General QuickBooks Information

At the Scaling New Heights (SNH) conference this year, Will English will teach a class that is extremely important to Intuit ProAdvisor Consultants: the Point of Sale (POS) Certification Exam. On Monday June 16th, he will teach all 3 of the sessions. In total, this conference offers over 100 hours of in-depth training on Intuit applications.

Why is the certification class important? As Intuit releases new versions of the software, ProAdvisors need to be certified on the new version to remain current and also stay on the Intuit Find-A-ProAdvisor website, where there are more than 500,000 visits annually from potential clients.  Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors are experts who have been tested and certified by Intuit on a range of QuickBooks products. Certified ProAdvisors help businesses get the most out of their QuickBooks software. They provide a range of services, including: QuickBooks setup, training, payroll and consulting, among others.

If you’ve been reading our blogs for some time now, you are probably familiar with the annual Scaling New Heights conference, but for our new readers, here’s a brief description:
Scaling New Heights is an advanced training conference designed to empower QuickBooks ProAdvisors to support their clients. Attendees will receive practical and in-depth professional education on Intuit products along with networking opportunities among the nation’s most successful QuickBooks consultants.  It’s for any consultant or accounting professional who supports clients on QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Point of Sale and/or other Intuit small business applications. Joe Woodard, the conference host, says that many consider this to be the nation’s premier training event for Intuit Advisors!

About Scaling New Heights and view the trainnig schedule.
 

QuickBooks (QB) Online works wherever you are so you can maximize your productivity. Whether you’re on your iPad, iPhone, Android device, or your computer at work or home, you’ll have the same information- without having to sync your data. You can easily transfer your QuickBooks Pro or Premier files into QB Online so all your key financial data stays intact.

Track your money, import from your bank, and always be ready for taxes. QuickBooks makes accounting easy.

1. Anytime, anywhere access for up to 25 people at the same time. Keep in mind that this is subject to occasional downtime. Minimum browser requirement: Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3 for Windows or Mac, Safari 4 for Mac, Safari 5 for Windows, Chrome for Windows or Mac.
2. Automatic updates and upgrades that don’t require any action from you
3. Free support to help with setup or to answer “how-to” questions
4. Light inventory capabilities and expenses tracked by job
5. iPhone, iPad, Android apps that sync key tasks across all devices
6. Bank & credit card transactions automatically downloaded from 16,000+ banks
7. Automatic emailing of recurring transactions (invoice/receipts) and reports
8. For accountants – multiple AR/AP lines in journal entries
9. Free access for an accountant or bookkeeper to work on the books at the same time
10. Organize all your finances in one place

There are 3 plans to choose from: Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus ranging from just $12.95 pr month - $39.95 per month.*See Promotion below.

Simple Start: create estimates and invoices; download bank transactions; and it works on PC, Mac, and mobile.

Essentials: In addition to getting all the Simple Start features, you can manage and pay bills and multiple people can use it.

PLUS: Receive all the Essentials features; track inventory, and prepare and print 1099s.

Intuit offers a free 30 day trial of the QuickBooks Online. Once you choose the appropriate Plan, we will ensure you are set up with the trial. Then, after the first 30 days you can continue using QBO or you may cancel.

System Requirements for QBO:

• Internet connection required (high-speed connection recommended)
• Supported browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer 10, Safari 6.1
• Also accessible via Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS 7
• QuickBooks Online mobile app works with the iPhone, iPad, and Android phones and tablets
• Not all features are available on mobile devices

Charlie Russell wrote an excellent article posted on the Sleeter Group’s website found here. The information below is a snippet about QBO from that article.

QuickBooks Online has features that don’t exist in QuickBooks Desktop!

