N/T-Quickbooks Question

[Booger]

Good afternoon, everybody. I must admit that I'm a novice when it comes to quickbooks. I bought the quickbooks Pro 2010 edition for my own

company's use. When I'm preparing an invoice for a client, how do I tell quickbooks what income acount number to post the credit to? For example,

if the invoice is for tax prep, and the "Income Tax Preparation" income account number is 410, how can I make sure that the invoice amount ends

up in that particular account?

TIA,

Booger

[Tax Prep by Deb]

When you fill out the Invoice there should be an item list. Put in the item list your 410 code. If it asks you to set that code up than follow the instructions in the window that will pop up. If the account already exists try and record your invoice then pull a P&L report to see if it shows up where you want it.

Hope this helps!

Deb!

[JohnH]

As Deb stated, you have to link "Items" to "Accounts" in order to keep things in order. When you prepare an invoice, you don't enter the account number on the invoice - you enter the item number.

I like to think of each account in the chart of accounts as a funnel, with various "Items" flowing into the top of the funnel. This enables you to track activity by item when you want to, but to keep things simpler on the P&L by funneling numerous items into the account (virtually as many as you want to). For example, you can set up a separate "Item" for tax prep for each year, but as you set up the various items, you tell quickbooks that each item flows into your account 410.

[Booger]

Thanks Deb & JohnH for your responses. I bought "The Missing Manual" for quickbooks---glad I did. It's been a big help in learning

the general ins and outs of the program.

Booger

[JohnH]

I think a key point to remember is that QB is a double-entry system, but the other half of the transaction is often hidden from view. Therefore, it's sometimes easy to get the debit right but to have the credit going to the wrong account (or vice versa) and not even see it happening. This leads to the mistaken idea that QBis not a "true" double entry system, which is an incorrect assumption. However, this background work causes lots of confusion and leads to some weird results at times, especially when QB is being used by non-accountants.

[BulldogTom]

I have been using QB for my tax business for years (1998). Here is a suggestion. Instead of using your chart of accounts account number for your item code, set up a new one for each year return. It only takes a minute to set up. Then, when you create the invoice, pick the year that you are preparing. My codes are 98Tax, 99Tax, 00 Tax, BOOK, Rep (for audit representation), etc. The reason is that I can then run sales reports on the type of work I do. I can see how many current year returns I did, how many previous year returns, what I charged for each, what the average charge by each was. It is helpful. You can have a many to one relationship for your items, so all your tax return prep fee items can post to one GL account (Tax prep or 410, for example) and your write up can go to another. Your income statement stays in summary form but your sales reports give you more detail. Sales by item, sales by customer, and sales by rep (if you have multiple preparers) are nice reports.

Just a suggestion. Hope it helps.

Tom

Lodi, CA

[Lion EA]

Thank you, Tom.

[Catherine]

Tom, that's a _terrific_ idea.

And Booger, I went and looked up (and then bought) "The Missing Manual" myself. Been using QB for years but there are _always_ new tricks to learn to make a program do what you want.

[Booger]

Thanks for your replies, Tom and Catherine.

Booger