Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
What Happened to the Free Online Version of Simple Start ?
QuickBooks Online accounting provides the essential accounting tools necessary to operate a business and the freedom to access financial information from work, the road or home. Simple Start is a free and bare bones version offered by Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks. Simple Start may be able to assist you in the operation of your business and even your personal finances. But before you start searching for Simple Start its important to know that Intuit has decided to begin to phase out the the free version of Simple Start.
As the Intuit website simply states, Simple Start can (a)Track sales, expenses & customers, (b)Instantly create invoices, (c)pay bills, & print checks and (d) Organize your finances in one place-ready for tax time. All this sounds good, but when you take a close look, Simple Start has serious limitations, but for some people or businesses, it might have a place.
Intuit has a free QuickBooks Online option, called QuickBooks Simple Start. Its free but has limited functionality. i.e. limited to 5 customers(but unlimited vendors) and lacks accounts payable recording and reporting,lack of budgeting,estimating,financial reporting and I can list more and more. Notwithstanding, these critical shortcomings, it may work for some.
I have installed Simple Starts on both Macs and PC's. My clients that use both Macs and PC's like the ability to use QuickBooks on either platform. I have seen Simple Start work for a few of my very small business clients, who use it to summarize their business activities for their tax returns rather than for real time financial information. If you use PC in your office and a Mac at home, you can share the data which is kept in the cloud. Most business owners really like this feature. I have been able to set up their chart of accounts from my PC and then my clients are able to instantly use the software.
During the sign in process for Simple Start, Inuit asks for your credit card. Don't think this is a scam to get you sign up or sell you more products. They actually do not charge your credit card, until you purchase it. You will quickly realize how well it captures your cash activities, and will probably want to upgrade to either QuickBooks Online Basic or QuickBooks Online Plus because of the software's function shortcomings.
Unfortunately, another shortcoming of both Simple Start and QuickBooks Online Basic is their inability to properly record and monitor accounts payable,monitor and pay multiple vendors at once.This is important if you want to be able to track your payables and be able to pay multiple vendors at one time Also, Simple Start does not offer a Statement of Cashflows. This statement shows you where and to what accounts your cash was spent.Its a very important financial statement to help a small business owner understand the sources and uses of cash in the operation of their business.
In summary, some people like Simple Start because its free and "simple". Once again, like all QuickBooks Online products it works with any PC and Mac. If you want a free version of Simple Start, simply visit my website and go to the Quickbooks online page and you will have direct access to an Intuit link for free a version of Simple Start, which is currently available as of the date of the writing of this blog post.
Learn how QuickBooks Online provides the essential online accounting tools to manage your business and the freedom to access your financials from work, home, or the road. Sandor Lenner, C.P.A./M.B.A has been providing accounting services for 35 years. He is also a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and works as a part-time consultant for a Miami Accounting CPA firm.
As the Intuit website simply states, Simple Start can (a)Track sales, expenses & customers, (b)Instantly create invoices, (c)pay bills, & print checks and (d) Organize your finances in one place-ready for tax time. All this sounds good, but when you take a close look, Simple Start has serious limitations, but for some people or businesses, it might have a place.
Intuit has a free QuickBooks Online option, called QuickBooks Simple Start. Its free but has limited functionality. i.e. limited to 5 customers(but unlimited vendors) and lacks accounts payable recording and reporting,lack of budgeting,estimating,financial reporting and I can list more and more. Notwithstanding, these critical shortcomings, it may work for some.
I have installed Simple Starts on both Macs and PC's. My clients that use both Macs and PC's like the ability to use QuickBooks on either platform. I have seen Simple Start work for a few of my very small business clients, who use it to summarize their business activities for their tax returns rather than for real time financial information. If you use PC in your office and a Mac at home, you can share the data which is kept in the cloud. Most business owners really like this feature. I have been able to set up their chart of accounts from my PC and then my clients are able to instantly use the software.