• Remote access – you can do this with QuickBooks Desktop but you need an additional software product or use QuickBooks Hosting (at a higher price)
• Auto Send Reports – reports or report groups can be scheduled to send automatically
• Automatic upgrades – this is both a good and a bad feature, with QuickBooks Online you are almost always running the most up to date version (whether you want to or not)
• Company Scorecard
• Delayed charges/billing – enter charges to be billed later
• Income list/transaction center
• Invoice automation – automatically create invoice from unbilled activity
• More than one A/R or A/P account per journal entry
• Location tracking, a secondary level of class tracking (QB Online Plus only)
• FIFO Inventory valuation (available in QuickBooks Enterprise but only with the additional cost Advanced Inventory feature)

DON’T MISS OUT:  If you order by March 31, 2014, you will receive the first 30 days free. Treat it like a trial. Then, you will receive 35% off MSRP for the lifetime of the account if you place your order through English Management Solutions, Inc. There’s no trick or gimmicks. As an Intuit Premier Reseller, we are able to extend this amazing promotion to you.  

NOTE: It’s important that you choose the correct option for your particular business needs, whether it’s QuickBooks Online or the Desktop version. What works best for one company doesn’t necessarily for the next.
Contact us for a complimentary initial discovery call so we can answer your questions and discuss which product will best suit your needs. We’ll be more than happy to also show you a product demonstration.  From there, we’ll provide you with a detailed pricing proposal so you’ll have the information needed to make a well informed decision.

Q&A with Will English:  Recently one of our retail clients experienced a computer crash, and it was their main computer. What should they do if they can only find the QuickBooks files for last year to extract but not this year? Why is it important to make regular external backups?

Client: I had my main computer crash on me last week and it’s not recoverable.  I have a computer company trying to extract the files out of QuickBooks Financial and QuickBooks Point of Sale (POS), however, they are only coming up with data through 2013; all of 2014 is missing.  Is there a file/folder somewhere that perhaps they aren’t looking at/for that I can guide them to where maybe the software automatically backs up the information?  I did backups myself but even those are missing some of the data as I didn’t do it on a daily basis.  Do you have a suggestion for recovery?

Will: So each time you exit out of the POS program, it should create a backup file depending on the setting.  It will be a folder as follows
c:\users\Public\public documents\Intuit\QuickBooks Point of Sale X.0 (where X is your version)\data\X (where X is your company file name)\backup
The newest backup there can be restored.  If you want to try to get the data file, it has the file name qbpos.db and is in the company file name folder.

As for QuickBooks Financial, the backups could be anywhere. Search for *.qbb for the backup files and *.qbw for the QuickBooks files.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Make external backups on a regular basis so if anything ever happens to your computer, your data will still be stored for easy access.

The annual Intuit Reseller Rally gives Intuit a chance to showcase the innovation taking place in their marketplace & the many ways they are working to help their best resellers grow. It’s an opportunity for Intuit Resellers to interact with fellow Resellers to share best practices & to network. When they collaborate, they help even more customers in a timely manner, providing a higher level of customer service. From meeting with senior management to seeing the table where Intuit Quicken was created, this year’s Rally has been quite enlightening! The Resellers are not required to attend but there are numerous benefits. It also shows that the Resellers are committed & that they care.

Will attended this week & provided some positive feedback. He stated that it was 2.5 days of meeting with the Intuit Senior Management to see the road map for future products as well as receive updates on existing products. It was a great opportunity for him as a Reseller to speak with the senior management team & interact with fellow Resellers at a venue that allowed them to meet in person for a few days. The Intuit management team values the Intuit Resellers & their input. The Resellers are on the front lines selling, implementing, & supporting the product.

For Will, the Rally highlight was the field trip to the Intuit headquarters where they got a chance to tour the Innovation Center & see the actual table where Scott Cook, Intuit Founder & CEO, worked on the first Intuit product- Quicken. Humble beginnings…

Now that you are familiar with the annual Intuit Rally, let’s look at what the Intuit Reseller Program is all about.

