Welcome to the QuickBooks Corner! We have pulled together 3 things that you may not be doing in your QuickBooks but may want to start and why.
- Not reviewing or adjusting your chart of accounts
- Having too many accounts – can lead to inconsistencies in coding, which can give you misinformation and bad management decisions. In Bookkeeping, consistency is key!
- Make sure there are no “who’s” listed – the chart of accounts is designed to keep track of what you spend your money on. You don’t want to print a profit and loss and it looks like a vendor list.
Remember with the Chart of accounts the simpler the better, less is really more!
- Not reconciling your bank accounts
- During the rush to get all of your data coded correctly, and in your QuickBooks. How do you know that you haven’t double-entered some transactions?
- How do you know the Bank hasn’t deposited or mistakenly drafted money out of your account?
Reconciling your cash accounts is how. This process is going to pull out any errors or issues you need to address and is a very important piece you must have in your processes for closing your book on a monthly basis.
3. Not seeking help or asking questions
You know when things don’t feel right, ask. More often than not, the small business owners that I have worked with have had a “feeling” that what they were doing wasn’t right, but they just kept on going because they didn’t know what else to do!
In these moments, it is OK to reach out, QuickBooks Online has a help center built right into the program. Look for the question marks in any of the open windows or as seen below, it is always at the top right of your screen in the same area as your set up “gear” icon. You can always contact a local Certified Pro Advisor, like myself, to assist you with questions or if you have more specific needs that would require 1 on 1 training. Click on the “Let’s Meet”
button to schedule an initial consultation or if you are ready, book a one-on-one training session.
We understand working with an accounting system that you don’t fully understand is hard. We also understand that bookkeeping (the tiresome data entry) is the most important part of managing and growing a business. Whatever you do, make sure you invest the time it takes to properly develop a good bookkeeping process and understanding of your financial statements!