Do more in less time!   Whether you’re an entrepreneur, accountant, or bookkeeper, this comprehensive guide will help you get the most out of QuickBooks 2012: more productivity, more business knowledge, and more value! Drawing on her unsurpassed QuickBooks consulting experience, Laura Madeira delivers step-by-step guides and practical checklists for taking total control over business finances, and improving everything from planning to reporting, payroll to invoicing!   •   Create new files; convert from other software; and set up users, permissions, and preferences •   Master all the essentials of financial reporting •   Understand QuickBooks lists: from the chart of accounts, items, classes and more •   Set up and manage inventory, vendors, customers, and payroll •   Track customer leads •   Work with bank and credit card accounts •   Create repeatable reports •   Review the accuracy of your data, step by step •   Share QuickBooks data with accountants •   Reliably back up data •   Troubleshoot database errors and monitor QuickBooks databases •   Use QuickBooks 2012’s tools for managing loans, planning, preparing for year-end, and syncing with Outlook •   Efficiently review and correct client data errors, from misclassified transactions to incorrect beginning balances •   Prepare customized financials using MS Excel and Word integration •   Master powerful shortcuts for working more efficiently and saving precious time   All In Depth books offer   •  Comprehensive coverage with detailed solutions •  Troubleshooting help for tough problems you can’t fix on your own •  Outstanding authors recognized worldwide for their expertise and teaching style   Learning, reference, problem-solving...the only QuickBooks 2012 book you need!  

Table of Contents:
        Introduction 1     How This Book Is Organized 1     Conventions Used in This Book 3         Menu Commands 3         Web Pages and Manufacturer Information 3         Special Elements 4         Text Conventions 4         Introducing QuickBooks 2012: What’s New 5     Get New Insights 5         Calendar View 5         Excel Integration Refresh 5         User-Contributed Reports 7     Get More Organized 7         Lead Center 7         Document Center 7         Inventory Center 9         Edit No Company Open 9         QuickBooks 1099/1096 Wizard 9     Get Time Back and Save Steps 11         Express Start 11         Batch Timesheets 11         Integrated Help/Search 12         Transaction Tab 12     QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 13         Enhanced Inventory Receiving 13         First In First Out (FIFO) Inventory Costing 14         Inventory Auto Cost, Sales Price, Markup 15         Inventory Lot/Serial Number Tracking 15     For the Accounting Professional 17         Accountant Center 17         Starter Copy 18         Period/Archive Copy 18         QuickBooks Statement Writer 19     1    Getting Started with QuickBooks 21     Understanding QuickBooks 21     Using QuickBooks Sample Data 23     Creating a New QuickBooks File 24         Express Start 25         Advanced Setup Using EasyStep Interview 29         Creating a New File from an Existing Company File 33     Converting from Other Accounting Software 34         Converting from Quicken to QuickBooks 35         Converting from Peachtree, Small Business Accounting, or Office Accounting to QuickBooks 36     Setting Up Users and Permissions 38         External Accountant 38         Other QuickBooks Users 40     2    Getting Around QuickBooks 43     Home Page and Navigation 43         Title Bar 43         Menu Bar 44         Icon Bar 45         Home Page 47         Open Windows List 50     Tutorials 50     Preferences 51         Accounting—Company Preferences 51         Desktop View—My Preferences 52         General—My Preferences 52         Spelling—My Preferences 53     Help Options 53     Selecting a Company File to Open 54         Opening Your Data for the First Time 54         Choosing from a List of Multiple Data Files 55     3    Accounting 101 57     Basic Principles of Accounting 57         The Matching Principle 57         Accrual Versus Cash Basis Reporting 59     Basic Financial Reports 60         Balance Sheet 60         Income Statement 61         Statement of