Creative Financial Software
Accounting Software Trainers, Authors and Consultants
What is QuickBooks Data File Setup?
QuickBooks data file setup is a
service we provide that includes one or all of the following, depending on
your needs:
Installing QuickBooks Financial Software on Each QuickBooks User's Workstation. If more than one person will use the same QuickBooks file, the installation also involves networking QuickBooks for multi-user access. To network the file, you will need to connect (network) your workstations so that they can share files. We strongly recommend a local area network that uses a server with Windows Server 2000 or 2003 installed. Smaller businesses with no more than 3 users could share the same QuickBooks files using a network configuration called "peer-to-peer" that doesn't use a server or Windows Server software. However, the performance in a peer-to-peer network is not as good, even with only 2-3 QuickBooks users.
Creating and Customizing a QuickBooks Data File. When setting up a QuickBooks data file, there is much more involved than simply running the setup interview and inputting basic list information. To setup the file properly you must enter beginning account balances for your Balance Sheet (and income statement in a mid-fiscal year setup), enter prior period monthly financial information (if you want comparative reporting to the previous fiscal year during your first year of QuickBooks use), link your sales items on sales forms to the correct accounts and account types, enter open invoices (customers), unpaid bills (vendors), open purchase orders, open estimates and open sales orders. When these forms are partially received/paid/billed, the process becomes especially tricky. The way you enter open invoices and unpaid bills also varies depending on whether you report on the cash or accrual basis. If applicable, you must also setup inventory counts and values and setup payroll (employees and paycheck calculating information).
Importing List Information from Other Databases. If you use another accounting solution now and/or if you have customer, vendor, inventory part and other list information stored in almost any computer database (e.g. Excel, Access, Outlook, etc.), we can almost certainly import that information into QuickBooks. Doing so will save you countless hours of data entry and will increase the accuracy of your setup.
Customizing Reports to Meet Your Industry-Specific and Business-Specific Reporting Needs. Click here for more information about customizing reports in QuickBooks and using QuickBooks with robust reporting tools like Crystal Reports.
6 Reasons to Use Creative Financial Software for Your QuickBooks Data File Setup
QuickBooks is User-Friendly, but Setting Up QuickBooks Is Not.
Each step in the setup process is full of options to choose and
pitfalls to avoid. For example, certain custom fields in QuickBooks
will not impact certain reports unless you set them up in a
particular way.
Small Businesses Don't Have a Good Track Record Setting up QuickBooks without Help. In our combined 20 years of experience, we have seen only a handful of accurate QuickBooks setups when the business owner did not seek the help of a qualified QuickBooks consultant. When we have to clean up the file due to various setup mistakes, the setup is much more complex and much more costly to the small business owner than if we are involved in the process from the beginning.
Other Accounting Professionals Recommend Creative Financial Software for Their Clients. Several CPA firms throughout the country turn to us to make sure their clients are setup correctly. When setting up data files we approach the process as accountants first and as QuickBooks exports second. As part of this approach to data file setup, we coordinate with your existing CPA and/or tax preparer to make sure that the format of your accounts provides your tax preparer with all of the information needed to prepare your corporate income tax return. Also, all of the consultants at Creative Financial Software have income tax preparation experience.
Joe Woodard, President of Creative Financial Software, Literally Wrote the Book on Setting up QuickBooks Data Files. While employed by a national QuickBooks training company Joe was responsible for updating and expanding the data file setup content of in-depth QuickBooks setup materials. Joe also wrote a training course and numerous articles for Intuit on setting up QuickBooks data files.
Joe Woodard Has Taught Thousands of Accounting Professionals to Accurately Setup Their Clients' QuickBooks Files. Joe presents advanced training courses for accounting professionals as a contractor for Intuit, State CPA societies and national training organizations. This training has historically included an extensive and highly advanced segment on setting up QuickBooks files. Thousands of accounting professionals and Intuit recognize Joe Woodard as a leading independent QuickBooks and accounting software trainer in the country.
