Posted by Allison Semancik on Fri, Dec 11, 2009
A QuickBooks document management software allows your small busines
s to scan paper and attach the file to QuickBooks' records. You can also attach electronic files to QuickBooks as well - files like pdfs, jpgs and Word documents. The goal of document management software is to eliminate paper and store it electronically.
There are several options available to you on the market and it may be difficult to understand which one is right for you. To help you choose the right software for your small business, start by asking the following questions when looking at your options.
1. Where your documents are stored?
You'll want to understand how all of your scanned documents and electronic documents are stored. There are two options available:
Online Storage: Documents are stored online
Online storage allows you to access your documents from any computer with internet access. You can also rely on backups by the document management provider. With document management storage online, you can expect to pay a monthly fee for the service (read question #5).
Local Storage: Documents are stored on your server, computer or laptop
Local storage gives you the control to decide where you want to store your documents. You'll need to ensure that you backup the data stored in your document management system.
2. Does it integrate with other software besides QuickBooks?
Some QuickBooks document management add-ons integrate with other software to give you more options for attaching documents to QuickBooks' records. For instance, you might find integration with Microsoft Office or Outlook. This feature gives you the ability to attach emails directly to QuickBooks. Attaching an email to QuickBooks is especially helpful since businesses often receive invoices via email. Now those invoices can be attached directly from Outlook instead of printing them out.
3. Where can you view your saved documents?
You should understand where you'll be able to view your saved documents. When you are in QuickBooks looking a record, you want to be able to see the related saved documents. Some document management systems offer you a way to view saved documents outside of QuickBooks. This is a nice feature because you can find documents you are looking for without opening up QuickBooks.
4. What types of documents can you store?
You know that you'll be able to scan documents into QuickBooks, but find out what other types of files you can save. Files from Microsoft Excel, emails and pdfs may be very important for you to organize in your QuickBooks document management system.
Check to see if you can save paper and files not related to QuickBooks records. For example, you may want to save marketing materials or minutes from an important meeting. Those documents do not really relate to a QuickBooks record, so you wouldn't want to attach them to one. Some QuickBooks document management systems have an area where you can store unrelated documents so that all users can find them.
5. What kind of fees can you expect?
You'll want to understand how you'll be paying for your QuickBooks document management system.
Monthly Fees
As mentioned in #1, if you are storing your documents online, you'll most likely be paying a monthly fee. The monthly fee can depend on the storage space you are using and/or the amount of users who will have access to view and add documents.
One-time Fee
Most document management systems that set up storage on your workstation or server do not have monthly fees. You pay to purchase the software and you do not pay again unless you purchase an upgrade.
Other Considerations
Other considerations to keep in mind when shopping for a QuickBooks document management system are the compatible QuickBooks versions, minimum hardware requirements (including scanners) and support.
Whichever QuickBooks document management software you choose, you'll certainly enjoy the increased efficiency that paperless offices provide.
Photo: ARTS
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Posted by Allison Semancik on Thu, Dec 03, 2009
It's that time of year again! The holiday season has arrived and small businesses are looking for gifts to send to clients, associates and colleagues. Since your small business can spend a good amount of money on gifts, why not choose to give gifts that help out the environment, the economy or even a charity.
1. Paperless Holiday Cards
Over the years, e-cards have improved, but even the more formal ones can't take the place of an actual card sent in the mail. But now there is another option on the block. Paperless Post sends out cards via email that look just like a nice card you would receive in the mail.
For companies looking to cut down on paper usage, costs or even time, Paperless Post is a great option. They have beautiful cards and it can make your company card stand out from the rest. Sign up for an account and you'll receive a card from them so you can see how it works.
2. Buy From Socially Responsible Companies
There are many companies that make it a point to donate a portion of their profits to charities. One of my favorite socially responsible companies is Dancing Deer. They make delectable cookies, brownies and cakes and they use high-quality ingredients to boot.
