How to Print Pay Stubs in Quickbooks (the Easy Way)
Looking to print pay stubs from your Quickbooks account? There’s actually a quick and way to do this. All it takes is a few basic steps which we’re going to reveal in today’s blog post.
To print pay stubs, log into your Quickbooks account and select File > Print Forms > Pay Stubs. This should reveal all of the pay stubs/checks associated with your account. If you want to print a pay stub that’s attached to a separate payroll account, you’ll need to select the account from the “Bank Account” menu. Just click the drown-down menu and select the appropriate account. Quickbooks will reveal all of the checks from that payroll account along with their respective dates.
Depending on the size of your Quickbooks account, you may have trouble locating a single pay stub. In this case, you should narrow the results down by using a custom date range. In the “Checks Dated and Thru” fields, enter a date range during which you believe the payment was made. You can also narrow down your selection by clicking the “Employee” drop-down menu and selecting the employee to whom the payment was sent.
Once you’ve selected the appropriate payment, click the “Print” button. Although optional, you can also specify a different font and/or printer here. If you want to use a font that’s common used throughout your business’s marketing material, for instance, you can do so from the options here. Before the pay stub(s) begin to print, you must specify the number of copies you wish to create. When you are finished, click “Print” once again to begin printing your pay stub.
Keep in mind that when you print a pay stub on blank paper, your company’s name, street address and phone number will be listed twice. This information will be located both at the top of the page and at the bottom.
Alternatively, you can choose to email pay stubs to your employees from within the Quickbooks interface. Some people avoid this option, assuming it’s a security risk. But all emailed pay stubs are password-protected in PDF format, preventing unauthorized users from opening or accessing them.
Did this tutorial work for you? Let us know in the comments section below!
Help! Quickbooks Shows Inactive After Entering Validation Code
So, you’ve entered the validation code but Quickbooks is still being shown as inactive? Intuit uses validation codes to validate the authenticity of its software. When you install a new copy of Quickbooks on your computer or network, you’ll be prompted to enter this unique identifier. In most cases, it will validate without any issues, but there are times when Quickbooks may continue to be shown as inactive, even after you enter the correct code.
To fix this issue, you’ll first need to perform a clean reinstallation of the Quickbooks software — keyword being clean. This doesn’t mean that you can simply right-click “delete” the files and call it a day. Like other program installations, Quickbooks places small files within other areas of the computer, and failure to delete everything could result in data being left behind. A clean reinstallation involves using the Windows add/remove programs tools, which is found in Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program. Choose “Quickbooks” from the list and follow the on-screen instructions. Once finished, you’ll be asked to restart your computer. Proceed with the restart, at which point you can install a new copy of Quickbooks.
You should now attempt to register Quickbooks. Registration is completely free, and although not required for the first 30 days, it offers several unique benefits, such as access to technical support, product updates, and more. Once those first 30 days have passed, however, you must register Quickbooks to continue using the software. Keep in mind that each and every copy of Quickbooks installed on your computer or network must also be registered. So if you have an office with half a dozen copies of Quickbooks running, each and every instance must be registered.
To register Quickbooks, fire up the software and press F2. This will reveal whether or nor the software is currently registered. If it’s already registered, you are in luck and don’t have to take any additional steps. If it’s not registered, click Help > Register Quickbooks. This will launch the registration Wizard that will take you through the steps of registering your Quickbooks account. Once the process has finished, restart your computer and check to see if it registered correctly by pressing F2 again. Assuming all went well, the software should say that it has been registered.
How to Match Downloaded Transactions in Quickbooks
Still struggling to match your downloaded transactions to those in Quickbooks? Many accountants and business owners need to match their downloaded transactions so they can see which ones have cleared their bank/financial institution, and which ones have not. If you don’t match them, you may accidentally make the same payment twice, assuming it hasn’t cleared. So, how do you match downloaded transactions in Quickbooks?
First an foremost, log into your Quickbooks account and open the “Add Transactions to Quickbooks” window. Intuit’s signature accounting software will automatically attempt to match downloaded transactions to similar entries that you register. Assuming the transaction and entry are the same, Quickbooks will match the two without any additional steps taken on your behalf. However, if it’s unable to find a match, Quickbooks will attempt to create a register transaction via the renaming rules.
When looking through your downloaded transaction matches, you can click the “Show” button to view new and/or matched transactions. Clicking the “Hide” button will conceal this data.
