posted
When setting up QuickBooks did you pick one of the business types such as manufacturing or service business or just choose other and go from there?
Thanks... I'm no accountant!!
-------------------- Amy Brown Life Skills 101 Private Address Posts: 3502 | From: Lake Helen, FL, USA | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
If you are using raw materials and turning them in to a sign, and /or you make service calls......you would be doing both. I suggest you set up Quick Books according to how your Business License reads.....
Just my Opinion....However someone else may have a more difinitive answer for you. Shep'
-------------------- Arvil Shep' Shepherd Art by Shep' -------- " Those who dance are thought to be mad by those who cannot hear the music " Posts: 1281 | From: Mt Airy NC | Registered: Mar 2001
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Neither of those fit the way I had my accounts set up before, so I simply set mine up the same as I had them before. I kept my books by hand before QB, and I gave all of the accounts the same names and numbers that I had been using. It made it a little easier to enter things, being familiar with at least the account names.
I have been in business for 15 years, and using QB for 7. Sometimes I still wonder how I ever did it by hand.
-------------------- Don Hulsey Strokes by DON signs Utica, KY 270-275-9552 sbdsigns@aol.com
I've always been crazy... but it's kept me from going insane. Posts: 2316 | From: Utica, KY U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 1999
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My best advice is to set it up in a way that works like you do. Don't limit it to their catagories.
When you visit, I'll show you how I've got mine set up. I'm not saying it's the "right" way ... but it's been working. I tweak it whenever I can. I am by no means an accountant either! hahahaha!
I do love my Quick Books tho. Like Don, don't know how I've done without it. Been using it for over 4 years now. It keeps me a step ahead of where I'd be otherwise!
Janette
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
posted
Like everybody says, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference in that you can add and delete at your convenience after you are started. Having said that, I think we are closer to manufacturing than to service in that you want to capture cost of goods sold separate from administrative costs.
The main thing is to have income categories that separate sales taxable from not sales taxable. In California that means separating the sign from the installation so that you have the numbers to report sales taxes.
The most important thing is to be consistent in how you record things. As long as there is consistency, your tax person can add up the appropriate categories to do taxes. Vic G
-------------------- Victor Georgiou Danville, CA , USA Posts: 1746 | From: Danville, CA , USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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hi amy...gee accounting is definitely my gig...if you are not comfortable with accounting then i would setup your company using an existing G/L but then go in and delete accounts you won't be using to totally customize it. or...you could take your most recent balance sheet and set it up from scratch...if you want i could probably email you my company G/L and that maybe closer than the other samples...what version do you have? do you have payroll? i'm just a simple one chic freak show so mine is real basic but i could probably help you through it...if you have payroll you would definitely want the most updated version available for tax purposes...i have quickbooks2001 because i don't use payroll. feel free to email me(jkbush@empire.net) or call 603-383-9955.
-------------------- Karyn Bush Simply Not Ordinary, LLC Bartlett, NH 603-383-9955 www.snosigns.com info@snosigns.com Posts: 3516 | From: Bartlett, NH USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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I set mine up for manufacturing and made timed operations such as routing an inventory part. When I bill the customer, in the quantity column I enter the hours billed , such as .5 or 1.75 and Quickbooks figures the percentage of my hourly rate. For odd jobs I setup an inventory item Misc. Sign. When billing I enter the quantity, a description and an amount.
I almost forgot, at the end of the quarter I just give my accountant everything and let them figure it out!
-------------------- Ralph Y Thorne Jr Fine Signs & Designs Snellville, GA ralph@finesigns.us Posts: 21 | From: Snellville, GA | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'm gonna just dive in head first and hope I get it setup correctly before January 1st.
The hardest part to me is the accounting terminology. I've always just put stuff in Excel spreadsheets and carried it to the accountant at the first of the new year and let him figure it out!!
I'll get there though!
Victor, in FL we recently received a mailing telling us to charge tax for services such as installations on permanent fixtures. I probably do it wrong anyway!! Just don't get this business math stuff! Got an "A" in the class in college but it was too long ago.
Karyn, I just got Pro 2002 and found out I can upgrade to 2003 for $10 since is just went on sale today and I bought it after Nov. 13.
Janette, I'm still planning a trip someday.
Thanks again everyone.
