Speed Up Receivables Using Intuit Payment Network
The last few years have probably taken a toll on your accounts receivable. A bad economy can result not only in slow sales, but in slow customer payments.
Make it easy for your customers to pay, and it's likely they'll pay faster. You can accomplish this simply and cost-effectively through the
Intuit Payment Network
.
If you're using QuickBooks 2010 or later and are willing to spend 50 cents per payment received to get that money in your bank account faster, consider
electronic invoicing
.
Readying QuickBooks
When you
for the Intuit Payment Network (no setup fee or monthly charges), you'll be able to include a link in your invoices that takes customers to a secure site where they can enter their bank account or credit card information to pay the invoice.
First, though, make sure that QuickBooks is set up for this service. Go to
Edit | Preferences.
Click on
Payments
, then the
Company Preferences
tab. Check the two boxes below
Enable online payment via Intuit Payment Network
and enter the email address that you want to use (only the administrator can activate these preferences).
Figure 1: Make sure that QuickBooks is set up for electronic invoicing.
Just like online banking
Once you've completed this and Intuit has notified you that your account is active, the rest is equally easy. When you create an invoice, the box in the lower left of the screen next to
Show online payment link on invoices
will be checked. Just fill out the invoice like you normally would and save it.
When you send these invoices, they'll include a short paragraph telling customers that they can remit payment online, with a link taking them to the web page:
Figure 2: Customers who pay bills online will recognize this process.
Once customers transmit their payments, the funds will move into your bank account within a day or two, minus the 50-cent service charge on bank account payments or 3.25 percent of the transaction amount for credit cards. QuickBooks versions differ on the process for updating your file.
Intuit offers numerous ways to accept payments on your PC or mobile device. We can help you select the right one(s) and get your cash flow moving in a more positive direction.
QuickBooks Income Tax Reports And Filtering Options: Target The Right Output
April 15 is getting uncomfortably close.
QuickBooks, of course, can't do your taxes for you. But it helps you lay some of the groundwork. Following up on last month's column on customizing reports, we'll look at the program's tax-related reports and its powerful report-filtering options.
But first, you'll need to make sure that this output will be accurate.
Describe your company accurately
Your
tax entity
setting should have been established when you first set up QuickBooks, but verify that you've specified the correct one. Go to
Company | Company Information
. Your
Report Information
is in the lower left corner. Click the arrow next to
Income Tax For
m
Used
to see what's active.
Figure 1: Make sure that QuickBooks is set up for the correct tax entity.
QuickBooks automatically assigns some of your accounts to their matching lines on the 1040 and assorted forms and schedules; this is called
tax line mapping
. So when you create tax reports, related transactions will be grouped by these designations.
This can be a real time-saver –
as long as you've specified the correct entity.
If:
·
was selected
·
This setting is incorrect
·
You're starting a business and don't know which to choose…
…
please contact us
. If you switch entities, your existing tax line mapping
will disappear and will have to be reassigned.
Dedicated tax reports
Many of QuickBooks' general financial reports provide tax-related information. But there are some that specifically relate to the numbers that will go on your return. Go to
Reports | Accounting & Taxes | Income Tax Preparation
. Here's an excerpt of what you'll see:
Figure 2: QuickBooks automatically assigns many accounts to the appropriate tax form lines, based on your specified tax entity.
Here, QuickBooks shows you which tax lines have been pre-assigned to your accounts. You
can
specify a tax form line for unassigned accounts, but
this is something you should not attempt on your own.
This report, though, will give you an idea of how useful your report output will be and where you'll need our assistance.
Other reports provide tax-related data. You can access them by going again to
Reports | Accountant & Taxes
and clicking:
·
Income Tax Summary.
This displays totals for each tax line that's relevant to your particular tax entity. Double-click on any number, and the
Tax Line By Account
report appears, detailing every transaction related to every tax-related account (you could add a column for
Tax Line
in
Display
options and make this quite a useful report).
·
Income Tax Detail.
This lists all individual transactions by tax form/schedule line assignment.
Paring it down
Some tax reports can be very lengthy; you may want to filter them to look at various "slices."
Click
Customize Report | Filters
:
Figure 3: This window displays a powerful set of filtering options.
The options listed under
Choose Filter
are available on other reports; they help you set up incredibly complex searches using multiple filters.
Let's say you want a report that displays your installation labor costs on new residential construction from the last year (you could also throw other variables in). You'd simply choose the filters from the left pane and then select related options in the next pane (usually a list). You'd want to also click on the
Display
tab to make sure that the appropriate columns appear.
Figure 4: You can apply multiple filters to your reports.
QuickBooks reports can shave time off of tax preparation, and filtered views help you scrutinize your data in quite creative – and very useful – ways. The program's boilerplate reports have their place in simple examinations of your financial status, but filters are potent tools. They can facilitate the kind of deep analysis that helps you make critical business decisions.
If you have questions on this or any other QuickBooks feature, call or email us. We’re your partner and we’re here to make your business better.
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