With Dancing Deer's Sweet Home Project, 35% of the retail prices of the gifts you purchase go towards helping families move out of poverty. From experience, I can say that the recipients of these gifts will love the goodies and the fact that a charity is being help out.
3. Buy from Local Companies
If the majority of your clients are locally, consider purchasing gifts for them from a local company. You'll be helping your local economy and shipping costs should be a lot lower.
Look for local chocolate makers or specialty bake shops that offer gifts and shipping. If you live in a location where fruit is in season, you can purchase fruit baskets from these local orchards. You might even discover some great businesses right in your own neighborhood.
Do you have a favorite eco-friendly or socially responsible company that sells gifts? Share your favorites with us below.
photo: mysza831
Posted by Tony Fernandez on Tue, Nov 24, 2009
The holidays are around the corner and sale events will be o
ffering great deals, but what should you really look for when buying a new computer? As Lightning McQueen says "Speed..., I am Speed", and when it comes to shopping for a new desktop or laptop, speed is exactly what you should be looking for.
There are three things that drive the computer's performance:
- Processing power also known as CPU
- Memory (RAM)
- Hard drive space
Feature options such as the number of USB ports, webcams, DVD players and/or burners are not related to how your workstation will perform, but are simply up to individual user's preference. Remember, what you will buy today, will be outdated in about 6 months. Don't base your purchase on trying to play catch up with new technology. Try to build up the specifications of your new computer based on what you think you'll need in the next 5 years not on the latest fads.
- Processing power or CPU is the first thing you need look out for. The CPU on most pre-build machines will be very hard or sometimes impossible (in the case of laptops) to change or upgrade at a later time. With that being said, don't think you need the fastest, most expensive one. Most of the applications you will be running will not even take advantage of it. CPU is measured by gigahertz, and I recommend getting an Intel Pentium Dual Core or Inter Core 2 Duo (different processor) and at least 2.7 GHz or higher depending on the price difference and promotional offers.
- Memory is directly related to the amount of applications that you might be running at the same time - also known as multi-tasking. This includes the operating system (Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7) and user applications like Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe, Outlook, etc. Although each program will have a minimum memory requirement, only getting the bare minimum may cause your new computer to run slowly. Double it if possible. Memory is measured in gigabytes (GB) and generally you can upgrade it if you think you need more at a later time. I recommend getting at least 2GB, but if your budget will allow 4GB are preferable.
- Finally hard drive space, this item is measured in gigabytes as well. Think about hard drive space as the square footage of a room in your house. The bigger the room, the more stuff you can keep around. If you like to take and store a lot of pictures, download music or videos off the internet, getting a hard drive with enough space to store it all is a must. I mentioned these types of files because videos, music and some image file formats are usually very large in size. The benefit to having a large internal hard drive is that you may access to all of this information without compromising the performance of your computer, additional external devices nor, in the case of laptops, extra baggage. I recommend a minimum of size of 160G for the internal hard disk.
Word of advice...
If you are not in the technology business field and feel you don't have the knowledge to oversee your investment, I highly advocate getting an extended warranty from the store to address issues ranging from any hardware failure to software related questions. In some instances, it will cover labor on future upgrades so you will just need to buy the parts.
Best of luck searching for your new computer . . . and steering your way through the holiday shopping crowd.
Photo: foshie
Posted by Allison Semancik on Thu, Nov 19, 2009
Shannon Tucker is the co-founder of AccountingUsers, Inc., an accounting software support company specializing in solving database problems for QuickBooks, Peachtree and BPI. In Shannon's words, "We're kind of like an emergency room for injured accounting files."
On Shannon's website, QuickbooksUsers.com, not only can you learn more about the services they offer, but you will find an amazing forum for QuickBooks users. Over 40,000 members help each other out with questions on QuickBooks - and it's free to join.
Since Shannon is a QuickBooks data file expert, we figured he is the perfect person to give advice on how to protect your QuickBooks company file.
