AccountAbility: Bookkeeping-Payroll-Office Mgmt

QB ? - What is undeposited funds and why is my money going there?

2010-02-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

QB allows you to choose which payments entered are grouped into a deposit so you can match your deposit entries to how they may appear on your bank statement. You will see the usefulness of this once you go into reconcile that account.

To move them to the bank account register go to Make/Record Deposits. If this doesn't fit your business model you can change the default deposit to account by going to Edit>Preferences>Sales & Customers (or Payments depending on version).

Why Do Funds Paid Against An Invoice Go To Un Deposited And How Do You Get It Into The Bank Intuit Community

QB ? - How do I create a list of daily A/P invoices enteries?

2010-02-15T15:14:00.000-05:00

Try using and modifying the Unpaid Bills Detail report. Go to Reports>Vendors & Payables>Unpaid Bills Detail. Change the dates to All, click on the modify report button, in the column section-click to check mark "Entered/Last Modified", then click on the "filters" tab and scroll down in the Choose Filter box to find "Entered/Modified" then set this to today.

A/P Transaction List Intuit Community

QB ? - How do I use the same Vendors for two different companies?

2010-02-08T21:32:00.000-05:00

My Solution:

If you don't mind having all the payees exported into the 2nd company then you can do this... In the company whose vendor list you want to SEND to the other company:

Go to File>Utilities>Export>List to IIF file. Choose your list from the choices, Vendor in your case, click ok. Name the file in the next window and click save. Then open the company to whom you want to add the vendor list. Go to File>Utilities>Import>IIF files. Select the file you just exported. Ta dah! Your vendors from co. 1 are in co 2.

Now, if you want to edit the list and not export everyone.....well that's possible! Contact me for more information.

I Would Like To Use The Same Payees For 2 Different Companies Intuit Community

QB ? - I use sales receipts to account for my cash register transactions. How do I enter the different payment types?

2010-02-04T23:44:00.006-05:00

Create Payment Type Items and then link them to the appropriate bank account. You then use these items on your sales receipt to record the payments so your sales receipt is zero. You can also create an over/short item to account for discrepancies. Go to Lists>Item Lists and press Ctrl+N to bring up the new item dialogue box. See pictures below, click to enlarge.

Small Biz Issues - Do I Owe Employment Taxes For My Spouse?

2010-02-01T20:13:00.003-05:00

When times are tough and money to hire employees is tight, many unincorporated small business owners turn to their spouses to help out. That raises the question of how to handle compensation. The answer depends on the nature of the spouses involvement.
Please note this pertains to IRS rules and that the States may have other rules.

As long as their assistance is not frequent and regular, they don't sign paperwork on behalf of the business or have much contact with the public, then chances are you don't have to pay them and they can be considered a volunteer. The downside to this is that "volunteers" don't get any social security earnings credit.
If their participation is more regular then consider this..Do you tell your spouse what to do (with regards to the business!) and they act more as an assistant with management decisions made by you? If this is your situation, then your spouse is an employee and you are responsible for withholding FICA (soc. sec/medicare) and income tax, as is the case with other employees.
Do you partner on management issues, share the work load and both contributed money? If this is the case, then you are considered a partnership for tax purposes and must report business income on Form 1065 Partnership Return. Each spouse will get a schedule K-1 (think of it as what a W-2 is to an employee) and completes a Schedule E that is attaches to the joint income tax return.

Form 1065..Schedule K-1..Schedule E?? Oh gosh, more tax confusion right? Well, there is a solution. You may elect to be treated as a Qualified Joint Venture if the business is only owned by you and your spouse and you both agree. In this case, the business income (loss) is more simply divided according to each spouses interest in the business, you each complete a Schedule C and get social security earnings credit.

As always, everyone's tax situation is unique and you should seek the personalized services of a tax professional.

In the News - Obama Proposes Small-Biz Tax Cut

2010-01-25T09:43:00.001-05:00

The President has proposed a small business tax cut aimed at getting employers to hire more workers. This includes a $5000 reduction in payroll taxes for every new employee hired and a quarterly tax payment schedule so employers don't have to wait to get the benefit.

Obama Proposes Small-Biz Tax Cut

QB ? - Where do I put my receipts? I don't have a business checking!

2010-01-18T08:44:00.000-05:00

You bought Quickbooks to put some semblance of order to that pile of receipts you have, but now your just overwhelmed! Many QB users are sole proprietors just starting out and haven't set up separate checking accounts for business use, that's okay...at least you're on the right track. Here's how to keep track of expenses and income when you don't keep bank accounts or create/record invoices in Quickbooks. This also works if you do have a business checking but want to record personal funds used to pay expenses.

If you would like more assistance or for me to do this for you, then click here. It is also my suggestion that you go get a business checking! It is just good practice to keep business and personal separate. And keep in mind that a few extra steps to record the customers (if feasible for your industry) and vendors might save you a ton of aggravation later when you want some more detail about your business.

Expenses

First, make sure you have an Equity account called Owner's Investment. This is how to set that up:
From anywhere in QB press CTRL+A, this is a shortcut to bring up the Chart of Accounts.

Next, hit CTRL+N, this is a shortcut to add a new item in whatever section you are in.
Choose account type EQUITY, then continue
Name it Owner's Investment and describe it as "Investment of Personal Funds"
Leave the tax line unassigned and Save/Close

Next, from the Home screen, press CTRL+R, to bring up the account register list, click the down arrow and choose the Owner's Investment account, or just start typing the name until it appears. Or double click on the account name in the chart of accounts.
This works just like a checkbook register:

Enter date of expense
Enter a reference number, something like Cash, EFT, VISA, DB (debit card), choose whatever is meaningful to you
Enter a payee, if you have no desire to keep track of where you made the purchase at this time, then set up a Vendor called Business Expenses and record everything here
Enter the amount in the increase column
On the next line, choose the expense account your categorizing the receipt to
Enter a memo to remind yourself what the expense was, or you can put the actual vendor here
Click the record button in lower right

Income

Set up a customer called "Sales" or something meaningful to you
Set up a new bank type account called "Cash on Hand" or "Cash from Sales"
Go to Edit>Preferences and choose Payments from the left hand menu, then click on the Company Preferences tab and uncheck the box that says "Use undeposited funds as default deposit to account"
To record receipt of income, go to "Create Sales Receipt" from the home page
Record the sale to the generic customer you just set up, and choose the bank account "Cash from Sales".

SM Biz Issues - 2010 Tax Calendar!

2010-01-11T10:00:00.001-05:00

Do you think that it's impossible to find the information you need from the IRS? Well, you're not alone. Most people are intimidated by the thought of having to find out tax related information on their own.

The good news is that the IRS has really made strides towards making information easily accessible. I found a really easy way for small business owners to read about information they need to know in a way that is not designed to put you to sleep! Check out the 2010 Tax Calendar. They may have even went a little overboard on the graphics but I think this is more enjoyable to read than any other publication the IRS distributes.

IRS 2010 Tax Calendar Online Edition
IRS 2010 Tax Calendar PDF Edition