QuickBooks 2018 All-in-One For Dummies
Published on 30. January 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
648 pages
978-1-119-39736-6 (ISBN)
Description
The easy way to manage business finances
QuickBooks is known for helping their users effectively handle their financial and business management tasks, and QuickBooks 2018 All-in-One For Dummies is the go-to guide for anyone looking to gain insight into the latest version of the software. It gets you up to speed on the key features of QuickBooks and small business accounting and makes managing finances a breeze. This book will help you learn all the skills you need to know, like how to invoice customers, pay vendors, manage cash and bank accounts, use activity-based costing, and write a business plan.
Written by highly qualified CPA Stephen L. Nelson, this detailed reference combines eight mini-books into one complete resource. Small business finances can be complicated, but QuickBooks 2018 is a valuable tool for getting them right--and this guide makes it easier.
* Troubleshoot and protect your financial data
* Utilize Cloud storage and access your information from a smartphone
* Plan and set up a QuickBooks system
* Make sense of double-entry bookkeeping
* Handle your financial and business management tasks more effectively
QuickBooks 2018 All-in-One For Dummies is a helpful resource for getting started with QuickBooks 2018, and a reference guide that will provide insight and answers to experienced users as well.
QuickBooks is known for helping their users effectively handle their financial and business management tasks, and QuickBooks 2018 All-in-One For Dummies is the go-to guide for anyone looking to gain insight into the latest version of the software. It gets you up to speed on the key features of QuickBooks and small business accounting and makes managing finances a breeze. This book will help you learn all the skills you need to know, like how to invoice customers, pay vendors, manage cash and bank accounts, use activity-based costing, and write a business plan.
Written by highly qualified CPA Stephen L. Nelson, this detailed reference combines eight mini-books into one complete resource. Small business finances can be complicated, but QuickBooks 2018 is a valuable tool for getting them right--and this guide makes it easier.
* Troubleshoot and protect your financial data
* Utilize Cloud storage and access your information from a smartphone
* Plan and set up a QuickBooks system
* Make sense of double-entry bookkeeping
* Handle your financial and business management tasks more effectively
QuickBooks 2018 All-in-One For Dummies is a helpful resource for getting started with QuickBooks 2018, and a reference guide that will provide insight and answers to experienced users as well.
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New editions
Stephen L. Nelson
QuickBooks 2019 All-in-One For Dummies
Book
02/2019
1st Edition
Wiley
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Additional editions
Stephen L. Nelson
QuickBooks 2018 All-in-One For Dummies
E-Book
11/2017
1st Edition
Wiley-Scrivener
€23.99
Available for download
Stephen L. Nelson
QuickBooks 2018 All-in-One For Dummies
E-Book
11/2017
1st Edition
Wiley-Scrivener
€23.99
Available for download
Previous edition
Stephen L. Nelson
QuickBooks 2017 All-In-One For Dummies
Book
11/2016
Wiley
€32.90
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Stephen L. Nelson, MBA, CPA, MS in Taxation, provides accounting, business advisory, tax planning, and tax preparation services to small businesses. His more than 100 books, including all editions of QuickBooks For Dummies, have sold over 5 million copies.
