QuickBooks power tip: Keep your lists tidy

Have you considered that some of your list entries in QuickBooks (i.e. customer, vendor, etc.) may be gathering dust from lack of use?

Every time you scroll through the content of these lists and pass over unneeded entries, you’re wasting valuable time, writes QuickBooks expert Scott Gregory in his article 27 Power Tips Every QuickBooks User Should Know.

Here is the tip: Tidy up your lists by taking advantage of the “Make Inactive” feature within QuickBooks.

You’ve probably found that QuickBooks will politely say “no way” if you try to delete a customer, vendor, or item that has history associated with it.

That of course is for good reason.

We don’t want your CPA to get chest pains from having things deleted that shouldn’t have been. So, your next best alternative is to make an entry inactive.

Here’s how to do it

Simply choose the name in the list, and then right click on it and choose the make inactive option. Alternately, you can also choose the name in the list, then click Edit, then click the make inactive option.

Here is what the partial menu looks like when right clicking a customer, vendor or inventory item:

Unfortunately, we have not found a way to “mass inactivate” names in QuickBooks. So you will need to go thorough this process one at a time.

Bonus tip: If your list gets wacky and out of order, simply click Edit, then Re-Sort List and QuickBooks will put your list back in the default order it should be in.

Powerful QuickBooks tip: Customize the icon bar

Here is a very powerful tip for you to make QuickBooks smarter for you … free up the real estate at the top of your screen and drop in the icons that YOU want – not those provided for you by default, according to Scott Gregory’s “Power Tips Every QuickBooks User Should Know.”

First of all, if you are not seeing your icons across the top of the screen, click View, then Top Icon Bar. This gets the big blue bar down the left hand side of your screen out of your way, and puts the icons across the top of the screen.

QuickBooks Icon Bar

Now that you have the row of icons in the right place, it is time to do some housekeeping and cleanup. Click View, then the Customize Icon Bar option. From here, you can simply click the icon you don’t want, then tap the Delete button. Repeat this process for all the icons you don’t want to see (experience has shown there will be many that get removed as part of this process!).

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Once you click OK to lock in your changes, you will immediately see just how much more empty real estate you have in your icon bar to use as you like.

We would love to hear from you! Use the button below to contact us for time-saving tips, training or even to have your QuickBooks files analyzed for efficiency upgrades.

Dos and Don'ts for using QuickBooks remotely

Cloud computing

It’s essential during the COVID-19 pandemic to be able to work remotely. Peak Advisers can help you improve your ability to keep working even though you can’t go to the office. Here is some critical information about how best to connect to QuickBooks desktop accounting software applications.

QuickBooks desktop isn’t designed for remote access

QuickBooks is not designed to be used remotely other than with RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). Many IT people freely use the terms VPN (Virtual Private Network) when referring to remote accessing networks. Most VPNs are good for moving data files (Word, Excel, PDF, etc.) but they are not fast enough for live database applications like QuickBooks.

DON’T connect QuickBooks via VPN

A common mistake is to install the client (QuickBooks) on a laptop then create a connection via VPN to the server at the business. A VPN upload (data from Server to Remote) is between 5-85mbps (megabits per second) and download speeds can be 50-100mbsp. QuickBooks needs to communicate with the server at a rate of 90mbps on a continuous sharing up and down or faster. Most Local Area Network systems communicate at 100mbsp or faster—up into the gigabit speeds.

VPN delays up or down increase the potential for data errors and corruption. If you need to work from home and you need to use QuickBooks, forget about it using VPN. VPN connections are two things:

1. Unreliable

2. Too slow

If you attempt to work with QuickBooks over a VPN line, you will corrupt your data file. It may not happen immediately, but it will happen.

DO use RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol)

There are ways to work remotely with QuickBooks. The bottom line here is use RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) applications that allow you to connect to a PC at work on a Local Area Network--this is just like you were sitting at your computer at the office. Another option is to speak to a Service Provider Host who can create a local hosted working environment including Virtual PC and Virtual Servers dedicated for you and your QuickBooks. Peak Advisers recommends GoToMyERP for this kind of hosting environment. Call us at (303) 801-4772 for more information.

Another option: QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is another option for using QuickBooks remotely. We can help you determine if QuickBooks Online is right for your business.

QuickBooks tip: How to view the accounting entry behind every screen

Quick time-saving tip for QuickBooks

Say you are looking at an invoice (or any other transaction) in QuickBooks and you need to quickly see the ledger accounts it posted into – is there a way to do that?

Yes there is!

Scott Gregory explains in “27 Power Tips that Every QuickBooks User Should Know,” that you can Simply use the CTRL + Y key combination and you’ll see the “accounting behind the entry” in no time flat.

Alternately, you can click on Reports in the menu bar, then the Transaction History option.

