips on what the financial data is telling you about your business.

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QuickBooks Online Profit & Loss Customizations

Posted on May 30, 2019 by Pam

Learn how to customize your profit and loss report to look at percentage of income as well as prior period compared to current period. There are lots of ways we can analyze financials to help you successfully determine how your business is doing.

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Kickstart Your Success with QuickBooks Online

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Pam

Are you thinking about using QuickBooks Online but don’t know where to start? Here are a few great tips to kickstart your success with QuickBooks Online

  • First understand whether QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online is going to be your best option. I use both and love them equally but there are certain features that work best for certain  industries and specific business needs. Click here to see the full comparison chart.

 

  • Take time to do some training. Often times we underestimate the need to hone our skills and truly understand the tool we are using. There are great resources available for you to utilize including personal training by your accountant, group QuickBooks training courses, YouTube videos, various blog resources online including the following:
  • Once you have determine that QuickBooks Online is the one for you, here are some great tips on what you’ll need to set up your Company. Success starts from the beginning in ensuring you have a proper set up.
  • Have someone review your setup and data entry until you feel comfortable that data is being entered correctly. Don’t wait until tax time to find out that you’ve been missing some key steps. It’s worth the time and investment to have a partner who will review your information and give you tips on keeping good data!
  • Utilize the information. Don’t forget that the most important person needing this information isn’t your tax person…it is you, the business owner or manager. Take full advantage of the valuable information that your QuickBooks file can provide about your business including cash flow, profitability, and more!
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Price Levels in QuickBooks Desktop

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Pam

Price levels in QuickBooks Desktop can be a great solution for those who are wanting to bill different customers different default rates. 

Here are some tips to working with Price Levels in QuickBooks Desktop:

  • You can find the price level list under QuickBooks’ List drop down menu
  • You can select the price level name you want to give your new price level.
  • You can select the type of price level (Per Item or a Fixed Percentage)

  • You can select one, multiple or all your items for any particular price level you are working with. 
  • You can adjust the price level up or down from your standard default price you have set for each item. 
  • You can also select for the price level to round up to the nearest cent, dollar, etc.

  • Once you have the price level set up, you can select the customer(s) that you want assigned to any particular price level.

  • Be cautious about how many price levels you set up as when you need to readjust, it is easier if you have been able to group your customers in to price level groups versus giving each customer their own price level. 
  • Using price levels allows you to have default prices populate on invoices and sales receipts to ensure consistency in billing your customers. 

Please feel free to reach out to us if we can assist you in ensuring QuickBooks works most ideally for you!

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Small Business Advice: The Best Services to Help You Manage Your Company

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Pam

Small Business Advice:

The Best Services to Help You Manage Your Company

Small businesses often suffer from slumps at certain points; many times, it’s a symptom of not having the right services or the best resources to make the company stand out and attract customers. When this happens, sales can fall off dramatically, leaving business owners scrambling to find relief. Whether you need to find a larger customer base or a service that will get packages to your current customers on time, there are several things you can do to ensure that your business runs smoothly without suffering a slump.

The key is to think about your business model. What’s your budget like? How do you interact with your customers on a daily basis? What are some things that could be streamlined? If your payment system is outdated, spending a little money now to get it in shape will pay off in the long run. If you don’t have the space to keep inventory — and many small businesses don’t — consider utilizing a dropshipping service, which allows you to ship through a third-party instead of having to make room for stock.

Here are a few tips for small business owners on how to find the best resources for your needs.

Update Your Payment Methods

Most small businesses are on a tight budget, which means paying for credit card services and banking fees can make things difficult. With an all-in-one payment system, you can easily accept just about any type of card and finish a transaction in seconds, which will help you streamline your customer’s experience at checkout. When it’s portable, you can also use it at conventions and other events away from your business’s home base.