Next, click “Add Multiple” from within the the “Add Transactions to Quickbooks” window to add new downloaded transaction. Again, this is only necessary if Quickbooks did not already match the transaction to an existing entry. Click a matched or renamed transaction entry, followed by “Confirm This Match” or “Add to Quickbooks.” This will add the transaction to your existing account’s register. Last but not least, click an unmatched transaction and create a matching transaction in the right-hand menu, followed by “Add to Quickbooks” to add the new transaction to your register.
Assuming you followed the steps listed above, the downloaded transaction should now be added to your Quickbooks account, allowing you to match and compare them.
But what happens if you accidentally add the wrong transaction match to your Quickbooks account? Fear not, as there’s a quick and easy solution to rectify this problem. To either undo, add, match or transfer a transaction, click Transactions from the main navigation bar > Banking > select an account at the top of the page > click Quickbooks > find the transaction that you wish to undo > and click the “Undo” button at the right-hand side. Congratulations, you’ve just removed the erroneous transaction entry from your account!
How to Set Up Recurring Billing in Quickbooks
Does your company or business offer a subscription-based pricing model for its products and/or services? With most transactions, the customer pays in full when given an invoice, at which point the payment is automatically reflected in Quickbooks. If the customer pays in regular intervals, however, (e.g. subscription pricing), you’ll need to set up a recurring billing in your Quickbooks to account for this. Thankfully, there’s a quick and easy way to handle recurring billing subscriptions in Quickbooks, and we’re going to reveal how in today’s blog post.
First and foremost, you’ll need to pull up the vendor for whom you wish to set up a recurring billing subscription. After logging into your Quickbooks account, choose Vendors > Edit Vendors > and click the Additional Info tab. Under the Terms drop-down menu, choose Due on Receipt, and then click the Account prefill tab (located next to Address info). In the Account prefill tab, choose the proper type of account for the vendor, such as Marketing for instance. Be sure to choose the right account prefill, as this will affect your expenses and revenue reporting. When you are finished, click OK to close out of the vendors section.
There’s still a few more steps to accomplish in order to set up recurring billing. Go back to the main homescreen of Quickbooks and choose Enter Bills. Enter the Vendor, Date and Amount due in the corresponding fields (don’t worry about the other fields). Next, click Ctr+M on the keyboard to bring up the memorize action command. Choose “Automate transaction” from the list of options and fill in the other information. You’ll need to specify things like how often the client should be billed, when the next billing will take place, and days in advance to enter. Double-check these fields to ensure they are correct, because once it’s created the client/vendor will be billed automatically.
Sorry if you were expecting more, but that’s all it takes to set up recurring billing in Quickbooks! When the date of the vendor’s next billing transaction rolls around, he or she should be billed for the amount specified in your settings. I recommend keeping a close eye on your account during this time to ensure the billing works as intended. If the client is not billed, go back into your account and check the settings to make sure the vendor and dates are correct.
How to Make a Journal Entry in Quickbooks
Can’t seem to figure out how to make a journal entry in Quickbooks? Journal entries are used for a variety of purposes, with them posting in the general ledger. You can use them as notes, so to speak, adding relevant information about a particular bill so you know its origin. Unfortunately, though, many beginners struggle to find where and how to create journal entries. If this sounds like a familiar scenario, keep reading for a step-by-step walkthrough on how to create a journal entry in Quickbooks.
To create a journal entry, log into your Quickbooks account and choose Company > Make General Journal Entries from the main menu at the top of the page. Next, change the Date field to the desired date that you wish to be associated with the entry. Keep in mind that Quickbooks will use the current date by default, so you’ll need to change this for entries involving alternative dates.
In the Entry No. field, specify a number for your journal entry. Quickbooks will use a sequential numbering format for all new entries (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). While most users prefer this simple format, you are free to choose your own numbers. Just remember to choose numbers that are relevant and easy to remember, as this goes a long ways in maintaining a clean, easy-to-navigate Quickbooks account.
Next, in the Account column, enter the number for the account associated with the journal entry. If it involves an account that’s already listed in Quickbooks, you can choose it from the drop-down menu. Now enter the debit or credit amount for the journal entry in the Debit/Credit columns. It’s important to note that the debits and credits should be equal to the balance, otherwise Quickbooks won’t be able to post the entry.
Last but not least, enter a memo for the journal entry in the Memo field. While this isn’t a requirement for creating new journal entries, using memos will help you remember what they are for. Memos are displayed on all journal entry reports, and they are used mostly for reference purposes only.
When you are finished creating the journal entry, click Save & Close to complete the process. Sorry if you were expecting more, but that’s all it takes to create a new journal entry!
