QuickBooks Premier is packed with advanced features that can help streamline your small business accounting. Learning how to fully utilize these features can save you time and effort while giving you deeper insights into your finances. Here are some tips for getting the most out of QuickBooks Premier:
Customize Your Chart of Accounts
When you first set up QuickBooks Premier, it comes loaded with a default chart of accounts. This covers the basic accounts most businesses need, but you may want to customize it to match your specific needs. Here’s how:
– Navigate to the Chart of Accounts page in your QuickBooks Company file.
– Review the existing accounts. Delete any accounts you know you won’t use.
– Add new accounts by clicking the “Account” drop down and choosing “New.”
– You can add accounts for specific business units, locations, projects, etc.
Customizing your chart of accounts allows you to track and run reports on the specific parts of your business.
Set Up Custom Fields
Another way to customize QuickBooks Premier 2024 for your business is by using custom fields. You can add extra fields to capture important information that the default settings don’t cover.
For example, you may want to track the serial number for each inventory item. Or add a field for contract terms on each invoice.
To add custom fields:
– Go to the “Customize Fields” section in the “Customize Data Layout” page.
– Click where you want to add the field and select “New.”
– Enter a name and select the field type, such as text or dropdown menu.
Now your forms and reports will capture this extra data.
Automate Transactions with Memorized Transactions
Entering the same transactions over and over is tedious. With QuickBooks Premier, you can automate these using memorized transactions.
Here are some common ways businesses use them:
– Recurring invoices – Set up a memorized invoice once and QuickBooks will automatically recreate it with the same details. Just edit the date and amount each time.
– Loan payments – Memorize the payment details so each month QuickBooks automatically enters the principal/interest split.
– Monthly expenses – Memorize recurring bills like rent, subscriptions, etc. so you don’t have to re-enter the vendor and amount every month.
Memorizing transactions saves you time entering data while ensuring accuracy.
Track Billable Expenses
If you bill clients for expenses, QuickBooks Premier has tools to make this easy.
Start by turning on “Track reimbursed expenses” in the Preferences menu.
Then when entering any expense that will be billed to a customer:
– Select the customer it relates to.
– Mark the expense as billable.
– Enter details like the project or type of expense.
Later you can easily pull billable expense reports or add them to invoices. This ensures you capture every reimbursable cost.
Manage Inventory
For product-based businesses, QuickBooks Premier offers robust inventory management features.
Key features include:
– Setting up purchase orders to track expected inventory.
– Entering inventory receipts to update quantity on hand as you receive inventory.
– Using inventory reports to check stock levels and profitability of specific items.
– Setting thresholds to be notified when inventory is low.
– Tracking inventory value for tax reporting using FIFO or average costing.
Proper inventory management saves time counting and purchasing stock. The advanced tools in QuickBooks Premier make it simple and accurate.
Track Customer Leads and Sales Stages
QuickBooks Premier helps you track your sales pipeline from lead all the way to closing a sale.
You can:
– Record leads with key details to follow up on.
– Note interactions with leads like emails, calls, meetings, etc.
– Move leads through different sales stages like proposal sent, contract signed, etc.
– Run sales reports by lead source, age, stage and more.
This gives sales visibility from first contact through to invoicing to help meet revenue goals.
Customize Invoices and Forms
Make your invoices, statements and other client documents uniquely fit your brand. QuickBooks Premier makes it easy to customize the look.
Start by designing your company logo in the Preferences section.
Then when printing forms:
– Select customizable templates like sales orders, statements, etc.
– Edit elements like fonts, colors and positioning of fields.
– Add your logo.
– Include additional fields if needed.
With professional customized forms, you present a polished image to impress clients.
Automate Accounting with Rules
By setting up rules, you can take the busy work out of accounting tasks like:
– Categorizing transactions based on keywords or amount.
– Adding sales tax and shipping to invoices automatically.
– Emailing copies of forms to clients or accounts payable.
– Transferring payments received to the bank account automatically.
QuickBooks handles repetitive tasks without errors, so you can focus on big picture analysis.
Restrict User Access
With QuickBooks Premier, you can limit access for different staff to keep your data secure.
Set up separate user login IDs for each person. Then customize access, like:
– Sales reps – can create invoices but not payments.
– Accounts payable – can pay bills but not access payroll.
– Part-time bookkeeper – limited to recording transactions only.
Restrict access to confidential info like salaries while allowing people the access they need.
Get Timely Insights with Reports
QuickBooks Premier comes packed with customizable reports to extract the data you need. Take advantage of:
– Real-time reports that pull data dynamically for up-to-the minute insights.
– Customizing the built-in reports with different parameters like date range, specific accounts, etc.
– Converting reports into Charts for visual tools like profit and loss charts.
– Emailing automated reports to keep key staff like sales managers informed.
With robust reporting, QuickBooks Premier provides the finance intel to make smart decisions.
Integrate with Other Software
To get even more from the software, QuickBooks Premier integrates with hundreds of add-on business apps. Some popular integrations are:
– Shopify or WooCommerce – Sync your online store orders and inventory.
– Bill.com – Automatically import bills and sync payments.
– TSheets – Import employee timesheet data.
– Mailchimp – Sync your contacts and send invoice copies.
Integrations with your other business systems saves double data entry and manual processes.
Get Ongoing Support
Mastering all of QuickBooks Premier’s capabilities takes time. For ongoing support:
– Check out the QuickBooks Premier support number with video tutorials and helpful forums to have your specific questions answered.
– Consider the annual Premier Plus version, which includes one-on-one support with license renewal.
– Connect with an experienced QuickBooks accountant. Search sites like QuickBooks Premier support number for experts.
With the right support resource, you can fully leverage QuickBooks Premier to take your accounting productivity to the next level.
Implementing even a few of these advanced features can streamline your bookkeeping and give you greater financial control of your growing small business. QuickBooks Premier offers the depth of capabilities to meet your needs as you scale.
