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The Learning QuickBooks® Forum

How to Use QuickBooks®
Avoid Beginner's Errors

Learning QuickBooks® to avoid beginner's mistakes ... gives you a hint about what this article is all about ... tips on how to use QuickBooks® software correctly.


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While I will chat about how to use QuickBooks®, please understand that this page is directed to work from home small business owners who do their own bookkeeping.

It is not intended to instruct the "power" users or advanced users of QuickBooks® ... there are a lot of sites out there that cover that material better than I ever could.

This means we are not going to be shooting the breeze about QuickBooks® POS software ... or a whole lot about advanced inventory ...

... just useful QuickBooks® tips, tricks and traps that will hopefully make your bookkeeping time more efficient ... and enjoyable ... so you have accurate financial information to make smart business decisions.

You'll find a spot to ask your QuickBooks® questions at the end of this page.



The Bookkeeper's Tip
Do You Have The Latest Version?

Do you have the latest version of QuickBooks 2010, 2011, or 2012?

To check your version, press F2 and the Product Information window will open.

You can have these maintenance updates happen automatically by ensuring the Automatic Update feature is turned on.

QuickBooks Canada has announced that QuickBooks 2009 will no longer be supported as of January 31, 2012. This means you not be able to obtain technical support or business services relating to the 2009 version after this date.

If you are learning QuickBooks® with a 2009 version, now may be the time to upgrade.







Learning QuickBooks® ... The Tips

I want to start by saying that you need to be kind and patient with yourself as you are learning QuickBooks®. The program was designed for small business owners and is user friendly ... but there are a few things that have to be done a certain way.

Here are links to a few tips on QuickBooks® procedures that you should learn to ease your learning curve and make your bookkeeping go smoothly:

Vendors - Accounts Payable - Expenses



Customers - Accounts Receivable - Sales






The Bookkeeper's Tip
Naming Convention For AR and AP

When you have a business or person that is both a customer and supplier, use this naming convention:

Joe's Plumbing - c ... for the customer (c) name and Joe's Plumbing - v for the vendor (v) / supplier name.

No more guessing the name, initials, abbreviations!




Banking - Cash



Company - Period End Closing - Government Compliance



What trouble are you having learning QuickBooks®?





Learning QuickBooks® ... The Shortcuts

The QuickBooks® accounting system has keyboard shortcuts to make data entry more efficient. There are six different types or categories of shortcut keys:

  1. General
  2. Dates - my favorite category so I talk about it below
  3. Editing
  4. Help window
  5. Activity - I give you a few of my favorites below
  6. Moving around in a window

If you key in "keyboard shortcuts" to the QuickBooks® help menu, the above categories will come up. Click on the one you are interested in.

My favorite shortcut keys are the dates. It is really quick and easy to enter dates using these shortcuts.

  • The + or - key can be used to increase or decrease the date by one day to the next day or the previous day.

  • Typing T in the date field will give you Today's date.

  • W gives you the first day of the Week
    • K gives you the last day of the Week.

  • M gives you the first day of the Month
    • H gives you the last day of the Month.

  • Y gives you the first day of the Year
    • R gives you the last day of the Year.

  • If you want the date calendar to pop open, your shortcut key is Alt + down arrow.

As you can see, the keys are easy to remember because they are tied to what you want to accomplish and they are not case sensitive ... one of the reasons these are my favorite keys ... I can actually remember with no effort. That is great accounting system design.


A few activity shortcut keys that are very useful ...

Ctrl + G ... transfers you to the line/entry of the account register directly from the entry you are in ... a real time saver when working on the bank reconciliation and one of my all time favorites!

Ctrl + M ... is one I use frequently to memorize a recurring transaction or report.

Ctrl + T ... takes you to your memorized transaction list.

Ctrl + Y ... opens up the transaction journal so you can see the entry in debits and credits ... bookkeepers like this one. :0) It's especially useful when using the forms to see the other side of the entry.

Ctrl + I ... quickly opens a customer invoice.

Ctrl + A ... brings up your COA but I prefer use my icon bar to get to my COA.



F2 let's you see the number of vendors, employees, and customers ... and the version you are using along with what updates have been installed.

F1 gets you to the contextual Help menu ... which helps to let you exhale while you are learning QuickBooks®! :0)

What are your favorite shortcut keys in QuickBooks®?






Learning QuickBooks® ... The Reporting

Follow these links for customized QuickBooks® reports and other useful information to assist the management of some of your balance sheet accounts.

Do you have a customized QuickBooks® report that has made your job easier?


Ask A Free Learning QuickBooks® Question Here

Are you learning how to use QuickBooks®? Maybe this forum can help you out ... it is strictly for beginner's ... no advanced stuff here.

Ask your beginner QuickBooks® questions here ... I promise the answer won't be to go talk to a professional.

Hopefully others who know QuickBooks® will join in too ... offering to share their expertise.

Contributions to this site are moderated. They may be edited for grammar, spelling, and presentation. (I may even change your title if I think it will help the search engines find your page.)

