If you are a small business owner, then QuickBooks Online is an excellent financial management tool. Regardless of the type of business or services you provide, QuickBooks accounting software helps you manage your inventory, payroll, track revenue, print important financial documents, and manage other small business functions with ease. It makes managing and tracking company money fast and simple with a range of smart features. But seasoned business owners know that any software management tool is only as good as the data you enter. In this article, we will go over how to set up QuickBooks quickly.
How to Set Up QuickBooks
The first thing you should do before setting up any type of system like QuickBooks is to set up your company file. With this step, you will also be able to tailor the tools to fit the unique needs of your small business. Click “Settings” and then “Account Settings” and then fill in the following basic information:
- Company name
- Company type
- Contact information
- Address
On this page, you will also have the option to set your marketing preferences for communication with Intuit, as well as managing your cookie preferences. You can always come back to this page to adjust your settings at any time.
How to Set Up Your Bank and Credit Card Processing
QuickBooks Online has an efficient feature that allows you to not just connect with your bank and set up credit cards, but it also gives you access to your bank feed. This gives you access to all your banking and credit transactions and your transactions will be automatically downloaded and categorized. This allows you to have high-level insight into your income and expenses without having to manually enter every transaction.
To get started select “Banking” and then “Add Account”, and then follow the prompts to select your preferred bank and sign in to that account through QuickBooks Online. You’ll start seeing transactions as soon as they come in, though you do also have the option to download past transactions manually. This can be helpful if you switch banks but want to maintain access to old transaction records, or if you simply want to have an easy place to view everything without having to separately log in to your business bank account.
If you do want to take this step and manually download a set time frame of bank transactions, QuickBooks Online has a detailed, step-by-step process that can help you do so.
How to Set Up Payments and Invoicing
QuickBooks Online has an easy process that allows customers to pay invoices online, but it does require some set up on your end. You’ll also need to confirm whether you have the old or new version of estimates and invoices, because how you change the payment options on your invoice will depend on which version you have. You do need to take the time to confirm which version you have so that your payments and invoicing will be set up accurately.
Steps for the older version:
- Click “+New”, and then click “Invoice.”
- From the dropdown titled “Customer”, select a customer and make sure their information is accurate. Check the invoice date and change it if needed, using the “terms” dropdown.
- On the “Product/Service” column, select the appropriate product or service, or add a new one from the “+Add new” option.
- Fill out the cells for quantity, rate, and change amount, and then select the “Tax” checkbox to charge sales tax.
- If you wish to send the invoice now, select “Save and send” to email the invoice to your customer. You can also choose the “Save and close” option if you are not ready to send the invoice right away. If you need to print a paper invoice, select “save” then “print or preview.” You also have the option to send your customer a link to their invoice through SMS or a messenger tool, using the “Save and share link” option. From there, select “copy link” and paste the link into your customer’s preferred messenger service.
- To change payment options on an existing invoice, select “Sales” or “Invoicing” and then click on the “Invoices” tab.Click on the invoice you want to update and under “Online Payments” click Edit. You can then select or uncheck the checkboxes until you have the payment options you want. Select “OK” then click “Save.”
Steps for the newest version:
- Click on “+New” and select “Invoice.” To make changes, click on “Edit company”, make changes as needed, and click “Save” when finished.
- Click on “Add customer” and choose the customer from the dropdown. Verify their info and make changes as needed by clicking “Edit customer info” and clicking “Save and close” when finished. You can also review and edit the invoice date, due date, and terms.
- If you want to add products and services to the invoice, click on “Add product or service” and select desired items from the dropdown. You can create a new product or service by clicking “+Add New”, entering new product or service information, and clicking Save when done.
- You can calculate the charge amount by flat rate, hour, or item, by entering quantity and rate as desired.
- For customized information and design, click on “Manage” and choose options from the side panel, and click “Save” when finished. QuickBooks Online will remember your choices and apply them to existing and future invoices.
- To send an invoice to a customer, click on the “Receive Payment” dropdown and choose your method of communication. The “Email” option allows you to edit and send an invoice via email. The “Print and download” option will provide a paper invoice. And the “Share link” and “Copy link” options allow you to create a link to the invoice and send it to your customer through SMS or messenger service.