-------------------- Amy Brown Life Skills 101 Private Address Posts: 3502 | From: Lake Helen, FL, USA | Registered: Feb 2001
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I would like to suggest that you try to get it set up before Jan and do a little double entry to get used to it before diving right in.
You can set up a "dummy" company (just give it a different name) using the same accounts and start with your "real" company on Jan 1 if you want. You could also set up your accounts, do a backup, stash it away someplace handy, work with it for awhile, then restore the original backup on Jan 1.
Even QuickBooks (the simplest of 6 accounting packages I tried) can be a little confusing at first.
-------------------- Don Hulsey Strokes by DON signs Utica, KY 270-275-9552 sbdsigns@aol.com
I've always been crazy... but it's kept me from going insane. Posts: 2316 | From: Utica, KY U.S.A. | Registered: Jan 1999
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I need to get serious about buying and using Quickbooks also. I do not accept credit cards, although many customers have asked if I do this year. One customer told me this latest version of Quickbooks lets you set up for accepting credit cards from customers. He said he takes the customer's credit card, runs it through his Quickbooks setup and the money is in his bank account the next day.
Have you come across any info on this in your software? It's suppose to save the cost of a card swiper and certain fees. I don't know much about the credit card stuff either. I basically use a pencil (and eraser) for my bookkeeping and cash for purchases. I'm trying to "get with the times" but I don't accept change well.
Glad you posted this topic.
Pam Eddy Pam's Signs
-------------------- Pam Eddy Niles, MI ple@qtm.net Posts: 460 | From: Michigan | Registered: Dec 2000
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That is actually why I bought it to begin with. You can apply for the merchant account before you buy the software to make sure it is approved and if you buy 2002 right now you can get 2003 for Shipping costs for a couple more weeks because 2003 just went on sale today.
I found it at Sam's Club for $208. The cheapest I ever saw it other than the bootleg versions on Ebay.
You can email or call with questions about the merchant stuff if you want.
386-228-2436
-------------------- Amy Brown Life Skills 101 Private Address Posts: 3502 | From: Lake Helen, FL, USA | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
I have an e-mail that was sent to me from Quickbooks regarding accepting credit cards. Pam, I tried to forward it to you but it just bounced back to me. Is there a different address I could send it to? Is anyone else interested?
posted
Amy, I thought that I could hack my way through setting it too. I made some major mistakes that I didn't get fixed for over a year-which made my tax filing really late. I ended up going and looking up a QB's advisior that was local. He charged $20.an hour and had me straighten out in a few hours. I was able to do some more entering and than had to have him back for another hour. He was well worth the money and I wished that I had used him right in the beginning. He would have saved me a lot of headaches. I had just figured since I had an accounting class recently in college that I could do that. Consider finding an advisor on their webpage to be able to at least ask questions.
-------------------- Laura Butler Vision Graphics & Sign 4479 Welch Rd Attica, Mi 48412 Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Megan has taken several bookeepping classes over the years. She was thorough using those flod out spread sheets. Years back when we got QB, we had an accountant set it up. He was not very familiar with the program. Over the years we've found reports that were not giving us accurate information for managing our business because of how it was set up. Currently, we've hired a gal that works at our accountants office, doing QB stuff daily and setting up many businesses. She's re arranging ours to fix some problems. All this is to suggest that if you found someone that your accountant works with and pay to get it set up, then have the accountant look at it, you'll be way ahead in the years to come.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6808 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I agree to pay a person locally to come in & help set it up while you watch, learn, & most importantly reply to all the questions that person will need to ask you to set it up right. I did my own the first year, & I had very professional looking invoices, estimates, & checks but my records were all wrong. I didn't care because I kept records by hand still that year & just wanted to professional looking forms. For the following year though I got an accounting consultant to set it up properly. Very worth the money. I hired her the next 2 years in a row to make minor adjustments & now it is tweaked well enough that I've left it alone for 3 or 4 years.
I upgraded to the 2002 version, with the merchant account as an objective. My notes are at the office & I'm not, but they run it through 2 banks you can choose from. Chase is one, & I'm not sure but the name Wells Fargo comes to mind. Are they a bank too, or just a mortgage place? Anyway, after a careful study, it was not the perfect solution I was hoping it was. Im not in a big rush to get a merchant account & have been comparing the pros & cons. A QB account was not without it's drawbacks although I forget which ones kept me from signing up. Money in your bank the next day? I don't think that is correct.
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