London QuickBooks

This week I have been in London training a music industry organisation set up their accounts on QuickBooks Online. The need for the QuickBooks training came about because the accounting software company MYOB have withdrawn for the UK. As from the 1st January they will not be able to add any transactions to their MYOB software. This London based organisation chose to go with the on-line version of QuickBooks because they need to access their QuickBooks data from various locations.

The advantages of QuickBooks Online are:-

• Accessible from any Internet connection.
• Accessible via Windows PC, Mac or iPhone.
• It is a Cloud based solution so there are no data backup worries.
• Accessible anytime – day or night.

QuickBooks have announced their new QuickBooks 2012 desktop software and my mobile phone is currently swimming in the Mediterranean!

QuickBooks have released their 2012 version of the software. It is now available to download from their website as a monthly subscription service, and the boxed versions will start appearing in the shops during November.

Due to various other commitments I did not take part in the beta testing of the QuickBooks 2012. So today will be my first opportunity to try out the new software. The software comes in five versions:

• QuickBooks SimpleStart

• QuickBooks Pro

• QuickBooks Pro + Payroll

• QuickBooks Premier

• QuickBooks Premier Plus

Pricing details are not available yet for the boxed versions. I’ll send details when they are available. Improvements are supposed to include the following:

• New setup wizard to get new users up and running quickly

• Easier system to import contact details from Excel or address books

• Calender view. An improved to-do list captures more relevant information and displays it on the calendar.

• Collection Centre, allows you to stay on top of money you are owed and BA built to send collection notices from Outlook, Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail accounts.

• Batch Invoicing. Automatically create a set of invoices for customers that received the same service.

• QuickBooks Search. Improved search capabilities to find reports invoices or contacts, by keyword.

• Payroll 2012, allows you to save and resume your payroll so that you can come back to it later.

• New net-to-gross calculator lets you input a net figure for a bonus, and payroll will calculate the appropriate gross figure.

I am going to be downloading my version of QuickBooks 2012 today. So I will let you know how I get on with the new software and whether it is worth upgrading your version.

…….finally my poor mobile phone!

While on holiday in France last week my iPhone decided to take a swim in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite my best attempts I was unable to catch it, so please note if you normally call my mobile, or to text me, please allow a couple of weeks for normal service to be resumed.

If you want to contact me please either e-mail me at andy@adaptcomputing.com or telephone the office on 01254 825676 or 0208 1234 262.

Entering customer’s opening balances in QuickBooks is not an everyday activity. You will need to enter opening balances into QuickBooks when you first start using your QuickBooks company file. For example if you started a new QuickBooks company file in January, and a customer of yours owed your company £100 on the 31st December, you would need to enter an opening balance for this customer.

To help you deal with customer opening balances I have produced a video showing you how to enter an opening balance for a customer in your QuickBooks file. The video also shows you how to alter a customer balance. For example, when you first created the customer balance you may have thought that the company only had one unpaid invoice. Subsequently you may have found that this customer had two unpaid invoices. This video shows you how to alter the original opening balance.

If you need any further QuickBooks training then we can help you resolve your problems.

This video is recorded in High Definition so that you can watch the video at full screen size at a higher resolution if you want to.

Quite a few people have problems with entering credit card payments into QuickBooks. I have produced this video to demonstrate a couple of ways of entering credit card transactions into QuickBooks. Both methods ensure that the VAT is added into QuickBooks correctly.

I also demonstrate how to reconcile the credit card account and then pay the credit card bill.

The video is recorded in HD so that you can watch the video at full screen at a higher resolution is you want to.

Just a quick reminder, 19th May is the deadline for submitting your Employer Annual Return. You can submit your P35 and P14s online with QuickBooks. Almost all employers must file their employer Annual return (P35p and P14s) online. The 2010/11 return must be filed no later than 19 May 2011.

For more information check the HM Revenue & Customs website

Occasionally in QuickBooks you need to enter a refund payment from a supplier. This can often cause confusion so I have created the video below to show how to receive a refund cheque from your supplier and pay the cheque into the current account.

QuickBooks have released a new product update, R3. The main changes appear to be concerned with fixing errors in paying high earning directors and providing the new 20% Vat rate in new company files.

Over the next few days you should expect to see a request to install the update when you open up QuickBooks

The Adapt Computing 0870 telephone number is going to be discontinued in 30 days time. The number is more expensive for many clients to call and we have not listed it as contact method for over 3 years. Some of my ancient business cards will have the 0870 number on them, so it is time to put them in the paper recycling!

Please the 01254 825676 or 0208 1234 262 telephone numbers to contact us here at London QuickBooks.

Computer data, like many things, is only missed when it’s gone! We all assume that the files and pictures that we’ve created will exist happily on our computers. We know that computers can go wrong but we assume that ours will be one of the lucky ones. In my role as an IT consultant I often come across people who have had a problem with their PC which means that they have lost all their data. There are ways of recovering data that these can often be very expensive.

So why don’t we backup? We all know we should, but many people don’t. Here’s a list of some of the excuses that I have come across from people that don’t backup properly:

1. It’s too complicated.
2. I do it when I remember to. The last time was about six months ago, I think!
3. Someone else does it. I’m not quite sure who that other person is!
4. I forgot.
5. My USB stick is too full.
6. I backup regularly every week, and the DVD that I backup to is in the machine that was stolen.

So what’s the solution? A good backup system should be automatic and move the files away from the PC that holds them. It is no use backing up the data on your PC if the backup also gets destroyed by the fire/flood/theft that has occurred.

One of the best systems that I have come across is from IDrive. This provides a password protected area on the Internet that can store all your files. So if there is a fire or theft then your data can be downloaded again. They also provide software that will check if any of your files have changed, and if they have, it will backup the new version. IDrive provide 2 GB of data space with an account that is free of charge.

You can get IDrive account, which has 150 GB of storage space, for less than $50 per year. If you think how much your photos and documents are worth to you, then $50 looks like good value. Another advantage of IDrive is that you can retrieve your data from any location: all you need is an Internet browser. This can be very useful if you are away from the office and you need a file urgently.

The first time that you backup all your data to the Internet can take a very long time. This is because broadband connections download data quicker than they upload data. So be prepared for the initial upload to take many hours or even days. Once the initial backup has been done it is only those files that have changed that get backed up.

So have a think about your current backup arrangements and have a look at IDrive on the link below

http://bit.ly/idriveandy

As mention back in June, QuickBooks 2006 payroll will not function after 30th September 2010. So if you are using QuickBooks 2006 then you need to upgrade to QuickBooks 2010 very soon.

If you have bought a year’s subscription to QuickBooks payroll then you must upgrade to QuickBooks 2010 to use the rest of your year’s subscription.

You can purchase your new version of QuickBooks 2010 from this website.