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There’s so many “what not to do’s” with your money that sometimes you’re not really sure what to do with it at all! Part of running a business is being able to control where your cash goes and how it’s being used. Being proactive and preparing for the future is the best course of action when it comes to running a business. Don’t let surprise expenses stress you out. Instead, beat them to the punch. 

When you’re working in QuickBooks, it’s better to work smarter, not harder. If you’re trying to find a

Bookkeeping fraud is one of the most common forms of internal fraud. When running a business, there is always the potential risk for fraud within your company’s four walls. Unfortunately, not everyone in the workforce is a trusted individual; they could access your private files and

Skynar Bookkeeping is launching an entirely new monthly QuickBooks group training seminar…and you won’t want to miss it. The class sizes will be limited so instruction can be personalized to what YOU want to learn and ways QB can benefit YOU. These classes will be hosted by Cheryl Skynar, a Certified ProAdvisor with over 20 years experience in bookkeeping. 

Getting around QuickBooks Desktop doesn’t have be a struggle thanks to these quick and efficient shortcuts. Next time you’re moving around in QBD, try out these simple clicks; you’ll have them memorized in no time. 

When it comes to your books (and just about everything else), it’s best to work smarter, not harder. Finding little tips and tricks to make your bookkeeping the slightest bit easier is like a little win each time you successfully maneuver your way through. Lucky for you, QuickBooks Online is plentiful with shortcuts that make your bookkeeping just a smidge easier each time you use one! Depending on if you’re a MAC or PC user, these shortcuts will be slightly different by only a couple keys. Don’t forget that these are specific for QBO, not QuickBooks Desktop. 

One thing we love about QuickBooks Desktop is there is more than one way to do things. However, we know the most efficient and productive way for entering any and all information. Today we’d like to address writing checks and share our advice for the most convenient route for you, and they will also keep your books flawless!

1.   Set Up an Automatic Payment Schedule For Loans

QB is great for entering bills and writing checks to make loan payments each month. However, instead of going to the Enter a Bill or Write a Check windows, a more convenient route is to go to Banking, then Loan Manager, and then Set Up a New Loan. Once this is finished, click the Set Up Payment option to finalize. Now you’re on track for QB to automatically enter the payment each month.

1.   Pay Payroll Taxes using the Pay Liabilities Window

When payroll is processed, QB will keep track of how much payroll tax your business owes and records this amount in Payroll Liabilities. Rather than paying your payroll taxes in the Write Checks window, we suggest making your payments directly from the Pay Liabilities window, which will make the necessary deductions and keep your books balanced. The same goes for paying sales tax - you should never just write a check. Make sure you pay it through the Pay Sales Tax Liability window.

It’s 2018 and things are evolving, even the business world. Your work hours may be not be set in stone or you may work remotely. There are endless ways to be flexible with your small business these days. Even when running a business on the go, it’s vital to remain prepared and professional, which is why we recommend these five must-haves to successfully run your business from anywhere you’d like:

1. Technology 

When you’re a contractor, you work on multiple projects that need different accounts and we want to make sure the chaos doesn’t turn into confusion. To make sure everything is organized and you know exactly what’s going on in each account, we compiled a list of helpful tips.

1.      Set up your QuickBooks properly at the beginning. You will need a specialized Chart of Accounts and Items for your business. By doing this right the first time, you avoid the very time consuming task of having to clean up your books.
2.      Invest the time, money, and energy to set up QuickBooks to properly track Direct and Indirect Constructions Costs and keep Overheard separate.
3.      Use Estimates to your customers and Purchase Orders to your vendors. Link the two to track your costs by project.
4.      Assign Job Costing to all expenses.
5.      Make adjustments each month to recognize Work In Progress (WIP).
6.      Track your contractors for ease of issuing 1099’s at the beginning of the year.
7.      If this becomes too much to handle, hire a qualified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. The money you “invest” in this will help you save you time, money, and energy in the long run.

Spring has finally arrived! The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and…your books are a mess. It’s time for some major spring cleaning! Just like you do with your house, you also need to do with your books. Leave your Lysol where it’s at, instead grab some coffee and get to cleaning!

Your books need to be accurate, so everything you’ll be doing will to be to maintain accuracy and up-to-date records. Are your accounts reconciled? Do your books match what’s in your bank account? If the answer is no, it’s time to make these yes’s. Verify that all expenses are assigned to the correct accounts. This will help you avoid any “oops” moments you may run into in your books.

It’s hard to be productive when you’re surrounded by chaos. To give your work your full attention, sometimes you need to do some simplifying, centering, and organizing. It’s all really simple, we promise! Not everyone thrives in the same work environment, so some of these ideas may work for you and some may not. They’re simple and worth a shot so you’re one step closer to figuring out how to best optimize your productivity in the workplace!