Content
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Book 1: An Accounting Primer 5
Chapter 1: Principles of Accounting 7
The Purpose of Accounting 7
Reviewing the Common Financial Statements 10
The Philosophy of Accounting 23
A Few Words about Tax Accounting 26
Chapter 2: Double-Entry Bookkeeping 27
The Fiddle-Faddle Method of Accounting 28
How Double-Entry Bookkeeping Works 30
Almost a Real-Life Example 36
A Few Words about How QuickBooks Works 44
Chapter 3: Special Accounting Problems 47
Working with Accounts Receivable 48
Recording Accounts Payable Transactions 51
Inventory Accounting 53
Accounting for Fixed Assets 57
Recognizing Liabilities 61
Closing Out Revenue and Expense Accounts 65
One More Thing 68
Book 2: Getting Ready to Use QuickBooks 69
Chapter 1: Setting Up QuickBooks 71
Planning Your New QuickBooks System 71
Installing QuickBooks 74
Dealing with the Presetup Jitters 75
Running the QuickBooks Setup Wizard 77
Identifying the Starting Trial Balance 85
Chapter 2: Loading the Master File Lists 91
Setting Up the Chart of Accounts List 92
Setting Up the Item List 97
Working with the Price Level List 97
Using Sales Tax Codes 98
Setting Up a Payroll Item List 98
Setting Up Classes 99
Setting Up a Customer List 101
Setting Up the Vendor List 106
Setting Up a Fixed Assets List 109
Setting Up a Price Level List 110
Setting Up a Billing Rate Level List 111
Setting Up Your Employees 111
Setting Up an Other Names List 111
Setting Up the Profile Lists 112
Chapter 3: Fine-Tuning QuickBooks 115
Accessing the Preferences Settings 116
Setting the Accounting Preferences 118
Setting the Bills Preferences 121
Setting the Calendar Preferences 121
Setting the Checking Preferences 121
Changing the Desktop View 123
Setting Finance Charge Calculation Rules 126
Setting General Preferences 126
Controlling Integrated Applications 128
Controlling Inventory 129
Controlling How Jobs and Estimates Work 130
Dealing with Multiple Currencies 132
Starting Integrated Payment Processing 132
Controlling How Payroll Works 133
Telling QuickBooks How Reminders Should Work 135
Specifying Reports & Graphs Preferences 136
Setting Sales & Customers Preferences 140
Specifying How Sales Are Taxed 141
Setting the Search Preferences 142
Setting the Send Forms Preferences 143
Fine-Tuning the Service Connection 144
Controlling Spell Checking 145
Controlling How 1099 Tax Reporting Works 146
Setting Time & Expenses Preferences 146
Book 3: Bookkeeping Chores 149
Chapter 1: Invoicing Customers 151
Choosing an Invoice Form 151
Customizing an Invoice Form 152
Invoicing a Customer 162
Billing for Time 168
Printing Invoices 173
Emailing Invoices 173
Recording Sales Receipts 174
Recording Credit Memos 177
Receiving Customer Payments 179
Assessing Finance Charges 181
Using Odds and Ends on the Customers Menu 183
Chapter 2: Paying Vendors 185
Creating a Purchase Order 185
Recording the Receipt of Items 189
Simultaneously Recording the Receipt and the Bill 192
Entering a Bill 194
Paying Bills 198
Reviewing the Other Vendor Menu Commands 201
Chapter 3: Tracking Inventory and Items 205
Looking at Your Item List 206
Adding Items to the Item List 208
Editing Items 223
Adjusting Physical Counts and Inventory Values 224
Adjusting Prices and Price Levels 227
Managing Inventory in a Manufacturing Firm 231
Chapter 4: Managing Cash and Bank Accounts 237
Writing Checks 238
Making Bank Deposits 246
Transferring Money between Bank Accounts 249
Working with the Register 251
Using Edit Menu Commands 258
Reconciling the Bank Account 262
Reviewing the Other Banking Commands 266
Chapter 5: Paying Employees 269
Setting Up Basic Payroll 269
Scheduling Payroll Runs 276
Paying Employees 276
Editing and Voiding Paychecks 278
Paying Payroll Liabilities 279
Book 4: Accounting Chores 281
Chapter 1: For Accountants Only 283
Working with QuickBooks Journal Entries 283
Updating Company Information 286
Working with Memorized Transactions 286
Reviewing the Accountant & Taxes Reports 287
