General QuickBooks Information

We’re very excited to announce that Will has been invited to attend the Major League Baseball (MLB) Trade Show for the 4th consecutive year! It's by invitation only. He will have the opportunity to meet and speak with some of the leading representatives in the industry about the QuickBooks Point of Sale software system and how it will benefit their needs. Several MLB teams are already using this system to manage their clubhouse needs and we’re grateful that they are clients of English Management Solutions, Inc. (EM$) clients. 

Every year, we give a donation to the Major League Baseball Clubhouse Managers Association (MLBCMA) Bat Boy Scholarship Program for each system purchased by a MLB team. We believe it’s important to support such an important program.

Are you looking for data you know is in QuickBooks, but you just can't get to it? Soon it will be at your fingertips, so you can see exactly where your business needs to go.

Be one of the first to learn more about how QuickBooks Enterprise 2015 can help make you even more efficient. Spend a few minutes with Will English learning about the number of new features as well as improvements to existing ones.

If you are not currently using QBES, this is a great time to discover if it is the right solution for your business needs. We will include a product demonstration so you can see the user interface and features as they are explained.

Contact us today! 877-467-0451 ext. 303, 858-467-0400, or fill out the Contact Us form.

We have the advantage of working with clients nationwide by hosting virtual meetings. This allows us to quickly assist clients, and it’s more cost effective for everyone involved. With screen sharing capabilities, Will is able to efficiently support clients with their software and Bookkeeping needs, and teach them how to use their system. All participants are also connected by audio so they are on the same line and hear everything in real time. So is there a time when an onsite visit to an out-of-town client is advantageous?

We think so. Will is spending a few days visiting one of our out-of-state client’s at their multiple locations as well as at some of their Franchisee’s stores. This particular retailer specializes in gourmet seasonings and specialty cooking herbs and spices. The franchise is continually growing. Will has spent several hours total assisting the owners with the QuickBooks installation and training, providing much needed support, via remote meetings. With all of that time under their belt, Will decided that it would enhance our business relationship with them to visit the stores in person. He wants to show our commitment to their success and to put a face with the name. An on-site visit can also make a huge impact on Will’s understanding of their business. He will get a proper tour, meet the owners and key employees, and immerse himself in their world for a few days. And sometimes things are more clearly understood when explained in person.

It’s truly seeing them succeed that counts.

Q&A with Will English

Will is a member of a QuickBooks forum where member’s posts issues and questions. Colleagues provide information and solutions to help the consultant properly support their client. They explore and share ideas and advice.

Question from a colleague to the group: One of my client’s has many departments and now has items that are no longer active. They don't want to mark them as ‘Unorderable’ as that is not the case. The items are inactive simply because they no longer carry them, but could order again if needed. Is there a way to simply make items inactive or would it be a good idea to set up a new department for inactive items and move them there?

Will’s reply: You could do that, but they would still show up in the dropdown lists, etc. Assume that you don't want to delete them because they may be reordered. In the olden QuickBooks days when you couldn't make things inactive, we would add a Z to the name. Maybe something like that would work so that they wouldn't see them as they search for things, but they would still be there. By the way, if you do switch departments or change the name, it will not change prior transactions unlike QuickBooks so be careful.

Colleague: Correct me if I'm wrong but if we were to delete them, we would lose all history of them as well.

Will: In Point of Sale (POS) you can delete items without losing history. They will still show up on all of your reports and unlike QuickBooks Financial, you can delete items even if they are used in transactions.

Another group member: To tag onto what Will said, if you think about who POS is built for, it makes sense that you can delete items without losing the history. If you think of a ladies boutique, for example, they will never carry the same fall line of items again. So every item they had in for fall will never be sold again, so they certainly don't want them in the dropdowns or search functions but do still want them in reporting.

Will: You should also keep in mind that if you delete an item and then do something with a document that uses it, like copy a Purchase Order or a Receiving Voucher, it will add the item back in.

