Quickbooks

Tracking Jobs in QuickBooks: Part 1

Job-costing is not just for contractors. While that’s probably the most common understanding of this concept in QuickBooks, you can also use the software’s jobs tools to track income and expenses for any related group of items and/or services.

Think of them as projects. If you’re an expert in business promotions, for example, you probably have multiple projects going on simultaneously that consist of materials you might need to order for your client (like special paper) and the actual work you do (design, content-creation, etc.). You could also have to track expenses like mileage, and you may price your services by the hour.

QuickBooks can handle all of this. If you’re conscientious about documenting all of the pieces that go into every job, you’ll be able to run reports that show you how much you spent and took in on each. This information can help you better price your services and manage your time to maximize profitability.

Many Elements

In part one of this of a two-column series, we’re going to explore the basic elements that go into job-tracking. Keep in mind that there are many different ways to work with jobs. How you choose to do it will depend on the structure of your business.

First, let’s look at a simple example. The first step involves setting up a job for an existing client. Even if you think you’re only going to be doing one project for them, you can still set it up as a job so you can assign all related income and expenses to it. This will make it much easier if you get additional work from the customer down the line – and if you have to bill the customer for something that’s not related to a specific project.

To create a job, open the Customers menu and select Customer Center. Make sure the Customers & Jobs tab is highlighted. Select the customer by clicking on it. Right-click the name and select Add Jobfrom the drop-down list. When the New Job window opens, click the Job Info tab.

Figure 1: You can track your Jobs by keeping their status current in the New Job window.

Fill in the Job Name field. In this example, we’ve selected a name that’s broad enough that we’ll eventually be able to break down into specific tasks. If your customer has an outstanding balance as of the current date, that amount will appear in the Opening Balance field.

Enter a Job Description. The Job Type field is optional, but creating these classifications can help with advanced reports that gauge profitability. Consult with us if you want to explore these.

Open the Job Status list and select the correct one, then choose a Start Date and Projected End Date. You’ll document the End Datewhen you’re finished. Click OK.

Creating Item Records

You may already know that if you buy and/or sell products and/or services, you have to set up individual records for each one so you can include them on sales and purchase forms. You’ll need these to record income and expenses related to your Promotion job. If you’re new to QuickBooks, here’s how it works.

Open the Lists menu and select Item List. In the window that opens, click the arrow next to Item in the lower left corner and select New. A window like this will open:

Figure 2: The New Item window.

The Item Type list will drop down. Select Service. In the example above, you’re creating a record for a service you sell: Website Development. Enter that in the Item Name/Number field. Ignore the U/M Set field; this is not available in QuickBooks Pro or Premier.

Enter a Description and your hourly (or project) Rate. Choose the correct Tax Code status and select the Account. When you’re done, click OK.

Warning: You may not have an Account in your Chart of Accountsthat fits the specialized income and expenses you want to track. If you need assistance setting this up, don’t hesitate to call.

You’ll repeat this process for other types of promotional work you do (making flyers and brochures, designing and ordering branded products, general content creation, etc.).

Think it through first

Before you create your first job, spend time envisioning how you want it structured. Remember that every invoice or timed activity or other income or expense you enter will only be assigned to one Customer:Job, but you can include as many Items as you want. If you need help envisioning this, please call, and a QuickBooks professional will be happy to help you think this through and go through the setup with you

Next month: a look at how the records you’ve created can be used.

By Leon Clinton
March 31, 2019

Applying Finance Charges in QuickBooks

There are myriad ways to bring in customer payments faster and improve your cash flow. You can:

Get a merchant account and let customers pay you electronically
Offer a discount for early payments
Shorten the payment due cycle (21 days instead of 30 days, for example)
Be more aggressive about collections

QuickBooks can help you take all of these steps. It also offers a fifth option: assessing finance charges for tardy remittances.

Maybe you don’t want to do this because it seems like a less-than-friendly way to treat customers – especially valued ones. But you’re not in the business of lending money, which is what you’re doing when you continue to let your accounts receivable slide. So, here’s how to do add finance charges to your payment policies.

Multiple Issues Involved

Before you can start adding finance charges to tardy payments, you will need to let QuickBooks know how you want them handled. Open the Edit menu and select Preferences. Click the Finance Charge tab in the left vertical pane, then the Company Preferences tab in the window that opens. You will see something like this:

Figure 1: You will need to decide on your QuickBooks Finance Chargesettings before you can begin to apply these late fees.

What Annual Interest Rate will you charge? Will there be a Minimum Finance Charge? Do you want to offer a Grace Period? If you’ve never worked with finance charges before, you might be at a loss as to how you should answer these questions. If so, don’t hesitate to call a QuickBooks pro in the office who can help you make sure you’re selecting the correct Finance Charge Account. In this example, QuickBooks defaulted to 70100 – Other Income, which may be the best option for you.

The next question may require some research. Some jurisdictions don’t allow you to Assess finance charges on overdue finance charges; you’ll need to find out if this is the case. If there’s any doubt, make sure that the box in front of that option isn’t checked.