5 Tips for Protecting Your QuickBooks Company File
- Bolster Your Network
Imagine this: You are using QuickBooks in multi-user mode and the network...hiccups. The data stream being written to your QuickBooks file gets changed in the midst of that and becomes corrupted. In talking with lots of users, this scenario keeps coming up.
Anything you can do to strengthen the reliability of your network will help QuickBooks. We believe wired networks have fewer connectivity problems than wireless ones. Defrag your server hard drive often. Get your IT person to optimize the throughput on your network and make sure that all your QuickBooks workstations can communicate reliably with the server all the time -- even during power interruptions.
- Be Careful With Your Imports
If you import bank transactions or other kinds of external transactions into QuickBooks and something goes wrong, it's really hard to correct. Make sure you have a good backup before doing imports. If you start importing from a new source, verify your company and check your reports afterwards and make sure everything is flowing through as it should.
- Don't Get Too Far Behind
I don't think that you have to get the new version of QuickBooks every year. But you shouldn't allow too many years to go by before you update to current. Your QuickBooks version works best with versions of Windows that were popular when your QuickBooks version was released. So if you get a new computer with a newer version of Windows on it - along with new device drivers and new ancillary programs -- but use an old version of QuickBooks, well, QuickBooks may struggle.
- Keep an Eye on Your File Size
When your QuickBooks company file (QBW) gets really big, it has a better chance of becoming unstable during use, particularly in multi-user mode. There are no hard limits to file sizes with QuickBooks 2006/Enterprise 6 and higher, but the bigger the file, the more likely there will be either performance or stability problems.
In QuickBooks, you can press the F2 key to see how big your data file is. If your file is big (500MB or larger), you can either use something like our Super-Condense Service to bring your file size down, or create a new company and bring some of your information over from your old company.
Third-party import/export products for QuickBooks can make that process easier and more complete. Just running the archive command in QuickBooks doesn't shrink the file down as much as people sometimes expect, especially if you have lots of inventory transactions.
- Backup, Backup, Backup!
There is much to say about a successful backup plan, but here is one 
important tip: Get your backups off your hard drive. Why? Well, if your hard drive crashes or gets stolen or flooded or burned up, your backup on it won't do you any good. Put your backups, at least occasionally, on a USB drive, or upload it to an online service, or burn it to an old-fashioned CD and take it home with you. I guarantee you, someday you'll need it.
Besides your website, what other resources do you recommend for QuickBooks users?
Intuit has a great online community that they revamped a few years ago, and it is now a very good support and information resource. Also, there are quite a few Intuit employees on Twitter these days, and they are very nice people. So if you need some help directly from Intuit (for a registration problem, say) and don't know where to turn, tweet for help! Finally, there are many QuickBooks Pro Advisors out there who can help you keep QuickBooks on track. If your CPA, bookkeeper, or VA happens to be one, that's perfect.
photo: misskaren
Posted by Chris Manzano on Tue, Nov 17, 2009
The Office Killer?
No, not the 1997 comedy-horror film directed by Cindy Sherman; I'm referring to what some folks are calling Google's App service. Google's service wraps together Gmail, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, Google Talk, and other services into a business-oriented package with the ability to use your own domain name.
As usual with virtually anything that anyone identifies as a "killer," the label is pure hype. There are many things that Microsoft Office does well that Google Apps doesn't do at all. I'm guessing that even Google doesn't think that the service will knock down Microsoft Office anytime soon. But its mere existence is probably enough to agitate Microsoft - call it an Office Annoyer.
Here's what $50 gets you with Google:
- Gmail with your domain name and 10GB of storage (versus 2GB for the free version)
- Google Talk
- Google Calendar with shareable schedules
- Google Start Page that can include company info
- Google Docs and Spreadsheets (the neat hosted word processor and spreadsheet)
- Google Page Creator (a very basic Web site designer)
- Control panel to manage everything and some sort of hooks into your company's existing IT infrastructure
- Mobile access to some functionality (such as Gmail)
- 24/7 tech support (including phone help) and a 99.9% uptime guarantee for Gmail (but not for the other applications)
When all is said and done, it's probably easier to come up with examples of organizations that aren't going to switch to Google Apps than of those who might.
