Lynette Benton

What is Undeposited Funds used for in QuickBooks

2011-09-17T07:11:00.000-04:00

One of the most common question I get is “What is undeposited Funds?” When you receive a payment from a client it goes into an account called undeposited funds. Think of this as your bank bag. You may receive payments from clients throughout the week. You stick them in your bank bag.

You do the same thing in QuickBooks. When you are ready to go to the bank you click on Record Deposits from the Home Page. A window will pop up for you to select the payments you are depositing into the bank.

Now you select the bank account you are depositing the money into.

Undeposited Funds is just a holding account to place all the checks or cash you have received so you can group them together to make a deposit into your bank account.

Hope this helps.

Entering Credit Card Charges in QuickBooks

2011-09-05T15:35:00.008-04:00

Setting Up for Credit Card Transactions
If you have a credit card that you use only for the business then you will want to set it up as a credit card account.

1. Click on Chart of Accounts from the Home Page.
2. Click on New from the Account button.
3. Choose Credit Card as the Type of account.
4. In the Name field type in the name of the credit card.

You can enter the charges as you make them or wait until you get your statement and enter the charges at that time.

1. Click on Banking from the Main Menu.
2. Click on Enter Credit Card Charges.
3. Choose the credit card in the Credit Card field.
4. If you want to do it using the statement and put them all on one charge don’t fill out the Purchased From and use the statement date as the date.
5. Enter a description of the item purchased in the Memo column.
6. Be sure to remember to choose a class in the Class column if you are using classes in QuickBooks.

Paying a Credit Card

To pay a credit card you just write a check. Enter the name of the credit card company in the Pay to the order of field, enter the date and the amount you are paying. In the Account column choose the credit card account you setup.

Attorneys Can Use QuickBooks in Law Practice

2011-07-17T05:03:00.018-04:00

I have heard many times that lawyers have been told and think that they can not use QuickBooks in their office to handle their bookkeeping needs. I disagree with this. QuickBooks is an inexpensive accounting software package that is designed to be easy to use by non-accountants. Even though attorneys have complex accounting needs, I have found through years of experience, that QuickBooks can accomplish the tasks you need to run your practice.

QuickBooks has the ability to do the following for attorneys:

Track time to bill clients
Track costs to bill clients
Bill clients for time and cost
Track income and expenses
Maintain a trust account

It is easy to accomplish if you have QuickBooks setup right to begin with. The biggest problem I have seen is neglecting the accounting aspect of your practice. Lets face it. You could be using any piece of software to handle your time and expenses but if you don't have an overall knowledge of how profitable your business is, you are just guessing.

Being able at any time to see how your practice is doing gives you a great piece of mind and a chance to fix things before it is to late. Most of the high price accounting packages for law firms are so complicated that you have to hire people that already know how to use them and then you are depending on them to tell you how it is going. With QuickBooks, you, the attorney, can easily learn how to get the information you want when you want it and you are not held hostage by a bookkeeper that may be the only one who knows how to run your software.

How long does it take to get setup and running? This is my most asked question. Here is a breakdown on the average time investment I think you will need to get up and running.

15 - 30 minutes phone call with you -Let me setup the file - I do this after I talk to you to find out a little about your practice and billing needs.

1 hour gathering information - This really depends on if you are starting out with a new practice or converting from another program. Things I would need to get your file setup would be client begin balances, client names and address information (I can show you how to add but if you have an existing program I can import this information for you) Trust account information, and billing rates.

2 - 1 hour online consulting appointments - Using remote connection software, I will put the file on your computer and show you the basic functions of QuickBooks like how to setup clients and matters, how to enter your time, and how to bill for it, how to write checks for client costs and regular operating expenses and how to receive payments from clients.

1 hour online consulting for Trust Accounting. I will teach you how to handle your trust transactions and get the reports you need to be in compliance with your state bar association rules on trust accounts.