Your contribution will appear below once it has been approved.


Enter Your Title ... It should give readers a hint of the subject

Tip - Keep it short ... 3 or 4 words is best

Learning QuickBooks® Questions & Answers
Visitors Have Already Asked ...

Click below to see the contributions that have been made already. Enter the discussions. There is usually more than one right answer or more than one way to do something ... so tell us what you think!

You can help make Learning QuickBooks® better by adding your comments and ratings to one or more contributions.

Year-end Trial Balance Report  starstarstarstarstar
Our company year-end date is Nov 19th. I did not enter a Closing Date in the Accounting Preferences. However, in Company Information, I had to enter a ...

HST From Purchases  starstarstarstarstar
Hello,

I have a question regarding entering the HST paid from purchases into QuickBooks software.

The corporation is registered for the GST/HST (although ...

How to Recover Lost Data in QuickBooks  starstarstarstarstar
I might have deleted some entries that change the numbers in the balance sheet.

How could I use the backup file to get the previous numbers without ...

Petty Cash  starstarstarstarstar
Petty cash has been set up.

Let's say I paid Cindy (employee) $10.50 (includes GST only) from Petty Cash for Parking Expense.


In Quickbooks, how ...

Sales Tax Return Already Filed  starstarstarstarstar
I am using my newly purchased QB and filed my current quarterly Sales Tax Return.

Now I am entering data retrospectively for the last fiscal year. I ...

QuickBooks Bank Reconciliation  starstarstarstarstar
Bank Reconciliation-has not been performed in two years

Hello,

I started assisting a small business with their bookkeeping records. Apparently ...

Refund of HST  starstarstarstarstar
Good Day!

First of all, thank you for your great website! You answered lots of questions already, but I still have a few...

We import goods from ...

Accountants Copy  starstarstarstarstar
Accountants Copy of over 200mb books ... and mysterious password


When the books are too large, instead of being able to email, the Accountants Copy ...

Personal Expense on Business Account  starstarstarstarstar
I failed to follow one of the basic guidelines you mention on the web site. I charged personal items to the company credit card and paid the credit card ...

Entering Invoices from a Supplier  starstarstarstarstar
This may be a silly question, however; I'm very new to bookkeeping and Quickbooks and see a potential problem with how our accounts were set up.

Initially ...

Loan Proceeds Not Deposited To Bank  starstarstarstarstar
How do I record an asset paid for in installments and financed by a lender?


New to Quickbooks and double entry accounting. I understand most of ...

QuickBooks Conversion  starstarstarstarstar
I have a customer account that used to be a Partnership - the one partner has signed off and the other has assumed all business liabilities - I now need ...

Write Cheque Function Used Incorrectly  starstarstarstarstar
Hi,

I recently was hired by a company that has been trying to do its own books for the last 2 years. I was brought in to fix them and bring them up ...

Vendor Prepayments  starstarstarstarstar
What is the best way to deal with vendor prepayments in QB?

Client wrote a cheque for $1,900 to a vendor for a leasehold improvements item. There ...

Payroll Liability Refund  starstarstarstarstar
Recording Tax Agency Credit in Quickbooks


Hi,

Our church uses Quickbooks Pro for accounting but we don't use the payroll module (only 1 paid ...

Owner's Personal Credit Card  starstarstarstarstar
Hi Lake,

I wanted to seek your opinion on something.

I am setting up the QB company for a client. He uses his personal credit card to pay for many ...

Foreign Exchange Transactions  starstarstarstarstar
Income lost to foreign exchange rate changes.


I have received a cheque for payment in US dollars.

The (exchange) rate has changed and I am losing ...

QuickBooks® Back Work  starstarstarstarstar
Hi - I love your website!

I have been taking different Accounting Courses over the past 3 years and recently started working again (home with kids). I ...

Interest Received in a Deposit  starstarstarstarstar
How do you show interest received in a deposit using QuickBooks?

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking ... so I'll answer in two parts.

Part ...

Cost of Goods Sold
In a Resale Printing Corporation  starstarstarstarstar
How can I use this account in my business if I do resale of the printing jobs like ...

... business cards, flyers and more?

Is it right to use Cost ...

QuickBooks®
Recording a Direct Deposit  starstarstarstarstar
How can I show fees associated with an ACH (automated clearing house) deposit in QuickBooks®?

I am doing very basic bookkeeping for a friend. She has ...

Entries for Graphic Artist Business  starstarstarstarstar
My partner is a graphic arist. He produces work (brochures, for example), and has them printed at a local printer company, then they invoice him and he ...

Reconciliation Issues with ...
General Journal  starstarstarstarstar
I did not reconcile my accounts before filing my sales tax (didn't think to do this, now I know).

I've now reconciled my accounts and found numerous ...

Reimbursed Expenses  starstarstarstar
Hello,

I am trying to figure out whether or not I should include recoverable expenses in line 101 of the HST report.

I work for a patent agency....