Companies that will want to keep Microsoft Office:
- Any company that's staffed by power users. Google Docs and
Spreadsheets are neat but very, very basic; both the word processor and the spreadsheet lack features you might want for even pretty basic business communications. And Gmail and Google Calendar don't exactly add up to a true Outlook rival (although both are easier to use than the equivalent functionality in Outlook).
- Any company that's using Microsoft Office apps that have no counterpart in Google Apps, such as PowerPoint or Access.
- Anyone who's proprietary about their data. Google's term of service for Google Apps has some alarming boilerplate about the company not being responsible for lost data. Despite that, I think it's in a far better position to reliably back up and protect data than most small companies are. Even so, I think a lot of organizations will have qualms about sensitive files living on some Google server somewhere.
So who might want Google Apps?
- There are certainly many users in the world who really only need basic tools.
- There are absolutely many companies, especially small ones, for whom $50 a year is a far more appealing price tag than several hundred dollars for a copy of Microsoft Office.
- There are definitely corporations who'd rather offload the management of e-mail and other applications to an expert like Google than to worry about them themselves.
- There are unquestionably organizations that are adventuresome enough to be willing to be among the first to try dumping Microsoft Office for a Web-hosted alternative.
Back in the 1990s when Microsoft Office appeared, they used the word "killer" in conjunction with it to, as in "Lotus 1-2-3 killer." First, it wasn't, but Microsoft kept working away, and 1-2-3 did indeed die. Technically speaking, 1-2-3 and the other Lotus desktop apps are still alive, but if you can tell me when they last received a meaningful update, I'll give you a reward.
In summary, Google Apps is a great product suite that needs to be properly considered prior to making it your suite of choice. It has its benefits and its disadvantages, it all depends on you as the user and what it is you need from your software.
Microsoft will soon have an online version of Office. Check out my next post where I will give you an insight on Microsoft Office online.
google photo: Rick McCharles
microsoft office photo: robertnelson
Posted by Allison Semancik on Thu, Nov 12, 2009
Ruth Perryman is the president of The QB Specialists. She is a Certified Advanced Quickbooks ProAdvisor, an Intuit Solutions Provider, and a member of Intuit's Trainer/Writer Network. Ruth has over 19 years of industry experience including 5 years as a Chief Financial Officer, and has been working with Quickbooks since 1996. She specializes in customizing QuickBooks Enterprise and QuickBooks Point of Sale/POS, and also provides virtual controller and CFO services.
What does a Certified Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor do and what kind of training do they go through to become one?
The QuickBooks Advanced Certification Course is designed to deepen the expertise of ProAdvisors who are already knowledgeable in QuickBooks, and distinguish these "QuickBooks experts" as highly proficient in this field. To ensure the foundational knowledge and experience of ProAdvisors who are eligible for Advanced Certification, Intuit requires that they:
- Complete the three most recent QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certification Courses
- Pass the QuickBooks Advanced Certification exam with a score of 85% or higher
- Complete a bi-annual Continuing Education requirement
The exam is extremely difficult. I don't know of a single ProAdvisor who didn't struggle with it, including me and my team, no matter how experienced they are. Unlike the regular certification exams, it's not multiple-choice and if you don't pass it within 5 tries you have to wait a year to re-take it.
Because of its difficulty, you can be assured that you are hiring one of the top QuickBooks ProAdvisors in your area.
When do you think a business owner needs a QuickBooks ProAdvisor?
Every small b
usiness owners should be working with a certified ProAdvisor. It's important to note that not all ProAdvisors are certified. Uncertified ProAdvisors simply pay an annual fee to be included in the program.