How to Make a Vendor a Customer in Quickbooks
It’s not uncommon for vendors to also be customers. While your business relationship with a vendor may start off as just that — them providing a service for your business — they may decide to try out your product for themselves. In this case, you’ll need to set up the vendor as a customer, which we’re going to explain in greater detail in today’s blog post.
There are a few different ways to manage vendors who are also customers, the easiest being to give them two separate names. For instance, place a C or V in front of the name to indicate whether it’s the vendor’s account of customer’s account (e.g. C John or V John). There’s no rule — written or otherwise — stating that you must follow this naming format, but it will almost certainly prove beneficial in helping you remember which account is the vendor and which account is the customer.
You aren’t out of the woods just yet. Unless you want your checks printed with the vendor’s “unusual” name, such as V John, you’ll need to set up your account so it prints them as just John. Quickbooks allows you to specify the exact format that you wish to use for your checks, meaning you can create them to any name, regardless of the name being used within your account. The bottom line is that you want to make sure all new checks are created with the vendor’s actual name and not the nickname used to differentiate the vendor and customer accounts.
An alternative solution is to merge the two accounts into one. Keep in mind that merging is not reversible, so make sure it’s something you want to accomplish before proceeding. To merge a vendor and customer’s account into one, click the Gear icon > Chart of Accounts > and click the name that you wish to keep and select Edit. Next, copy the name, go back to the Chart of Accounts, and click the Edit button next to the name that you wish to remove. From here, paste the copied name into the name field and double-check the information to ensure it’s correct. When you are finished, click Save followed by Yes to confirm the merge.
Did this tutorial work for you? Let us know in the comments section below!
How to Set Up Default Invoice Template for Quickbooks
As a business owner, you’ll probably be sending tons of invoices to clients and customers. Whether you sell a physical product, service, business-to-business, etc., invoices are an integral part of running a business. When the customer or client places an order, you must send them an invoice for payment.
Thankfully, this is one of the many areas in which Intuit Quickbooks shines. Not only can you send invoices on the fly with just a few clicks of the mouse, but you can define a default template to use for all of your invoices. Keep in mind that you can still create and use custom invoices, but the default invoice will serve as a base template, allowing you to focus your energy on other aspects of running your business.So, how do you set a default invoice template in Quickbooks?
To set up a default invoice template, log into your Quickbooks account as the administrator. It’s important to note that only administrators can set up default templates. Attempting to perform this task as a standard user isn’t going to work, so make sure you are logging into your Quickbooks account as the admin.
After logging into your Quickbooks account as the administrator, access the sales and customers preferences via Edit > Preferences > sales and customers. From here, click the Company Preferences tab. You should then see a list of available templates under the “Choose template for invoice packing slip” drop-down menu. Feel free to browse through this list to find the template that’s best suited for your needs. You can always go back and change your default later, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect. After finding the template that’s best suited for your business, select it and click OK. Sorry if you were expecting more, but that’s all it takes to set a default invoice template in Quickbooks!
The next time you send a customer or client a billing invoice, Quickbooks should automatically use the default template specified in the settings. Subsequently, this should save you time and energy by eliminating the need to pick and choose a template each time you send an invoice.
Did this tutorial work for you? Let us know in the comments section below!
5 Reasons to Use Quickbooks for Your Small Business Accounting
Still haven’t jumped aboard the Quickbooks bandwagon? Small businesses from all industries and sectors can benefit from the use of Intuit’s signature accounting software.
Automatic Backups
Quickbooks allows for automated backups, ensuring your data is never lost. Just imagine if all of your past invoices, bills, payments and customer information was suddenly destroyed. For most small business owners, this could prov disastrous. Quickbooks aims to avoid this scenario with its automatic backup feature, storing users’ data securely to the cloud.
Ease of Integration
With Quickbooks, you can easily integrate your accounting documents with other commonly used platforms, including Microsoft Excel and even Quicken. So if you ever need to open and/or modify a Quickbooks file in one of the many supported platforms, you can do so thanks to its ease of integration. This is in stark contrast to many other types of accounting software which force users to remain isolated to their respective software.
Shortcuts
We’ve talked about this before on the MyVao.com blog, but it’s worth mentioning again that Quickbooks supports dozens of keyboard shortcuts. In other words, you can simply press a key or combination of keys to perform a specific task. Most of these tasks can be performed manually via the Quickbooks interface, but using the shortcuts is sure to save you time and energy.