During the sign in process for Simple Start, Inuit asks for your credit card. Don't think this is a scam to get you sign up or sell you more products. They actually do not charge your credit card, until you purchase it. You will quickly realize how well it captures your cash activities, and will probably want to upgrade to either QuickBooks Online Basic or QuickBooks Online Plus because of the software's function shortcomings.
Unfortunately, another shortcoming of both Simple Start and QuickBooks Online Basic is their inability to properly record and monitor accounts payable,monitor and pay multiple vendors at once.This is important if you want to be able to track your payables and be able to pay multiple vendors at one time Also, Simple Start does not offer a Statement of Cashflows. This statement shows you where and to what accounts your cash was spent.Its a very important financial statement to help a small business owner understand the sources and uses of cash in the operation of their business.
In summary, some people like Simple Start because its free and "simple". Once again, like all QuickBooks Online products it works with any PC and Mac. If you want a free version of Simple Start, simply visit my website and go to the Quickbooks online page and you will have direct access to an Intuit link for free a version of Simple Start, which is currently available as of the date of the writing of this blog post.
Learn how QuickBooks Online provides the essential online accounting tools to manage your business and the freedom to access your financials from work, home, or the road. Sandor Lenner, C.P.A./M.B.A has been providing accounting services for 35 years. He is also a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and works as a part-time consultant for a Miami Accounting CPA firm.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
How to Reconcile Your Bank Account with the Automatic Bank Reconciliation with QuickBooks Online Plus for the First Time
Reconciling QuickBooks Online Bank Account
If you just made the transition to use QuickBooks Online Plus, congratulations. Now I hope you want to use the automatic bank reconciliation that is included with QuickBooks Online Plus. The problem exists that there is no mechanism to enter checks that were outstanding in your bank reconciliation for the month prior to your conversion to QuickBooks Online Plus. After researching the Intuit website and Google there is no guidance for this fundamental topic.The workaround is very easy. Before I get into the specifics, what needs to occur, is that the outstanding checks that exist for the month prior to your conversion QuickBooks Online Plus must be recorded into QuickBooks Online Plus. To accomplish this 3 steps are required.
QuickBooks Online Bank Reconciliations Tips
Step 1–Pick any day prior to your conversion date. For instance if you are beginning the year January 1, 2010, then select a date in December of 2009 and make a journal entry to temporarily add cash to the QuickBooks Online Plus bank account because in the next step you will have to reduce the cash by the amount of the outstanding checks in order for the outstanding checks to be reflected within the QuickBooks Online Plus automatic bank reconciliation. To accomplish this, prepare a journal entry as if you are making a deposit, with a debit to the bank account and credit opening balance equity account for the amount of the outstanding checks.
Step 2-- Temporarily set up a vendor to be used when entering the outstanding checks and call the vendor “Prior months outstanding checks”. Now, enter each outstanding check through the Enter bills (and the account being debited would be the opening balance equity account instead of a typical expense account) drop down menu within QuickBooks Online Plus and record a description such as “prior months outstanding checks” so that there is a trail relating to this adjustment. Be sure not to assign amounts to the expense accounts, since you are debiting the opening balance equity account. In summary, this entry sets up a temporary payable that you are about to pay in step three.
Step 3-- Now go into the drop down menu called “Pay One Vendor” and pay each bill using the date shown in your outstanding list. This step relieves the payable and effectively causes the check to be outstanding for the QuickBooks automatic bank reconciliation. Using Pay One Vendor is a better option to control the check number of the bill payment.
In summary, you have recorded the outstanding check without any effect on cash because the increase in the cash in step 1 is reduced by the decrease in cash in step 3. In addition, the account payable that was set up in Step 2 has been reduced by the payment in step 3, and the opening balance equity that is set up in step 1 is offset by the establishment of the payable which effectively debits the opening equity balance through step 2.
