So what is Quickbooks?
Quickbooks is a small business accounting software programme, recognised by the HMRC, that businesses can use to manage their finances, from sales and expenses to keeping track of daily transactions.
There are several Quickbooks options available, so it’s important to pick the one that’s right for you. You can sign up for a free 30 day trial which allows you to try out the fully-functional online version of Quickbooks, so you can test all of the features and work out which would work best for you. The various options have different features available to you, but whether you’re a solopreneur or a mid-sized business, Quickbooks is sure to have an option that works for you.
What can I use it for?
You can use Quickbooks to pay bills, track expenses, invoice customers, generate reports for planning, tax filing, and lots more….
Manage Sales and Income
You can manage sales and income by creating invoices to track sales by customer/client. Stay on top of what people owe you (also known as your accounts receivable balance) by reviewing your Accounts Receivable Aging Report, which includes the details of both current and past invoices.
Keep Track of Bills and Expenses
QuickBooks can automatically keep track of your bills and expenses by connecting your bank and/or credit card accounts to QuickBooks so all of your expenses are downloaded and categorised. If you need to track a cheque or cash transaction, you can record it directly in QuickBooks, and it only takes a few minutes as well.
QuickBooks will also help you pay your bills when they’re due. For example, you can ensure that you pay on time by creating an Accounts Payable Report. The report will provide you with the details of your current and past due bills so that you can keep track and rectify any issues quickly.
Key Reporting Insights
Using Quickbooks to manage your cash flow, in and out, means you are able to access several reports that provide valuable insights into your business. All of the reports are pre-built in QuickBooks and can be run off in just a few clicks; plus the reports are updated in real-time as you enter and save transactions, so you’ll always have the most up to date information available.
This feature can be beneficial if you need to provide financial information to a potential investor or even to lenders for a small business loan etc.
In addition to the couple of reports I mentioned earlier i.e. the Accounts Receivable Report and the Accounts Payable Report, you can also run other reports that enable you to assess the overall financial health of your business:
- Profit and Loss Report
This report shows you how profitable you are by summarising your income, minus your expenses. It shows you your bottom line net income (loss) for a specific time period, such as a week, a month, or a quarter.
- Balance Sheet Report
The balance sheet report shows the Assets, Liabilities, and Equity for a business at a particular point in time – it just takes a few clicks to create a balance sheet report in QuickBooks.
- Statement of Cash Flows
You can quickly create a statement of cash flows which shows you all of the activities that affect the operating, investing, and financing cash flow (in and out) for your business.
Payroll
You can even run your payroll from Quickbooks. Payroll is an area that you certainly don’t want to skimp on by trying to do it manually. Mistakes made in calculating employees pay can result in steep penalties and unhappy employees. To help, QuickBooks has its own payroll function that can automatically calculate and run payroll as often as you need it.
The best part about using this feature is that it’s completely integrated, so your financial statements are always up-to-date as of the latest payroll run.
To be able to use this feature you will need to purchase the Quickbooks Payroll Subscription, this is because you need to have access to the latest payroll tax tables in order to calculate employee and employer taxes, but although you have to pay for this feature, you can run payroll as often as you require, with no extra charges.
There are of course other systems you can use for your payroll, and of course you won’t necessarily need to have this feature, if you’re a solopreneur or only have a few employees for example. This is why taking advantage of the free trial is a good idea, you’ll be able to work out what you do and do not need.
If this is a feature you think you may like to have, you can find out more details on the Quickbooks website.
Track Inventory
If you need to keep track of the inventory you sell, such as available amounts and unit costs, QuickBooks will automatically track and update this for you as you enter transactions and there are several reports available to manage inventory as well.
There are other ways of tracking your inventory, via Excel spreadsheets for example, but if you find your current method too time consuming or prone to errors and inconsistencies, then Quickbooks inventory feature may be the ideal solution!
Tax Returns
If collating all the information you need to hand over to your accountant come tax return time, gives you sleepless nights and endless headaches, then Quickbooks could be the answer you’ve been looking for…..
You can set up your accountant with a user ID and password, giving them direct access to your Quickbooks data, they can find all the information they need to complete your tax return and you haven’t had to waste a single minute of your precious time searching for that inevitable rogue receipt.
Since everything is tracked in QuickBooks, you don’t have to spend a lot of time organising receipts and bank statements, which not only ensures that all income and expenses are accounted for, but also improves accuracy as well.
Accept Online Payments
One brilliant way to improve your cash flow and customer/client experience is to offer them the option to pay their invoices online. With QuickBooks, you can add the Intuit Payments feature with just a click of a button.
Once activated, all customer/client invoices that you send via email will include a “Pay Now” button. Your customer/client can just click on that button and pay their invoice instantly.
There is no monthly charge to use this feature, but you do pay per transaction, you can find out more details and the per transaction costs the Quickbooks website.
Organising Receipts
Organising your receipts in Quickbooks is another handy tool to make tax return time a sinch. All Quickbooks subscribers can download the QuickBooks App to their mobile device for free, all you just need to do is take a picture of a receipt, and upload it to Quickbooks in just a few minutes.
This brilliant feature means there are no more lost receipts or manually matching up receipts with downloaded bank statements. QuickBooks allows you to attach a receipt to the corresponding banking transaction! How amazing is that?! You can upload an unlimited number of receipts to store in the cloud along with your data. This handy feature can be really helpful for companies who need to track a lot of expenses.
As I’ve mentioned, there are a few different options available to you on Quickbooks, the 30 day free trial gives you access to all the features, but you can find out more details and compare the different packages on their website or click here for a quick options overview.
Need help keeping on top of things? Whether you’re struggling to find the time to set everything up or you’re finding it impossible to keep on top of your invoicing, credit control or producing reports, get in touch today! I can help with all things Quickbooks, leaving you to get on with what you love!