1 hour online consulting - This is usually after the first month. I show you how to reconcile and how to make sure your information is correct.

The total investment in time is usually 4 - 6 hours and you will know how to use your accounting software to get the information that you need to make sure that your practice is healthy, and in compliance. I have been teaching attorneys how to do this for over 15 years and it works. You are welcome to contact me if you have any questions.

Recording Cash Transactions in QuickBooks

2011-02-26T07:14:00.005-05:00

There are some occasions in which you purchase items with cash or on your personal account. You want to record them so you can write off the expense. These transactions can be entered into QuickBooks with a journal entry or you can setup a bank account called petty cash.

Journal entry method:

1. Click on Company from the Main Menu and click on Make General Journal Entry.

2. Choose the account the expense was for. In the Debit column type in the amount of the purchase. Enter a memo regarding the purchase. If you are using classes in QuickBooks don't forget to enter a class.

3. You will credit the Owners Draw or Draw account the total of your debits.

In the Chart of Accounts you will want to have an account for money you put in and take out of the company. This could be called Owners Draw or Draw. They type of account it would be is an equity account.

Petty Cash Method

Another way to handle cash transactions is to setup a petty cash bank account. For example, let’s say you have $100.00 in petty cash. When you need to buy something you take it out of petty cash and put in a receipt. First setup a bank account called Petty Cash.

1. Click on Chart of Accounts from the Home Page.
2. Click on Add new from the Account button.
3. The type will be Bank Account.
4. The name will be Petty Cash.

When you write a check from your regular checking account for petty cash you will choose the Petty Cash account as the account. This will put money into the petty cash register.

Now that you have a petty cash account you can enter the receipts you have that you paid for with cash or through your own account. The main difference is that you don’t have to put a check number.

Recording Returned or Bounced Check from a Client

2010-11-28T17:53:00.006-05:00

Lately I have been getting questions on how to record a bounced check from a client in QuickBooks. The first thing you have to know is how did you record the check the first time.

If the returned check was one that was applied to Accounts Receivable do the following:
1. Open the check register that the money came out of.
2. Type the date of the returned check
3. No check number
4. Enter the amount of the returned check
5. Click the Split button
6.For the Account choose Accounts Receivable
7. Enter a memo "returned check" in the memo column
8. Choose the client in the Customer column that it was returned against.

By doing this you will put the money back into the clients accounts receivable.

If you just deposited the money to begin with and applied to something like legal fees do the following:
1. Open the check register that the money came out of.
2. Type the date of the returned check
3. No check number
4. Enter the amount of the returned check.
5. Click the split button.
6.For the Account choose Legal Fees or whatever account you used when you first deposited it.
7. Enter a memo returned check
8. Choose the client that it was returned against.

This will then reduce your income for the bounced check.

Hope this helps out. If you have any questions you are welcome to contact me at my office. (904) 284-4480.

www.attorneystechnology.com

Setting Up Users and Passwords in QuickBooks

2010-11-27T06:20:00.019-05:00

QuickBooks allows you to setup Users & Passwords. This allows you to secure your data. In setting up users you can also assign rights to the user. For example, you may have someone who helps you with your billing and receiving payments. You would set them up to only be able to see the accounts receivable information.

To setup users and passwords:
1. Click on Company from the Main Menu.
2. Click on Setup Users and Passwords.
3. Click on Set up Users.

The User List box will appear. This lists all of the users that are currently set up. The Admin account is set up by default. You may want to set a password for the Admin account, click on Edit User. Enter the new password and enter it again in the confirm password box. Select a challenge questions, and input the answer. When you are finished, click on Next. Click on Finish to complete the process.

Now we can add Users to your QuickBooks file.
1. Click on Add User. Type in the name they will use to log in with and a password. Click Next.

2. Choose Selected Areas of QuickBooks.

3. Since Julie is going to be helping with billing and receiving payments we will want to give her full access on the Sales and Accounts Receivable window, choose Full Access and click Next.