After I figured out how to accomplish this work around, it took 15 minutes to record the adjustments to have the QuickBooks Online Plus automatic bank reconciliation reflect the prior periods outstanding checks. The second month literally took 5 seconds to reconcile and the automatic bank reconciliation worked perfectly as intended.
Sandor Lenner, C.P.A. has been providing accounting services for 35 years. He is also a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and works as a consultant for a Miami Accounting CPA firm where he provides QuickBooks support and QuickBooks consulting.
Friday, March 5, 2010
QuickBooks Online Plus is a Helpful Tool for Small Business Owners to Monitor their Business by Product Line,Service Line,Division,Project or Property
Several months ago, I decided to focus in QuickBooks Online accounting. The more I'm exposed to this accounting program the more I learn how dynamic and how helpful this program is for many of my small business clients. The most outstanding feature of QuickBooks Online is the ability for multiple users to access their accounting software from any location,any office, any time, as long as they have Internet access. As I've mentioned in a previous blog post, Simple Start by QuickBooks is a very stripped down version of QuickBooks Online and has limited functionality, yet it can be used in certain situations, and best of all, its free. This particular blog post deals with QuickBooks Online Plus.
Recently, I was asked by one of my clients to assist them in the preparation of Form 1099 for their various real estate agents who worked on different properties here in south Florida. It was very simple question, and the answer is yes. QuickBooks Online is able to print out 1099s as well as track and accumulate all the information for each of my clients selling agents across different properties.It also keeps basic personal information for each contractor. The question that the client asked me, was whether or not QuickBooks Online Plus would be able to handle multiple projects since he represented different properties and want to track each property's profitability as it related to his business. The answer, once again, was yes, it he can handle multiple properties through its class tracking functionality. Then I was asked another question whether or not the QuickBooks Online Plus can print 1099s for each selling agent who worked on different properties while using the class feature. In other words, does the class feature work, when issuing 1099s for subcontractors and allow the client to monitor the activities for each selling agent for each property. The answer was again,yes.
The class feature is often confused and under utilized, but it is a very important and dynamic functionality that most small business owners should be using to monitor their profitability by project,division,product line,service line and etc.
Recently, I was asked by one of my clients to assist them in the preparation of Form 1099 for their various real estate agents who worked on different properties here in south Florida. It was very simple question, and the answer is yes. QuickBooks Online is able to print out 1099s as well as track and accumulate all the information for each of my clients selling agents across different properties.It also keeps basic personal information for each contractor. The question that the client asked me, was whether or not QuickBooks Online Plus would be able to handle multiple projects since he represented different properties and want to track each property's profitability as it related to his business. The answer, once again, was yes, it he can handle multiple properties through its class tracking functionality. Then I was asked another question whether or not the QuickBooks Online Plus can print 1099s for each selling agent who worked on different properties while using the class feature. In other words, does the class feature work, when issuing 1099s for subcontractors and allow the client to monitor the activities for each selling agent for each property. The answer was again,yes.
The class feature is often confused and under utilized, but it is a very important and dynamic functionality that most small business owners should be using to monitor their profitability by project,division,product line,service line and etc.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
QuickBooks Simple Start Can Help Very Small Businesses
Learn more about another QuickBooks Online option, called at QuickBooks Simple Start, its free but has limited functionality. i.e. limited to 5 customers(but unlimited vendors). I have seen this accounting software work for a few of my very small business clients, who use it to summarize their business activities for their tax returns.I have just installed three Simple Starts or Macs. To learn more about Simple Start and to compare it other versions just click here to get Simple Start.
Some people really find it useful and it's really free. Like all QuickBooks Online products it works with any PC and Macs. Grab it now !
Some people really find it useful and it's really free. Like all QuickBooks Online products it works with any PC and Macs. Grab it now !
Monday, November 30, 2009
QuickBooks Online No Cost Offer? - Pros and Cons
Like any other consumer I was interested in knowing exactly what was being offered for free by QuickBooks. An old finance professor of mine in an introductory finance course taught us the “no free lunch theorem”, which basically states that, there are no free lunches. I think what we have here, is a quick lunch rather than a three course meal. This article will address the pros and cons of QuickBooks online free version which was launched in October 2009.
