QuickBooks 2016 All-in-One For Dummies

Book description

Simplify your small business accounting with confidence!

Managing the books for a small business can be a challenging task—just ask any of the countless business owners and managers who have spent hour after hour hunched over multiple spreadsheets. QuickBooks 2016 All-In-One For Dummies takes the pain out of managing your small business' finances through one essential reference. This reference covers virtually everything you need to take control of your business and guide your company's financial processes in the right direction.

QuickBooks is a trusted resource for small businesses because its software is designed to help you handle your financial and business management tasks efficiently and effectively. With QuickBooks, you can establish fundamental accounting practices that help keep your company successful and healthy.

  • Cover the basics, including understanding double entry bookkeeping, planning and setting up a QuickBooks accounting system, and loading master file lists
  • Create a dynamic accounting environment by adding customer invoices, vendor payments, inventory tracking, cash management, and bank account information
  • Establish DIY payroll processes, and prepare essential financial statements and reports
  • Manage and balance financial needs through activity-based costing, project and job costing systems, ratio analysis, economic value added analysis, capital budgeting, budget building, business plan forecasts, and more

QuickBooks 2016 All-In-One For Dummies is the guide you need to take care of your small business' books with confidence!

Table of contents

    1. Cover
    2. Introduction
      1. About This Book
      2. Foolish Assumptions
      3. Icons Used in This Book
      4. Beyond the Book
      5. Where to Go from Here
    3. Book I: An Accounting Primer
      1. Chapter 1: Principles of Accounting
        1. The Purpose of Accounting
        2. Reviewing the Common Financial Statements
        3. The Philosophy of Accounting
        4. A Few Words about Tax Accounting
      2. Chapter 2: Double-Entry Bookkeeping
        1. The Fiddle-Faddle Method of Accounting
        2. How Double-Entry Bookkeeping Works
        3. Almost a Real-Life Example
        4. A Few Words about How QuickBooks Works
      3. Chapter 3: Special Accounting Problems
        1. Working with Accounts Receivable
        2. Recording Accounts Payable Transactions
        3. Inventory Accounting
        4. Accounting for Fixed Assets
        5. Recognizing Liabilities
        6. Closing Out Revenue and Expense Accounts
        7. One More Thing …
    4. Book II: Getting Ready to Use QuickBooks
      1. Chapter 1: Setting Up QuickBooks
        1. Planning Your New QuickBooks System
        2. Installing QuickBooks
        3. Dealing with the Pre-Setup Jitters
        4. Running the QuickBooks Setup Wizard
        5. Identifying the Starting Trial Balance
      2. Chapter 2: Loading the Master File Lists
        1. Setting Up the Chart of Accounts List
        2. Setting Up the Item List
        3. Working with the Price Level List
        4. Using Sales Tax Codes
        5. Setting Up a Payroll Item List
        6. Setting Up Classes
        7. Setting Up a Customer List
        8. Setting Up the Vendor List
        9. Setting Up a Fixed Assets List
        10. Setting Up a Price Level List
        11. Setting Up a Billing Rate Level List
        12. Setting Up Your Employees
        13. Setting Up an Other Names List
        14. Setting Up the Profile Lists
      3. Chapter 3: Fine-Tuning QuickBooks
        1. Accessing the Preferences Settings
        2. Setting the Accounting Preferences
        3. Setting the Bills Preferences
        4. Setting the Calendar Preferences
        5. Setting the Checking Preferences
        6. Changing the Desktop View
        7. Setting Finance Charge Calculation Rules
        8. Setting General Preferences
        9. Controlling Integrated Applications
        10. Controlling Inventory
        11. Controlling How Jobs and Estimates Work
        12. Dealing with Multiple Currencies
        13. Starting Integrated Payment Processing
        14. Controlling How Payroll Works
        15. Telling QuickBooks How Reminders Should Work
        16. Specifying Reports & Graphs Preferences
        17. Setting Sales & Customers Preferences
        18. Specifying How Sales Are Taxed
        19. Setting the Search Preferences
        20. Setting the Send Forms Preferences
        21. Fine-Tuning the Service Connection
        22. Controlling Spell Checking
        23. Controlling How 1099 Tax Reporting Works
        24. Setting Time & Expenses Preferences
    5. Book III: Bookkeeping Chores
      1. Chapter 1: Invoicing Customers
        1. Choosing an Invoice Form
        2. Customizing an Invoice Form
        3. Invoicing a Customer
        4. Billing for Time
        5. Printing Invoices
        6. E-Mailing Invoices
        7. Recording Sales Receipts
        8. Recording Credit Memos
        9. Receiving Customer Payments
        10. Assessing Finance Charges
        11. Using Odds and Ends on the Customers Menu
      2. Chapter 2: Paying Vendors
        1. Creating a Purchase Order
        2. Recording the Receipt of Items
        3. Simultaneously Recording the Receipt and the Bill
        4. Entering a Bill
        5. Paying Bills
        6. Reviewing the Other Vendor Menu Commands
      3. Chapter 3: Tracking Inventory and Items
        1. Looking at Your Item List
        2. Adding Items to the Item List
        3. Editing Items
        4. Adjusting Physical Counts and Inventory Values
        5. Adjusting Prices and Price Levels
        6. Managing Inventory in a Manufacturing Firm
      4. Chapter 4: Managing Cash and Bank Accounts
