Your bookkeeping workflow will be smoother and faster with QuickBooks 2012 for Windows—but only if you spend more time using the program than figuring out how it works. This book puts you in control: you get step-by-step instructions on how and when to use specific features, along with basic accounting advice to guide you through the learning process.
The important stuff you need to know:
Get started. Set up your accounts, customers, jobs, and invoice items quickly.
Manage your business. Track spending, income, invoices, inventory, and payroll.
Spend less time on bookkeeping. Use QuickBooks to create invoices or timesheets in batches.
Follow the money. Examine everything from billable time and expenses to year-end tasks.
Find key info quickly. Rely on QuickBooks’ vendor, customer, inventory, and employee centers.
Exchange data with other programs. Move data between QuickBooks and Microsoft Office.
Getting Started
Chapter 1 Creating a Company File
Opening QuickBooks
Before You Create a Company File
Creating a Company File
Creating a New Company File from an Existing One
Modifying Company Info
What’s Next?
Opening an Existing Company File
Converting from Another Program to QuickBooks
Chapter 2 Getting Around in QuickBooks
The QuickBooks Home Page
The Company Snapshot
Using Menus and the Icon Bar
Switching Among Open Windows
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Chart of Accounts
Using QuickBooks’ Built-in Accounts
Acquiring a Chart of Accounts
Naming and Numbering Accounts
Creating Accounts and Subaccounts
Modifying Accounts
Hiding and Deleting Accounts
Merging Accounts
Chapter 4 Setting Up Customers, Jobs, and Vendors
Creating Customers in QuickBooks
Creating Jobs in QuickBooks
Modifying Customer and Job Information
Categorizing Customers and Jobs
Adding Notes about Customers
Working with Leads
Merging Customer Records
Hiding and Deleting Customers
Setting Up Vendors
Data Entry Shortcuts
Tracking To-Dos
Chapter 5 Setting Up Items
What Items Do
When You Don’t Need Items
Should You Track Inventory with Items?
Planning Your Items
Creating Items
Service Items
Product Items
Other Types of Items
Setting Up Sales Tax
Modifying Items
Hiding and Deleting Items
Chapter 6 Setting Up Other QuickBooks Lists
Categorizing with Classes
Price Levels
Customer and Vendor Profile Lists
Fixed Asset Items
Creating and Editing List Entries
Hiding and Deleting List Entries
Sorting Lists
Printing Lists
Chapter 7 Managing QuickBooks Files
Switching Between Multi- and Single-User Mode
Backing Up Files
Restoring Backups
Sending Company Files to Others
Verifying Your QuickBooks Data
Condensing Data
Cleaning Up after Deleting Files
Bookkeeping
Chapter 8 Tracking Time and Mileage
Setting Up Time Tracking
Entering Time in QuickBooks
Running Time Reports
Tracking Mileage
Generating Mileage Reports
Chapter 9 Paying for Expenses
When to Pay Expenses
Entering Bills
Automating Recurring Bills
Purchasing Inventory
Handling Reimbursable Expenses
Recording Vendor Refunds and Credits
Paying Your Bills
Producing Checks
Writing Checks Without Entering Bills
Paying with Cash
Paying with Credit Cards
Running Expense-Related Reports
Paying Sales Tax
Chapter 10 Invoicing
Choosing the Right Type of Form
Sales Forms and Accounts
Creating Invoices
Creating Batch Invoices
Invoicing for Billable Time and Costs
Invoicing for Backordered Products
Estimating Jobs
Creating Progress Invoices
Handling Refunds and Credits
Editing Invoices
Voiding and Deleting Invoices
Chapter 11 Producing Statements
Generating Statements
Chapter 12 Transaction Timesavers
Printing Sales Forms
Emailing Sales Forms
Memorized Transactions
Finding Transactions
Chapter 13 Managing Accounts Receivable
Receivables Aging
Receiving Payments for Invoiced Income
Applying Credits to Invoices
Discounting for Early Payment
Deposits, Down Payments, and Retainers
Applying Finance Charges
Cash Sales
Making Deposits
Chapter 14 Doing Payroll
Paying Yourself
Recording Transactions from a Payroll Service
Using an Intuit Payroll Service
Chapter 15 Bank Accounts and Petty Cash
Entering Transactions in an Account Register
Handling Bounced Checks
Transferring Funds
Reconciling Accounts
Managing Loans
Tracking Petty Cash
Chapter 16 Making Journal Entries
Balancing Debit and Credit Amounts
Some Reasons to Use Journal Entries
Creating General Journal Entries
Checking General Journal Entries
Reclassifications and Corrections
Recording Depreciation with Journal Entries
Recording Owners’ Contributions
Chapter 17 Generating Financial Statements
The Profit & Loss Report
The Balance Sheet
The Statement of Cash Flows
Other Helpful Financial Reports
Chapter 18 Performing End-of-Year Tasks
Checking for Problems
Viewing Your Trial Balance
Generating Year-End Financial Reports
Generating Tax Reports
Sharing a Company File with Your Accountant
1099s
Closing the Books for the Year
Managing Your Business
Chapter 19 Managing Inventory
QuickBooks’ Inventory Process
Running Inventory Reports
Performing a Physical Inventory
Adjusting Inventory in QuickBooks
Chapter 20 Budgeting and Planning
Types of Budgets
Ways to Build Budgets
Creating Budgets in QuickBooks
Filling in Budget Values
Creating Additional Customer:Job or Class Budgets
Copying Budgets and Creating What-if Budgets
Running Budget Reports
Chapter 21 Working with Reports
Finding the Right Reports
Running Reports
Printing and Saving Reports
Customizing Reports
Memorizing Reports
Swapping Reports Between Company Files
QuickBooks Power
Chapter 22 Online Banking Services
Setting Up Your Internet Connection
Setting Up Your Accounts for Online Services
An Intro to Exchanging Data with Your Bank
Online Banking Using Side-by-Side Mode
Online Banking Using Register Mode
Chapter 23 Configuring Preferences to Fit Your Company
Preferences: The Basics
Accounting
Bills
Checking
Desktop View
Finance Charge
General
Integrated Applications
Items & Inventory
Jobs & Estimates
Multiple Currencies
Payments
Payroll & Employees
Reminders
Reports and Graphs
Sales & Customers
Sales Tax
Search
Send Forms
Spelling
Tax: 1099
Time & Expenses
Chapter 24 Integrating QuickBooks with Other Programs
Bonnie Biafore is a Project Management Professional (PMP) with more than 20 year's experience helping clients, large and small, make project management excellence part of their business strategies. She is the author of 20 books about project management, investing, personal finance, Microsoft Project, QuickBooks, and other software programs.