4. Go through the additional windows and choose the options that fit your user.

5. Once you are done you will see a summary of the choices you picked. You can now review them and then click Finish. It is a good idea to log off and then log back on as them so you can test it out and make sure you have selected the right choices.

If you need help with learning more about QuickBooks I offer online consulting services. To find out more visit. http://www.attorneystechnology.com/quickbooks-consulting/quickbooksservices.php.

Backing Up Your QuickBooks Data

2010-05-14T06:44:00.014-04:00

Backing up your QuickBooks data is very important. If something ever happens to your computer, you will be able to restore you data file to another computer IF you have a backup.

The easiest way to backup your data is:

Click on File from the menu bar and Save a Copy or Backup. The following dialog box will come up.

Click Next.
Choose Local backup and click Next.

Choose your option. I recommend Save it Now and Schedule Future backups.

Choose how often and click Options to choose the location.

Name your file and enter time and days to do backup and click OK.

Setting Up Payment Plans Using QuickBooks

2010-03-23T05:55:00.006-04:00

Here is an easy way to setup a payment plan in QuickBooks using the Invoice method.

You may have situations in which you want to setup a payment plan for a client using QuickBooks. Let’s say you are going to bill a client $2000.00 to do a case. One way you might want to do this is to create an invoice that day for the amount they are paying to start. Then create the remaining invoice or invoices individually with the date that they are due to make a payment. Use the terms as Due upon receipt. This will also allow you to create an aging report in the future so you can forecast what is coming in that month.

My new book for Law Practice Accounting using QuickBooks is available at www.attorneystechnology.com I show how to do this and so much more.

Creating an Invoice in QuickBooks Grouped by Timekeeper

2010-03-22T07:27:00.008-04:00

You may want to create an invoice that has time activity grouped by item type or timekeeper. I will use the attorney sample file in QuickBooks to show you how to do this.
To do this, when you click on add time and cost to invoice you will first select the items you want to come into the invoice. For example we want to show Jonathan's time first.

When the invoice comes up go to the bottom and add a line for the subtotal. This will add up all the lines above this group.

This is also great for grouping the expenses for things like postage and copies or other fees.

Here is what the invoice could look like.

You may want to get my new book Law Practice Accounting Using QuickBooks for 2010 and prior versions.

Checking for Conflicts of Interest with QuickBooks

2010-03-16T20:19:00.012-04:00

QuickBooks has added a new find field in the customer list that can help you check your customer list for conflicts of interest. You can use the define fields to store other names that are associated with your clients. It is easy to use and attorneys may find it very helpful.

From the Home Page, choose Customers. QuickBooks displays the Customers: Jobs list.
Click on the Customer Job that you would like to add a custom field to.
Click the Additional Info tab.
Click Define Fields.
QuickBooks displays the Define Fields window.

In the first blank label field, type Versus.
Select the Customers: Jobs checkbox.
Click OK to close the Edit Customer window.
Close the Customers: Jobs list.

Finding names in the customer list
When you want to find a client or a name in your client list click on the find field on the customer list and then click the search box.

Save Time With Memorized Reports in QuickBooks

2009-10-12T06:17:00.004-04:00

Memorizing ReportsWhen you make modifications and customize a particular report, you may decide that you would like to save the settings and modifications, so that you can later pull the same report without having to go through all of the modifications. QuickBooks makes this easy with Memorized Reports.

Click on the Modify Reports button and make whatever changes you would like to make. Complete your changes and click on OK to return to the report.

When you are done with report click on the Memorize button in the top left hand part of the report window.

QuickBooks will now prompt you to enter a new name for the report. You can name it anything that you would like.

Click OK to Finish.

To retrieve the report at a later time, simply click on Reports from the Main Menu, and then click on Memorized Reports. The report that you created will be on the list, and you can click on it to bring it up.

You can also create a Memorized Report group.

