QuickBooks 2015 All-in-One For Dummies

Table of contents

1. 1. Introduction
      1. About This Book
      2. Foolish Assumptions
      3. Icons Used in This Book
      4. Beyond the Book
      5. Where to Go from Here
   2. Book I: An Accounting Primer
      1. Chapter 1: Principles of Accounting
         1. The Purpose of Accounting
            1. The big picture
            2. Managers, investors, and entrepreneurs
            3. External creditors
            4. Government agencies
            5. Business form generation
         2. Reviewing the Common Financial Statements
            1. The income statement
            2. Balance sheet
            3. Statement of cash flows
            4. Other accounting statements
            5. Putting it all together
         3. The Philosophy of Accounting
            1. Revenue principle
            2. Expense principle
            3. Matching principle
            4. Cost principle
            5. Objectivity principle
            6. Continuity assumption
            7. Unit-of-measure assumption
            8. Separate-entity assumption
         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
            1. The accounting model
            2. Talking mechanics
         3. Almost a Real-Life Example
            1. Recording rent expense
            2. Recording wages expense
            3. Recording supplies expense
            4. Recording sales revenue
            5. Recording cost of goods sold
            6. Recording the payoff of accounts payable
            7. Recording the payoff of a loan
            8. Calculating account balance
            9. Using T-account analysis results
         4. A Few Words about How QuickBooks Works
      3. Chapter 3: Special Accounting Problems
         1. Working with Accounts Receivable
            1. Recording a sale
            2. Recording a payment
            3. Estimating bad debt expense
            4. Removing uncollectible accounts receivable
         2. Recording Accounts Payable Transactions
            1. Recording a bill
            2. Paying a bill
            3. Taking some other accounts payable pointers
         3. Inventory Accounting
            1. Dealing with obsolete inventory
            2. Disposing of obsolete inventory
            3. Dealing with inventory shrinkage
         4. Accounting for Fixed Assets
            1. Purchasing a fixed asset
            2. Dealing with depreciation
            3. Disposing of a fixed asset
         5. Recognizing Liabilities
            1. Borrowing money
            2. Making a loan payment
            3. Accruing liabilities
         6. Closing Out Revenue and Expense Accounts
            1. The traditional close
            2. The QuickBooks close
         7. One More Thing . . .
   3. Book II: Getting Ready to Use QuickBooks
      1. Chapter 1: Setting Up QuickBooks
         1. Planning Your New QuickBooks System
            1. What accounting does
            2. What accounting systems do
            3. What QuickBooks does
            4. And now for the bad news
         2. Installing QuickBooks
         3. Dealing with the Pre-Setup Jitters
            1. Preparing for setup
            2. Seeing what happens during setup
         4. Running the QuickBooks Setup Wizard
            1. Getting the big welcome
            2. Supplying company information
            3. Customizing QuickBooks
            4. Setting your start date
            5. Reviewing the suggested chart of accounts
            6. Adding your information to the company file
         5. Identifying the Starting Trial Balance
            1. A simple example to start
            2. A real-life example to finish
      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
            1. Using account numbers
            2. Setting general accounting options
         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
   4. Book III: Bookkeeping Chores
      1. Chapter 1: Invoicing Customers
         1. Choosing an Invoice Form
         2. Customizing an Invoice Form
            1. Choosing a template to customize
            2. Reviewing the Additional Customization options
            3. Moving on to Basic Customization
            4. Working with the Layout Designer tool
            5. Working with the web-based Forms Customization tool
         3. Invoicing a Customer
         4. Billing for Time
            1. Using a weekly time sheet
            2. Timing single activities
            3. Including billable time on an invoice
         5. Printing Invoices
         6. E-Mailing Invoices
         7. Recording Sales Receipts
         8. Recording Credit Memos
         9. Receiving Customer Payments
         10. Assessing Finance Charges
             1. Setting up finance charge rules
             2. Calculating finance charges
         11. Using Odds and Ends on the Customers Menu
      2. Chapter 2: Paying Vendors
         1. Creating a Purchase Order
            1. Creating a real purchase order
            2. Using some purchase order tips and tricks
         2. Recording the Receipt of Items
         3. Simultaneously Recording the Receipt and the Bill
         4. Entering a Bill
            1. If you haven’t previously recorded an item receipt
            2. If you have previously recorded an item receipt
         5. Paying Bills
         6. Reviewing the Other Vendor Menu Commands
            1. Vendor Center
            2. Sales Tax menu commands
            3. Inventory Activities menu commands
            4. Print/E-file 1099s