Creating an Accountant's Copy of the QuickBooks Data File 289
Using the Client Data Review Commands 297
Chapter 2: Preparing Financial Statements and Reports 299
Some Wise Words Up Front 299
Producing a Report 300
Working with the Report Window 301
Modifying a Report 311
Processing Multiple Reports 319
A Few Words about Document Retention 320
Chapter 3: Preparing a Budget 323
Reviewing Common Budgeting Tactics 323
Taking a Practical Approach to Budgeting 327
Using the Set Up Budgets Window 327
Managing with a Budget 332
Some Wrap-Up Comments on Budgeting 334
Chapter 4: Using Activity-Based Costing 337
Reviewing Traditional Overhead Allocation 338
Understanding How ABC Works 340
Implementing a Simple ABC System 345
Seeing How QuickBooks Supports ABC 346
Turning On Class Tracking 347
Using Classes for ABC 348
Chapter 5: Setting Up Project and Job Costing Systems 353
Setting Up a QuickBooks Job 353
Tracking Job or Project Costs 356
Job Cost Reporting 359
Using Job Estimates 360
Progress Billing 362
Book 5: Financial Management 365
Chapter 1: Ratio Analysis 367
Some Caveats about Ratio Analysis 368
Liquidity Ratios 369
Leverage Ratios 371
Activity Ratios 375
Profitability Ratios 379
Chapter 2: Economic Value Added Analysis 385
Introducing the Logic of EVA 385
Seeing EVA in Action 386
Reviewing Some Important Points about EVA 389
Using EVA When Your Business Has Debt 391
Presenting Two Final Pointers 395
And Now, a Word to My Critics 396
Chapter 3: Capital Budgeting in a Nutshell 399
Introducing the Theory of Capital Budgeting 399
Calculating the Rate of Return on Capital 402
Measuring Liquidity 412
Thinking about Risk 412
What Does All of This Have to Do with QuickBooks? 414
Book 6: Business Plans 415
Chapter 1: Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis 417
Seeing How Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis Works 418
Calculating Break-Even Points 420
Using Real QuickBooks Data for Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis 422
Recognizing the Downside of the Profit-Volume-Cost Model 424
Using the Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis Workbook 426
Chapter 2: Creating a Business Plan Forecast 437
Reviewing Financial Statements and Ratios 438
Using the Business Plan Workbook 439
Understanding the Workbook Calculations 446
Customizing the Starter Workbook 472
Chapter 3: Writing a Business Plan 475
What the Term "Business Plan" Means 475
A Few Words about Strategic Plans 476
Look, Ma: No Strategy 478
A White-Paper Business Plan 480
A New-Venture Plan 483
Book 7: Care and Maintenance 489
Chapter 1: Administering QuickBooks 491
Keeping Your Data Confidential 491
Using QuickBooks in a Multiuser Environment 493
Using Audit Trails 503
Enabling Simultaneous Multiuser Access 504
Maintaining Good Accounting Controls 505
Chapter 2: Protecting Your Data 509
Backing Up the QuickBooks Data File 509
Restoring a QuickBooks Data File 515
Condensing the QuickBooks Company Files 520
Chapter 3: Troubleshooting 529
Using the QuickBooks Help File and This Book 529
Browsing Intuit's Product-Support Website 531
Checking Another Vendor's Product-Support Website 533
Tapping into Intuit's Online and Expert Communities 533
When All Else Fails 534
Book 8: Appendixes 535
Appendix A: A Crash Course in Excel 537
Starting Excel 537
Stopping Excel 538
Explaining Excel's Workbooks 538
Putting Text, Numbers, and Formulas in Cells 539
Writing Formulas 540
Scrolling through Big Workbooks 541
Copying and Cutting Cell Contents 542
Formatting Cell Contents 544
Recognizing That Functions Are Simply Formulas 546
Saving and Opening Workbooks 549
Printing Excel Workbooks 551
One Other Thing to Know 552
Appendix B: Government Web Resources for Businesses 553
Bureau of Economic Analysis 553
Bureau of Labor Statistics 556
Census Bureau 560
Securities and Exchange Commission 563
Federal Reserve 565
Government Printing Office 567
Internal Revenue Service 569
Appendix C: Glossary of Accounting and Financial Terms 571
