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Contractor's guide to quickbooks pro 2007 w/cdrom
Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro 2007
QuickBooks Pro can save you hours of time in keeping your books and keeping track of your finances. But setting up the new 2007 QuickBooks Pro can be complex and time-consuming.
Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro 2007 can save hours of time in setting up and putting to use all the new features that this 2007 edition offers. QuickBooks Pro isn't just for taxes. You can use it for payroll, keeping track of your vendors and subs - even job costing (comparing your estimated costs to your actual costs and finding out where you're making and losing money.)
According to a recent national survey, more construction contractors use QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks than all other accounting programs combined. And for good reason. QuickBooks Pro excels at all the routine paperwork in a construction office: writing checks, keeping track of your bank balance, sending out invoices and statements, creating up-to-the-minute profit and loss statements for the month, year or by job, writing payroll checks, paying suppliers and subcontractors, tracking job costs, comparing estimated and actual costs for each job, and much more.
But there's a lot to learn in QuickBooks Pro. And converting to a new accounting system can be a complex and confusing task, even if you have a strong background in accounting and plenty of time to install the new system. That's why this book was-written-because most construction pros aren't accounting experts and have more important work to do at the job site.
Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro 2007 will walk you step-by-step through QuickBooks Pro's detailed setup procedure and then explain item-by-item how you should be using QuickBooks Pro every day. In days, rather than weeks, you'll create a first-rate accounting system that's an asset to your company.
Here you'll find simple, well-illustrated instructions for customizing the setup for QuickBooks Pro 2007, including what each screen on your monitor should look like. This manual explains every choice you need to make and every button you need to click on. Includes a CD in the back with software you'll want to use when estimating costs with QuickBooks Pro. Here's what's on the CD:
National Estimator-an easy-to-use estimating program with more than 100 pages of construction cost 'estimating data for general contractors. Dozens of other databases are available. (QuickBooks Pro doesn't come with any estimating data.)
Job Cost Wizard-converts your National Estimator estimates into QuickBooks Pro estimates so you can create and send invoices, track job costs (charge every check to a cost category in your estimate) and compare actual and estimated costs. You'll know exactly where you made and lost money on every job.
With this book, the other programs included in this package, and QuickBooks Pro 2007, you have at your fingertips all the financial tools needed to keep a company running strong and in the black. Just add your own company data.
* Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows ME or Windows 98SE.
QuickBooks, QuickBooks Pro, or Premier: Contractor Edition?, 7
1 Setting Up Your QuickBooks Pro Company, 15
QuickBooks Pro Company Files, 16
Upgrading to QuickBooks Pro Version 2007, 21
2 How to Set QuickBooks Pro Preferences, 31
Contractor Edition Features, 61
8 Vendors and Subcontractors, 111
Entering Opening Balances in QuickBooks Pro, 125
Entering Invoices for Accounts Receivable, 126
Entering Bills for Accounts Payable, 128
16 Using QuickBooks Pro on a Cash Basis, 201
Using Reports in QuickBooks Premier: Contractor Edition, 239
18 End of Month and End of Year Procedures, 243
Reading and Understanding Your Financial Reports, 251
19 Real Estate Development, 261
Setting Up a Development Job, 262
Using Items to Track Construction Costs as WIP, 263
Recording the Sale of a Property, 282
Appendix A Estimating with QuickBooks Pro, 287
Three Good Reasons to Try QuickBooks Pro Estimating, 287
A Road Map to Your Destination, 288
Setting Preferences for Estimating, 289
Creating an Estimate in QuickBooks Pro, 293
Turning an Estimate into an Invoice, 296
Tidying Up Your Company File, 299
Appendix B Job Cost Tracking and Importing Estimates, 301
Using Items for Job Cost Tracking, 306
Help Learning National Estimator, 308
Estimating with National Estimator, 309
Converting Estimates with Job Cost Wizard, 323
Job Cost Wizard Prints Invoices Your Way, 325
Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro is a simple, hands-on guide for contractors, remodelers, subcontractors, and real estate developers who plan to use, or are now using, QuickBooks Pro accounting software. Think of this manual, like QuickBooks Pro, as a powerful new tool. Used correctly, it will get results you never thought possible - in ways you never imagined.
We'll help you set up a good, effective, highly-professional bookkeeping system as quickly and painlessly as possible. You'll know, at the click of a mouse button, who owes you money and who you owe. You'll know if there's enough cash on hand to pay bills. When you need a current profit and loss statement, you'll have one in a minute or two - either for the month, the year, or for just one job. When a lender or a bonding company needs a balance sheet, you'll get one in minutes.
Contractors have special payroll requirements. This book will show you how to get the most out of QuickBooks Pro's payroll system. No matter where you do business in the 50 states, QuickBooks Pro has a current tax table exactly right for your company. If QuickBooks Pro isn't doing your payroll now, we predict it will be before too long.
Since estimating is important to most construction contractors, we're going to cover estimating from three perspectives. In Chapter 12, you'll see how to enter the summary data from estimates you've already written into QuickBooks Pro. From here, you can do progress billing and job cost tracking. In Appendix A you'll learn how to use the estimating system built into QuickBooks Pro to create estimates. And for those who want still more estimating power, Appendix B has complete instructions for using Craftsman's estimating software, National Estimator, and Job Cost Wizard, a program that lets you turn estimates into invoices that will export to QuickBooks Pro. Both are included on the CD in the back of this book.
