QuickBooks Phishing Scam

At H&S we’re always trying to keep our clients in the know, report any tax news, alerts and helpful information. Currently, there is a QuickBooks email phishing scam happening, and it’s targeting small businesses who use the QuickBooks software. The email appears to be confirming that you changed your business name with Intuit. Since the odds are that you didn’t actually do this, you’ll be prompted to click the cancel link – beware! The link is just bait to capture more information. Read more by clicking the link below…

Idaho Stateman: These emails about QuickBooks software are actually a phishing scam

Scam Alert

Assigning Income Or Expense To New Accounts In QuickBooks

ExpenseHave you ever wanted to assign income or expense to an account, but you didn’t see one that fits?  There are a couple of ways to set up new accounts.  One way is to click on the “Chart of Accounts” icon from the home page.  Another is to choose “New Account” in the drop down box of accounts while entering a transaction.  Both ways bring you to the chart of accounts list.  From there, right click and choose “New Account”.  On the next screen select the type of account it will be and click “Continue”.  Give the account a name.  If you want this account to be a sub account of another, click the box and choose the account in the drop down.  Sub accounts are common for things like utilities where you want the gas, electric, sewer bills reported separately, but all in one area.  Once that is done, click “Save and Close” and your new account is ready to use!

There is still time to register for H&S Companies QuickBooks Seminars. Beginner and intermediate classes available.

How to Handle Credit Card Entry In QuickBooks


Credit Card

QuickBooks has a fairly simple way to enter and reconcile your credit cards

QuickBooks has a fairly simple way to enter and reconcile your credit cards.  First, you set-up an account in the accounts chart and choose credit card as the type.  When you purchase items on your credit card, or receive the credit card statement in the mail, click on the icon labeled “Enter Credit Card Charges”.  This brings you to a screen where you enter each charge you made on the credit card.  After entering all the charges, click the “Reconcile” icon, and choose the credit card as the account.  Enter your ending balance, as well as, any interest charged and click “Continue”.    Mark off all the charges that have cleared the bank and any payments made.  When done, the difference should be zero.  When you click “Reconcile Now” you have the option of paying on the bill or creating a bill to pay later.

QuickBooks also has the ability to download the transactions from the credit card company.  Then you just have to classify each purchase and reconcile.  Either way, it is an easy process!

 Interested in learning more about QuickBooks? Register for an H&S QuickBooks Seminar near you! Learn more>

 

Reconciling Your Checkbook in QuickBooks



Stress

Quickbooks got your stressed? We have a class for that!

Have you been entering checks and deposit into QuickBooks, but the checkbook balance doesn’t equal what’s on your bank statement.  It is most likely due to outstanding checks or deposits, which have not cleared the bank.  It could also be a transaction that was not recorded or recorded incorrectly.  Doing a bank reconciliation will help you identify the problem and is a fairly simple procedure.

  • Start by clicking on the “Reconcile” button from the home page.  Be sure you are in the correct bank account and enter the ending balance from your bank statement and any service charges or interest income earned.
  • Then click continue.  This will bring you to a list of your transactions with the checks on the left and deposits on the right.
  • Mark off all the transactions that cleared the bank.
  • Once that is done, the bottom right of the screen shows the difference.  If it’s zero, you are in balance. If not, you have an error.

To fix this, start by looking at the bottom left for the total deposits and checks that cleared.  Your bank statement will have the same totals.  If the deposits don’t match, then the issue is with the deposits. If you need to adjust an entry, highlight the entry and click “Go To”, which will bring you directly to that entry so you can change it.  If you need to add missing entries, you can click ”Leave”, go to the checkbook, make the entries, return to the reconciliation, and continue.  After making all the adjustment and your difference becomes zero, click reconcile now.  I recommend printing both reports and keeping them with your bank statements.

An accurate checkbook is a huge step in having an accurate financial statement that you can use to manage your business.

Interested in learning more about QuickBooks? Register for our QuickBooks Seminar at a location near you, learn more >

How to Set Up a Loan in QuickBooks



Entering loans in QuickBooksOne of the most common mistakes we see in QuickBooks involves the setting up and paying of loans.  Many QuickBooks users don’t set the loan up at all and just expense the total payment.  Intuitively, this may make sense, but it is incorrect.

The loan should be set-up as a liability account on the balance sheet.  The payments should be split between the interest and loan principle.  The interest would be charged to interest expense and the principle to the loan liability account.  You may have to set-up the loan as a new general ledger account.  This is done in the chart of accounts by right clicking and choosing “New Account”.  Be sure to use either a current liability or a long-term liability as the type of account.

As an example lets say you borrowed $10,000 and your first monthly payment is broke down as $900 principle and $100 interest.  After setting up the account, you would record the deposit of $10,000 and use the loan account as the category.  The payment would be split between $900 to the loan account and $100 to the interest expense account.  This will drop the amount due on the loan to $9,100.

By entering the loan this way your balance sheet will be correct, and your expenses will not be overstated causing a surprise at tax time.

Interested in learning more about QuickBooks? Register for our QuickBooks Seminar at a location near you, learn more >

QuickBooks Seminars 2012



QuickBooks Flyer

Does QuickBooks give you a headache? Let our Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors teach you the ins and outs of this complicated program. We are offering two class levels – one designed for beginners and one for intermediate users.

Beginners

Never opened QuickBooks before? No problem. We’ll teach you what you need to know to get started. From setting up a company to processing payments to sharing files with your accountant, you’ll be up and running in no time.

Intermediate

Have you been using QuickBooks for a while but need to sharpen your skills? This class is for you. We’ll walk you through everything from customizing forms to creating reports and graphs to share with your team.

Things to Know

  • Each class will be from 8 am to noon on the assigned date. Registration begins at 7:30 am.
  • If you have QuickBooks 2012, please arrive no later than 7:30 am so you have time to install the sample material.
  • Each class will be taught by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
  • The cost to attend is $125. Please register on-line at hscompanies.com.

Class Schedule + Locations

Fremont

Beginner — 9/25/12
Intermediate — 10/24/12

H&S Fremont
711 W. Main St.
Fremont, MI 49412

Grand Rapids

Beginner — 10/3/12
Intermediate — 10/25/12

Country Inn & Suites
3251 Deposit Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Mount Pleasant

Beginner — 9/27/12
Intermediate — 10/30/12

Comfort Inn & Suites
2424 S. Mission St.
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

Muskegon

Beginner — 10/2/12
Intermediate — 10/23/12
H&S Muskegon
4985 S. Harvey St.
Muskegon, MI 49444

To learn more, download our QuickBooks Seminar flyer.

Undeposited Funds Account



Petty_cashIs your undeposited funds account growing?  If it is, the bad news is you are recording deposits incorrectly. The good news is, it is easy to fix.  The general flow of QuickBooks is that you create an invoice, receive payments against those invoices, and make the deposit.  Many people skip the “make a deposit” step and just enter the deposit in the check register.  This missed step will cause the undeposited funds account to grow and, depending upon which account you post your deposit to, it may overstate your sales or understate your accounts receivable.  On the home page, there are icons for creating invoices, receiving payments and making deposit with work flow arrows between them.  Use the icons and follow the arrows and QuickBooks will behave as it should.

When you use the “make a deposit” icon you will see a list of all the payments received that are ready for deposit.  If you have not been using this icon, you will have a large list of payments going back to the first payment that was applied.

Need help cleaning up your payments list? Contact Mike Farmer.

Interested in learning the more about QuickBooks? Keep an eye out for QuickBooks seminars, being lead by Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors.