Qboa 2011

Grow Your Practice with QuickBooks Online: How to Support Your Clients Using QuickBooks Online Accountant
Copyright
Copyright 2011 Intuit, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intuit, Inc. 5601 Headquarters Drive Plano, TX 75024
Trademarks
2011 Intuit Inc. All rights reserved. Intuit, the Intuit logo, Lacerte, ProAdvisor, ProSeries and QuickBooks, among others, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other parties marks are the property of their respective owners.
Notice to Readers
The publications distributed by Intuit, Inc. are intended to assist accounting professionals in their practices by providing current and accurate information. However, no assurance is given that the information is comprehensive in its coverage or that it is suitable in dealing with a clients particular situation. Accordingly, the information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for independent research. Intuit, Inc. does not render any accounting, legal, or other professional advice nor does it have any responsibility for updating or revising any information presented herein. Intuit, Inc. cannot warrant that the material contained herein will continue to be accurate nor that it is completely free of errors when published. Readers should verify statements before relying on them.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
About the Author ............................................................................................................................ 3 About this Course .......................................................................................................................... 4 Learning Objectives ................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction to Quickbooks Online for Accountants ................................................................ 5 What is QuickBooks Online Accountant? .................................................................................. 5 How to sign up .................................................................................................................... 5 Client List ............................................................................................................................ 5 How to Get Help with QBOA ............................................................................................... 6 Additional Resources Available .......................................................................................... 6 QuickBooks Online Accountant: Accountant Center ............................................................... 7 Setting Accounting Period ......................................................................................................... 7 Tools .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Reports ...................................................................................................................................... 8 Online Banking .......................................................................................................................... 9 Whats New.............................................................................................................................. 10 Accountant Tips ....................................................................................................................... 10 Accountant Preferences .......................................................................................................... 11 Messages and Tasks ............................................................................................................... 12 Troubleshooting Bank Reconciliations ..................................................................................... 13 Reconciliation Discrepancies Report ....................................................................................... 13 Troubleshooting Bank Reconciliation Tools ............................................................................ 16 Undo Bank Reconciliations...................................................................................................... 17 Increase Efficiency with QuickBooks Online Accountant ....................................................... 18 Write Off Invoices In Batch ...................................................................................................... 18 Batch Reclassify ...................................................................................................................... 20 Voided/Deleted Transaction Report ........................................................................................ 22 Making Adjustments In QuickBooks Online ............................................................................. 23 Enter Journal Entries ............................................................................................................... 23 Review the Adjusted Trial Balance Report .............................................................................. 25
Working with QBO clients ........................................................................................................... 26 The Future of QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Online Accountant ............................... 27 Fast Growing ........................................................................................................................... 27 Ever Evolving ........................................................................................................................... 28 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 29
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stacy Kildal, CPB

Kildal Services LLC
Stacy is owner/operator of Kildal Services LLC, located in Waterford Michigana full service bookkeeping company that specializes in all things QuickBooks. As a Certified Professional Bookkeeper and Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor, she supports QuickBooks clients all over the country, offering payroll, bookkeeping, training and consulting. She regularly teaches QuickBooks workshops through the local county planning and economic development department along with community college and continuing education classes for various school districts. She is the co-founder and co-host of a weekly online radio show/podcast dedicated to all things QuickBooks called Radio Free QuickBooks, more information can be found at www.RadioFreeQB.com. As a member of the esteemed Intuit Trainer/Writer Network, Stacy has presented many live seminars and webinars. Her attendees enjoy the passion she exhibits for her work and can easily relate to the many real life examples she uses during these presentations. She has also been featured frequently on Intuits Community Ask the Expert forums, various Intuit Academy To Go podcasts as well as hosting a number of Intuit Small Business Online Town Hall sessions. Kildal Services LLC provides consulting, speaking and writing to clients (including other accounting professionals) nationwide. Stacy can be reached at stacy@kildalservices.com.
ABOUT THIS COURSE