Cash Flows 61         Other Accounting Reports 62     Accounting Checklist to Help You Manage Your Financials 62     Setting Up a QuickBooks Data File for Accrual or Cash Basis Reporting 63         Cash or Accrual Basis Startup Transactions: Accounts Receivable 65         Cash or Accrual Basis Startup Transactions: Accounts Payable 69         Cash or Accrual Basis Startup Transactions: Bank Account Statement Balance 73         Cash or Accrual Basis Startup Transactions: Recording Uncleared Bank Checks 74     4    Understanding QuickBooks Lists 77     Chart of Accounts 77         Account Types 78         Adding a New Account 80     Items 82         Adding an Item 82         Understanding Items 84         Item Types 85     Class 86     Customer Type 88     Managing Lists 89         Chart of Account Preferences 89         Add/Edit Multiple List Entries 90         Importing an Intuit Interchange Format File (IIF) 92     Reporting on Lists 94     Finding and Fixing Chart of Account Errors 94         QuickBooks Required Accounts 95         Making an Account Inactive 95         Merging Duplicated Accounts 96         Modifying an Account in the Chart of Accounts 97         Assigning or Removing a Subaccount Relationship 98     Finding and Fixing Item List Errors 100         Reviewing the Item List on the Computer Screen 100         Item Listing Report 102         Profit & Loss Standard Report 102         Correcting One-Sided Items 105         Making an Item Inactive 108         Merging Items 109         Creating Items as Subitems 110     5    Setting Up Inventory 111     Overview of Accounting for Inventory 111     Inventory Features by QuickBooks Edition 112         QuickBooks Pro 2012 112         QuickBooks Premier 2012 113         QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 12.0 114     Enabling Inventory Preferences 115     Inventory Item Type Descriptions 118         Inventory Part 119         Non-inventory Part 119         Group Items and Inventory Assemblies 119     Adding or Editing Inventory Items 121         Adding or Editing Individual Items 121         Using Add/Edit Multiple List Entries 125         Importing an Intuit Interchange Format File (IIF) 127         Changing Item Prices 128         Creating Inventory Assemblies 131         Creating Group Items 133         Setting Up Multiple Unit of Measurement 134     Proper Inventory Processes 137         Purchasing, Receiving, and Entering the Vendor Bill 139         Paying for Inventory 146         Selling Inventory 148         Working with Group Items 149         Working with Assemblies 150         Handling Inventory Backorders 152         Handling Customer Inventory Returns 155         Handling Vendor Inventory Returns 158     6    Managing Inventory 159     Adjusting Inventory 159         Performing a Physical Inventory Count 160         Quantity Adjustments 161         Value Adjustments 162     Inventory Reporting 165         Inventory Center 165         Report Center 166         Inventory Valuation and Your Financials 168         Reviewing the Recorded Average Cost Valuation 170         Reviewing Aged Item Receipts 173         Reviewing Aged Accounts Payable 176     How QuickBooks Handles Negative Inventory 177         When Inventory Has an Average Cost from Prior Purchase Transactions 178         When Inventory Does Not Have a Prior Average Cost 180     7    Setting Up Vendors 185     Customizing Your Home Page for Vendor Activities 185     Preferences That Affect Accounts Payable 186         Accounting 186         Bills 188         Checking 188         General 190         Reminders 191         Reports and Graphs 191         Tax:1099 192     Working with the Vendor Center 193         Adding or Modifying Vendors 194         Finding Vendor Transactions 198     The Accounts Payable Process 200         Accounts Payable Forms 200         Accounts Payable Workflow 202         Entering a Purchase Order 204         Recording Vendor Bills 205         Creating a Vendor Credit 207         Paying Vendor Bills 209         Applying Vendor Credits 211         Taking Discounts on Vendor Bills 213     8    Managing Vendors 215     Accounts Payable Reporting 215         Reconciling Balance Sheet Accounts Payable Balance to A/P Aging Summary Report Total 215         Reviewing the Unpaid Bills Detail Report 216         Reviewing Aged Open Item Receipts 218         Reviewing Item Setup 221         Accounts Payable Balance on Cash Basis Balance Sheet 222         Tracking and Reporting Vendor 1099-MISC Payments 226     Correcting Accounts Payable Errors 235         Open Vendor Bills Paid with a Write Checks Transaction 236         Misapplied Vendor Credit 238         Removing Aged Open Item Receipts or Vendor Bills 239         Making General Journal Adjustments to Accounts Payable 241     Handling Unique Accounts Payable Transactions 243         Bartering Services with Your Vendors 244         Recording Vendor Prepayments 245         Entering Mid-Year 1099 Balances 248         Memorizing Recurring Transactions 249         Depositing a Vendor Refund 250         Paying and Recording a Credit Card Bill 251     9    Setting Up Customers 253     Introduction 253     Customizing Home Page Customer Activities 254     Preferences That Affect Accounts Receivable 254         Payments 255         Sales & Customers 257         Checking 257         Finance Charge 258         Jobs & Estimates 259         Reminders 259         Reports & Graphs 260         Sales Tax 262         Send Forms 263         Spelling 264         Time & Expenses 265     Working with the Customer Center 266         Adding or Modifying Customers and Jobs 267         Finding Customer Transactions 270     Working with Prospects in the Lead Center 272     Setting Up Sales Tax 274         Creating Sales Tax Items 274         Creating Sales Tax Group Items 275         Creating Sales Tax Codes 276         Assigning Sales Tax Codes to Products or Services 278         Assigning Sales Tax Codes and Sales Tax Items to Customers 279     Creating Price Level Lists 280     Creating Payment Terms 281     Customizing QuickBooks Forms 282         Using the Customize My Forms Wizard 282         Using the Customize Data Layout Tool 285     Accounts Receivable Process 289         Using QuickBooks Estimates 290         Using QuickBooks Sales Orders 292         Creating Customer Invoices 292         Recording a Sales Receipt 306         Recording a Statement Charge 307         Recording the Customer Payment 308         Making the Bank Deposit 311         Recording and Applying a Customer Credit Memo 315         Refunding a Customer’s Overpayment 317     10    Managing Customers 319     Accounts Receivable Reporting 319         Reviewing A/R Aging Summary and Detail Reports 319         Reviewing the Open Invoices Report 321         Reconciling Balance Sheet Accounts Receivable Amount to A/R Aging Summary Total 322         Viewing the Accounts Receivable Balance on a Cash Basis Balance Sheet 324         Using the Collections Center 326         Generating the Missing Customer Invoices Report 328     Sales Tax Payable Reports 329         Reviewing Customer Lists for Tax Code and Tax Item Assigned 329         Reviewing the Item List for Tax Code Assigned 330         Reconciling Total Sales to Total Income 331         Reconciling Sales Tax Liability to Balance Sheet Sales Tax Payable 332         When a Check or Bill Was Used to Pay Sales Tax 334     Paying Sales Tax 334         Paying Sales Tax Without an Adjustment 334         Paying Sales Tax with an Adjustment 336     Correcting Accounts Receivable Errors 338         Removing an Open Balance from a Customer Invoice 338         Correcting Customer Payments 342         When a Credit Memo Is Applied to the Wrong Customer Invoice 346         When Deposits Were Made Incorrectly 347         Eliminating the Print Queue for Customer Invoices Marked to Print 353     Correcting Sales Tax Errors 354         When a Check or Bill Was Used to Pay the Sales Tax 354         When the Sales Tax Liability Report Shows Past Sales Tax Due 356         When Total Sales Does Not Equal Total Income 358     Correcting Undeposited Funds Account Errors 361         Reviewing the Balance in the Undeposited Funds Account 361         Removing Old Dated Payments in the Undeposited Funds Account 364     Unique Customer Transactions 366         Recording Your Accountant’s Year-End Adjusting Journal Entry to Accounts Receivable 366         When a Customer Is Also a Vendor 366         Recording a Customer’s Bounced Check 368         Tracking Customer Deposits in QuickBooks 370     Unique Sales Tax Transactions 371         When Your State Imposes a Maximum Sales Tax 371         Multiple Sales Tax Rates on One Invoice 373         Issuing Credit Memos When Sales Tax Should Not Have Been Charged 374     11    Setting Up Payroll 377     Getting Started 377         Payroll Process Overview 377         Selecting and Activating a Payroll Service Subscription 379         Updating Payroll Tax Tables 381         Employer Resources 382         Creating Payroll Accounts in the Chart of Accounts 384         Setting Up Payroll Tax Vendors 385         Payroll Preferences 387         Using the Payroll Setup Interview 390         Using the Run Payroll Checkup Diagnostic Tool 397     Managing Employees 401         Using the Employee Center 401         Adding or Editing Employee Information 402         Finding Payroll Transactions 404     Managing Payroll Items 406         Adding or Editing Payroll Items 406         Reporting About Payroll Items 409     Paying Employees 410         Payroll Home Page Workflow 410         Entering Employee Time 411         Preparing Employee Paychecks 413         Printing Paychecks or Paystubs 415     Preparing Payroll Liability Payments 415         Paying Scheduled Liabilities 416         Adjusting Payroll Liabilities 417     12    Managing Payroll 419     Payroll Reporting 419         Report Center Payroll Reports 419         Excel Reports 420     Tax Forms and Filings 421         Preparing and Printing Tax Forms 422         E-Filing Tax Payments and Forms 423     Troubleshooting Payroll 424         Comparing Payroll Liability Balances to the Balance Sheet 424         Comparing Payroll Summary to Filed Payroll Returns 426         Reconciling Payroll Reports to Business Financials 427     Recording Unique Payroll Transactions 427         Employee Loan Payment and Repayment 427         Reprinting a Lost Paycheck 431         Paying a Taxable Bonus 433         Adjusting an Employee Paycheck 434         Depositing a Refund of Payroll Liabilities 435     13    Working with Bank and Credit Card Accounts 437     Importance of Bank and Credit Card Balances 437     Preferences that Affect Banking and Credit Card Management 437     Working with Write Check Transactions 438         Using the Expenses Tab and Items Tab 439         Writing a Check 440         Printing Checks 443     Entering a Bank Debit Charge 445     Entering Credit Card Charges 446     Paying the Credit Card Bill 447     Transferring Funds Between Bank Accounts 448     Online Banking Center 449         Choosing an Online Banking Mode Preference 449         Activating Online Services with Your Financial Institution 449         Retrieving Online Transactions 450         Adding Downloaded Transactions to QuickBooks 452         Renaming Rules in Online Banking 453         Other Online Banking Features 454     Reconciling the Bank or Credit Card Account 458     Troubleshooting Reconciliations 461         Determining If the Account Has Been Reconciled 461         Verifying That All Account Transactions Have Been Entered 463         Identifying All Uncleared Transactions 464         Completing the Multiyear or Multimonth Bank Reconciliation 465         Reviewing Uncleared Transactions 465         Reviewing Previous Bank Reconciliation Reports 468         Locating Bank Account Reconciliation Discrepancies 468         Reviewing the Voided/Deleted Transactions Reports 469         Restarting a Previously Completed Bank Reconciliation 470         Undoing a Previous Bank Reconciliation 470         Reconciling with an Adjustment 471     14    Reporting in QuickBooks 473     Using the Company Snapshot 473         Customizing the Company Snapshot 473         Defaulting the Company Snapshot as Home Page 476     Report Center 476     Reports & Graphs Preferences 479         My Preferences 479         Company Preferences 479     Modifying Reports 482         Modifying Options Available on the Report Window 482         Customizing Reports 484     Report Groups 485         Creating Report Groups 485         Using Report Groups 485         Managing Report Groups 487     Memorized Reports 488     Exporting and Importing Report