Greetings The CPA911 Newsletter December 2009 ------ > Contents < ------ QuickBooks Tips Puzzle Winner New Poll - VOTE Contact Info Subscription Info ------ > QuickBooks TIPS < ------ *** Customer Sent a Single Check for Multiple Jobs *** We receive many queries from readers about the correct way to apply a customer payment that pays off invoices for multiple jobs. There are two ways to handle this scenario, but only one method works correctly. We've put an article titled "Single Customer Payments for Multiple Job Invoices" on the QuickBooks Tips section of our website to explain the way to handle this type of transaction. To go directly to the article, enter the following URL in your browser's Address Bar: http://www.cpa911.com/read_article.asp?ID=293 *** Reminders You Didn't Configure *** As readers have been installing QuickBooks 2010, an old problem has cropped up: Those annoying sales pitches (disguised as "reminders") that you see when you open a company file. Don't bother trying to figure out how to set reminders in Preferences, these advertisements are unrelated to "real" reminders. There's only one way to get rid of these, and we have an article titled "Reminders (that are really sales pitches)-How to get rid of them" in the QuickBooks Tips section of our web site with instructions. You can go directly to the article by copying this URL into your browser's Address Bar: http://www.cpa911.com/read_article.asp?ID=230 *** Printing a List of Bank Deposits *** A reader wrote to say that her employer wants a list of all bank deposits made for a given period, and she doesn't know how to produce the list. In the Chart of Accounts List window, select (highlight) the bank account and press Ctrl-Q to open a QuickReport of all transactions for the account. Set the time period for the dates you need. Click Modify and move to the Filters tab. Select Transaction Type in the Filter list. Select Deposit as the Transaction Type. Click OK. Memorize the report, naming it "List of Deposits" (or something similar) so you don't have to go through the configuration steps in the future. *** Undeposited Funds Account - How it Works *** In response to many queries about the way the Undeposited Funds account works, we've created a graphical overview that summarizes the processes. The article, titled "Undeposited Funds Account: How it Works", is in the QuickBooks Tips section of our website. This is not a full explanation of configuring and using the account; it's merely an overview. You can find directions for using the account in the QuickBooks Help Files. To go directly to the article, enter the following URL into your browser's Address Bar: http://www.cpa911.com/read_article.asp?ID=294 *** Getting Started in QuickBooks *** This is the time of year that business owners who have been using spreadsheets or paper ledgers install QuickBooks, intending to "go live" as of the first of the year. Switching from manual books to QuickBooks requires the entry of historical data in addition to entering all the list elements. We have an article in the QuickBooks Tips section of our website titled "Startup: Entering Historical Transactions". Over the years that this article has been available, many accountants have used the information to help clients get started, and we encourage accountants to print the article and use it as they work with clients who are setting up a new company file. You can go directly to the article by copying this URL into your browser's Address Bar: http://www.cpa911.com/read_article.asp?ID=290 *** QuickBooks 2010 Sales Pitches for Payment Services *** We've had hundreds of emails about what readers call the over-aggressive techniques for getting users to sign up for payment-related services in QuickBooks 2010. The presence of links to these services on the Sales Receipt transaction form, and the fact that QuickBooks takes you to a web page to sign up for services when you create a sales receipt or receive an invoice payment from a customer are the main complaints. For those of you who close the web page window and are annoyed that it opens every time you create a sales transaction, here's how to stop that window from opening: Let it open. Go through the survey and respond with NO AND I DON'T PLAN TO for every question about whether you plan to use any of the payment services. That stops the window from opening. (If you decide you want to use one or more those services later, there's a command on the Customers menu to get more information about merchant card services, e-checks, scan-checks, etc.) We've forwarded the fact that many of you are complaining about this to Intuit, but what's most effective is to submit your concerns via the customer feedback mechanism in QuickBooks. Choose Help, Send Feedback Online, Product Suggestion. In the "Suggestion" text box, tell Intuit how you feel about this function. ------ > PUZZLE WINNER < ------ Congratulations to Ken Olsen of Palatine, IL for winning our November 2009 puzzle contest. Ken's name was selected at random from the pool of correct answers, and a copy of Running QuickBooks 2010 Premier Editions has been sent to him. If you missed it, here's the puzzle: A reader sent e-mail that started with, "Help, I'm going crazy trying to send invoices". Here's what happened. He usually sends invoices weekly, but on this particular week his assistant created the invoices and printed them. All of the invoices printed incorrectly, with a very large top margin (almost 2" deep). The same thing happened when he voided and re-created the invoices. He tried using the Layout Designer but it didn't work. He opened another company file, and he also opened a sample company file, but the same thing happened. If he prints to another printer, including a PDF converter printer, the large top margin is always there. He verified the file and everything is fine. What's the most likely cause of his problem? The most common reason for this problem is that somebody selected "Letterhead" as the paper type for printing invoices (instead of Blank Paper). QuickBooks moved everything down to make room for the pre-printed letterhead. The change could have been made in any company file, including a sample company file. Once a printer setup is changed in any company file, the change is replicated to all company files because QuickBooks configures printers for the entire installation of the software instead of individual company files (which we think is a preposterous and unwise way to design accounting software). ------ > NEW POLL < ------ We have a new poll on the home page of our website (www.cpa911.com). We're asking about your plans for year-end bonuses. This is a continuation of our efforts to look at the effect of the economy on small businesses. Here are the results of our last poll, in which we asked whether you have a line of credit for your business: Yes = 32% Expect to in the future = 26% Do not expect to = 42% ------ > CONTACT INFO < ------ Copyright 2009 CPA911. Comments or questions? Write to: editor@cpa911.com. Visit our web site: http://www.cpa911.com. ------ > SUBSCRIPTION INFO < ------ You can forward this newsletter to anyone, as long as you forward it in its entirety. If you received a forwarded copy, subscribe for yourself (it's free) at http://www.cpa911.com/newsletter.asp.