QUICKBOOKS 2007 INSTRUCTIONS
Note: These instructions may need some modification for QuickBooks Pro 2009.
TO WRITE A CHECK:
1) On the Home window (i.e., the Main Menu window), click on the Write Checks button at the right.
2) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Bank Account: box, then select the account you want to write the check from (such as Wells Fargo Checking).
3) Click into the date box, then type the date you want, or click on the tiny Calendar button next to the date, then click on the date you want. (Use the tiny Left and Right Arrow buttons at the top of the small calendar to go back one month or forward one month.)
Tip: You can also use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad (on the far right of the keyboard) to increment or decrement the date by one, respectively.
4) Click into the Payee box (or the Pay to the Order of box), then type the payee’s name, (such as San Diego Gas & Electric), or click on the Down Arrow next to that box, then scroll down and click on the payee’s name, if you have used the name before.
Tip: You can also use the Tab key on the keyboard to move to the next field over.
5) Click into the Amount box, then type in the amount.
6) Click into the Address box, then type the address for this payee, if you want the address to print on the check. (Do this if you are using envelopes with windows for the payee’s address; these envelopes can be ordered from QuickBooks or Intuit. See “To Print A Check” below.)
7) Click on the Memo line, and type a short memo describing what this check is for (optional).
8) Click on the Expense tab below, then click into the Account box and select the account this check is for (such as Utilities: Gas & Electric).
9) You can also click into the Memo box on the same line as the Account box, then type a short memo to remind yourself later what this check is for (such as “Gas & Electric bill – for June, 2007”).
10) Click to put a check mark next to: ü To be printed if you want to print this check. (Remove this check mark if you want to see the Check Number of the check.)
TO PRINT A CHECK:
Note: You can order special blank checks and envelopes with windows from Intuit, the maker of the QuickBooks program, with your company logo on them. Click on Banking, then on Order Checks & Envelopes, then on Order Checks.
1) Insert the blank check into the printer either face-up or face-down (you may have to run a test print first on a piece of plain paper to determine which way the blank checks go in).
2) Click on File, then on Print Check.
3) Be sure the check number in the small window that pops up on the screen is correct. (Type in the correct number if it isn’t.)
4) Click on OK.
5) Click on ¤ Voucher, ¤Standard, or ¤ Wallet, depending on the kind of blank check form you are using.
6) Click on Print.
7) If the check didn’t print out correctly, click on the line that has the check number of the check that didn’t print out correctly in the small window that pops up on the screen, then click on OK. Then repeat the whole process over again from step # 1 above (in this section).
8) Click on the Save & Close button if you are finished writing and printing checks, or the Save & New button if you want to write another check.
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TO ENTER BILLS:
Note: You can either enter bills in QuickBooks as your bills come in, or skip this procedure and just pay your bills a few days before they are due (by using the procedure outlined in the “TO WRITE A CHECK” section above).
1) On the Home page, click on Enter Bills.
2) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Vendor: box, then scroll down and click on the vendor (for example, S. D. G. & E.).
3) Enter the date by clicking on the date and typing in the date, or click on the tiny Calendar button next to the Date: box, then click on the date you want.
4) Type the amount of the bill in the Amount Due: box.
5) Enter the date the bill is due in the Bill Due: box.
6) Enter the account in the Account: box (e.g., Utilities: Gas & Electric) on the first line under Expenses.
7) Type a memo in the Memo field on the blue Bill part of the window. (There is also another, different Memo field on the window below.)
8) Type a memo in the second Memo field below (in the center part of the first line), such as Gas & Electric Bill – May 22, 2007. (This is a better place to type a reminder to yourself what this bill is for.)
[9) If there is a customer associated with this bill, enter that customer’s name in the Customer: Job box on the first line.
10) If the customer can be billed for this expense, click into the Billable? box to put a check mark in it.]
11) Click on the Save & Close button if you are finished entering bills, or click on the Save & New button if you want to enter another bill.
TO PAY A BILL:
1) On the Home page, click on Pay Bills.
2) Click to put a check mark in the far left column for the bill you want to pay (e.g., the bill for S. D. G. & E.).
3) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Payment Account: box, then click on the account you want, such as Wells Fargo Checking or Bank of America Business Checking.
4) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Payment Method: box, then click on Check, Credit Card or Online Bank Pmt. (You must set up online banking first before you can pay using the latter method. Please let me know if you need my instructions for setting up online banking.) [We will assume that you want to pay by check here.]