Keep Track of Your Finances

The way you keep track of your company’s finances is crucial since one mistake can lead to a whole lot of misery come tax time. While it’s important to make sure you’re on top of all the spending and revenue within your company, it’s also imperative not to make it a full-time job. After all, you have other things to focus on! That’s where online services like FreshBooks or QuickBooks come in. These handy accounting programs offer inexpensive monthly fees but will help you master the fine art of your finances.

Learn More About Security

Cybersecurity is something every business owner should be aware of. Not only can outside hackers gain vital information about your company through your computer system, but that information can also be made vulnerable by employees who aren’t well-trained or by former employees who have access to certain programs. You can take a course on how to make sure your business — and your customer’s — info remains safe.

Consider Dropshipping

You might consider utilizing dropshipping to get items to your customers without having to keep them on hand. This is a method often used by small businesses to save money since it involves purchasing products from a third party and having them shipped to a customer; you don’t need to have inventory, and you only ship if you’ve already made a sale.

According to Shopify, “Because you don’t have to deal with purchasing inventory or managing a warehouse, your overhead expenses are quite low. In fact, many successful dropshipping businesses are run from a home office with a laptop for less than $100 per month.”

Small businesses can be very successful with the right services and resources to help guide them, and yours is no exception. Think about the areas where your company could use some improvement, and create a plan for changes that will work best for your needs. With some careful planning, you can manage your business with minimal stress.

Photo via Pixabay

Guest post blog by Lucy Reed at Gigmine.co

 

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Journal Entries in QuickBooks

Posted on April 12, 2019 by Pam

Understanding when you should and should not do journal entries in QuickBooks is important for the overall success of your QuickBooks file.

Journal entries and QuickBooks – are they friends or foes? It’s not a clear cut answer. There are times where it makes perfect sense to do a journal entry in Quickbooks and there are times where a journal entry simply is not the best solution for you in QuickBooks. QuickBooks is designed that you should have minimal need for journal entries as the average person using it doesn’t understand the debit and credit process. Having worked with QuickBooks for more than 2 decades, I find that journal entries are often done unnecessarily by those who don’t take the time to really understand the inner workings of Quickbooks and try to quick fix things. 

Below I will highlight some of the times you will say yes to Journal Entries in Quickbooks and other times you want to say no and do use another function of QuickBooks!

Say Yes to Journal Entries:

  1. When you are accounting for depreciation amortization, then journal entries are the way to go.
  2. When you need to move amounts from one class to another and it involves multiple transactions or a lump sum amount.
  3. Year End Activities – there are just some times where you need to clean up various activities to have good year-end books and Journal Entries are an easy way to do that.
  4. If you need to transfer amounts from one income or expense account to another that involves more than one transaction or it is simply too difficult to change the original transaction then a journal entry may be your answer!
  5. When you need to make adjustments or move dollars from one asset, liability or equity account to an income or expense account.
  6. When you interface with certain 3rd party software, some of them import transactions as journal entries.

Just Say No…don’t do it!

  1. Journal entries don’t have access to items so any time you are needing to have a transaction impact the item list, you need to ensure you are using the functionality of invoices, bills, checks, etc.
  2. Do not do journal entries when it impacts your accounts receivable or accounts payable accounts as this creates a mess that never goes away until you correctly apply the credit/debit. Ever wonder why your AR and AP reports show those zero balance lines? Could very well be that there’s a Journal Entry that needs to be cleaned up. We’ll save that lengthy discussion for another blog and video!

How do you make a Journal Entry? Go to the QuickBooks Company menu and select Make General Journal Entries. Here’s a great reference for you!

Reach out to us if you have any questions or need help cleaning up previous journal entries that just won’t go away on your reports!

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Job Costing Tips in QuickBooks

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Pam

Job Costing Tips in QuickBooks is made easy with a few simple steps.

Right-click the Payroll Item, then select Edit Payroll Item. Select Track Expenses by Job. (It’s important to follow the above steps to set up job costing preferences. If job costing isn’t set up in QuickBooks Desktop you won’t see the option to Track Expenses by Job when you edit the payroll item.)

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