Index 599
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Book 1: An Accounting Primer 5
Chapter 1: Principles of Accounting 7
The Purpose of Accounting 7
Reviewing the Common Financial Statements 10
The Philosophy of Accounting 23
A Few Words about Tax Accounting 26
Chapter 2: Double-Entry Bookkeeping 27
The Fiddle-Faddle Method of Accounting 28
How Double-Entry Bookkeeping Works 30
Almost a Real-Life Example 36
A Few Words about How QuickBooks Works 44
Chapter 3: Special Accounting Problems 47
Working with Accounts Receivable 48
Recording Accounts Payable Transactions 51
Inventory Accounting 53
Accounting for Fixed Assets 57
Recognizing Liabilities 61
Closing Out Revenue and Expense Accounts 65
One More Thing 68
Book 2: Getting Ready to Use QuickBooks 69
Chapter 1: Setting Up QuickBooks 71
Planning Your New QuickBooks System 71
Installing QuickBooks 74
Dealing with the Presetup Jitters 75
Running the QuickBooks Setup Wizard 77
Identifying the Starting Trial Balance 85
Chapter 2: Loading the Master File Lists 91
Setting Up the Chart of Accounts List 92
Setting Up the Item List 97
Working with the Price Level List 97
Using Sales Tax Codes 98
Setting Up a Payroll Item List 98
Setting Up Classes 99
Setting Up a Customer List 101
Setting Up the Vendor List 106
Setting Up a Fixed Assets List 109
Setting Up a Price Level List 110
Setting Up a Billing Rate Level List 111
Setting Up Your Employees 111
Setting Up an Other Names List 111
Setting Up the Profile Lists 112
Chapter 3: Fine-Tuning QuickBooks 115
Accessing the Preferences Settings 116
Setting the Accounting Preferences 118
Setting the Bills Preferences 121
Setting the Calendar Preferences 121
Setting the Checking Preferences 121
Changing the Desktop View 123
Setting Finance Charge Calculation Rules 126
Setting General Preferences 126
Controlling Integrated Applications 128
Controlling Inventory 129
Controlling How Jobs and Estimates Work 130
Dealing with Multiple Currencies 132
Starting Integrated Payment Processing 132
Controlling How Payroll Works 133
Telling QuickBooks How Reminders Should Work 135
Specifying Reports & Graphs Preferences 136
Setting Sales & Customers Preferences 140
Specifying How Sales Are Taxed 141
Setting the Search Preferences 142
Setting the Send Forms Preferences 143
Fine-Tuning the Service Connection 144
Controlling Spell Checking 145
Controlling How 1099 Tax Reporting Works 146
Setting Time & Expenses Preferences 146
Book 3: Bookkeeping Chores 149
Chapter 1: Invoicing Customers 151
Choosing an Invoice Form 151
Customizing an Invoice Form 152
Invoicing a Customer 162
Billing for Time 168
Printing Invoices 173
Emailing Invoices 173
Recording Sales Receipts 174
Recording Credit Memos 177
Receiving Customer Payments 179
Assessing Finance Charges 181
Using Odds and Ends on the Customers Menu 183
Chapter 2: Paying Vendors 185
Creating a Purchase Order 185
Recording the Receipt of Items 189
Simultaneously Recording the Receipt and the Bill 192
Entering a Bill 194
Paying Bills 198
Reviewing the Other Vendor Menu Commands 201
Chapter 3: Tracking Inventory and Items 205
Looking at Your Item List 206
Adding Items to the Item List 208
Editing Items 223
Adjusting Physical Counts and Inventory Values 224
Adjusting Prices and Price Levels 227
Managing Inventory in a Manufacturing Firm 231
Chapter 4: Managing Cash and Bank Accounts 237
Writing Checks 238
Making Bank Deposits 246
Transferring Money between Bank Accounts 249
Working with the Register 251
Using Edit Menu Commands 258
Reconciling the Bank Account 262
Reviewing the Other Banking Commands 266
Chapter 5: Paying Employees 269
Setting Up Basic Payroll 269
Scheduling Payroll Runs 276
Paying Employees 276
Editing and Voiding Paychecks 278
Paying Payroll Liabilities 279
Book 4: Accounting Chores 281
Chapter 1: For Accountants Only 283
Working with QuickBooks Journal Entries 283
Updating Company Information 286
Working with Memorized Transactions 286
Reviewing the Accountant & Taxes Reports 287