QuickBooks Online Accountant is a new offering from Intuit to help Accounting Professionals better service their clients using QuickBooks Online. This course is for accounting professionals who already have QuickBooks Online clients and are familiar with QBO. If you are new to QBO, please watch my on-demand courses (and earn free CPE credits!) located on he Intuit Accountant Training page about why adding QBO clients can be an important way to grow your practice, selecting the right subscription levels for you clients, and then how to set up those new QBO clients. For an added bonus, click the course titles to download the training guides for each course! Grow Your Practice with QuickBooks Online: Choosing What's Best for Your Client Grow Your Practice with QuickBooks Online: How to Setup
You will learn about: General Overview What is QuickBooks Online Accountant? Well provide an overview of how this new product will make supporting QuickBooks Online customers faster and easier than before. Well show you the new Client List which provides easy access to all your QBO clients with an easy to navigate dashboard Valuable additional services - Learn how to access additional resources, training and support to help you better serve QuickBooks Online clients Accountant Center Learn how to customize the Accountant Center to manage your workflow with all of the most common tools and reports an accounting professional needs Bank reconciliation corrections Learn how to quickly undo previous reconciliations, identify reconciliations that were finished with Auto Adjustment and view transactions that were changed after reconciliation Make corrections in batch Learn how to save time by writing off invoices and reclassifying incorrectly posted transactions in batches, rather than one at a time or with Adjusting Journal Entries Enter and view adjustments See how simple it is to enter and track adjustments with Adjusting Journal Entries and access the Adjusted Trial Balance report
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By attending this course, participants will be able to: Manage your QuickBooks Online clients using QuickBooks Online Accountant Troubleshoot and correct your QuickBooks Online clients reconciliation errors Write off invoices and reclassify transactions in batch Enter adjustments in QuickBooks Online Accountant
INTRODUCTION TO QUICKBOOKS ONLINE FOR ACCOUNTANTS

WHAT IS QUICKBOOKS ONLINE ACCOUNTANT?
QuickBooks Online Accountant (QBOA) is a web-based accounting solution offered by Intuit. It was introduced to the market in the fall of 2011 as a solution for accounting professionals to better support their clients using QuickBooks Online Simple Start, Essentials or Plus. Similar in theory to the accountant-specific version of QuickBooks desktop, QuickBooks Online Accountant allows accountants and bookkeepers to maximize billable time and perform essential tasks in minutes, rather than hours. Using the QBOA dashboard and Accountant Center, all of our clients are quickly accessible and common tasks are consolidated on one screen for quick access screen.
How to sign up
Watch this video for the steps to sign up for QuickBooks Online Accountant.
Client List
The Client List is the first thing you see when you login when you login at www.qboa.intuit.com . It will list all of the clients that have invited you as their accountant to access their data Think of it as a dashboard view. From this screen, youll be able to add contact information, as well as edit the client information as needed any edits to the client information you make will not apply to the actual client QBO file. As you can see below, rather than company names in my Active Client list, I have changed them to be listed as the respective websites simply because thats how I chose to organize my list. QBOA makes it easy to customize your client list to make it easier for you to work with your clients.
How to Get Help with QBOA

Just as with QuickBooks Online (QBO), help is just a few clicks away when logged into your QBOA dashboard. In the top right corner, youll see the help button. When you click the drop down arrow, you have the option to choose Help for QuickBooks Online Accountant or Support for QuickBooks Online Accountant. Both have quick links to frequently asked questions and both allow you to search for a specific subject.
You can also provide feedback to Intuit regarding QBOA be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to let them know about any improvements or additional functionality youd like to see. These submissions are taken very seriously, especially with new products, and help shape future products and enhancements.
Additional Resources Available

In addition the extensive Knowledge Base articles located with the QBOA help center, you can also take advantage of some other training tools from Intuit. As I mentioned earlier, to view a video on how to sign up for QBOA, please click here.
QUICKBOOKS ONLINE ACCOUNTANT: ACCOUNTANT CENTER