- Because default company settings display on invoices in the new version, changing your options on one invoice will only save to that specific invoice. To change a specific invoice, select “Sales” or “Invoicing”, click on the “Invoices tab” and then the invoice you want to edit, then click “Edit invoice.” From the “Manage” section, click on “Payment methods” to update invoice payment options or turn on or off ACH or credit card options. Click “Save” when you are finished.
How to Manage Financial Records and Accounting
QuickBooks has the option for customized reporting, since it gives a high degree of flexibility. You can choose exactly what types of reports you receive by selecting specific fields, making it easy to track business growth, financial statements, overall revenue, and where your money is going. You may find customizing business reports easier than dealing with large amounts of raw data. But again, your reporting is only as good as the data you enter, but QuickBooks makes it easy to find and enter specific financial data.
Use the general ledger to manage financial data about your business. For example, it allows you to enter each business expense, assets, liabilities, equity, payroll, business taxes, depreciation, capital improvements, and more.
Purchase orders allow you to track purchases made against specific products. On the product detail page, check boxes allow you to mark orders as shipped, canceled, returned, etc.
Inventory receipts show where purchased goods were delivered, while the stock level displays the current quantity of inventory available for sale. Sales orders track all transactions related to one purchase order, while purchase receipts show what has been paid out from an open purchase order.
To Create a sales order, use an existing quote and enter details about your sale, then create it by selecting “Create New” at the bottom right corner of the screen. If no quotes exist yet, select “New Quote”. Otherwise, choose one from the dropdown menu. Choose whether to ship using FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, TNT, FEDEX EXPRESS®, or other shipping methods, and enter the freight costs and sales tax associated with the shipment. View tracking information such as when the package left your business or warehouse, what carrier picked up the package, and more.
After receiving payment, record the transaction in QuickBooks Online. The Reconciliation Report allows you to see all transactions recorded since the last reconciliation report. Adjustment entries allow you to make adjustments to accounts payable as needed. You can also use Memos to write notes related to payments and credits.
How to Create Vendor and Customer Accounts
Depending on your business structure, you may want to create vendor accounts, customer accounts, or both.
To create vendors, click New/Add vendor. Then select whether you want to add an existing customer, supplier, employee, contractor, or other type of vendor. Enter the name of your business into the field provided and use the dropdown menu to specify the address location, phone number, email address, social media links. When you click Save, you’ll be able to view this new vendor on the Vendor List page. You can easily Edit to make changes to their information or Delete a vendor that you no longer work with.
To list customers in QuickBooks Online, first log in to QBOP. Enter the first and last names of the new customer, their contact information, and credit card and associated billing address if you have them. If so, you can also specify shipping methods (pickup, delivery, mailbox key, etc.) You also have the option to assign sales reps to customers.
How to Manage Employees
You’ll start by creating a user account for each company employee. Enter employees’ personal info including their names, phone numbers, addresses, emails, social security numbers, birthdays, etc. Assign time sheets to each individual employee. Set hours worked per week, number of work days per month, vacation dates, sick leave policy, and holiday schedule. Payroll reports provide detailed information regarding wages earned, deductions taken, overtime earnings, tips, commissions, etc.
When setting up your employee payroll, you can set pay rates based on hourly rate, salary, commission, bonuses, etc., and calculate taxes owed. Select which tax types are applicable to your business: Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, Worker’s Compensation, and others. Having this set up correctly from the beginning makes it much easier for your, your employees, and your accountant during tax season. And even if you are the sole owner and employee, knowing how you are going to file ahead of time can make the process easier and give you peace of mind.
For example, if you are a self-employed business owner or have a sole proprietorship, you need to file Form 1040 Schedule SE, Self Employment Tax Return. If you hire contractors, they will receive W2 forms instead of 1099 forms. They should complete these forms and send them back to you via fax or mail. In addition, they must sign IRS Forms 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns, every quarter. These forms include gross revenue figures, total expenses, taxable income, federal withholding amount, state withholding amounts, and estimated quarterly tax liability.
If you love what QuickBooks has to offer but are interested in seeing what else you can get out of it with support from an experienced bookkeeper, contact us for a free assessment.