5) Click into the Payment Date: box, and then enter the date you want to pay this bill.
[6) Click on the Set Discount or Set Credits button, then enter the amount of the discount or credit.]
7) Click on ¤To be printed if you want to print a check immediately. (Otherwise, click on ¤Assign check no. You can then later click on File, then on Print Forms to print this check out.)
8) Click on the Pay Selected Bills button.
9) Click on the Print Checks button.
10) Verify that a blank check form is in the paper tray of the printer.
11) On the Select Checks to Print window that appears, verify that the correct check is selected, then click on OK.
12) Click on the Print button.
13) If the check printed out correctly, click on the OK button. If not, reinsert another blank check form, then click on the check number to put a check mark in the far left column, then click on OK again to reprint the check.
Tip: You can do a test print by putting a piece of plain paper (and not a blank check form) into the paper tray, then printing a test check. Then use the procedure in step # 13 above to reprint the same check on the actual blank check form.
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TO VIEW THE CHECK REGISTER FOR AN ACCOUNT:
1) On the Home window, click on the Chart of Accounts button (or click on the Accnt button at the top of the window).
2) Double-click on the account you want to see, such as the Wells Fargo Checking account.
3) If you want to see the actual check or deposit “slip,” double-click on CHK or DEP in the Type box at the far left.
4) To return to the Home window, click on the lower “X” button in the upper right-hand corner of the window to close that window (you may have to click on this X button a number of times), or click on the Home button in the upper left-hand corner of the window.
TO ENTER A CHECK YOU RECEIVE FROM A CUSTOMER:
1) Click on the Receive Payment button in the middle of the Home window.
2) Type in the customer’s name in the Received From: box, or click on the Down Arrow and scroll down to the customer’s name, if they have already been entered into QuickBooks before.
3) Type the amount of the payment in the Amount: box.
4) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Pmt. Method: box, then click on ATM, Cash, Check, or Money Order.
5) Type the date in the Date: box.
6) Type the check number in the Check # : box if this is a check you are entering.
7) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Deposit to: box, then click on Wells Fargo Checking or whichever account you want to deposit this into.
8) If the customer is giving you this check or payment for an invoice, you should see the invoice below, if you’ve already entered the invoice. Click to put a check mark next to the Invoice # in the far left column.
[9) Click on the Auto Apply Payment button in the lower right-hand corner of the window to automatically allocate the payment amount to one or more invoices if the computer hasn’t already done this for you.]
[10) If you want to give the customer a discount or credit, click on the Discounts & Credits… button, then enter the amount of the discount or credit.]
11) If the check or payment represents an overpayment, you will see something like, “Overpayment $8.51” appear on a small window that pops up on the screen. Click on ¤ Leave the credit to be used later or ¤ Refund the amount to the customer if you want to send a check to the customer for the overpayment amount. (Click on the Print Credit Memo… button if you want to print out a Credit Memo to remind yourself to send a check or repay the customer.)
12) Click on OK.
13) Click on the Save & Close button if you are finished. Otherwise, click on the Save & New button if you want to enter another customer payment. (Or click on the Clear button if you want to clear all entries and start over again.)
TO MAKE ANOTHER KIND OF DEPOSIT (A GIFT OF CASH, REBATE, REFUND ETC.):
1) Click on the Record Deposit button on the Home window.
[2) Scroll down in the list of entries on the Payments to Deposit window, then click to put a check mark next to the payment you want to deposit, if it exists. Otherwise, click on the OK button.]
3) Click on the OK button.
4) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Deposit To: box, then click on, for example, Wells Fargo Checking, or whatever account you want to deposit this amount to.
5) Click into the Date: box and type the date, or accept the date that is there.
6) Type a memo in the Memo: box to remind yourself later what this deposit was for.
7) Click into the first line under Received From, then click on the Down Arrow and select the customer (or click on < Add New> and add the customer to your Customer list).
8) Press the Tab key to get to the From Account box on the same line, then click on the Down Arrow and select the account, such as Gift Received, Interest Income, Refund or whatever account this payment should be credited to.
9) Type the check number in the Chk. No. box if this deposit is in the form of a check.
10) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Pmt. Method box, then click on ATM, Cash, Check, or Money Order.
11) Type the amount of the deposit in the Amount: box.
12) Click on the Save & Close button if you are finished. Otherwise, click on the Save & New button if you want to enter another customer payment. (Or click on the Clear button if you want to clear all entries and start over again.)