QuickBooks Version  starstarstarstar
Hi,

Can I work on QuickBooks Pro 2007 for QuickBooks 2009 files?

Thanks a lot. Hi Maria,

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking.

The ...

How To Track Customer Deposits  Not rated yet
I need a program that will let me track cash deposits made in advance of purchase even when no final amount has been determined. There is no time limit ...

Unreconciled Bank Account  Not rated yet
I took over the job from another bookkeeper who retired. What do you normally do if you can't get the bank account to reconcile in QuickBooks because of ...

Entering GST/HST Late Filing in QuickBooks®   Not rated yet
Due to circumstance,s the company I just started working for was unable to file a complete GST/HST report last quarter.

Their bookkeeping was several ...

How to Fix Entries Already Reconciled  Not rated yet
How do you adjust year end entries if they already have been reconciled.

Example: I did a journal entry for an asset under misc withdrawls, for the ...

Wrong account entries  Not rated yet
I am learning QuickBooks and I am using my household like a company to record my expenses to practice and learn.

By mistake I recorded the expenses ...

Sales Receipt Requirements  Not rated yet
Hi,

My son is just starting his very own small-business. (He is 13). I am setting him up to use QuickBooks in its most simple form (sole proprietorship)...

QuickBooks File Set up  Not rated yet
Is there a certain specific way to set up a company file in QuickBooks? I have heard from some business people that their QuickBooks company file was ...

How to Deal with Inaccurate Books  Not rated yet
I recently started working for a company that had a "professional" working on their books so I thought it wouldn't be too hard for me to take over now ...

Quickbooks Clean Up  Not rated yet
I have a few transactions from 2010 that include some duplicate credits and duplicate bills along with some old credits. These are showing up on my Profit ...

Adjusting Journal Entries With HST  Not rated yet
I am trying to enter my adjusting journal entries from my accountant.

One of them consists of five lines:

1 accounts receivable
2 hst on purchases
...

QuickBooks Receive Payment  Not rated yet

Adjusting Accounts Receivable For Deposited But "Unreceived" Payments. BEST Solution ... Follow The QuickBooks Process.


Hi,

I have a bad habit ...

Cost of Goods Credit Cards  Not rated yet
Hi,

80 to 90% of all my customers pay with a credit card as we operate an online store.

Should the per sale credit card charge (discount rate) be ...

Opening Balance Entries  Not rated yet
I have 3 opening entries from last year's income tax return to setup for a sole proprietor "electrical contactor" (a friend yes) in QuickBooks.

I made ...

QuickBooks Journal Entry Rules  Not rated yet
I have quarter-end journal entries (JEs) to make that look like this:

DR Other Receivables
CR Capital Stock

DR Other Receivables
CR GST Payable
...

Items Multiple Unit of Measure  Not rated yet
How do or can I assign an item to have 2 units of measure? ex. Flooring at 21 sq.ft per box.

If I needed 1000 sq.ft type in 1000 sq.ft under "qty", can ...

Setting up QuickBooks  Not rated yet
Setting up previous year balances for accounts when starting in Quickbooks



I started using Quickbooks Pro 2010 at the beginning of the year and ...

Prepayment to Foreign Vendor  Not rated yet
I am using QuickBooks and have made a payment on account to a US vendor. I do not have a US bank account.

I have applied the prepayment to invoices ...

Reverse GST Filing  Not rated yet
Good Morning Laura:

Just a quick question: Do you know if you can reverse GST filing in Quick Books??

I have a situation where I filed the June/...

Accounts Receivable Clean Up  Not rated yet
An accounts receivable has been sitting now for 1 year. I want to write it off as a bad debt.

How do I get it out of the accounts receivable and put ...

Booking Meals & Entertainment Expenses  Not rated yet
Hi There,

I am using QB and was wondering how I should book the meals and entertainment expenses given that they only have a 50% eligibility.

Do ...

Printing Customer List With Balances  Not rated yet
I can't print Transactions:Invoices:and only a portion of the list. Hello Nancy,

I'm not sure where you are at ... but when I want to print ...

Accounts Payable Clean Up  Not rated yet
I have a few small credit balances from previous years that are still sitting in A/P. I would like to zero out/clear these from QuickBooks® before finalizing ...

Payment of Owner's Expenses  Not rated yet
How do I set up an account to reimburse owner for
expenses paid?



I talk about how I like to setup my "Owed To Owner" account in QuickBooks ...

Paying Bills in QuickBooks®  Not rated yet
Hey there!

I am using QuickBooks® to do the bookkeeping for a company with many bank accounts.

I understand how to enter in vender bills to the ...

Line of Credit Interest  Not rated yet
When I have interest on my line of credit, where do I enter this interest? ... because it shows up on the line of credit and the bank account that it was ...

Customer Deposits  Not rated yet
What account should I use for deposits (received) in advance from clients?

I am using QuickBooks.

I need to know where I should deposit the payment ...




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That's it for today. I hoped you enjoyed this introduction to learning QuickBooks® and found the information useful, practical ... and not too overwhelming.

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