Intuit offers a tiered reseller program that enables business owners to profitably grow their business while offering clients the very best Intuit solutions. Clients get personalized, one-on-one service & are able to work with the same reseller on an ongoing basis. Intuit’s program offers multiple levels of benefits. As Resellers grow their business & provide exceptional service, they move up through the levels.
Some of the benefits include:

• Immediate access to Intuit products & a variety of peripherals
• Sales, procurement, & Intuit product support through a highly-qualified staff
• Extended hours of support
• Opportunities to sell a number of Intuit products & services that meet the needs of customers, & open the door for complementary product sales & professional services
• Certifications & knowledge/support services to increase the value-add to their customers

The Premier Level is the top tier within the Intuit Reseller Program & is designed for members with consistent & robust sales who provide the highest level of customer service.  Premier Resellers have expertise in technology & solutions integration for small-to-medium sized businesses. They are authorized to resell, implement, & support the QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions software, QuickBooks Point of Sale software, QuickBooks Financial software, & other Intuit & third-party products.

At English Management Solutions, Inc., we are excited to be a Premier Reseller because of our level of knowledge, customer service, & sales volume. As a value added reseller, we are authorized to sell the equipment, software, & services while passing along our cost savings to the client. This allows us to provide QB to our clients at an affordable rate while enhancing our ability to solve their diverse & complex requirements.

It’s the last day of the ProGreen Tradeshow.  According to Will, it has been a very productive & extremely busy event. Great networking opportunities & a great experience! Business owners received so many valuable nuggets of information to help them in their day-to-day business management & transactions as well as they’ve learned of new software & technology available.

Both classes that Will taught; The Top 10 Inventory Best Practices for Retailers & Wholesalers, & Understanding QuickBooks Financial Software for Landscape Contractors, were well attended with many thoughtful questions. Questions are welcomed. That helps people to learn. Thank you to all who participated in his sessions!

For more information, read our ProGreen Expo 2014 blog here.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day! You may be wondering what that has to do with QuickBooks & your company. I’ve thought of a few really important reasons.

There are some great promotions expiring tomorrow! *see below.

This is an excellent time for you to think about what’s important to you & your company. Implement some new company procedures & fine tune existing ones.

Bookkeeping: Do you have a Bookkeeper on staff or work with an outside firm such as our company? Are your financial records accurately managed so that you don’t have to stress over it, so you can focus on running the business?

Is your Payroll provider meeting your needs, handling the tasks they promised, & charging a fair rate?

Merchant Services: this is always a hot topic. If you’re using the QuickBooks (QB) software, does your Merchant Service fully integrate with QB so that you can process transactions directly through your QuickBooks Financial software & QuickBooks Point of Sale? Have you done a rate review to make sure you're paying a competitive rate?

If you haven’t already, how about you put into place an accounting software & a Point of Sale (POS) system?! As a business owner, you must know how your money is spent & what revenue you take in. Implementing the QB computerized accounting system is inexpensive & will quickly pay for itself.
Retailers, are you still handwriting receipts & using a basic cash register? Is your “inventory management” not really managed at all because you simply don’t have the appropriate software?  Or have you implemented a system but the staff is not fully &/or properly trained to use it? Don’t let the frustration continue! Do something good for yourself & your company on Valentine’s Day.

Also, there are usually local events that you can get involved with on Valentine’s Day to show love & encouragement to others. You can check social media sites, web search engines such as Google, your local news, & newspapers for opportunities to help others.

PROMOTIONS EXPIRING 2/14/14
The QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Trade-In Promotion: Current users of QuickBooks Financial Pro & Premier V2011-2013 can trade in their software for QBES. Customers can receive up to 50% off when they upgrade to QBES V14.0. Offer may not be combined with other QBES promotions.

QuickBooks Point of Sale (QBPOS): Customers are eligible for a 20% off MSRP discount when upgrading their current POS Software to V2013.

It’s time for Will to teach at another trade show/conference– the ProGreen Expo in Denver, CO. The topics he will teach are:
1. The Top 10 Inventory Best Practices for Retailers and Wholesalers.
It’s so important to maintain an accurate inventory count and understand the best practices so you can maximize your time, become more productive and efficient while remaining profitable. Some simple steps make all the difference.

2. Understanding QuickBooks Financial Software for Landscape Contractors. Understanding job costing features with QuickBooks Financial software and your QuickBooks Financial Reporting just makes good business sense. Tracking a number of factors and analyzing the results aids in accurate decision making, ensuring that all costs have been properly invoiced, etc. Understanding the financial reports allows for intelligent decision making affecting the success or failure of a company’s operations.
Business owners and decision makers will receive expert teaching and important takeaways to implement in their businesses.