Like any other optimist, I'll begin with the pros before the cons concerning the QuickBooks Online free version software.
Some of the positive aspects are as follows:
• Easy set up which includes many sample chart accounts with different companies in different industries.
• It is web-based which provides anytime and anywhere access and includes automatic backups at the Intuit's servers.
• The ability to print expense checks.
• Basic financial statements with some other supplemental reporting capabilities
• iPhone compatible with read-only rights and the ability to invoice customers on the fly.
Some of them that negative aspects are as follows:
• It is only limited to five customers.
• Lacks the ability to use form 1099s.
• No statement of cash flows -- this is important, because this financial statement portrays the sources and uses of your business’s cash from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
• Only one user access and your accountant does not have free online Internet access.
• Does not export to Excel.
When you're using this software you're actually using the bare-bones version of QuickBooks which is called QuickBooks Online Simple Start. For a detailed analysis of all of the features please feel free to click this link and you'll be directed to Intuit's website(you will be asked to sign in to use the website) that compares and contrasts the different features of QuickBooks Simple Start as compared to QuickBooks Online Basic and QuickBooks Online Plus.
As I mentioned above the setup is relatively easy, however there is one aspect that deserves discussion and a word of caution. The setup begins with a simple registration, completion of a company profile which includes selecting an industry, classifying your source of revenue as a customer, client, patient, etc... Towards the end of this process, Intuit requests billing information, i.e. Credit card information which they clearly state that it will not be used unless you purchase the software. To Intuit's credit this is very clear on the website after you press the submit button and you receive a receipt indicating that the price is free.
So in summary, unless you have a very small business with less than five customers or it's not important to track revenue by customer, then this version might be suited for your purposes. In addition, another use of the software would be to perform a write up of the accounting transactions which generally occurs after the fact, which means it's not used for real-time purposes. An example of a write up, would be to prepare the year-end tax return or to prepare a financial statement long after the transactions have occurred .
Notwithstanding the above, since there is no expiration period for the free use of the QuickBooks Online Simple Start, it does provide a good mechanism to test and more importantly use QuickBooks Online for more than 30 days. It should also be noted that QuickBooks Online Basic and QuickBooks Online Plus, both offer a 30 day free period to test drive the software. My experience is that 30 days may not be sufficient. So the remaining option is to either use the free 30 day period for QuickBooks Online Basic and QuickBooks Online Plus and if you need more than 30 days then purchase QuickBooks Online Basic for $9.95 a month or QuickBooks Online Plus for $34.95 a month. This is a viable option, since the software can be purchased on a month-to-month basis. The website clearly states “No contract, cancel anytime”.
Learn more about how QuickBooks Online can help your business and why not obtain this free accounting software before Intuit ends this free offer.
Like any other optimist, I'll begin with the pros before the cons concerning the QuickBooks Online free version software.
Some of the positive aspects are as follows:
• Easy set up which includes many sample chart accounts with different companies in different industries.
• It is web-based which provides anytime and anywhere access and includes automatic backups at the Intuit's servers.
• The ability to print expense checks.
• Basic financial statements with some other supplemental reporting capabilities
• iPhone compatible with read-only rights and the ability to invoice customers on the fly.
Some of them that negative aspects are as follows:
• It is only limited to five customers.
• Lacks the ability to use form 1099s.
• No statement of cash flows -- this is important, because this financial statement portrays the sources and uses of your business’s cash from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
• Only one user access and your accountant does not have free online Internet access.
• Does not export to Excel.
When you're using this software you're actually using the bare-bones version of QuickBooks which is called QuickBooks Online Simple Start. For a detailed analysis of all of the features please feel free to click this link and you'll be directed to Intuit's website(you will be asked to sign in to use the website) that compares and contrasts the different features of QuickBooks Simple Start as compared to QuickBooks Online Basic and QuickBooks Online Plus.
