QuickBooks 2011: The Missing Manual

Appendix B. Help, Support, and Other Resources

Between questions about how to do something in QuickBooks and how to handle something in accounting, you might need help almost every time you open the program. Happily, QuickBooks 2011’s Help system has a few features that actually help. For example, when you open QuickBooks Help, it automatically shows links to topics relevant to what you’re doing in the program. So if the Create Invoices window is open, QuickBooks Help tells you how to fill out or edit invoices, record payments toward invoices, customize your invoice form, and so on. You’ll find topics with background info, troubleshooting tips, and even advice on why you should or shouldn’t perform certain steps.

Another option is Live Community. As its name suggests, this help comes from fellow QuickBooks wranglers. Live Community may seem like yet another move toward self-service, but the help you receive from your colleagues is often more pertinent than what you get from Intuit. If you don’t see a question and answer similar to the question you have, you can post yours. And if you’re a QuickBooks veteran, you can answer someone else’s plea for help.

Where QuickBooks Help falls short is giving you different ways to find information. You can search for info using keywords or browse through QuickBooks’ relevant topics until you find what you’re looking for, but if you prefer a table of contents or an easy-to-scan index, they’re nowhere to be found.

In this appendix, you’ll learn your ...