The Accountant Center is the first thing you see when you login into a clients QBO data from the QBOA Client List. It serves as a one-stop shop by putting the most common (and most requested!) tools at your fingertips in one screen. These critical accountant tools are not available outside of QBOA. It is built in a similar manner to the QBO Home Page and is customizable. You can change the location of the modules by moving them around, or removing components that you wont be using. The module that includes Accounting Period, Tools, and Reports can be removed, but will always be at the top of Accountant Center. It includes the following components.
SETTING ACCOUNTING PERIOD

With this screen, you can set the review period youll be working on from this screen, making this your default when running reports from the Accountant Center. Youll want to do this each time you login to a client; it will save time and eliminate errors by removing the need to adjust the review period date(s) each time you open a report.
TOOLS
This section lists shortcuts to many features that accounting professionals use the most, such as Batch Reclassify, Online Banking and Reconcile bank accounts.
REPORTS
The reports module lists many of the most common reports that accounting professionals need to review to analyze client data, including Balance Sheet, previous period comparisons, and reconciliation reports. If you have set your Accounting Period date range, all of these reports will default to that date range when you open them handy!
ONLINE BANKING
This component is the same as the one displayed on the regular QBO home page. From here, you can see how many transactions need to be processed, if there are any issues with connecting to accounts (maybe the bank was unavailable or a password has been changed), as well as initiating a manual download with the Update link so that you have up to the minute balances.
WHATS NEW
This module lists all of the new features available in QBO/QBOA. Just as with QBO, Intuit will continue to add functionality to QBOA, and this list is an easy way to keep up to date on what is available. Another great place to go to learn about new features as they are introduced is in both is the QuickBooks Online Blog.
ACCOUNTANT TIPS
Find quick links to the most commonly asked how-to questions such as opening multiple windows, using keyboard commands or switching between tabs/windows. Keyboard shortcuts are a very efficient way to work in any version of QuickBooks; with QBO/QBOA. The same date shortcuts that we all know and love from desktop are available and you can even open the popup calendar if you press ALT + Down Arrow. The short cut I use most is the ALT + S (or ALT + Shift + S in Firefox), which saves any transaction Im working on.
NOTE: One way to access multiple companies at once is to open them using different browsers. I have a number of clients with more than one company, and I will open Company A in Google Chrome, and Company B in Firefox.
10
ACCOUNTANT PREFERENCES
Here is where the accounting professional can set personal preferences for ALL the QBO client data they have access to. At the time of this writing, the only option is to set how long they want to stay logged in before they are logged out of the data. The ability to set the idle time length before logout is a security feature that is not included in desktop editions, which require you to manually close the file or exit the program. By setting this time, you can be assured that if you walk away from your computer and forgot to log out of QBOA, you will be automatically logged off. By extending the time, you can also assure that you wont be logged off before you want to be, eliminating the need to enter your user name and password if you are busy in another program while you work in QBO.
Again, be sure to use the feedback button to let Intuit know what features youd like added to QuickBooks Online Accountant! This is really your opportunity to make this new product right for you!
11
MESSAGES AND TASKS

Just as its called, this section shows any system messages or task reminders. Typical items would be a message about an expired credit card for subscription billing, or a task reminder to deal with a recurring transaction that could not be processed. Many of the items are dynamic and allow you to click directly on them in order to take action or view the details of the message.
12
TROUBLESHOOTING BANK RECONCILIATIONS

