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QuickBooks questions

Slinger

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I am curious what everyone's opinions are on QuickBooks? (Or other accounting software). I am looking for advice on the best software for an at home small business. Should I go with something cloud based? Stand alone at home?

I am looking for something that will help me track costs and revenues. Expenses. Labor costs. Accounts receivable. Commissions and bonuses. Marketing expenditures. Etc.....

I have never used accounting software before. It's time to upgrade from my spreadsheet system. :hysterical:
 
I know a guy who runs a small auto-repair business.
They use Quickbooks and are happy with it, but they say Quicken's Home & Business edition prolly would'a been enuff (and much cheaper).

I read one review about Quicken H+B that said: "You can create customer estimates, invoices, and statements; track accounts receivable; enter customer payments; and track accounts payable. You can also create several business reports such as balance sheets, Profit and Loss Statements, unpaid invoices, accounts receivable reports, and accounts payable reports."
.
 
Not a fan of QB Online but do like using cloud-hosted Quickbooks. There is always an additional cost associated with 3rd party accounting hosting however so depends on how you use your information. Do you need more than one person at a time to access the data or need to get to the financial information remotely (while traveling). Do you have an accountant, CPA or bookkeeper that needs to get to the information?

Also need to ask yourself what type of business is involved. Manufacturing has different needs than retail, wholesale, construction or service based companies. The answer will drive software selection.

Stand-alone accounting systems are still useful to the small business owner if there is a single-user involved in doing the entry. Older versions of Quickbooks, Peachtree, Quicken or smaller accounting software packages can be obtained fairly economically via Amazon or eBay. They work fine as long as you don't require payroll calculations.

Quickbooks is known to be "user friendly" but it can also be screwed up pretty fast by users that don't fully understand basic accounting principals. Have cleaned up WAY too many messy QB files of small business owners over the years and its not fun. Get a knowledgeable bookkeeper or accountant to help you set up the chart of accounts before you ever start entering any information.

Check out Xero if you are wanting a reasonably economical online accounting option. They have fairly good support, payroll package options and have had a fast growth over the last several years by small business, bookkeepers and small accounting firms.

Have used all of the above accounting software packages in various versions (and even more) over the years. They all work once you understand the nuances. Finding the best one that works for you however means asking & answering more questions. Know too many people that rushed into buying an expensive software, hated it, and lost $$ in the process. :wall:
 
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I still use QB from 2000 which I got about 8 years ago on eBay. I keep the files on Google Drive so they're available from multiple computers. My version actually supports 3 users but I have never had anyone other than myself using it.

I think most standalone programs will do all you need. This one of course won't have current tax tables, but if you look up the numbers it will do payroll. When I had employees, I used a small Seattle-based service and found it a relief to not have to worry about it.
 
I think most standalone programs will do all you need. This one of course won't have current tax tables, but if you look up the numbers it will do payroll. When I had employees, I used a small Seattle-based service and found it a relief to not have to worry about it.

Concur with the posture of using a 3rd party payroll service for small businesses that have employees and payroll. There is a lot of liability to payroll so do yourself a favor and outsource it. Unless you love the headache of dealing with the withholding calculations, paying taxes timely, and worrying about preparing all of the reporting, don't mess with it.
 
Thanks!

As far as employees and payroll, the plan is 1099 as independent contractors. That should save me some headaches for sure.

I am just looking for a thorough yet semi simple way to track every penny in and every penny out (kinda like "so easy a caveman can do it").

You all have given some great advice for software options for me to look into for sure. Some of the advice points me in the direction of getting a consultation from a bookkeeper or accountant to help me decide which software option may be the best fit for my particular business model/plan.

Tuggers are ALWAYS a wealth of knowledge and a great help. Thank you.
 
As far as employees and payroll, the plan is 1099 as independent contractors. That should save me some headaches for sure.

Just want to make sure you know that there are very stringent rules as to who can be classified as an independent contractors. As long as you have control over them, tell them what to do and when to do the work, then they are more than likely to be your employees. The Feds has a taskforce that goes around to crackdown on misclassification of workers.