            5. Item List
      3. Chapter 3: Tracking Inventory and Items
         1. Looking at Your Item List
            1. Using the Item Code column
            2. Using the Item List window
            3. Using inventory reports
         2. Adding Items to the Item List
            1. Adding an item: Basic steps
            2. Adding a service item
            3. Adding an inventory part
            4. Adding a non-inventory part
            5. Adding an other charge item
            6. Adding a subtotal item
            7. Adding a group item
            8. Adding a discount item
            9. Adding a payment item
            10. Adding a sales tax item
            11. Setting up a sales tax group
            12. Adding custom fields to items
         3. Editing Items
         4. Adjusting Physical Counts and Inventory Values
         5. Adjusting Prices and Price Levels
            1. Using the Change Item Prices command
            2. Using price levels
         6. Managing Inventory in a Manufacturing Firm
            1. Handling manufactured inventory the simple way
            2. Performing inventory accounting in QuickBooks
            3. Managing multiple inventory locations
      4. Chapter 4: Managing Cash and Bank Accounts
         1. Writing Checks
            1. Recording and printing a check
            2. Customizing the check form
         2. Making Bank Deposits
         3. Transferring Money between Bank Accounts
         4. Working with the Register
            1. Recording register transactions
            2. Using Register window commands and buttons
         5. Using Edit Menu Commands
         6. Reconciling the Bank Account
         7. Reviewing the Other Banking Commands
            1. Order Checks & Envelopes command
            2. Enter Credit Card Charges command
            3. Bank Feeds command
            4. Loan Manager
            5. Other Names list
      5. Chapter 5: Paying Employees
         1. Setting Up Basic Payroll
            1. Signing up for a payroll service
            2. Setting up employees
            3. Setting up year-to-date amounts
            4. Checking your payroll setup data
         2. Scheduling Payroll Runs
         3. Paying Employees
         4. Editing and Voiding Paychecks
         5. Paying Payroll Liabilities
   5. Book IV: Accounting Chores
      1. Chapter 1: For Accountants Only
         1. Working with QuickBooks Journal Entries
            1. Recording a journal entry
            2. Reversing a journal entry
            3. Editing 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
            1. Creating an accountant’s copy
            2. Using an accountant’s copy
            3. Reusing an accountant’s copy
            4. Exporting client changes
            5. Importing accountant’s changes
            6. Canceling accountant’s changes
         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
            1. Working with Report window buttons
            2. Using the Report window boxes
         4. Modifying a Report
            1. Using the Display tab
            2. Using the Filters tab
            3. Using the Header/Footer tab
            4. Formatting fonts and numbers
         5. Processing Multiple Reports
         6. A Few Words about Document Retention
      3. Chapter 3: Preparing a Budget
         1. Reviewing Common Budgeting Tactics
            1. Top-line budgeting
            2. Zero-based budgeting
            3. Benchmarking
            4. Putting it all together
         2. Taking a Practical Approach to Budgeting
         3. Using the Set Up Budgets Window
            1. Creating a new budget
            2. Working with an existing budget
         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
            1. The ABC product line income statement
            2. ABC in a small firm
         3. Implementing a Simple ABC System
         4. Seeing How QuickBooks Supports ABC
         5. Turning On Class Tracking
         6. Using Classes for ABC
            1. Setting up your classes
            2. Classifying revenue amounts
            3. Classifying expense amounts
            4. After-the-fact classifications
            5. Producing ABC reports
      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
   6. Book V: Financial Management
      1. Chapter 1: Ratio Analysis
         1. Some Caveats about Ratio Analysis
         2. Liquidity Ratios
            1. Current ratio
            2. Acid test ratio
         3. Leverage Ratios
            1. Debt ratio
            2. Debt equity ratio
            3. Times interest earned ratio
            4. Fixed-charges coverage ratio
         4. Activity Ratios
            1. Inventory turnover ratio
            2. Days of inventory ratio
            3. Average collection period ratio
            4. Fixed-asset turnover ratio
            5. Total assets turnover ratio
         5. Profitability Ratios
            1. Gross margin percentage
            2. Operating income/sales
            3. Profit margin percentage
            4. Return on assets
            5. Return on equity
      2. Chapter 2: Economic Value Added Analysis
         1. Introducing the Logic of EVA
         2. Seeing EVA in Action
            1. An example of EVA
            2. Another example of EVA
         3. Reviewing Some Important Points about EVA
         4. Using EVA When Your Business Has Debt
            1. The first example of the modified EVA formula
            2. Another EVA with debt example
         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