As I mentioned above the setup is relatively easy, however there is one aspect that deserves discussion and a word of caution. The setup begins with a simple registration, completion of a company profile which includes selecting an industry, classifying your source of revenue as a customer, client, patient, etc... Towards the end of this process, Intuit requests billing information, i.e. Credit card information which they clearly state that it will not be used unless you purchase the software. To Intuit's credit this is very clear on the website after you press the submit button and you receive a receipt indicating that the price is free.
So in summary, unless you have a very small business with less than five customers or it's not important to track revenue by customer, then this version might be suited for your purposes. In addition, another use of the software would be to perform a write up of the accounting transactions which generally occurs after the fact, which means it's not used for real-time purposes. An example of a write up, would be to prepare the year-end tax return or to prepare a financial statement long after the transactions have occurred .
Notwithstanding the above, since there is no expiration period for the free use of the QuickBooks Online Simple Start, it does provide a good mechanism to test and more importantly use QuickBooks Online for more than 30 days. It should also be noted that QuickBooks Online Basic and QuickBooks Online Plus, both offer a 30 day free period to test drive the software. My experience is that 30 days may not be sufficient. So the remaining option is to either use the free 30 day period for QuickBooks Online Basic and QuickBooks Online Plus and if you need more than 30 days then purchase QuickBooks Online Basic for $9.95 a month or QuickBooks Online Plus for $34.95 a month. This is a viable option, since the software can be purchased on a month-to-month basis. The website clearly states “No contract, cancel anytime”.
Learn more about how QuickBooks Online can help your business and why not obtain this free accounting software before Intuit ends this free offer.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Intuit - Affordable New Tax Software For Small and Home Based Businesses Tax Preparers
In September 2009, Intuit released a new web based tax software called Intuit ProLine(TM) Tax Online Edition (beta) for tax preparer's and those individuals that need a comprehensive, low-cost and Web based 1040 tax program. This software is designed for low volume users whose customer base does not justify an expensive PC or networked tax software. Similar to other web-based software programs, and similar to QuickBooks Online, this program permits the tax preparers to work any time from anywhere providing they have web access. Intuit has many years experienced in the tax preparation business and has its TurboTax ,Pro Series ,and Lacerte brands. Intuit understands its customers' needs and has the foresight to know that many of the tax software applications are heading towards "cloud computing" and this tax software is another example of a Web enabled program.
How it Works- Behind this program is the concept of simplicity, and Intuit accomplishes this by setting up 3 basic workspaces for the tax preparer. These workspaces are "input"," review" and "file". The "input" workspace is where the preparer enters tax information such as W-2, 1099, Schedule A and B,etc ..It is easy to find the proper form. When you open up the form you're able to make multiple data entries by using a list and total feature in the software. The second workspace, is the "review" section which provides the preparer with a diagnostics summary and a list of tax suggestions. The third workspace, is "file", which permits the tax preparer to electronically file the return or to print out the tax return for manual transmission to the IRS.
In the past, tax preparers have purchased TurboTax software and pirated the tax software to prepare hundreds of tax returns by using TurboTax. In order to capture and capitalize from this market, Intuit designed a low cost tax software for a preparer that wants to prepare a tax return in the dining room of a client or their own dining room or from any location with web access. The value proposition is that this software is low priced and simple to use. Although the Intuit website currently offers the beta software for 2008 at no cost, I've been unofficially informed that Intuit will sell the software on a pay-per-use basis of $16 per tax return. This price is not currently shown in the Intuit website.This tax software becomes an affordable alternative for the tax preparers whose practice cannot afford to purchase the Pro Series or Lacerte brands.