Mistakes are likely happen in your bookkeeping, but it’s best if they don’t! We have a few common errors that can occur and how to avoid them. They’re easy to miss but also easy to fix. Sometimes it’s as easy as double-checking your entries and making sure numbers match up. When working on your books, be sure to keep your eye out for these five mistakes that can easily slip by unnoticed. 

QuickBooks (QB) has this useful (and great) feature called “Class Tracking” that allows you track your income and expenses. We know what you’re thinking - another great feature?! QB is just too good to be true, we know, but the best part is that it is definitely, very much real. And it’s customizable! If you’re ready to go beyond account-based tracking (we recommend you do), we know just what you need.

Bookkeeping is the silent hero of your business. It’s solid and reliable. It keeps you grounded, anchoring you down in one place when things become chaotic. Many factors may influence your business, but the numbers don’t lie. The numbers are the black and white of your business, the “this is it” aspect that cannot be twisted.

Why not bring this anchor into your home? You don’t need a computer - grab a notebook and start recording money in and money out. Keep it simple. Break it down per month, record your expenses, your income, everything. At the end of the month, do the math and see if you came out ahead or behind.

The Olympics are well under way and so is tax season! Have you ever wondered what the Olympics and accounting have in common? If we’re being honest, probably not. But, lucky for you, we’re here to show you how the two are related.

If you want to win the gold in curling, you have to win the gold in your accounting, as well. If you are an ice skater, that is your job, so your skate are tax deductible! Same with every other professional sport, as well. 

In our offices we spend our days on QuickBooks, both online and desktop. We’ve discovered different tips and tricks that help us complete our work and increase productivity due to how helpful and useful they are! These are useful not only to us, but also our clients. Take a look to see if one of these can make your QuickBooks experience the slightest bit easier!

1. Cheryl’s favorite tool for QuickBooks desktop is control F, which is the “Find” feature. This is super convenient when wanting to find amounts, names, or items within a specific account. 

A successful business can be traced back to two things: fantastic finances and excellent marketing. The heart of your business lies in a perfect combination of these two factors.

Let’s talk marketing.

You created your business. That’s step one, and arguably the easiest step. Now what? You need customers. But, how do you get customers? First, they must know about you. If you don’t say “hey, hello, we’re here to service you!” using strategic marketing tactics, then you essentially don’t exist. To get people to know about you, that’s step two.

There’s only one surefire way to help your bookkeeper/accountant help you: COMMUNICATE! Without voicing your opinions, concerns, comments, or appreciation, we will assume everything is fine. Open communication is vital to every thriving relationship, it’s no different for your relationship with your bookkeeper/accountant.

You don’t need a new year to make a change, you simply need a new day. If your 2017 accounting and bookkeeping didn’t go as smoothly as you had hoped, we have a solution – let us help you. 

When it comes to your books, accuracy is vital. You want to handle them properly so the information you’re using is error-free and understood. If you’re doing any of the following, you’re not helping your books or your company.

Tax season is approaching, which for some may mean stress and anxiety. What if we told you those feelings aren’t necessary? Take a deep breath and rest easy knowing that these tips will help you make your tax preparation smooth sailing.

Avoid procrastination 

As tax season rolls around, it’s important to know your options and to choose what’s best for you. This includes whether to have a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) do your taxes or TurboTax.

For a little background, TurboTax is an American tax preparation software. It’s the #1 best-selling tax preparation software, which means it must be the best choice for everyone, right? As a matter of fact, if you have opened a small business or own one, hiring a CPA during tax season is the way to go, not a software program.

Need to write off an uncollectible invoice but don’t know how? It’s sad but sometimes people don’t pay you what is owed.  You need to get these numbers out of your books, but you also want to track this correctly, so what do you do? Here are step-by-step directions to do this in QuickBooks:  

Step 1.  In your Chart of Accounts create an Income Account called “Bad Debt.”

Step 2.  In your Items create an item called “Bad Debt-Uncollectible” and link it to “Bad Debt” (the account you created in Step 1).

Step 3.  Create a Credit Memo in your QuickBooks and use the Item “Bad Debt-Uncollectible” (that you created in Step 2) with the amount that you need to write off.

Step 4.  Apply this Credit Memo to the invoice(s) that are uncollectible.

Now when you look at your P & L report, you’ll see a negative number in the Income Area, labeled as “Bad Debt.” Although it seems unusual to have a negative number for Income, this is correct.

Here is an example of what is happening in the background:

Consulting Services Income            $500.00

Bad Debt                                              -$500.00

                    Total:                                      $0.00

Step 5.  Make a note to never do business with this individual/company ever again!

What kind of relationship do you have with your bank? Do they just hold your money and that’s it? It’s time to take your relationship with your bank to the next level. Having a good relationship with your bank, beyond the average everyday relationship, can be beneficial to your business in ways you may have never thought.