RECONCILIATION DISCREPANCIES REPORT
While there is no specific Reconciliation Discrepancies report in QBO or QBOA, you can create and memorize your own and even have it sent to you and/or your client each month, so you can be aware of any balance in the Reconciliation Discrepancies account and correct it as needed. To create this report, youll need to use a Transaction List by Date report:
1. Go to the Reports tab and click Transaction List by Date.
2. On the top right click the Customize... button.
3. In the Transaction Date: field select the appropriate time frame or set custom dates.
13
4. On the left click on Match. 5. In the Memo: field type in: Reconcile Adjustment. 6. Click Run Report.
Now, youll want to memorize this report and possibly add to a report group.
1. Click on the Memorize... button. 2. Enter a descriptive name for the report in the Name: field. 3. If you decide to share the report with all users, click on the box next to Give a copy to all
company users, otherwise you will be the only one that has access to this report.
Note: When sharing a report with all users a copy of the report will appear in their Memorized report list. If they don't have the proper access rights to run this report, they can't run it. Also when memorized reports are shared with other users, the report cannot be "recalled" or removed by anyone else except that user.
14
4. If you decide to add the report to a group click on the box to the left of Add this report to a
group: and a drop down menu will appear.
NOTE: Adding reports to a group allows you to set a common email schedule for all the reports in the group. The reports appear under the group name on your list of memorized reports. If you add a report with an email schedule to a group that also has an email schedule, the newly added report will follow the group's email schedule.
o Select the title of the group you desire to add this report to. o If there is no group available but you would like to add one: 1. Click on <<Add New>>. 2. In the Name: field enter the desired group name. 3. Click OK.
5. Once the desired options are set on the bottom right click on OK.
15
TROUBLESHOOTING BANK RECONCILIATION TOOLS

QBOA includes some accounting specific tools that will help you troubleshoot bank reconciliation errors that are only available when logged in via QBOA and are hidden to regular QBO users. This tool gives you the option of viewing each months reconciliation report on an individual basis, but the Changes and Auto Adjustment columns are available in QBOA only. To access the Reconciliation History, click the Reconcile link in the Tools module in the Accountant Center.
Identify when Auto-Adjustment has been used The Auto Adjustment column lets you know if an automatic adjustment was used to finish a reconciliation, along with the amount of the adjustment.
Identify reconciliations that have changes to cleared transactions The Changes column shows you whether any reconciled transactions had been modified after being reconciled and gives the cumulative Amount of any changes.
View changes to cleared transactions Clicking on the magnifying glass that appears next to that number in the Changes column gives a list of the transactions that were changed, along with information on what changed which is displayed in a pop-up window.
16
UNDO BANK RECONCILIATIONS

From the Reconciliation History window there is an option to Undo previous reconciliations. This is a vast improvement over having to unclear each transaction for what could be months worth of data to correct mistakes and start from scratch. When a QBOA user hovers over a row in the Reconciliation History table, an Undo button will pop up on the right:
Keep in mind: if you Undo a month all months following will also be undone. You can Undo a few months of prior reconciliations at once instead of doing it one by one. A few notes on bank reconciliations: if you use the Undo feature, all service charges, interest and adjustment transactions are not deleted. Also, when you are reconciling, you can select the top box to check all the boxes below, as well as drag and drop the amount column around, as seen below.
17
INCREASE EFFICIENCY WITH QUICKBOOKS ONLINE ACCOUNTANT

WRITE OFF INVOICES IN BATCH
You no longer have to locate and write off invoices on a transaction-by-transaction basis. With QuickBooks Online Accountant you can view a list of open invoices in one screen, and write off multiple invoices with a few clicks of our mouse how speedy!
1. Open the Accountant Center. 2. Choose Write Off Invoices from the Tools Module.
3. On the left click the box next to each Invoice you want to write off. 4. In the bottom right corner, click the Preview and Write-Off button.
18
5. In the window that pops up, verify that the information is correct, then click the Write Off button.
6. In the next screen, youll see the confirmation that the write off is completed.
19
BATCH RECLASSIFY
The Reclassify Transactions tool allows users to find non-item based transactions such as a bill or check with the amount in the Expenses section, or a journal entry that may have an incorrect account and reclassify them into the correct account in batch. For any transaction that includes an item, youll need to edit on the transaction itself. A few things to point out: Item-based transactions can be viewed here and it helps to identify if there are any problems that need to be fixed. Transactions can be reclassified to any account type including expense and Balance Sheet accounts
To reclassify in batch:
1. Open the Accountant Center. 2. Choose Reclassify Transactions from the Tools Module.
3. In the Reclassify Transactions screen, youll choose the account to reclassify from on the left
pane, and in the right youll see the transactions that you will be able to change.
20
4. Select the transactions youd like to reclassify, then check the box in the bottom right next to For
all selected transactions, change, then choose the account to which you would like to reassign them.
5. Then click the Reclassify button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
6. Youll then go right back to the Reclassify Transactions screen and repeat as needed.
21
VOIDED/DELETED TRANSACTION REPORT