This shortcut works on any transaction screen in QuickBooks.

BONUS TIP: Sales order and purchase order documents do NOT post anything to the QuickBooks accounting records. So, don’t be alarmed if you don’t see any accounting entry for these transactions. There isn’t any – and that is by design in QuickBooks.

Want to learn more QuickBooks tips, or maybe just learn how to use QuickBooks more efficiently? Bruce Peterka and Michael Wallace can help you achieve those goals quickly. Call (303) 801-4772 or use the button below.

6 QuickBooks Online tricks that will help you right now

Discovering a new tip within QuickBooks Online is almost as exciting as seeing the money you saved by using it. To find tricks that make your work easier and more streamlined, it’s best to seek out the experts like Peak Advisers. There are six QBO hacks you need to know and can start implementing ASAP according to TSheets by QuickBooks:

1. Save time with attachments

Attachments might be the hack you’ve been overlooking all along, says Carla Caldwell, of Caldwell Consulting and Training.

Carla says her clients send out W-9s to contractors, which can be attached directly to the vendor record in QBO. “This makes both our lives easier in January when 1099s need to go out.”

Using attachments, you can also upload bank and credit card statements to the attachments folder, so end-of-month and end-of-year go even faster. Now you have the documents right there in the formal bank reconciliation, where your accountant can access them as well. Decide on a naming convention like BANK NAME/DD/MM/YY for easier identification later.

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Capture an image of a receipt for attaching to QuickBooks Online

Bonus: When using the QBO mobile app to enter expenses, snap a picture of the receipt to attach it. In the mobile app, you can enter estimates, invoice, and even receive payments if you’re signed up with QuickBooks Payments.

2. Create a cash receipt journal from the sales center

Your cash receipts journal can help you quickly review the money you have received for a set period of time, advises Heather Satterley, owner of Satterley Training and Consulting, LLC.

“The fact that you can do this directly from the sales center without modifying the report is really convenient for users,” Heather says.

Here’s how to use it:

In Sales Transactions, you can create a journal of your cash receipts. Simply click the Filter drop-down list, select the Type “Money Received,” and change the date.

3. Automate emails for invoices, financial statements, sales

Everything is easier automated. International speaker for Intuit and owner of Long for Success, Michelle Long, recommends setting up a group of reports to be automatically emailed as scheduled. For example, you could have a sales report and collection report emailed weekly to stay on top of open invoices, or you could set up financial statements to be emailed on a monthly basis.

Additionally, you can set up recurring invoices to be automatically emailed on a schedule. Plus, if you’re using QuickBooks Payments, customers can pay online and the payment and associated fees will be automatically recorded in QuickBooks. Essentially, you can automate the whole sales process.

4. Learn the shortcuts

Using navigation hacks such as tabbed browsing for multiple “windows” open in Google Chrome, a bookmark bar, and keyboard shortcuts all save time. Need a cheat sheet? Check out some simple keyboard shortcuts you can use within QuickBooks.

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Learn the keyboard shortcuts you can use with QuickBooks Online. The graphic shows some of them.

5. Bank on bank rules

Long also recommends bank rules to save time. You can set up bank rules for common expenditures like utility payments, regular vendors/suppliers, and more. Plus, when you set up the bank rule to auto-add, you don’t even need to review it.

6. Track time Inside QBO

Time tracking got you down? Never fear.

You can easily review and approve employee time tracked in TSheets directly inside QBO.

In the past, you could export time from TSheets to QuickBooks. But now the seamless TSheets + QBO integration allows you to approve multiple time sheets at once or create an employee time sheet inside QBO. Plus, the integration works both ways, so every change you make automatically syncs with TSheets.

You can manage and approve employee time sheets, run payroll, and create invoices with ease — all from your QuickBooks account.

QuickBooks tip: This fix could speed up your database response

A factor that contributes to slow response times with a QB database is database fragmentation.

Database fragmentation is exactly what it sounds like, the QB database is in several pieces on the drive. Any database that is “in pieces” will return information slower than a database that is not “in pieces.”

It’s easy to find out the extent of database fragmentation

Just press “F2” and down the left-hand side of the screen you will see a line titled “Database Fragments” followed by a number.

How many fragments are too many?

There is dispute over this, some say 10, some say 30. Peak Advisers recommends that once the fragmentation exceeds 30, start planning on addressing the fragmentation. It isn’t urgent but start thinking about scheduling the defragmentation procedure.

How do I reduce the fragmentation?

Follow this procedure:

1) Go to single user mode. File>Switch to Single User Mode
2) Create a portable copy of the production file. File>Create Copy> Select Portable Company File
3) Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the location of the QB production file *.qbw.

a. Change the name of the production file.
b. Change can be as simple as adding a “1” to the name.