Creating an Accountant's Copy of the QuickBooks Data File 289
Using the Client Data Review Commands 297
Chapter 2: Preparing Financial Statements and Reports 299
Some Wise Words Up Front 299
Producing a Report 300
Working with the Report Window 301
Modifying a Report 311
Processing Multiple Reports 319
A Few Words about Document Retention 320
Chapter 3: Preparing a Budget 323
Reviewing Common Budgeting Tactics 323
Taking a Practical Approach to Budgeting 327
Using the Set Up Budgets Window 327
Managing with a Budget 332
Some Wrap-Up Comments on Budgeting 334
Chapter 4: Using Activity-Based Costing 337
Reviewing Traditional Overhead Allocation 338
Understanding How ABC Works 340
Implementing a Simple ABC System 345
Seeing How QuickBooks Supports ABC 346
Turning On Class Tracking 347
Using Classes for ABC 348
Chapter 5: Setting Up Project and Job Costing Systems 353
Setting Up a QuickBooks Job 353
Tracking Job or Project Costs 356
Job Cost Reporting 359
Using Job Estimates 360
Progress Billing 362
Book 5: Financial Management 365
Chapter 1: Ratio Analysis 367
Some Caveats about Ratio Analysis 368
Liquidity Ratios 369
Leverage Ratios 371
Activity Ratios 375
Profitability Ratios 379
Chapter 2: Economic Value Added Analysis 385
Introducing the Logic of EVA 385
Seeing EVA in Action 386
Reviewing Some Important Points about EVA 389
Using EVA When Your Business Has Debt 391
Presenting Two Final Pointers 395
And Now, a Word to My Critics 396
Chapter 3: Capital Budgeting in a Nutshell 399
Introducing the Theory of Capital Budgeting 399
Calculating the Rate of Return on Capital 402
Measuring Liquidity 412
Thinking about Risk 412
What Does All of This Have to Do with QuickBooks? 414
Book 6: Business Plans 415
Chapter 1: Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis 417
Seeing How Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis Works 418
Calculating Break-Even Points 420
Using Real QuickBooks Data for Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis 422
Recognizing the Downside of the Profit-Volume-Cost Model 424
Using the Profit-Volume-Cost Analysis Workbook 426
Chapter 2: Creating a Business Plan Forecast 437
Reviewing Financial Statements and Ratios 438
Using the Business Plan Workbook 439
Understanding the Workbook Calculations 446
Customizing the Starter Workbook 472
Chapter 3: Writing a Business Plan 475
What the Term "Business Plan" Means 475
A Few Words about Strategic Plans 476
Look, Ma: No Strategy 478
A White-Paper Business Plan 480
A New-Venture Plan 483
Book 7: Care and Maintenance 489
Chapter 1: Administering QuickBooks 491
Keeping Your Data Confidential 491
Using QuickBooks in a Multiuser Environment 493
Using Audit Trails 503
Enabling Simultaneous Multiuser Access 504
Maintaining Good Accounting Controls 505
Chapter 2: Protecting Your Data 509
Backing Up the QuickBooks Data File 509
Restoring a QuickBooks Data File 515
Condensing the QuickBooks Company Files 520
Chapter 3: Troubleshooting 529
Using the QuickBooks Help File and This Book 529
Browsing Intuit's Product-Support Website 531
Checking Another Vendor's Product-Support Website 533
Tapping into Intuit's Online and Expert Communities 533
When All Else Fails 534
Book 8: Appendixes 535
Appendix A: A Crash Course in Excel 537
Starting Excel 537
Stopping Excel 538
Explaining Excel's Workbooks 538
Putting Text, Numbers, and Formulas in Cells 539
Writing Formulas 540
Scrolling through Big Workbooks 541
Copying and Cutting Cell Contents 542
Formatting Cell Contents 544
Recognizing That Functions Are Simply Formulas 546
Saving and Opening Workbooks 549
Printing Excel Workbooks 551
One Other Thing to Know 552
Appendix B: Government Web Resources for Businesses 553
Bureau of Economic Analysis 553
Bureau of Labor Statistics 556
Census Bureau 560
Securities and Exchange Commission 563
Federal Reserve 565
Government Printing Office 567
Internal Revenue Service 569
Appendix C: Glossary of Accounting and Financial Terms 571
Index 599