QuickBooks: Become an Overnight Expert
There are several ways that CPAs and their clients can work better with QuickBooks, including a regular review of client data and utilizing remote access tools, but having the correct set-up and training from the beginning ensures that users get off on the right foot.
There are many training options, whether it be finding a small classroom environment at a local college or signing up for a virtual training course. But CPA Firms are proponent of one-on-one training in a client's office. "The cost may be three times as high, but the value is 10 times as high."
However, if a client does opt for training at a local college, selecting a hands-on course that uses a textbook and has homework and case studies.
Regularly reviewing a client's data is critical. You don't want to find out at the end of the year that a significant mistake has been made and it could have been resolved had it been caught earlier on. To help avoid such issues, experts recommend that an CPA Firms or Accounting Professionals be involved on a regular basis and review data files at least quarterly, if not monthly or weekly.
REMOTE AND HOSTED CONTROL
Perhaps the easiest and most efficient way to stay involved in the client's data and to resolve any QuickBooks questions or issues that may arise is to take advantage of remote access tools, such as GoToMyPC, QuickBooks Remote Access, or to use a QuickBooks hosting company to host the client's data in the "cloud." Taking advantage of remote access tools and logging into a client's desktop enables accounting professionals to review client data or resolve issues within QuickBooks, eliminating the time wasted driving to and from a client's office. good news is that the 4.5 million QuickBooks users and their accountants can take steps to work more efficiently with QuickBooks to get a solid grasp of a business' financial health."Remote access allows you to log in and work in their data file. With so many small businesses using QuickBooks, most CPAs are having to deal with inaccurate, incomplete or inconsistent data they get from their clients. That presents all sorts of problems. Obviously, it's hard to prepare a tax return from bad data, so a lot of CPAs find themselves in the business of cleaning up the QuickBooks data files from their clients. The core of the problem is that the clients were never really properly trained on how to put data in [QuickBooks].
Furthermore, if QuickBooks is used in a hosted environment, as opposed to being on a client's desktop, there's even greater flexibility to access data from anywhere, at any time.
Our Miami CPA Firm is benefiting from web based Right Networks as a provider of hosted QuickBooks, according to Gustavo Viera, CPA, managing partner for Gustavo A Viera CPA. Viera was founded in 1983 as an outsourced small business accounting solution for clients.
"Right Networks allows both our staff and our client's staff access to the QuickBooks files any time, any place. We have designed our Web site so that our clients come directly and log into Right Networks to access their QuickBooks files. Utilizing Right Networks to host our client's QuickBooks files gives us a competitive advantage by allowing us to share tasks with their accounting personnel. For example, if the client wants to retain the responsibility for invoicing their clients, but outsource the remainder of the bookkeeping function, we can very easily do that because we each have 24/7 access to the same live data," explained Viera. "We also work with a number of clients where the owners are away from the office frequently, traveling to run their business. By having remote access to their QuickBooks files, they can log in from anywhere in the world and keep tabs on the day-to-day operations of their business."
CATCHING CLIENT MISTAKES
Having greater access to a client's data can help catch and resolve client mistakes, some of which may be more costly than others.
Accountants work with so many different clients, but almost all clients make mistakes that are very, very common. According there are about 4.5 million businesses using QuickBooks and about 97,000 accounting firms that work with small businesses and help them with QuickBooks.
Some common mistakes include, but are not limited to: numerous old accounts, customers, vendors or items within lists; a growing balance in undeposited funds; payments that are not applied to invoices; unapplied vendor credits; and incorrect or inconsistent inventory procedures.
One significant mistake that a client with inventory could make is to improperly merge inventory items. This will distort data and is irreversible.
NEW TOOLS
Looking to make QuickBooks even easier for accounting professionals in serving their clients, Intuit has developed many tools. Among the more popular is the Client Data Review tool. Client Data Review, which was introduced in 2009, with four new tools in 2010, helps accounting professionals be more productive when detecting and correcting client data errors. Features include a tool to quickly reclassify transactions, real-time data refresh as corrections are made to the client's data, and the ability to track changes to the QuickBooks lists, including added, deleted, merged or edited.
The CPA helps elevate the user from a system that worked pretty good to all of the sudden running a very, very efficient organization that has all of the advantages from a cost and productivity and employee morale [standpoint] that your larger enterprises have.
Gustavo A Viera CPA
Categories: QuickBooks
Tags: CPA Firms Bookkeeping Basics small business tax QuickBooks accounting cpa miami CPA in Miami
This is my first visit here. I found some really interesting stuff in your blog especially this discussion. Keep up the good work.
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Just wanted to point out a common misconception. People tend to confuse Quickbooks Online and Quickbooks Hosting. Quickbooks online does not have all the same features as QuickBooks and QuickBooks Hosting allows users to access their own licensed version of QuickBooks remotely.
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