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TO CREATE AN INVOICE:
1) On the Home page, click on Invoices.
2) Type the customer’s name in the Customer: Job box at the upper left, then click on the Quick Add button that pops up on the screen. (Or you can click on the Down Arrow, then scroll down and click on their name if they have already been entered into QuickBooks before.)
[3) You can add their address under their name in the Bill To: box if you wish. You can also add the same information or different information in the Ship To: box.]
4) Click into the first line under Item:, then click on the Down Arrow in that box, then scroll down and click on the Item, such as Widget, Labor or Shipping, or you can add a new item by doing the following:
1) Click on < Add New> at the top of the Item list.
2) Under Type, click on one of the following:
Service
Non-inventory Part
Fixed Asset
Other Charge
etc.
3) Under Item Name/Number:, type the item name or number. (You want to keep this short.)
[4) If the item is a sub-item, click to put a check mark in the ü Subitem box, then click on the Down Arrow and select the item that this should be a sub-item of.]
[5) Type in the Manufacturer’s Part Number, if there is one, in the Manufacturer’s Part Number: box.]
6) Type a description of the item in the Description: box.
7) Type the price of the item in the Price: box.
8) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Tax Code: box, then click on Tax or Non, depending on whether sales tax should be collected on the item.
9) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Account: box, then click on the account that this item should belong to, such as Reimbursable Ex[pense].
10) Click on OK.
5) Click into the Quantity: box, then type the quantity.
Tip: You can also press the Tab key on the keyboard to move to the next box.
6) Type the description of the item in the Description: box, or you can modify the description here if there is already a description.
7) Add additional items, if there are any, to the invoice in the same way.
8) Type a message in the Customer Message box, such as “Thank you for your business. We appreciate it very much.” (This message will print on the invoice.)
9) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Customer Tax Code: box, then click on Tax or Non, depending on whether you need to collect sales tax from this customer.
10) To set the Sales Tax rate:
1) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Sales Tax: box, then click on < Add New> .
2) Type in the Sales Tax Name, such as California Sales Tax.
3) Type a description for this tax, such as 8.75% Sales Tax.
4) Type in the amount of the tax, such as 8.75%.
5) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Tax Agency (vendor you collect for): box, then click on Franchise Tax Board or whatever agency you collect the tax for. (Or click on < Add New> to enter a new vendor or agency.)
6) Click on OK.
TO SAVE THE INVOICE:
1) Click on the Save & Close button, or click on the Save & New button, if you want to fill out another invoice.
TO PRINT THE INVOICE:
1) Click on File, then on Print Invoice.
2) Be sure your printer is turned ON and has enough paper in the paper tray. (You can also order blank invoice forms from Intuit or other vendors.)
3) Click on Preview to see how the invoice will look when printed out.
4) Click on Print.
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TO PRINT A REPORT (FOR EXAMPLE, A PROFIT & LOSS REPORT):
1) Click on the Report Center button at the top of the QuickBooks window.
2) Click on Standard under Profit & Loss (income statement) at the top.
3) Wait a few moments for the computer to create the report.
4) Click on the Modify Report button at the upper left.
5) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Dates: box, then click on This Month, This Fiscal Quarter, Last Fiscal Year, or whatever time period you want. (Or you can click into the From: and To: boxes and manually change the dates.)
6) Click on ¤ Accrual or ¤ Cash for the Report Basis. (Generally, Cash is better for a small to medium home-based business, but you should ask your accountant about this.)
7) Click on the Filters tab.
8) Click on the Down Arrow next to whatever is in the Account: box, then click on All ordinary income accounts, All other income/expenses, Multiple Accounts… or whatever you want in your Profit & Loss Report.
Note: If you click on Multiple Accounts…, you can select a number of your bank accounts, such as Wells Fargo Checking, Bank of America Business Checking, or whatever accounts you have, to include in the Profit & Loss Report.
9) If you decide you don’t want the particular filter you chose in step # 8 above, you can click on the filter, then click on Remove Selected Filter. The report will then go back to showing what it originally showed.
10) Click on OK.
11) To generate a “sub-report” on just one item in the Profit & Loss Report, click on the dollar amount for that item (for example, Office Expenses or Utilities) with the Magnifying Glass (Zoom) cursor:
TO PRINT THE REPORT:
1) Click on the Print… button on the narrow gray Button Bar at the top.
2) Click on Preview to see how the report will print out before you actually print it out. (Click on the Next page button to see the next page if you have more than one page.)
3) Click on Print.