            1. The big thing is the return
            2. One little thing is maturity
            3. Another little thing is risk
            4. The bottom line
         2. Calculating the Rate of Return on Capital
            1. Calculating the investment amount
            2. Estimating the net cash flows
            3. Calculating the return
         3. Measuring Liquidity
         4. Thinking about Risk
         5. What Does All This Have to Do with QuickBooks?
   7. 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
            1. Sales revenue
            2. Gross margin percentage
            3. Fixed costs
         4. Recognizing the Downside of the Profit-Volume-Cost Model
         5. Using the Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis Workbook
            1. Collecting your inputs
            2. Understanding the break-even analysis
            3. Understanding the profit-volume-cost forecast
            4. Looking at the profit-volume-cost charts
      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
            1. Forecasting inputs
            2. Balance Sheet
            3. Common Size Balance Sheet
            4. Income Statement
            5. Common Size Income Statement
            6. Cash Flow Statement
            7. Inventory Investments
            8. Financial Ratios Table
         4. Customizing the Starter Workbook
            1. Changing the number of periods
            2. Performing ratio analysis on existing financial statements
            3. Calculating taxes for a current net loss before taxes
            4. Combining this workbook with other workbooks
      3. Chapter 3: Writing a Business Plan
         1. What the Term “Business Plan” Means
         2. A Few Words about Strategic Plans
            1. Cost strategies
            2. Differentiated products and services strategies
            3. Focus strategies
         3. Look, Ma: No Strategy
            1. Two comments about tactics
            2. Five final strategy pointers
         4. A White Paper Business Plan
         5. A New Venture Plan
            1. Is the new venture’s product or service feasible?
            2. Does the market want the product or service?
            3. Can the product or service be profitably sold?
            4. Is the return on the venture adequate for prospective investors?
            5. Can existing management run the business?
            6. Some final thoughts
   8. Book VII: Care and Maintenance
      1. Chapter 1: Administering QuickBooks
         1. Keeping Your Data Confidential
            1. Using Windows security
            2. Using QuickBooks security
         2. Using QuickBooks in a Multi-User Environment
            1. Setting up additional QuickBooks users
            2. Changing user rights in Enterprise Solutions
            3. Changing user rights in Premier
         3. Using Audit Trails
            1. Turning on audit trail tracking
            2. Producing an Audit Trail report
         4. Enabling Simultaneous Multi-User Access
         5. Maintaining Good Accounting Controls
      2. Chapter 2: Protecting Your Data
         1. Backing Up the QuickBooks Data File
            1. Backing-up basics
            2. What about online backup?
            3. Some backup tactics
         2. Restoring a QuickBooks Data File
         3. Condensing the QuickBooks Company Files
            1. Cleanup basics
            2. Some cleanup and archiving strategies
      3. Chapter 3: Troubleshooting
         1. Using the QuickBooks Help File and This Book
         2. Browsing Intuit’s Product-Support Website
         3. Checking Another Vendor’s Product-Support Website
         4. Tapping into Intuit’s Online and Expert Communities
         5. Trying an Internet Newsgroup
         6. When All Else Fails . . .
   9. 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
            1. Copying cell contents
            2. Moving cell contents
            3. Moving and copying formulas
         8. Formatting Cell Contents
         9. Recognizing That Functions Are Simply Formulas
         10. Saving and Opening Workbooks
             1. Saving a workbook
             2. Opening a workbook
         11. Printing Excel Workbooks
         12. One Other Thing to Know
      2. Appendix B: Government Web Resources for Businesses
         1. Bureau of Economic Analysis
            1. Finding information at the BEA website
            2. Downloading a BEA publication
            3. Uncompressing a BEA publication
            4. Using a BEA publication
         2. Bureau of Labor Statistics
            1. Finding information at the BLS website
            2. Using BLS information
         3. Census Bureau
            1. Finding information at the Census Bureau website
            2. Using the Census Bureau’s publications
            3. Using the Census Bureau search engine
            4. Using the Census Bureau Subjects index
         4. Securities and Exchange Commission
            1. Finding information through EDGAR
            2. Searching the EDGAR database
         5. Federal Reserve
            1. Finding information at the Federal Reserve website
            2. Using the Federal Reserve website’s information
         6. Government Printing Office
            1. Information available at the GPO Access website
            2. Searching the GPO Access database
         7. Internal Revenue Service
      3. Appendix C: Glossary of Accounting and Financial Terms
   10. About the Author
   11. Cheat Sheet
   12. More Dummies Products