Some of the features of the software include the following: (a) 1040 only- single user (b) Pay per return (c) E - file or paper file for two states. It is expected that by the end of the 4th quarter 2009 that filing will be available for most of the other states. (d) Data conversion (e) Status tracking with the IRS (f) Notes and listing features and totaling capabilities embedded in the various forms and schedules(g) Diagnostics and suggestions and (h) Support from Intuit Like any other new software, the concerns at this point relate to the fact that the software is still in beta.
Notwithstanding the hundreds of users that have beta tested the software, there are invariably issues arising from any new software release and, only with the passage of time can the software achieve its expectations. Also, like any other web enabled software the connection and performance is dependent on the web connection, and quite frankly may result in sluggish performance. Also despite the Web-enabled software, there are taxpayer's homes that may not have web access which would prevent the tax preparer from entering the tax information "on the fly". Not a major issue, since the preparer can prepare the tax return later, or back in his or her the office or home.
I commend Intuit for producing a web-based tax preparer software for new low volume users as well as making it easy for those individuals that have used "pirated" versions of TurboTax in the past, to legally use a low-cost and affordable tax software.
Sandor Lenner,CPA has provided accounting services for companies for 35 years. He is also a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and provides QuickBooks support and business accounting services. As an Intuit Authorized Affiliate, he can offer you discounted QuickBooks and Intuit software. He works as a part-time consultant for Susan Missal Lenner, P.A.
How it Works- Behind this program is the concept of simplicity, and Intuit accomplishes this by setting up 3 basic workspaces for the tax preparer. These workspaces are "input"," review" and "file". The "input" workspace is where the preparer enters tax information such as W-2, 1099, Schedule A and B,etc ..It is easy to find the proper form. When you open up the form you're able to make multiple data entries by using a list and total feature in the software. The second workspace, is the "review" section which provides the preparer with a diagnostics summary and a list of tax suggestions. The third workspace, is "file", which permits the tax preparer to electronically file the return or to print out the tax return for manual transmission to the IRS.
In the past, tax preparers have purchased TurboTax software and pirated the tax software to prepare hundreds of tax returns by using TurboTax. In order to capture and capitalize from this market, Intuit designed a low cost tax software for a preparer that wants to prepare a tax return in the dining room of a client or their own dining room or from any location with web access. The value proposition is that this software is low priced and simple to use. Although the Intuit website currently offers the beta software for 2008 at no cost, I've been unofficially informed that Intuit will sell the software on a pay-per-use basis of $16 per tax return. This price is not currently shown in the Intuit website.This tax software becomes an affordable alternative for the tax preparers whose practice cannot afford to purchase the Pro Series or Lacerte brands.
Some of the features of the software include the following: (a) 1040 only- single user (b) Pay per return (c) E - file or paper file for two states. It is expected that by the end of the 4th quarter 2009 that filing will be available for most of the other states. (d) Data conversion (e) Status tracking with the IRS (f) Notes and listing features and totaling capabilities embedded in the various forms and schedules(g) Diagnostics and suggestions and (h) Support from Intuit Like any other new software, the concerns at this point relate to the fact that the software is still in beta.
Notwithstanding the hundreds of users that have beta tested the software, there are invariably issues arising from any new software release and, only with the passage of time can the software achieve its expectations. Also, like any other web enabled software the connection and performance is dependent on the web connection, and quite frankly may result in sluggish performance. Also despite the Web-enabled software, there are taxpayer's homes that may not have web access which would prevent the tax preparer from entering the tax information "on the fly". Not a major issue, since the preparer can prepare the tax return later, or back in his or her the office or home.
I commend Intuit for producing a web-based tax preparer software for new low volume users as well as making it easy for those individuals that have used "pirated" versions of TurboTax in the past, to legally use a low-cost and affordable tax software.
Sandor Lenner,CPA has provided accounting services for companies for 35 years. He is also a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and provides QuickBooks support and business accounting services. As an Intuit Authorized Affiliate, he can offer you discounted QuickBooks and Intuit software. He works as a part-time consultant for Susan Missal Lenner, P.A.
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