Another group member: Funny but true story. Had a client change department names and didn't exactly get the result you would expect. Changes you make to the Department list do not impact the items that are connected to that department. So while the reports will pull the same data as before, I will tell you that I don't delete or change department names for fear of making a mess happen. My point is that unless you are the one doing it, I would just discourage changes to the Department list altogether since as I mentioned and learned the hard way, changing names in the list does not give you the result you expect in reporting since it does not change the departments at the item level. So if you change the Cat department into the Dog department, the change does not occur at the item level so the items are still in the Cat department. Fun huh?

Will: So we have revamped a number of companies’ department lists. As you might imagine, we have seen almost every bad thing done in POS. You can export the item list, edit the department field and then reimport the list. Keep in mind, though, that there is the Before Change reports and the After Change reports, so doing the change at a natural break point, month end, etc., year end, etc. makes the most sense. Then delete any departments that are not needed.

Got a question? Drop us a line: info@englishmanagement.com or Contact Us.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. We are updating our infrastructure to better serve our clients. On Friday Aug. 29, 2014, we will not have access to our email from 9am-1pm PST. You may reach us by phone at 877-467-0451 or local to San Diego at 858-467-0400. We look forward to continuing to serve your QuickBooks and Bookkeeping needs!

2. We wish you a happy Labor Day! EMS will be closed on Monday Sept. 1, 2014. Customers who require technical assistance or have an emergency during this closure may do one of the following:

Contact Us:
Toll free 877-467-0451 or local to San Diego 858-467-0400 and follow the automated prompting for emergency help, or send an email to info@englishmgmt.com. Our billable rate will apply.
*For non-emergencies, leave a message at our office number or send an email and we'll return your call the following business day.

Contact Intuit Support - Fees may apply:
* Point of Sale: 1-800-4INTUIT (800-446-8848)
* Enterprise Solutions: 866-340-7237
* Merchant Services: 800-558-9558

Intuit is preparing for some exciting changes for the QuickBooks Payment (merchant services) customers that will provide improved billing, simplified pricing and give them more ways to accept payments.

In order to make this change, Intuit will be updating the PIN pads used with QuickBooks Point of Sale software at their expense.

What Intuit Payment Solutions customers can expect: 

Beginning in the end of August, Intuit will let their Payment Solutions customers know that they will be exchanging their PIN pads.  Shortly after the customers are notified, Intuit will ship a PIN pad with installation instructions and a request that they return their old PIN pad. This is to ensure that the PIN pad will be compatible with the changes they make to their systems.

What you need to do: 

Customers will need to connect the PIN pad to their Point of Sale hardware and return their old PIN pad.  Intuit will provide instructions to make this simple for the customer. We, at EMS, will be happy to assist you with this if you need some help with the process. It is not a lengthy, difficult process. You should swap out the PIN pad as soon as possible upon receipt of the new one to reduce delays which could cause an interruption in service.  

This notice is provided as a convenience for our customers and is not intended to supplement, modify, or extend the Intuit software license agreement between Intuit and the customer for any Intuit product or service. 

Formerly known as OFA Short Course, Cultivate '14 continued to offer premier educational & networking experiences, & more than 7 acres of trade show exhibits including technology, new products & services, & new plant varieties. They also expanded the products & services for retailers, nursery production, & landscaping. They expected thousands of people to attend from more than 20 countries.

As seen on their website, “The word 'cultivate' reflects what happens at the event. Thousands of people attend each year to cultivate their businesses and professional networks,” said Michael V. Geary, CAE, the President and CEO of AmericanHort. “Updating the brand of the 85-year-old event makes sense for the vision of AmericanHort. Cultivate captures the essence of what the experience is for our attendees.”

Will was invited to attend this U.S. premier convention and marketplace from July 12-15th.  He was available to assist all QuickBooks customers with their questions & to discuss their business needs. Some attendees have implemented the QuickBooks systems at their business while others have not. Obviously there is not enough time to fully discuss the product/s & show a demonstration at the show but the attendees had the opportunity to start the discussion. From there, we will continue to help them establish the best solution for their needs.