What You Can Expect from This Book
According to a recent national survey, more construction contractors use QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks than all other accounting programs combined. When set up properly, QuickBooks Pro can handle the accounting for most small- to medium-sized (to $10 million a year) construction companies. But despite the sales hype, QuickBooks Pro isn't easy to set up and learn. Dozens of options and preference settings may lead you down the wrong road, resulting in hours of frustration. We've spent hundreds of hours testing the options and preferences in QuickBooks Pro to help you get it right the first time. Follow our examples and you'll have an effective accounting system that provides all the information any successful business needs - and in the shortest time possible.
QuickBooks Pro doesn't replace accountants. But it does help organize and standardize your bookkeeping system. Every report your accountant needs is readily available. This makes it easier for your accountant to prepare tax returns and annual reports. The time saved should translate into lower costs for your company.
In this book, we'll explain how to:
set preference options correctly for your company
set up a Chart of Accounts that matches the work you do
set up vendors and subcontractors
get your current account balances into QuickBooks Pro
set up a simple and effective job cost system
get payroll tax and workers' comp expenses into job cost reports
create and interpret job cost reports to keep track of your business
set up end-of-the-month and end-of-the-year procedures
In short, we'll show you how to get everything a construction company needs out of QuickBooks Pro. If you understand and apply the methods in this book, you should see real improvement in the effectiveness of your accounting system. And, you'll gain the personal and financial rewards that come from working not just harder, but smarter.
QuickBooks: Simple Start, QuickBooks Pro or QuickBooks Premier: Contractor Edition?
You'll notice that the title of this manual refers to the "Pro" version of QuickBooks. We recommend that you use at least QuickBooks Pro because QuickBooks: Simple Start can't create estimates and can't track time spent on specific jobs. If time tracking and estimating are important to your construction company, invest the extra money to get QuickBooks Pro. If you have QuickBooks Premier or QuickBooks Premier: Contractor Edition, this book will work for you as well. All the features in this book are based on QuickBooks Pro, which is included in the Premier and Contractor editions. When we refer to QuickBooks Pro, we are also referring to QuickBooks Premier and QuickBooks Premier: Contractor Edition.
We believe QuickBooks Pro has the best combination of power and simplicity for small-volume builders and general contractors. It makes accounting simple for non-accountants because it works the way you do. You've been writing checks for years. With QuickBooks Pro, you fill in blanks on a check the same as always. But you do it on a computer screen. And you add notes to check stubs about accounts and jobs to be charged just the way you've always added notes to the stubs of paper checks.
Timecards, purchase orders, and invoices work the same way.
Can QuickBooks Pro do the job for you? The thousands of construction companies now using QuickBooks Pro are good evidence that it can. If you're serious about making your construction business grow and prosper, you'll want the accounting and reporting power built into QuickBooks Pro.
There's an old saying among builders about construction accounting: "A builder who knows where he stands won't stand there very long." You need to know where you stand so you can make informed decisions quickly. If you agree, QuickBooks Pro may be perfect for your company.
For more than ten years, the three authors of this book have used construction accounting packages, some costing thousands of dollars. None are as slick, professional, and as easy to use as QuickBooks Pro. In our opinion, QuickBooks Pro offers the builder, remodeler, general contractor, and specialty subcontractor the best off-the-shelf accounting program on the market. It's affordable, reliable, and probably has all the features you'll need.
Strictly speaking, the way it comes out of the box, QuickBooks Pro isn't a true construction accounting program. But it's adaptable enough to fit the needs of most construction companies like a glove. For example, you can customize reports to get great job cost reports, just like a so-called "construction accounting package." That's why we feel so strongly that QuickBooks Pro is right for most construction companies.
All three authors have been in construction, using computers, and using QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro for many years. We've helped hundreds of contractors set up and use QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro. We're confident that what we've done for others we can do for you, too.
Karen Mitchell was a general building contractor and is currently co-owner of Online Accounting ( ) which uses the Internet to help train contractors on QuickBooks Pro and Master Builder. Karen conducts seminars nationwide for contractors who use QuickBooks Pro. She is a frequent speaker at many construction trade shows such as: A/E/C SYSTEMS, JLC Live!, and NAHB's PCBC (Pacific Coast Builders Conference). Karen has written several books including: Construction Forms & Contracts, Quicken for Contractors, Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro, Architect's Guide to QuickBooks Pro, Interior Designer's Guide to QuickBooks Pro, and Real Estate Investor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro.
Craig Savage has been a general building contractor, remodeler and custom homebuilder for over 25 years. He was an editor at The Journal of Light Construction magazine for many years, director of the JLC LIVE! Training Shows, Vice President of Marketing & Sales at , and most recently, VP of Marketing at Building Media, Inc.
In his free time Craig is a construction management computer consultant. He started Construction Business Computing and Macintosh Construction Forum newsletters, and his articles have appeared in Architectural & Engineering Systems, Architectural Record, Fine Homebuilding Magazine, Computer Applications Newsletter, Remodeling News, NAHB Commercial Builder, NAHB Single Family Forum, Remodeler Magazine, Mac Week, Document Imaging, Imaging World, and A/E/C Computer Solutions.
Craig is a regular speaker at the A/E/C Systems, NAHB, NARI, CSI, and PCBC annual conventions. He also instructs at seminars sponsored by the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering, and the University of California Santa Barbara Extension.
Other books he has co-written for Craftsman Book Company are Construction Forms & Contracts and Quicken for Contractors. With Taunton Press he wrote Trim Carpentry Techniques.
