QuickBooks 2012 For Dummies

by Nelson, Stephen L.

• ISBN13: 9781118091203
• ISBN10: 1118091205
• Edition: 19th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-01
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

QuickBooks "X" For Dummies is a big help for small businesses Most businesses can't afford a Big Four accounting firm to handle their books. That's why so many small-to-mid-size businesspeople turn to QuickBooks to help them keep track of their finances. Bestselling author Stephen Nelson returns with updated coverage of the latest revisions and enhancements to the leading small business accounting software package. After a quick review of bookkeeping basics, you'll discover how QuickBooks can help you build the perfect budget, process payroll, simplify your tax return prep work, create invoices, manage inventory, generate income statements, balance accounts, and much more. You'll learn what you should do before you install and set up QuickBooks, then move onto basic bookkeeping concepts and the fundamentals of building a solid budget. You'll also discover how to enter data, create invoices, and record and print sales receipts; keep track of your inventory, payroll, and budgets; monitor your job costs; and generate the most common financial reports with ease. Veteran author Stephen Nelson updates his perennial bestseller and offers you easy-to-understand coverage of the newest release of QuickBooks Enables you to take control of managing your own business accounting and financial management tasks so you can avoid having to hire expensive outside help Provides expert advice for getting started with QuickBooks, building the perfect budget, processing payroll, creating invoices, managing inventory, tracking job costs, generating income statements, balancing accounts, creating financial reports, and more QuickBooks "X" For Dummies helps you handle your financial management tasks more effectively so that you can get down to business!

Author Biography

Stephen L. Nelson, MBA, CPA, provides accounting, business advisory, tax planning, and tax preparation services to small businesses. He belongs to the American Institute of CPAs and holds an MBA in Finance and a Master's in Taxation. His 100-plus books have sold more than four million copies.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: Quickly into QuickBooks 7

Chapter 1: QuickBooks: The Heart of Your Business 9

Chapter 2: The Big Setup 19

Chapter 3: Populating QuickBooks Lists 37

Part II: Daily Entry Tasks 81

Chapter 4: Creating Invoices and Credit Memos 83

Chapter 5: Reeling In the Dough 107

Chapter 6: Paying the Bills 131

Chapter 7: Inventory Magic 155

Chapter 8: Keeping Your Checkbook 175

Chapter 9: Paying with Plastic 193

Part III: Stuff You Do from Time to Time 203

Chapter 10: Printing Checks 205

Chapter 11: Payroll 217

Chapter 12: Building the Perfect Budget 229

Chapter 13: Online with QuickBooks 237

Part IV: Housekeeping Chores 249

Chapter 14: The Balancing Act 251

Chapter 15: Reporting on the State of Affairs 261

Chapter 16: Job Estimating, Billing, and Tracking 275

Chapter 17: File Management Tips 285

Chapter 18: Fixed Assets and Vehicle Lists 297

Part V: The Part of Tens 309

Chapter 19: (Almost) Ten Tips for Business Owners 311

Chapter 20: Tips for Handling (Almost) Ten Tricky Situations 317

Chapter 21: (Almost) Ten Secret Business Formulas 325

Part VI: Appendixes 339

Appendix A: Installing QuickBooks in Ten Easy Steps 341

Appendix B: If Numbers Are Your Friends 345

Appendix C: Sharing QuickBooks Files 363

Index 371