Click on Reports from the Main Menu and click Memorized Reports.
This will bring up a listing of the memorized reports.

Click the Memorized Report button at the bottom and choose New Group.

Name your group. For example Trust Reports.
Click OK when done.

Now click on a memorized report and click the Memorized Report button at the bottom.
Click Edit Memorized Report.
Add that report to your new group.

Now when it comes time to print out or display those reports you can just go to Memorized Reports, Choose the group and then Display or Print.

Moving Money from Trust to Operating in QuickBooks

2009-07-26T10:54:00.004-04:00

The biggest mistake I see attorneys make while using QuickBooks for Trust Accounting is trying to get money from the Client Trust Account to the Law Firm Operating Account. If not done correctly, this can cause a major issue for your Client Trust Account Reports.

Don't make the mistake of just writing a check out of your trust account and code it to the operating account. Almost all of the trust account transactions should hit the client trust liability account and individual client's subaccount. By transferring or coding, you are skipping this step , and then you have no record of where that money is or who's money it came from.

Here is a quick breakdown of the proper steps for moving money for fees from your Client Trust Account to your Law Firm Operating Account.

1. Create a charge for your fees using statement charges or invoices.
2. Write a check out of the trust account and then choose the client's subaccount under the Client Trust Liability account.
3. Receive the payment against the charge just like you would if they walked in and paid you.
4. Make a deposit into your Operating account.

These steps will make sure that all of the transactions it the client trust liability account and will help you get the reports you need.

If you are new to QuickBooks or would like more help with using QuickBooks in your Law Practice please take a look at my books; Law Practice Accounting Using QuickBooks and Maintaining a Trust Account Using QuickBooks.

You can visit me at www.attorneystechnology.com

QuickBooks for Mac

2009-07-26T09:33:00.005-04:00

How did I live without it? I recently purchased a Mac for the sole purpose of writing my book for attorneys and property owners who use QuickBooks on their Mac. I was surprised to see that it had a different look and feel than the PC version of QuickBooks. I was having so much fun with my Mac that I got rid of Verizon and purchased the IPhone.

Some of the differences that I noticed right off was how much faster QuickBooks runs on the Mac. The help files load fast and reports load faster. I love the fact that I can link my contacts to my address book and my IPhone!

I recommend attorneys use statement charges and not invoices. It is so hard or impossible to get notes out of the invoice for any reporting purposes. When using statement charges I entered a note with 250 characters and they all exported to excel. This is great! When I used the time sheet to enter information I noticed it will only let me put in 99 characters.

QuickBooks for Mac does not currently have a multi-user version. You can save your QuickBooks data file on your network, and different individuals in your organization can access the file, but not at the same time. Also, Windows and Mac versions of QuickBooks cannot work together on a multi-user license.

Well the book should be back from review this week. If you would like to be one of the first to get the book at a special price in August, please feel free to email me at lynette.benton@comcast.net

Attorneys can Track Time, Retainers, Conflicts and More using QuickBooks

2009-05-06T06:25:00.003-04:00

QuickBooks is the number one small business accounting software and for good reason. It is easy to use and reasonably priced. QuickBooks can do the following things that Attorneys generally need:

Track Billable and Non Billable Time - QuickBooks has a great Time Tracking feature. An attorney can track their billable and non billable time for their clients. It also has a Timer program that comes separate and able to run without QuickBooks. This enables everyone in the office to track time and the bookkeeper and pull the time into QuickBooks.

Billing Rates and Price Levels - You can create custom price levels for your clients. It can also track Billing Rate levels that can be associated by the time keeper. (This is available in the Professional Services edition.)

Conflicts of Interest – In the 2009 versions of QuickBooks you have the ability to do advanced searches quickly and easily within your customer list.

Retainers – Yes you can track retainers in QuickBooks. Reports can easily be created and memorized so you will always know what money you are holding in retainers.

