Blog - Page 8 of 9 - Learn to use QuickBooks® in your construction business

03May 2007 by Nancy Smyth

Tips for Trouble-Free Bank Statement Reconciliations

QuickBooks Tips, Techniques & Work Arounds

I recommend two key tips that will reduce the time and frustration of reconciling bank statements. These solutions are based on the principle that we want the bank reconciliation window to match exactly what appears on the bank statement, and that data should be input accordingly. If you use the following method it will make the challenging task of reconciling bank statements much easier. Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note: While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so that we can notify you if this article is updated. [purchase_link id="1151" style="button" color="green" text="Request your copy of Tips for Trouble-Free Bank Statement Reconciliations now!"]

12Sep 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Who Are Employees?

Business Productivity Tips & Training

Before you can know how to treat payments you make for services rendered to you, you must first know the business relationship that exists between you and the person performing those services. The person performing the services may be: An independent contractor A common-law employee A statutory employee A statutory non-employee An employer must generally withhold income taxes, withhold and pay social security and Medicare taxes, and pay unemployment taxes on wages paid to an employee. An employer does not generally have to withhold or pay any taxes on payment to independent contractors. Learn about 20 factors that the IRS has identified, that are used as guidelines to determine whether sufficient control is present to establish an employer-employee relationship. Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button…

11Sep 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Are You Paying Prevailing Wage Fringe Benefits in Cash?

Business Productivity Tips & Training

Are you a contractor working on prevailing wage projects and paying the fringe benefit portion of the prevailing wage in cash to your employee's? What if told you that you could reduce your payroll tax contributions by at least*$14,784.00 a year and receive additional savings on your general liability insurance (if you live in a state where liability insurance is based on gross payroll instead of sales)? Would that kind of savings help you lower your bids and still make money? Impossible you say! What would you say if I also told you that your employees would also be happy? Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note: While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so that…

30May 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Getting Paid – Improving Credit & Collection Policies

Business Productivity Tips & Training

Let's face it….better collections mean more cash….more cash means a greater ability to fund future growth…..more growth equals more profit (most of the time). When a business owner seeks to expand his company one of the most important steps that can be taken is to review the company's current collection process. Instead of looking at collections as just another financial operation, it should be viewed more creatively and seen as a means to acquire financial gain. Improving your collection processes leads to fewer outstanding account balances, fewer bad-debt write-offs, and, therefore, better working capital that you can put to good use----the growth of your business. This article discusses: Credit worthiness The importance of having a written, signed contract Organizing contract information Recordkeeping Eliminating barriers to payments Maintaining an aggressive approach…

29May 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Bounced Checks-Everybody Hates Them – but, How Do You Handle Them in QuickBooks?

QuickBooks Tips, Techniques & Work Arounds

Bounced Checks..Everybody Hates Them.. Handling bounced checks in QuickBooks can be confusing and many people are looking for a quick and efficient way to handle bounced checks so the bank reconciliation can show both the money in and the money out…. But not affecting income in a prior period. There are three different ways in which you can handle a customer’s bounced check. Try each of these methods in a test file to see which one you like the best. Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note: While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so that we can notify you if this article is updated. [purchase_link id="1158" style="button" color="green" text="Request your copy of Bounced Checks-How…

26May 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Do You Barter? Trading Services between Customers and/or Vendors

QuickBooks Tips, Techniques & Work Arounds

If you buy services or product from your customer – or if your vendors buy services or products from you, you might want to “trade” services instead of paying each other - especially in this economy. Exchanging “credits” with each other is a good way to offset your cash flow without actually exchanging money. You will, however, need to add a few new records to QuickBooks and do a few “special” transactions to make sure that all of your reports come out accurately. This article provides you with detailed, step-by-step instructions for recording barter transactions in your QuickBooks company data file. Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note: While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address…

31Mar 2006 by Nancy Smyth

4 Ways Businesses Fail/10 Steps to Succeed

Business Productivity Tips & Training

Ever wonder why it seems that you are struggling to make your business grow and be more successful while others seem to be doing so well? Or are you just looking for some suggestions to help make your business run smoother? Learn the 4 most common reasons that businesses fail - or F- L- O - P and how to overcome them: Financial Leadership Operations Planning We'll also discuss 10 steps to enure your business will succeed, including: Estimate for profit Manage job productions for profit Account for profit Analyze for profit Understand the profit cycle Define goals and set expections Create performance rewards Train a GOOD staff Create written procedures Communicate Increasing profitability is a continuous cycle. You need to be able to analyze jobs and refine your processes…

30Mar 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Are You Ready to File Your Taxes?

Business Productivity Tips & Training

April 15th is literally just around the corner --- are you ready to file your taxes? Here are a few tips to help you get ready for this years taxes or better yet help you to prepare for next year! These tips include: How to handle transactions that you don't know what account that you should post them to Sharing your QuickBooks file with your accountant Reviewing key reports The importance of reconciling Entering a closing date Here's to a less stressful tax season! Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note: While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so that we can notify you if this article is updated. [purchase_link id="1108" style="button" color="green" text="Request your…

04Jan 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Year End Tasks

Business Productivity Tips & Training

The end of the year always adds even more tasks to your already busy schedule, and sometimes it's simply overwhelming! Intuit has build a very good "QuickBooks Year-End Guide/Checklist" and it's included right in your QuickBooks program by going to the Help Menu and choosing Year-End Guide. In this article, we'll cover each topic listed in the Year-End Guide, and offer some additional tips on each of the sections: Tasks to prepare for filing taxes Tasks to do if you have subcontractors Tasks to do if you have employees Tips for the upcoming year Wishing you success in the upcoming year! Request your copy of this article today, by clicking the button below. Note: While this is a free article, we do request that you enter your email address so…

02Jan 2006 by Nancy Smyth

Tracking Use Tax

QuickBooks Tips, Techniques & Work Arounds

Many states impose Use (or Usage) Taxes on purchases that are shipped to you from a different state than the one in which you have your business, this is becoming more common as we purchase more items on the internet, and generally the purpose of Use Tax is to equalize the tax burden when buying from in-state and out of state vendors. While QuickBooks does an excellent job of tracking Sales Tax, even when you have to collect Sales Tax from multiple jurisdictions, it does not automatically calculate Use Tax for you - - - but it is possible to track Use Tax using these instructions. This article provides you with step-by-step instructions for tracking use tax on goods or services that you purchase which are subject to use…