Like most industries, retail has its share of buzz words.  It's important to know the common retail industry words so you are properly managing your inventory and finances. Will wrote an article talking about some of the most common ones and how to use them in your business.

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
This is not specifically a retail term, but is useful to understand so the rest of these terms make sense.  A number of clients think that their COGS is what they paid for inventory during any given period of time.  This is not correct.  COGS is the cost of the items that were SOLD during a period of time. The easiest way to explain this is to think about what happens when you buy inventory.  You are exchanging one asset for another.  You use your cash (an asset) to buy inventory (another asset) there is nothing that should show up on your Profit and Loss.  Then when we SELL our inventory, we reduce our inventory asset and increase our COGS.  One of the biggest mistakes we see bookkeepers make is to code all purchases to COGS.  Your POS or accounting software should make these entries for you automatically if you are receiving the inventory correctly.

Inventory Turnover Ratio
Also called Inventory Turns.  This ratio gives you a number that measures how effectively you are managing inventory.  It is determined by comparing the Cost of Goods Sold against the Average amount of inventory held for the same period.  The higher the number is the better.  For example, If your average inventory over the last 90 days was $100,000 and your COGS was $500,000, you are turning your inventory 5 times.  The best way to look at turns is either by item or by department/categories.  For example, in the Garden Center, we would expect that seasonal items to turn faster that perhaps hardscape, etc.  But in our seasonal items, what is “turning over” faster and should be reordered. 

Sell Through Rate
This measure the amount of inventory received from a specific vendor versus what is sold to the customer.  Often vendors will offer special incentives to induce you to order product.  That is great if the item has a high sell through rate.  Otherwise if the items just sit on the shelf, it doesn’t really matter how great a deal the vendor gave you, the items are taking up valuable shelf space.

Gross Margin Return on Investment (GMROI)
This allows the retailer to determine of the products they are buying are earning enough margin to justify the investment in inventory to earn that margin.  To calculate the GMROI, divide the gross margin of an item or department/category against the average inventory at cost. Another way to look at this is for every dollar that is spend on inventory, how much is that dollar earning.   Of course the harder your dollars are working, the better for you.

I hope that this helps to explain some of the jargon that you sometimes hear.  Any good POS or accounting software should help you to determine the amounts to plus into the various formula.  In many cases, the software has an actual report that will do the math for you.  The important thing is to consider what to do with those numbers.  All of these formulas should help you to formula a buying plan which tells you what to buy when and how much.

Our office will be closed Friday, July 4th. QuickBooks customers who require technical assistance or have an emergency during this closure may do one of the following:

Contact Us:
Toll free 877-467-0451 or local to San Diego 858-467-0400 and follow the automated prompting for emergency help, or send an email to info@englishmgmt.com. Our billable rate will apply.
*For non-emergencies, leave a message at our office number or send an email and we'll return your call the following 
business day.

Contact Intuit Support  Fees may apply:
* Point of Sale: 1-800-4INTUIT (800-446-8848)
* Enterprise Solutions: 866-340-7237
* Merchant Services: 800-558-9558

Monthly Promotions

We get to work with numerous retailers and it’s our goal to provide information that will benefit their business. AZ Retail is our premier source for store supplies. They recently wrote a blog geared towards retailers about the importance of having signs and price tags throughout a store. And it is so true that when a customer is shopping, they will be much more satisfied and willing to purchase from your store if the product information and pricing is readily available.

Signs and price tags are a very important part of your business.  They call attention to your promotions, they provide product information and ideas about how to use the product.  But the biggest help they give you is letting your guests know the price of the items they are interested in purchasing.  Having prices on your merchandise keeps customers from having to track down a sales associate to find a price on an item and creates a better shopping experience (in some states, it’s also required by law.) Read full post here.

If you need equipment for your QuickBooks system, give us a call! As a value added Certified Intuit Product Reseller, we are able to pass along savings to you and order the necessary equipment. Tag printers, wireless Barcode Scanners, Inventory Scanners and much more.