User-Friendly Interface
Arguably one of the greatest benefits of choosing Quickbooks for your small business accounting needs is the simple fact that it offers a clean, user-friendly interface. Trying to navigate through some of the other accounting software programs on the market can be daunting, especially for beginners. With Quickbooks, however, even first-time users can pick up the software and get started with little effort. It features “Wizards” that walk you through the steps of setting up your account and performing all of the necessary operations. And if you require further assistance, you’ll find Quickbooks has an extensive Help section that’s filled with answers to commonly asked questions.
Electronic Check Signing
A fifth reason to use Quickbooks is electronic check signing. Using this feature, you can scan signatures to prepare and create checks for your business. So instead of writing hundreds of checks manually, Quickbooks allows you to streamline the process with electronic check signing. This alone is reason enough to choose Quickbooks for your small business accounting needs.
Quickbooks Tips and Tricks For Beginners
Congratulations on your decision to use Intuit Quickbooks for your accounting needs. There’s a reason why Quickbooks consistently ranks as the most popular accounting software: it’s easy to use, compatible across a variety of operating systems and device, versatile, and can handle just about anything you have to throw its way. As a beginner, though, using it for the first time may seem daunting. Don’t worry, because we have some essential tips and tricks to help you out.
Learn The Keyboard Shortcuts
Did you know that Quickbooks supports a variety of keyboard shortcuts? Granted, these commands can be performed manually via the in-software interface, but it’s easier and less time-consuming to use the shortcuts. Typing Ctr+w, for instance, will open the write checks menu, while Ctr+z will undo the last change you made.
You can view a complete list of keyboard shortcuts used in Quickbooks by visiting http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/pages/inproducthelp/core/qb2k12/contentpackage/core/miscellaneous/info_keyboard_shortcuts_editing.html?family=pro.
Create Backups!
Many Quickbooks users — especially newcomers to the software — procrastinate when it comes to scheduling backups. They may choose to put it off until tomorrow, and then the next day, and so on. It’s not until they are actually faced with data loss that they take action to create backups. Rather than waiting until you’ve already lost your Quickbooks data, it’s recommended that you schedule backups immediately after installing the software.
There are a number of incidents that can lead to data loss, so don’t wait until it has already happened. Schedule backups immediately.
Online Intuit Community
If you haven’t done so already, sign up for an account at the Online Intuit Community. Here you’ll find answers to pretty much any Quickbooks-related question you can think, ranging from simple tasks like how to create an invoice, to more complex tasks that converting file types and dealing with reconciliations. And if you can’t find an answer, start a new question.
Quickbooks Help Feature
Don’t underestimate the power of Quickbooks built-in help feature. After installing the software, you should notice a “Help” button on your toolbar. Clicking this button will bring up a new menu, allowing you to search for Quickbooks-related questions and topics. It’s recommended that you make your questions as specific as possible, simply because there’s a ton of information located here. Feel free to play around with the help feature to find out what all it contains.
How to Schedule Backups in Quickbooks
As the saying goes, hope for the best but prepare for the worst, holds true when running a business. Hopefully, nothing will happen to your data, but if it does, you should have a backup copy ready just in case. The good news is that Quickbooks has a built-in backup tool that allows business owners and accountants to schedule backups at specific times. To learn more about this tool and how to use it, keep reading.
To schedule a backup in Quickbooks, open the Schedule Backup window and enter a description into the box. You can include any description that you would like, although it’s recommended that you make it somewhat relevant to the backup (e.g. October backup). This will allow you to find it more easily at a later time, should you ever need it.
Click the Browse button and choose the destination where you would like to store the backup. Keep in mind that the “save to” destination doesn’t have to be on your hard drive. It can also be on a USB flash drive, zip disk, or network drive.
There’s also an option to limit the number of backups to keep. If you have limited storage space available on your computer and don’t have access to another drive, for instance, you may want to limit your backups to four or five. When it reaches this amount, new backups will still be saved but they will replace the older ones.
After following the steps mentioned above, click the Store Password button at the top of the page and enter your Windows login information. Keep in mind that you need to enter your actual Windows password and not your Quickbooks password. This is necessary because Quickbooks will be accessing your files and folders; therefore, Windows requires the correct username and password.
Choose the time, frequency and days for your backup in the next field. This can be daily, weekly, monthly, etc. If you choose daily backups, you may find your available storage space dwindling down, as backup files can be fairly large. But if you limit the number of backups it saves, this shouldn’t be a problem.
When you are finished, click OK to return to the previous window and complete the backup. Lastly, click Finish to exit the setup wizard. Congratulations, you’ve just scheduled a backup!
Did this tutorial work for you? Let us know in the comments section below!