At ProGreen, attendees can meet with vendors and take advantage of having over 300 green industry companies under one roof. It draws approximately 4,500 attendees including greenhouse growers, landscape architects, nursery professionals and practitioners of the green industry. With companies representing all aspects of the green industry, attendees have no problem finding great solutions to enhance their daily operations.

ProGreen EXPO also includes over 100 education sessions and certifying exams along with training programs and networking opportunities. For more information, visit www.ProGreenExpo.com.

Interested in speaking directly with Will on these and/or other topics? Contact us today so we can schedule a no-cost initial consultation.

Local 858-467-0400 ext. 303 | Toll free 877-467-0451 ext. 303
aking@englishmgmt.com

Intuit has brought this promotion back for the month of February. The cost savings is over $500! You will need the peripherals in this bundle to successfully ring up customers & take payments in Point of Sale. The bundle includes the Star TSP143U Receipt Printer, MMF Val-u-line 24V black cash drawer with cable, Magtek Dynamag mini magnesafe credit card swipe, and HHP 3800G barcode reader. See it here.

When you are approved for a new Intuit Payment Solutions account & purchase the QBPOS V2013 software, you will receive a hardware bundle for free.

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS: Never miss a sale! You can process transactions directly through your QuickBooks Financial software & QuickBooks Point of Sale! You will be able to:

• Process payments, update transaction financial records and automatically reconcile them-all with the click of a button. Eliminate manual mistakes and double data entry.
• See transaction data and funding status in real time.
• Online credit card processing
• Get paid in your retail store
• Accept credit cards in your web store and with your mobile phone
• Accept all payment types and all card brands

If you already have the QBPOS system, there are additional QBPOS promotions that you can take advantage of such as:

1.    Receive up to 30% off MSRP when you add additional users/seats for V2013.Add more seats to your QBPOS license to allow simultaneous users. Valid for POS V2013 customers who have already purchased or received free hardware. Any number of additional seats qualifies for the discount.

2.    20% Off POS Upgrade through February 14, 2014. Customers are eligible for a 20% off MSRP discount when upgrading their current POS Software to V2013.
*see note

*Note: Contact us to discuss cost saving options.

As your business grows, it's important that you have the appropriate products & customer support to maintain your immediate & long term goals.

Will English is going to represent the Point of Sale and Enterprise products at the upcoming Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE) conference in FL. It will be a great networking opportunity. All of the attendees and presenters will be able to meet many business owners, discuss their software and accounting needs as well as answer their initial questions. We live in an age of technology and since we assist clients nationwide including Hawaii, more often than not we are working with them via phone and remote meetings. It is always nice when we get to meet folks face to face.

From the TPIE website: “The Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE) is THE trade event showcasing the latest trends in foliage, floral and tropical in warm and inviting South Florida. TPIE's trade show is more than an exhibit area - it's 200,000 square feet of living and vibrant plants creating a virtual indoor garden of show stopping displays. With almost 400 exhibiting companies in nearly 800 booth spaces, TPIE offers wholesale buyers the widest array of resources for foliage and tropical plants in the country. Connect with vendors in person and touch and feel their plants and products.”  Learn more by following the link below to their website.

Join us: January 22 - 24, 2014 at the Broward County Convention Center 
The Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE) is

THE trade event showcasing the latest trends in foliage, floral & tropicals in warm & inviting South Florida.

Are you going to the trade show? Talk to Will while you're there. Booth #611.

Enter to win 1 free copy of QBPOS V2013. You must be present to enter & win. 

We wish you all a joyful and prosperous New Year! As we enter 2014, we are excited to continue serving clients across the nation including Hawaii. With 2013 being our best year ever, we could not have done it without our valued clients and colleagues! We appreciate each of you and hope that you will continue to place your confidence in us.

Remember our Referral Program: For those clients who refer us business that results in billing hours, we will you a $25 Amazon gift card.

All the best,
Will, Sofia and Anita