Built off of the QBO Activity Log, the Voided/Deleted Transactions report shows transactions that have been voided or deleted in the selected period. Its a quick way to see if transactions have been altered that may have already been cleared or are in a closed period or are affecting current balances. To access this report:
1. Open the Accountant Center. 2. In the Report module, click on the link to the Voided/Deleted Transactions report.
The user can modify the report from there using the Customize button, and can use the normal History column to investigate the history of specific transactions.
22
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS IN QUICKBOOKS ONLINE

ENTER JOURNAL ENTRIES
The QBOA Accountant Center also has a quick link to make Adjusting Journal entries. This feature is available only for QBOA users, and easily accessible from the Tools module when logged in via QBOA just click on the link to Journal Entries.
In the Journal Entry screen, enter the debit/credits as needed. To make it an Adjusting Journal entry, click the check box next to Adjusting Journal Entry.
23
To view a list of Adjusting Journal Entries, you can click the link to Adjusting Journal Entries report in the Accountant Center.
Because you have already defined the Accounting Period in the Accountant Center, the report will default to that date range, and display only Journal Entries entered in the time frame that have been marked as Adjusting. The Adjusting Journal Entries report and Adjusted Trial Balance are only available with QBOA.
24
REVIEW THE ADJUSTED TRIAL BALANCE REPORT

While regular users of QBO are able to view a Trial Balance Report from the report list, the ability to view an Adjusted Trial Balance is only available when logged in via QBOA. You can click the link in the reports module of the Accountant Center.
Again, because you have already set your Accounting Period in the Accountant Center, the report will default to those dates, showing you the balances before and after the adjustments, as well as the adjustments. The adjustments column pulls data only from Adjust Journal Entries.
25
WORKING WITH QBO CLIENTS

The first thing I want to point out here is the emphasis in not making a direct comparison to QBO to desktop editions in terms of user interface. We need to remember that these products are built to work in different environments, to fit different client needs. What we want to do is look at the client needs first, and then determine whether QBO has the functionality to fit those needs. As I mentioned at the beginning of the course, a good resource to assist with this is my course Grow Your Practice with QuickBooks Online: Choosing Whats Best for Your Client. I originally thought that the QBOA would only be useful for the QBO clients that I support periodically; not my day-to-day bookkeeping clients. I could not have been more wrong! Not only do I have access to the specific accounting tools that we covered in the course, I can still access all the other features I need to do the everyday work: enter customers, create and send invoices, manage recurring transactions, etc. Whenever possible, I try to look at QBO as an option for my clients. The peace of mind they get knowing their data is secure and accessible from anywhere is worth the monthly fee and in many cases, the cost is less than a remote backup subscription they may need to backup a desktop software. In my opinion, QBO clients are easier to support, especially on a day to day basis. The program automatically downloads bank and credit card transactions daily, and the options to set up automatic delayed billing for time and expenses, recurring transactions and scheduled report delivery mean that once I get the processes in place, the maintenance on the data takes less time than my desktop clients. For me personally, I spend roughly half the time on my QBO clients than my desktop clients to achieve the same results: create invoices, pay bills, download/enter bank transactions, reconcile accounts. The best part? I dont have to wait for them to leave their computer to login!
26
THE FUTURE OF QUICKBOOKS ONLINE AND QUICKBOOKS ONLINE ACCOUNTANT

