Quickbooks 2002

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Whether you're working out of your spare bedroom or a storefront, the decision to use QuickBooks 2002 will profoundly change the way you do business -- for the better. You'll be in control of your finances like never before. You'll know what you're owed. You'll actually send those statements and collection letters when they ought to go out. You'll look far more professional to your customers and suppliers. Reports that were never worth the trouble will be accessible with just a few mouse-clicks. You might pay less to your accountant. And, incredible as it may seem, next year, April 15th may not be quite so intimidating.

Of course, nothing comes free: you'll have to work for those benefits. QuickBooks is the No. 1 small business financial software because it's the easiest one out there -- but that doesn't mean it's easy. You have to know far less about accounting than used to be the case, but you've still got to know something.

That's where QuickBooks 2002: The Official Guide comes in. This is the only Intuit-authorized guide to QuickBooks 2002, but more important -- it's really good. Kathy Ivens specializes in translating amongst the world of accounting, the somewhat different world of QuickBooks, and the utterly different world small businesspeople actually live in.

Get started fast -- without the confusion

The book pays for itself in the first two chapters. It takes a significant amount of effort to get started with QuickBooks, and that's a hump many users never get over. Ivens smooths it out as much as possible.

Her "Do This First!" section makes sure you've gathered all the information you need before you start, so QuickBooks doesn't blindside you with a question you can't answer. Then, she doesn't just walk you through QuickBooks' startup interview: she tells you which questions you can ignore for the time being, and which questions you'd better answer correctly -- even, in many cases, what the right answers are likely to be.

Ivens makes sense of the old chestnuts that have bedeviled folks for years (accrual or cash accounting); then helps you avoid mistakes that could foul up your chart of accounts for years to come (explaining, for instance, why it makes sense to stick with numbered accounts, and how to set them up).

This book's full of tips. Tips that Ivens has discovered by running her own business on QuickBooks. Tips she's learned by asking Intuit's own QuickBooks development team. Tips she's learned in eye-glazing discussions with accountants (including those who visit her web site, www.cpa911.com, for guidance in setting up their own clients with QuickBooks). If there's a shortcut hidden in QuickBooks, Ivens unearths it: entering all your employee information with templates, using zero-based bills to simplify tracking of monthly credit card invoices.

There's also a full chapter on end-of-year procedures: running year-end financials, issuing 1099s to your non-employee contractors, getting ready for tax time, closing the books (and preventing unauthorized folks from messing with last year's closed books).

Ivens covers both QuickBooks and the "Pro" version, which includes (among other things) detailed time tracking capabilities. You'll learn how to set QuickBooks up so all your employees can enter their timesheets (without getting into your private accounting data); providing Quicken's on-screen timer software to everyone, and using it to automate timesheet tracking; editing and adjusting employee timesheets once they're entered; and, finally, translating timesheets into invoices.

There's a lot that's new in QuickBooks 2002, and Ivens covers the new stuff seamlessly. Creating multiple estimates for the same job. More flexible sales tax tracking. Using QuickBooks' growing portfolio of online banking and payment services. And -- for some people, the most useful of all -- integration with Microsoft Office, so you can synchronize your QuickBooks and Outlook customer lists, massage your financial numbers in Excel, send funky letters to all your customers with Word.

If you're investing a couple hundred bucks in QuickBooks 2002, invest just a little more to make it work for you a whole lot better. Get QuickBooks 2002: The Official Guide. (Bill Camarda)

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer with nearly 20 years' experience in helping technology companies deploy and market advanced software, computing, and networking products and services. He served for nearly ten years as vice president of a New Jersey–based marketing company, where he supervised a wide range of graphics and web design projects. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.

Library Journal

QuickBooks, a leader in simplified small- business accounting software, can nonetheless be confusing to set up and optimize. Authorized by the software's manufacturer, Intuit Inc., The Official Guide cuts through this confusion. Not only does it show how to use the program, but it also explains when and why to customize its features to make small business accounting simpler and more efficient. Useful for those setting up QuickBooks for the first time or those who are upgrading to the newest version. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.