Most doctors enjoy saving people’s lives, some entrepreneurs enjoy running their own business, few salespeople enjoy their job and even fewer accountants enjoy accounting. One can see the frustration and anger on their face when their bookkeeping tasks are not going well.
While many businesses are using QuickBooks but only few are using it correctly. QuickBooks can be helpful software but only if you know how to take full advantage of its capabilities, else you might need to pay for it down the road.
Many companies have their QuickBooks company files in complete dismay, almost all having common mistakes. Here are few mistakes accountants and business owners run into. Although the mistakes below are not listed in any particular order, but are of equal gravity
Not Reconciling Bank Accounts
Though, it may sound scary and mysterious, but it’s really not. Reconciling here doesn’t refer to entering all your transactions into QuickBooks. Rather, it’s just about monitoring the transactions to make sure they hit the right place for the right amount
If a check or worse a bank account has been replicated on your check register, how would you know? Integrity of your accounts is dependent on reconciliation, without which there is no guarantee that what is in the account register is accurate. If your account is attached to QuickBooks, make it a habit to reconcile on a regular basis.
Not Using Shortcuts
Well, you’re not alone in this. Many accountants and business owners fail to utilize keyboard shortcuts. We understand that you may be addicted to your mouse but keyboard shortcuts could be a real time saver when you are working with QuickBooks.
While there is nothing wrong with clicking each and every command, but shortcuts could help to improve your productivity and efficiency. Simple shortcuts such as Alt-Del to delete a line or Ctrl-Enter to save a record could help you navigate through QuickBooks. It could also help reduce wear-and-tear on your wrists. So, give your mouse a break and get more work done is less time and more of vacation time.
Not Backing Up Your QuickBooks Account
Unexpected things always happen in life. Even if you have just bought a new laptop and running fine, a chance of hardware malfunction is always there. Moreover, if your laptop is the only place where all your QuickBooks data is stored, you are in a world of trouble.
You don’t really need to be reminded how important or your QuickBooks data is. Your company can be crippled by the loss of this information. Thus, make it a habit to make regular backups of your QB files which would ensure you always have a recent copy of critical records should a data loss occur.
Not Upgrading Software Versions
QuickBooks promptly releases a new version each year. Because many QuickBooks users do not use major portions of newly released features, they may not need to upgrade to new version each year. However, if you are using any QuickBooks-based products such as credit card processing, payroll, or online banking, it is recommended to upgrade in at least every other release since data compatibility conflicts could occur.
Many CPAs and accountants commit the mistake of continuing with the older version of QuickBooks because it’s working just fine. There can be number of reasons to upgrade to a newer version. One of the reasons many think is sending Intuit their money. However, the truth is that with each release, new software fixes and tax laws are added. Although upgrading QuickBooks could be a costly proposition, the downtime associated could be far worse.
Entering a Bill and Then Writing a Check
While most businesses write checks without entering bills, some choose to enter bills to plan better payments in the future. Â Most issues arise when accountants enter the bill in “Enter Bills” window and pay bills in “Write Checks” window instead of “Pay Bills”. This duplicates the expense and the leaves accounts payable unpaid.
Bills should be entered in “Enter Bills” window and then pay them in the “Write Checks” window. This creates accounts payable. Go to “Pay Bills” to pay bills.
Wrapping Up
Mistakes are a part of learning process and can make you a better learner. Issues would pile up if you fail to understand how to use the software. You don’t really have to be a QuickBooks guru to work with this software, but avoiding these mistakes could prevent you from headaches that QuickBooks brings. Happy Accounting!
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