Templates 489         Exporting a Report or Report Group Template 489         Importing a Report or Report Group Template 490     Exporting Reports to a .CSV File or to Excel 490     Emailing Reports 493     15    Reviewing Your Data 495     Importance of Reviewing Your Data 495     Reviewing the Balance Sheet 495         Account Types 497         Prior Year Balances 497         Bank Account Balance(s) 498         Accounts Receivable 498         Undeposited Funds 499         Inventory 500         Other Current Assets 501         Fixed Assets 502         Accounts Payable 503         Credit Cards 503         Payroll Liabilities 503         Sales Tax Payable 504         Other Current Liabilities and Long-Term Liabilities 505         Equity 505     Reviewing the Profit & Loss Report 505     Other Reviews 506         Tracking Changes to Closed Accounting Periods 506         Using the Audit Trail Report 507         Using the Credit Card Audit Trail Report 508         Reporting on Voided/Deleted Transactions 510         Viewing the Transactions List by Date Report 511         Troubleshooting Open Balance Equity Account 512     16    Sharing QuickBooks Data with Your Accountant 517     Overview 517         Benefits for the Business Owner 517         Benefits for the Accountant 518     QuickBooks File Types 518         Choosing a Method to Share Data 520     Data Sharing for the Business Owner 522         Reviewing Your QuickBooks Data 523         Creating an Accountant’s Copy of Your Data 523         What the Business Owner Can and Cannot Do 529         Importing Your Accountant’s Changes 530         Canceling an Accountant’s Copy 536     Data Sharing for the Accountant 537         Creating an External Accountant User Type 538         Preparing Your Client for Data Exchange 538         Receiving an Accountant’s Copy File 539         What the Accountant Can Do 542         What the Accountant Cannot Do 545         Returning the Accountant’s Copy Change File to the Client 545         What to Request from the Client When the Import Is Complete 549         Converting the Accountant’s Copy to a Regular Company File 549     17    Managing Your QuickBooks Database 551     The QuickBooks Database 551         System Requirements 552         Installing QuickBooks for Single-User Mode 554         Installing QuickBooks for Multi-User Mode 554         The QuickBooks Database Server Manager 555         Windows Permissions Required for QuickBooks 557         Using the QuickBooks Connection Diagnostic Tool 558     Keeping Your Software Current 559         Upgrading Your QuickBooks Version 559         Installing a QuickBooks Maintenance Release 560     Protecting Your QuickBooks Database 561         Creating a QuickBooks Backup 561         Protecting the QuickBooks Operating Environment 564         Using Intuit Data Protect Online Backup Service 567     Monitoring Your QuickBooks Database 567         The Product Information Dialog Box 567         Using the Verify Data Utility 569     QuickBooks Database Corruption 570         Common Causes of Corruption 570         Signs of Data Corruption 570         The QBWin.log File 571         Repairing List Corruptions 574         Reducing Database File Fragments 575         Rebuilding Your Company File 576         Using the QuickBooks Company File Diagnostic Tool 577         Resolving QuickBooks Program File Corruption Issues 579     18    Using Other Planning and Management Tools 581     Planning and Budgeting 581         Create a Budget 581         Edit a Budget 584         Print Budget Reports 585         Delete a Budget 587     QuickBooks Loan Manager 587         Information to Collect 587         Getting QuickBooks Ready 587         Setting Up a New Loan 588         Setting Up a Loan Payment 589     Using the Year-End Guide 591     Synchronizing QuickBooks Lists with Microsoft Outlook 592     Using the QuickBooks Timer 596         Installing the QuickBooks Timer 596         Preparing the Timer for Activities 597         Tracking Time with the Timer 597         Exporting Timer Activities 598         Importing Timer Activities into QuickBooks 599     A    Client Data Review 601     B    QuickBooks Statement Writer 657     C    QuickBooks Shortcuts 687 TOC, 9870789749185, 7/19/2012