Small businesses will save considerable time and expense if they spend an hour or two with a ProAdvisor before they start using QuickBooks. QuickBooks appears to be really easy to use and "intuitive", and it is as long as you use it the way it's designed to be used. If you accidentally skip a step, it can cause big problems in your data file that can be expensive to correct. Some common examples are paying sales tax or payroll liabilities with a check instead of a liability check, entering customer deposits and/or vendor bill payments directly into the check register, and not handling transactions paid with a credit card correctly.
Certified ProAdvisors can help you setup QuickBooks for your specific needs, train you to use QuickBooks correctly, and even more importantly, be your resource for ongoing questions and troubleshooting. I can often answer a question that might take a new user several hours to figure out in less than 10 mins.
What do you feel are the most important aspects to consider when choosing a QuickBooks ProAdvisor?
Do not assume that all ProAdvisors are certified, and though there are certifications for certain versions, like Enterprise and Point of Sale, there aren't yet for certain industries. So if you are a contractor who needs to do job costing, make sure you select a certified ProAdvisor who is experienced with this aspect of QuickBooks. The setup and training is entirely different than for companies that don't do job costing.
In other words, like any other important vendor relationship you are considering, make sure to check credentials and ask for references from other businesses in your industry.
On your blog, you offer great QuickBooks tips to QuickBooks users. If you could give one piece of advice to new QuickBooks users, what would it be?
Don't take shortcuts! QuickBooks is easy to use, but you're going to get into trouble if you don't use it as it's designed to be used.
What online resources do you recommend for small business owners?
I love Intuit's new Small Business Events. It not only offers free training on QuickBooks from some of the top experts from around the country, but also general business training. For instance, I've provided free training on not only QuickBooks job costing but also using social media effectively and how to choose between employees vs. independent contractors.
Intuit's Live Community is also a wonderful resource to get free answers to your QuickBooks questions. Just keep in mind that though many top experts volunteer to answer questions, your question may also be answered by someone who doesn't know much more about Quickbooks than you do. So look for certain designations - Intuit Solutions Provider, Advanced Certified ProAdvisor, Certified ProAdvisor, and my personal favorite, Community Allstar which is only given by Intuit to contributors who have given a lot of good answers. I'm proud to have all four!
tips photo: rachaelvoorhees
Posted by Allison Semancik on Tue, Nov 10, 2009
With PaperSavePlus, a document management add-on for QuickBooks, you can scan invoices into QuickBooks. Once the invoices are scanned into QuickBooks, you can quickly retrieve them on-screen instead of searching through a filing cabinet for a paper invoice.
How Does It Work?
After you have entered your bill into QuickBooks, PaperSavePlus will ask you if you want to add a document to the bill you just entered - as shown below. You can turn this reminder off, if you want to work in QuickBooks but not scan or add documents.
Once you click Yes, you will presented with the PaperSave Add a New Document window. Here you can enter additional information about the invoice you are scanning into QuickBooks. All of the fields are optional. You can also customize this window to suit the needs of your business.
Once you are finished entering information about the invoice, place your invoice in your scanner and click ScanNow.
The invoice will immediately be scanned and attached to the record you just entered into QuickBooks.
Now, if you ever needed to access that invoice, you can quickly open it up within QuickBooks.
With scanned documents, you can:
1. Make notes on your scanned documents for all users to see
2. Print the scanned document
3. Save it in another location such as a USB drive
4. Email the document
When you click the Email button, the scanned image is attached to an email (as shown below) so you can quickly email it to someone.
You can see how scanning invoices into QuickBooks increases your efficiency. There is no time wasting searching for paper documents, office space is more organized and documents are no longer lost.
Free Report: Top 10 Reasons to Go Paperless
Download your free report to learn about all of the benefits of going paperless.
Posted by Allison Semancik on Tue, Nov 03, 2009
Over the weekend, I was watching one of my favorite shows, G
et Fresh with Sara Snow on FitTV. If you haven't seen the show before, Sara Snow, a green living expert, gives tips on green topics like organic food, recycling and water conservation.