FAST GROWING
In August 2011, CEO Brad Smith announced a significant number during the 2011 Q4 Intuit earnings conference call, he stated the following: our growth strategy is accelerating our transition to connected services. These digital services are driving customer acquisition and revenue growth in all of our businesses. For example, QuickBooks Online subscribers grew 41% year-over-year We now have more than 35 million end users on our hosted products and services, and the adoption of mobile is only going to push it faster Intuit sees four key trends that will shape the future of accounting, and discuss them in their Intuit 2020 report from February 2011. The four key features are: Shifting Business Environment Creates New Opportunities Specialization and collaboration will lead to increased opportunities for accounting and tax professionals, who will work across global borders to meet their client needs, made possible by advances in technology Demographic Shifts Change the Face of Professionals and Clients Demographic shifts and a growing U.S.-based minority population will have broad implications for firms and their clients, influencing how, when and with whom they do business From Data to Decision Making, Technology Changes the Accounting Profession As technology expands and the automation of data collection rises, the focus of accounting will shift from computation to consulting as clients increasingly rely on their accounting professionals to analyze business information, support decisions and provide strategic advice High-Tech Enhances High-Touch Client Outreach, Relationships and Service Social media and ubiquitous mobile technologies will become even more pervasive, changing the way accounting and tax professionals conduct business and attract new clients. It will be imperative for practitioners to manage their Web and mobile presences to establish firm reputation and brand
The ability to adapt to new technologies and the flexibility to change the way we work as accountants will be an integral part in the future of our businesses. Intuit is committed to helping us navigate this changing environment by giving us the tools to support our clients and training to use them.
27
EVER EVOLVING
While this course covers the features available in QuickBooks Online Accountant at the time of writing, remember that QBO and QBOA are evolving quickly. The ability to push enhancements as they are developed instead of on a yearly release schedule is a wonderful advantage of online products and services. For example, when I first began using QBO for my own practice in 2005, it was not nearly as feature-rich as it is now. That said, the initial version of QuickBooks Online Accountant provides accounting professionals who support QuickBooks Online clients with some great tools that will save time and effort. The Accountant Center helps accountants to easily find and access features they need to use when working with their clients books. Using the Accountant Center, youll be able to keep current with the new features as they come online, as well as older enhancements with the link in the Whats New module to Previous Changes:
28
CONCLUSION
QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Online Accountant are excellent tools to use to expand your practice. The anywhere, anytime access allows you to support clients all over the globe. As an Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor, I have clients scattered from California to New York that all vary in size, industry and level of service, all thanks to QuickBooks Online. The new QuickBooks Online Accountant will allow me to support them much more efficiently.
29

Qboa 2011

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Qboa 2011

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Grow Your Practice with QuickBooks Online: How to Support Your Clients Using QuickBooks Online Accountant

Copyright 2011 Intuit, Inc. All rights reserved.

Intuit, Inc. 5601 Headquarters Drive Plano, TX 75024

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stacy Kildal, CPB

ABOUT THIS COURSE

INTRODUCTION TO QUICKBOOKS ONLINE FOR ACCOUNTANTS

How to Get Help with QBOA

Additional Resources Available

QUICKBOOKS ONLINE ACCOUNTANT: ACCOUNTANT CENTER

SETTING ACCOUNTING PERIOD

MESSAGES AND TASKS

TROUBLESHOOTING BANK RECONCILIATIONS

1. Go to the Reports tab and click Transaction List by Date.

2. On the top right click the Customize... button.

TROUBLESHOOTING BANK RECONCILIATION TOOLS

UNDO BANK RECONCILIATIONS

INCREASE EFFICIENCY WITH QUICKBOOKS ONLINE ACCOUNTANT

VOIDED/DELETED TRANSACTION REPORT

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS IN QUICKBOOKS ONLINE

REVIEW THE ADJUSTED TRIAL BALANCE REPORT

WORKING WITH QBO CLIENTS

THE FUTURE OF QUICKBOOKS ONLINE AND QUICKBOOKS ONLINE ACCOUNTANT

You might also like