        1. Writing Checks
        2. Making Bank Deposits
        3. Transferring Money between Bank Accounts
        4. Working with the Register
        5. Using Edit Menu Commands
        6. Reconciling the Bank Account
        7. Reviewing the Other Banking Commands
      5. Chapter 5: Paying Employees
        1. Setting Up Basic Payroll
        2. Scheduling Payroll Runs
        3. Paying Employees
        4. Editing and Voiding Paychecks
        5. Paying Payroll Liabilities
    6. Book IV: Accounting Chores
      1. Chapter 1: For Accountants Only
        1. Working with QuickBooks Journal Entries
        2. Updating Company Information
        3. Working with Memorized Transactions
        4. Reviewing the Accountant & Taxes Reports
        5. Creating an Accountant’s Copy of the QuickBooks Data File
        6. Using the Client Data Review Commands
      2. Chapter 2: Preparing Financial Statements and Reports
        1. Some Wise Words Up Front
        2. Producing a Report
        3. Working with the Report Window
        4. Modifying a Report
        5. Processing Multiple Reports
        6. A Few Words about Document Retention
      3. Chapter 3: Preparing a Budget
        1. Reviewing Common Budgeting Tactics
        2. Taking a Practical Approach to Budgeting
        3. Using the Set Up Budgets Window
        4. Managing with a Budget
        5. Some Wrap-Up Comments on Budgeting
      4. Chapter 4: Using Activity-Based Costing
        1. Reviewing Traditional Overhead Allocation
        2. Understanding How ABC Works
        3. Implementing a Simple ABC System
        4. Seeing How QuickBooks Supports ABC
        5. Turning On Class Tracking
        6. Using Classes for ABC
      5. Chapter 5: Setting Up Project and Job Costing Systems
        1. Setting Up a QuickBooks Job
        2. Tracking Job or Project Costs
        3. Job Cost Reporting
        4. Using Job Estimates
        5. Progress Billing
    7. Book V: Financial Management
      1. Chapter 1: Ratio Analysis
        1. Some Caveats about Ratio Analysis
        2. Liquidity Ratios
        3. Leverage Ratios
        4. Activity Ratios
        5. Profitability Ratios
      2. Chapter 2: Economic Value Added Analysis
        1. Introducing the Logic of EVA
        2. Seeing EVA in Action
        3. Reviewing Some Important Points about EVA
        4. Using EVA When Your Business Has Debt
        5. Presenting Two Final Pointers
        6. And Now, a Word to My Critics
      3. Chapter 3: Capital Budgeting in a Nutshell
        1. Introducing the Theory of Capital Budgeting
        2. Calculating the Rate of Return on Capital
        3. Measuring Liquidity
        4. Thinking about Risk
        5. What Does All This Have to Do with QuickBooks?
    8. Book VI: Business Plans
      1. Chapter 1: Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis
        1. Seeing How Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis Works
        2. Calculating Break-Even Points
        3. Using Real QuickBooks Data for Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis
        4. Recognizing the Downside of the Profit-Volume-Cost Model
        5. Using the Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis Workbook
      2. Chapter 2: Creating a Business Plan Forecast
        1. Reviewing Financial Statements and Ratios
        2. Using the Business Plan Workbook
        3. Understanding the Workbook Calculations
        4. Customizing the Starter Workbook
      3. Chapter 3: Writing a Business Plan
        1. What the Term “Business Plan” Means
        2. A Few Words about Strategic Plans
        3. Look, Ma: No Strategy
        4. A White Paper Business Plan
        5. A New Venture Plan
    9. Book VII: Care and Maintenance
      1. Chapter 1: Administering QuickBooks
        1. Keeping Your Data Confidential
        2. Using QuickBooks in a Multi-User Environment
        3. Using Audit Trails
        4. Enabling Simultaneous Multi-User Access
        5. Maintaining Good Accounting Controls
      2. Chapter 2: Protecting Your Data
        1. Backing Up the QuickBooks Data File
        2. Restoring a QuickBooks Data File
        3. Condensing the QuickBooks Company Files
      3. Chapter 3: Troubleshooting
        1. Using the QuickBooks Help File and This Book
        2. Browsing Intuit’s Product-Support Website
        3. Checking Another Vendor’sProduct-Support Website
        4. Tapping into Intuit’s Onlineand Expert Communities
        5. Trying an Internet Newsgroup
        6. When All Else Fails …
    10. Book VIII: Appendixes
      1. Appendix A: A Crash Course in Excel
        1. Starting Excel
        2. Stopping Excel
        3. Explaining Excel’s Workbooks
        4. Putting Text, Numbers, and Formulas in Cells
        5. Writing Formulas
        6. Scrolling through Big Workbooks
        7. Copying and Cutting Cell Contents
        8. Formatting Cell Contents
        9. Recognizing That Functions Are Simply Formulas
        10. Saving and Opening Workbooks
        11. Printing Excel Workbooks
        12. One Other Thing to Know
      2. Appendix B: Government Web Resources for Businesses
        1. Bureau of Economic Analysis
        2. Bureau of Labor Statistics
        3. Census Bureau
        4. Securities and Exchange Commission
        5. Federal Reserve
        6. Government Printing Office
        7. Internal Revenue Service
      3. Appendix C: Glossary of Accounting and Financial Terms
    11. About the Author
    12. Cheat Sheet
    13. Connect with Dummies
    14. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: QuickBooks 2016 All-in-One For Dummies
  • Author(s): Stephen L. Nelson
  • Release date: November 2015
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781119126072