In the episode I saw on Saturday, Sara was discussing green offices. To help businesses understand how they can make small changes with big environmental impact, she visited a typical office in need of some greening up. Sara arrived with tips that can help any small business make eco-friendly changes.
Here are 3 tips she offered:
1. Recycled paper
Always buy recycled paper for printers and copiers. The production of recycled paper saves trees, water and electricity. When you purchase recycled paper, choose paper with the highest percentage of postconsumer recycled content.
2. Refill ink toner cartridges
Not only does refilling ink toner cartridges save you money, it's great for the environment. More than 350 million ink cartridges (and growing) are discarded in U.S. landfills every year, so by refilling yours, you are not contributing to the problem. Check out ink refilling programs at your local office supplies stores or look for one online.
3. Houseplants
Plants naturally clean the air and since our indoor air is often more polluted than the air outside, it's a great addition to the office. Each of the following plants can help to purify approximately 100 square feet of space:
- Gerbera Daisy
- Ficus
- Golden Pothos
- Mums
- Spider Plants
- Aloe Vera
- Chinese Evergreens
- Common English Ivy
These changes are very simple to do but really make a big impact. As more and more small businesses begin to add eco-friendly practices their offices, we'll see a difference in our environment.
Please share your ideas for simple ways to green up the office.
photo: KaCey97007
Posted by Allison Semancik on Wed, Oct 28, 2009
There is yet another perk to going paperless in the office. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, author Andrew Winston explores how going green at the workplace motivates employees. He notes that when businesses choose to "go green," employees respond enthusiastically because they take pride in working for an eco-friendly company. In addition to boosting employee morale and reducing the company carbon footprint, going green reduces expenses for a business which is ever so important in this tough economy.
So how do small businesses minimize their impact on the environment and get their employees involved?
Going paperless is one of the best ways to increase employee involvement in your green campaign. According to The Nature Conservancy, 36 million trees are cut down each year and deforestation accounts for 20-25% of the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere each year. These statistics are not hard to believe when you consider a document gets copies 19 times in its life. There are many simple ways to reduce paper usage in the office and employees can immediately see how their contributions are making a difference.
Going paperless is good for the environment, good for your bottom line and boosts employee morale - isn't it time to choose paperless?
photo: seanmcgrath
Get your employees involved in your small business' green strategy by going paperless.
Download your free report to learn how small businesses save time and money by going paperless.
Posted by Allison Semancik on Fri, Oct 23, 2009
I recently spoke with a client who wanted to know the best way to deal with all of her receipts. Her current process was to keep a large manila envelope for each month's receipts. Once her credit card statement arrived, she would match the receipts with the credit card statement and file them both away in the filing cabinet. Then if she ever needed to look at the receipts, she would go digging through her filing cabinet to find them.
The solution I offered to her was to scan all those receipts into QuickBooks. It makes perfect sense to do so. Once she scans the receipts, she can shred them and get rid of them - instead of filing them away in a filing cabinet. Then if she ever needs to see a receipt, she can quickly pull it up on her computer screen. With a QuickBooks document management add-on, she can attach scanned receipts to any record or transaction in QuickBooks.
Scanning Receipts into QuickBooks
With a document management solution for QuickBooks, here's her new process:
1. Continue with her manila envelope of receipts - but only storing one month's receipts
2. Once her credit card statement arrives, she enters the bill into QuickBooks to be paid.
3. She scans her credit card statement and all of the month's receipts and attaches the scanned documents to the bill she just entered into QuickBooks.
4. Shred the credit card statement and receipts. If she wants to look at that credit card statement and receipts, she can view it in QuickBooks.
With those receipts out of the filing cabinets and into the computer, life just got easier. The filing cabinet is not filling up and finding the scanned receipts in QuickBooks is a snap.
Photo: peruisay
Free Report: Top 10 Reasons Your Small Business Should Go Paperless
Get rid of those receipts and invoices. Learn how a paperless business increases effieciency to save both time and money.
Download your free report.