Trust Accounting – Easily track the money you are holding in trust and create reports to help you stay in compliance with Trust Accounting Laws.

QuickBooks also has the ability to:
Write checks
Link to online Bank Accounts
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
Payroll
1099’s

Need help getting started or training I can help. www.attorneystechnology.com

Sample Chart of Accounts for Law Firms

2009-02-25T18:42:00.006-05:00

Here is a link to two sample chart of accounts that Attorneys can use for their Law Firms. The Medium size chart of accounts was modeled after the American Bar Association.

http://www.attorneystechnology.com/formsandletters.htm

Can Lawyers Use QuickBooks?

2009-02-11T06:45:00.006-05:00

The answer is Yes. QuickBooks is the number one small business accounting software and for good reason. It is easy to use and reasonably priced. It allows you to keep track of your Trust account, Retainers, Billable Time, Clients and Income and Expenses. The key is choosing the right version for your law practice and setting it up right to begin with. I have written a book that is step-by-step on how to use in a Law Practice. You can find it at www.attorneystechnology.com.

QuickBooks has serveral versions available, Online edition, Simple Start, QuickBooks for Mac, QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier, QuickBooks Enterprise. Choosing the right one for your business can be confusing. First let me tell you that I do not personally recommend Simple Start for attorneys. The following questions may help you decide which version of QuickBooks to get.

Do you need more than 5 people to have access to QuickBooks? If so you need the Enterprise Edition. This will allow up to 30 users.

Do you need access to the QuickBooks file anywhere any time? If so and you don’t use things like pcnow or gotomypc you may consider using the online edtion for QuickBooks. The cost starts at about $9.95 a month not including payroll $19.95 a month. If you need more than one person besides your accountant to have access to the file you will need to upgrade to the online plus which starts around $34.95 a month not including payroll $19.95 a month. This is not my favorite choice because I find it cumbersome when it comes to tracking time and billing clients. Also one feature I don’t like is it allows you to delete stuff that can reallly cause a problem later.

Do you want to setup rates for individual clients? This is a biggie. If you want to be able to charge a different rate for each client or type of client you really need to get the QuickBooks Premier Edition. This not only allows you to setup rates for clients but rates for your employees.

Do you track time? If so and you want to bill your clients using the invoice method the QuickBooks Premier Edition is perfect for this. It allows you to see unbilled time and expenses on one screen and bill for it.

Are you just starting your Law Practice? If you are just starting your law practice and you still don’t know which version to get I recommend getting the QuickBooks Pro version.

The main differences between the Pro and the Premier version that could affect your buisness type is the Premier version allows you to set indivudal rates for your clients, for your employees and allows you to bill your time in one screen. The cost is about $199.00 for the Pro version and $399.00 for the Premier version. If you think you will need to set individual rates for clients and employees I really recommend making the investment for the Premier version.

Before Updating to QuickBooks 2009 Read System Requirements

2009-02-08T17:07:00.002-05:00

The system requirements have changed for QuickBooks 2009. It does not work on Windows 2000. Make sure your computers are upgraded before you install. Here is a link to the system requirements. http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product/accounting-software/small-business-accounting-software.jsp

Operating Systems supported:
Windows XP (SP2 or later strongly recommended), all editions
Windows 2003 Server
Windows Vista (w/UAC on), all editions
Windows Longhorn Server (database only, not client)

My Customer List in QuickBooks is Sorted Wrong on Reports

2009-02-08T11:00:00.001-05:00

I got a call from one of my clients and she was so frustrated because her customer list was sorted wrong on her aging report and customer sales report. I couldn’t figure out what she could have done so I had to see for myself. YEP it was messed up. This is how you fix this if the QuickBooks gremlin gets in your company file.

Go to the Write Checks Window.
When the window appears click on the Payee field and press CTRL and L.
The Names List window will pop up. Click on the Name button at the bottom.
Choose Re-sort list.

This should fix it.