I got my eagerly-awaited copy of Quickbooks yesterday which I wanted to use for CashDuck, and I wanted to be all set up and ready to do payments when the money comes in. So I spent the majority of last night putting in all my transactions - it is a VERY good thing I've only been open two months, otherwise that could have taken DAYS. I had to set Paypal and the Amex to be bank accounts, because it doesn't have any special category for Paypal, and doesn't understand that you can transfer money FROM the credit card TO Paypal. So the credit card got set as a bank account too, and since I was using the check register to enter everything, to avoid having to enter everything as bills and invoices, now it thinks everything is a check, too. I actually did enter a bunch of stuff as bills, but then it showed us as payments to my bank account - I guess I entered it as bills they had to pay me? I have no idea. Anyway, using the half-assed method, I now have accurate balances and records of all my accounts and how much I've paid each person and entity.
On an unrelated note, I think I will indeed file a service mark application. It is just appealing somehow. (Six hundred dollars appealing!)
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
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STOP Before you go any further, I know Quickbooks. Let's see if I can help. Better to fix the issue now, then to back track later.
You: I had to set Paypal and the Amex to be bank accounts, because it doesn't have any special category for Paypal, and doesn't understand that you can transfer money FROM the credit card TO Paypal.
Me: 1. PayPal for all purposes IS a bank account. It is a place to make deposits & payments and can even earn interest. So, you should set this up and maintain it as such. Reconciling out once a month after interest is posted or what ever time works for you. Since this is a business - I would print all activity from PayPal as well for back-up, in case of an IRS inquiry.
2. Yes, by all means if AMEX is a credit card, then you best set it up that way. Recording all transactions from and to. And reconciling with your monthly statement. These are your potential deductions - don't lose them. Keep all copies.
I am not sure why you want to draw off of your credit card into PayPal, but it doesn't matter for this. To transfer money from Amex to PayPal:
a. First open your accounts list
b. highlight the Amex Card Account (this should be a credit card). I'm only including this step until you see it for yourself.
c.Click Banking at the top.
d.Click Transfer Funds in the drop down menu.
you should now see a transfer screen with your Amex in the Transfer Funds From
e. select your PayPal account for Transfer Funds To
F. then enter how much.
Done.
You: So the credit card got set as a bank account too, and since I was using the check register to enter everything, to avoid having to enter everything as bills and invoices, now it thinks everything is a check, too. I actually did enter a bunch of stuff as bills, but then it showed us as payments to my bank account
Me: In your accounts list you can highlight the already created Amex bank and edit it to be a credit card. Which will move all the work you have done and not require you to redo it. Or you can delete and begin again. It is up to you. If the charges are showing as checks - remember checks are just subtractions are draws, which in all actuality is correct. You can however delete the check number if you wish and enter something else of significance such as TXFR (transfer) or CHRG (charge) or DRW (draw) or EFT (electronic funds transfer).
Quickbooks does not care if you enter a bill first or just write a check. The only thing that matters is that all transactions have an account, and can be tracked. NOTE: MAKE SURE YOUR AUDIT TRAIL IS ON - YOU MAY NEVER NEED IT, BUT IF YOU DO YOU WILL THANK ME. Or your accountant will.
If you need any help, let me know. In the mean time think of every entry as 2 sided and never leave a side unattended (without an account.
For example: I write a check to Office Max. Side 1 - money comes out of checking. Side 2 money is expensed in Office Supplies.
I transfer money to pay my credit card. Side 1 - money comes out of checking. Side 2 money is applied to my credit card account, bring the balance down.
Don't worry, sooner than you think, you will be flying on this awesome system.
Good Luck.
D
HAha. I love the title. It made me stop my scrolling in google reader
OK, I think I fixed it, thanks for your advice! The thing with transferring to Paypal is that if I buy something with the Amex through Paypal, what actually happens is that the Amex deposits to Paypal and then Paypal pays it. So in order for the Paypal account to be correct, I have to put in both the transfer in and the payment out, as separate transactions.
It will not let me edit previously entered "checks" for the Amex but I should be good from this point on. =)
I think I'm down with the accounts - I actually had to delete the first iteration I created because it marked things as Accounts Payable and wouldn't un-mark them. I have things sorted into various expense and income categories, using one big Accounts Payable category doesn't cut it! (plus it's not like I have an AP department or anything =)
Thank you d~! I was googling a search on just how to figure out the eft thing from back to cc, and this site came up in the top 5! woohoo! (couldn't find the answer anywhere in teh quickbooks site of course!) :) Thanks!
Hi,
Would it be possible to review the Quickbooks Dashboard and share your opinion
I think this would be a very useful tool for Quickbook users and can save them lot of time from running various reports
Thanks and Regards
Nilesh
http://www.infocaptor.com
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