4) Restore the portable file to the folder where the production file is located.
5) Open the production file.

a. Check fragmentation by pressing F2. There should be significantly less, maybe even one or two fragments.
b. Run a Trial Balance for all dates.
c. Open the former production file as a Secondary File. File>Open Second File
d. Run a Trail Balance for all dates.
e. Compare the trial balances. If there are no differences, delete the renamed production file.

6) Return to multi-user mode. File> Switch to Multiuser Mode.

How much better response time will there be?

It depends. The more fragmentation that existed and the larger the report being created, the more benefit the user will receive. FYI, Peak Advisers once worked on a database with over 20,000 fragments. Yes, when the fragmentation was reduced the client noticed much better response times. Much better.

We are your QuickBooks experts. Contact us here or call 303-801-4772 for help with systems to make your business run better and to help make it grow.

QuickBooks tip: Backup QuickBooks the right way & avoid big problems

When QB users reach out to Peak Advisers for help there are a  series of questions we ask in order to get an understanding of issues and needs. 

Questions we always ask include:

• When do you backup QB?

• How do you backup QB?

Answers we get to these questions include:

• Our host does that.

• IT backs up the server every day.

• Everyone backs up every 3rd (or 4th or 5th or x) time.

• We schedule backups overnight.

Follow up questions may include:

• Have you ever tested a backup?

• Does your host or IT run the QB process with 100% verification or are they taking an image of the server?

• Why is everyone backing up the same database to different locations at different times with different settings?

• Have you checked the overnight backup?

Points we make are:

• QB backups are designed to provide data verification as part of the backup. 

• IT or hosts almost certainly do not provide data verification.

• It is critical to verify the data. 

• You only need one person responsible for the backup. It is a waste of time for multiple users to make multiple backups at multiple times during the day.

Our recommendations:

• Turn off the backups for all users but one.

• Make sure that user knows a backup must be performed every day and that that backup is made with 100% verification.  Which means the user must be in single user mode.

• Do not rely on scheduled backups overnight because those backups will not run unless the user remains logged in and QB is running. Which is something you do not want to do for security reasons.

• Have a schedule for moving the data from a local machine to offsite media.

• Have a schedule for deleting backups, but always keep year-end and month end backups.

Explanation of QuickBooks backup types:

• Remember a QBB file is a backup file.

• ABU as a prefix means the backup made was an automatic backup. An automatic backup is a backup made when you close QB after x times.  (The standard default in QuickBooks is every third time.)

• SBU as a prefix means the backup was a scheduled backup,  i.e. you used the backup scheduler to run a backup at a certain time.

• A QBB file without either ABU or SBU is a backup made manually. 

• QBTemp files are failed backups, i.e. backups that started but did not finish.

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Different QuickBooks backup file types

Summary of best practices for backups 

Backups are a fundamental part of your Disaster Recovery Plan; a business needs to know they are being done and that recovery/restoration works.     

• Peak Advisers recommends one person make backups every day in single user mode with 100% verification enabled.

• Move backups to offsite media on a schedule.

• Delete backups that are no longer needed. Never delete month end or year end backups.

• Finally, test your backups on a scheduled basis.

Contact us here, use this link to send us a quick email, or call us at: 303-801-4772 to get more help with QuickBooks now.

App lets you run QuickBooks Online up to 46% faster

The all-new QuickBooks® Online Desktop App is here. Our QuickBooks apps for Mac & PC allow you to run QuickBooks Online up to 46 percent faster when visiting the client page. And, it’s free to download and begin using immediately if you’re already a QuickBooks subscriber.

You can always use QuickBooks through your browser, according to the QBO blog, but here are some of the unique features of the QuickBooks app that will make your time more productive:

QuickBooks is always just one click away. Whether you’re using the PC desktop or the MacDoc, one click on the icon launches you right into your books.

Stay signed in. Your one-click access also immediately gets you into QuickBooks without needing to sign in, and unlike your browser that times out after a period of inactivity, the QuickBooks app allows you to stay indefinitely signed in. No more time spent logging back in!

Easily open and work with multiple windows. Drag and drop multiple windows, and never worry about accidentally closing out your work with our multi-window/tab restore that will get you right back to where you were before. Plus, making a change or update in one window will automatically update all of the other open affected windows!

Want the app now? Just visit the page or download below and use your QuickBooks Online login to access the app; all of your data will automatically sync and update, much like on the browser.

Keep reading for more reasons about why you should download the QuickBooks Online app.

Navigation is a breeze. Move easily from page to page with the back/forward buttons, seamlessly switch companies from the toolbar and bookmark your most important pages for easy access later!

Keyboard shortcuts make you more productive than ever. Enjoy a robust list of keyboard shortcuts while working in the app.

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Keyboard shortcuts in the QBO desktop app