QuickBooks also needs to know on what date it should start calculating finance charges: on the due date or invoice/billed date. Finally, check the box in front of Mark finance charge invoices “To be printed.” QuickBooks doesn’t include finance charges on invoices themselves; it bills them on separate invoices. Check this box if you want the software to print all of them as a batch.

When you’re done here, click OK.

Applying the Charges

Figure 2: By selecting an Assessment Date, you are telling QuickBooks how many late days should be included in its finance charge calculations.

When you are ready, open the Customers menu and select Assess Finance Charges. A window like the one in the image above will open.

QuickBooks, of course, performs all of the required calculations in the background. But it must first know what specific date you plan to actually assess the charges so that it can determine the number of late days that should be included. This may not be the current date, so be sure the Assessment Date is correct before proceeding.

All you have to do here is make sure there’s a checkmark in front of every finance charge that should be invoiced (the check marks should already be there, but you should verify this). If you send statements, clear the box in front of Mark Invoices “To be printed. “ The finance charges will appear on the next statement.

When you are satisfied, click Assess Charges.

Dispatching the Charges

Your finance charges have now been recorded in QuickBooks as individual invoices. When it’s time to print, open the File menu and select Print Forms | Invoices. You will see your numbered finance charge invoices displayed like this:

Figure 3: You can see your finance charge invoices when you go to print them.

Of course, if you email invoices, you would click on File | Send Forms.

It is a good idea to notify your customers before you start assessing finance charges. This will give them a chance to catch up, and no one will be surprised to see the extra invoices.

QuickBooks does the heavy lifting as far as calculations are concerned, but it is important that you set your finance charges up correctly. Customers will be annoyed by mistakes, and it is much easier to get this tool set up right from the start than to have to go in and untangle errors. If you plan to start assessing finance charges but aren’t sure how to proceed, please call the office for assistance.

Need to Create Estimates? QuickBooks Can Help.

You don’t need to be a car repair shop or an HVAC technician to present prospects and customers with estima tes. In fact, there may be many times when an unexpected estimate–or bid, or proposal–will land you a job you didn’t necessarily expect.

Of course, the bottom line is the meat of your estimate, the price you’re willing to accept for your work performed. It’s your job to determine that. But let QuickBooks do what it does best: provide intuitive, efficient tools for creating and modifying estimates.

First Steps

Before you start creating estimates, you’ll need to make sure they’re turned on in QuickBooks. Open the Edit menu and select Preferences, then Jobs & Estimates | Company Preferences. If the Yes button below DO YOU CREATE ESTIMATES? is not filled in, click inside of it to turn on this feature. Also, the Warn about duplicate estimate numbers check box should be activated.

There are actually three ways to open an estimate form. You can click the Estimates icon on the home page or open the Customers menu and select Create Estimates. You can also open the Customer Center (Customers | Customer Center) and click on the Transactions tab. Click the New Transactions button in the toolbar and choose Estimates.

As you can see, you can create multiple types of sales forms from here. You can also see lists of existing and historical transactions.

Making It Yours

Before you create your first estimate, you should make sure that the form’s header, footer, and columns contain the fields you want. Use one of the three methods we just outlined to open a blank form. Then, with the Formatting tab at the top of the window active, click Customize Data Layout in the toolbar that opens to launch the Additional Customization window.

Take your time working with the options in this window. QuickBooks gives you an incredible amount of control over how your estimates will look, but don’t get ahead of yourself. Start with the most important content: the text you want to have appear. By default, the software opens a template called Custom Estimate that contains commonly-used fields, like Cost, Description, and Markup. You can easily change these by checking and unchecking their corresponding boxes.

You’ll notice that you can have specific fields appear on the screen and/or on printed copies of your estimates. You can also change the field names (use Bid or Proposal instead of Estimate, for example), and for columns only, the order in which they appear.

Warning: Be careful with the Markup field of your estimates. You wouldn’t want your customers to see this, so be sure that it is NOT checked in the Print column.

As you make changes to this template, you’ll see the graphical Previewover to the right change to reflect your modifications. Click Print Preview to see a larger, finished version of your template. When you’re satisfied with it, click OK. This will replace your Custom Estimatetemplate.

Adding Templates

You probably noticed other links and icons related to the formatting of estimates. These open advanced tools (if you need help understanding these, don’t hesitate to call). Once you’ve mastered them, you can save multiple versions of your estimate templates to use in different situations. These features include:

Customize Design. This opens a multi-step wizard that helps you select a background, font, and grid style.
Download Templates. You can choose from multiple pre-designed templates.
Basic Customization. This window supplies tools for adding a logo and changing colors and fonts.
Layout Designer. This tool is only recommended if you already have freeform design skills.

Just Like Invoices

Creating an estimate in QuickBooks is just like filling out an invoice. You enter data where appropriate, and select options from drop-down lists. If you don’t have any experience with sales forms and need some guidance, please call and set up a time to go over the entire process, as well as answer any other questions you might have about QuickBooks.

By Leon Clinton
January 31, 2019