We used Quickbooks Enterprise version for our business until we sold the business. We had alot of employees and required a higher level of support. The issue that we faced multiple times through the years were corruption of the database. I suspect we had too much data. My business partner and CFO spent countless days working with QB to recover data. The web-based solution should work for those who do not require interface to other software.
 
Just want to make sure you know that there are very stringent rules as to who can be classified as an independent contractors. As long as you have control over them, tell them what to do and when to do the work, then they are more than likely to be your employees. The Feds has a taskforce that goes around to crackdown on misclassification of workers.

We used Quickbooks Enterprise version for our business until we sold the business. We had alot of employees and required a higher level of support. The issue that we faced multiple times through the years were corruption of the database. I suspect we had too much data. My business partner and CFO spent countless days working with QB to recover data. The web-based solution should work for those who do not require interface to other software.

No employee rules.
No dictation.
No start or stop times.
Work when they want. How they want.
Salespeople type of employment.
I did it for 6 years on commission only.
Dont worry. Im not intending or planning to skirt any laws. I'd lose my real job that way.
 
No employee rules.
No dictation.
No start or stop times.
Work when they want. How they want.
Salespeople type of employment.
I did it for 6 years on commission only.
Dont worry. Im not intending or planning to skirt any laws. I'd lose my real job that way.

With that criteria you'll be fine with the 1099 route as long as you stay under the volume caps (#of 1099's issued) and file timely. The forms are easy, IRS & SS still take the paper versions of the annual submissions and you can order forms for free on IRS.gov to be drop shipped to you. If you don't want to mess with the paperwork any decent bookkeeper or accountant can prepare the filings for minimal cost. Any accounting software on the market these days is equipped with pre-established reports to extract 1099 payee data as long as you set the payee up as a 1099 vendor.

However, check with your tax preparer on payments you make to yourself out of the business to determine if YOU need to be an employee for those "wages" (vs distributions). Your corporate structure will dictate that and your tax preparer should know how to counsel you correctly.
 
Thank you BellaWyn
 
Quickbooks is known to be "user friendly" but it can also be screwed up pretty fast by users that don't fully understand basic accounting principals. Have cleaned up WAY too many messy QB files of small business owners over the years and its not fun. Get a knowledgeable bookkeeper or accountant to help you set up the chart of accounts before you ever start entering any information.
:wall:

We (meaning Cliff) have used QB for our two person business for years. Cliff has had several data meltdowns and sometime in the last four years or so QB referred him over to a local helper. Victoria has saved his bacon several times since then. I know nothing about it, or what causes things to suddenly go haywire. Of course I blame him!
 
I am looking for something that will help me track costs and revenues. Expenses. Labor costs. Accounts receivable. Commissions and bonuses. Marketing expenditures. Etc.....

As we near January 1st, think thru the options as to how the business is setup. Sole Proprietor, LLC, LLP or Subchapter S Corp. A sub S Corp may offer you an opportunity to lower your overall taxes. If you make that choice January 1, 2017 becomes a key date to have it in place.
 
As we near January 1st, think thru the options as to how the business is setup. Sole Proprietor, LLC, LLP or Subchapter S Corp. A sub S Corp may offer you an opportunity to lower your overall taxes. If you make that choice January 1, 2017 becomes a key date to have it in place.

Great point and thank you! I need to get myself into gear on that then. Time will fly! :eek:
 
.......Of course I blame him!

:rofl: Not as "user friendly" as people think. Regardless of what accounting software is used, small business owners need to have a tax person, accountant, knowledgeable bookkeeper (or all of the above) review their accounting information periodically. (minimum at least once a year)

It's what we call "best practice" for CYA.

Kal, excellent information regarding business structure. Every small business owner needs to understand what is to their best tax advantage related to the business setup. People! Talk to you tax professional!! ;)
 
We see our CPA in December so we know what we need to do before the end of the year/April 15th and again in March to actually do the taxes. Had to refer my 84 year old father to her after the fact because he refused to get help dealing with my brother's estate (all life insurance proceeds) and not only paid when he shouldn't have, he was ready to pay $9K more when the IRS came after him for more just to get it all (suicide) behind him rather than getting help. He is actually due a refund. So a good accountant is a must in many situations.
 
We see our CPA in December so we know what we need to do before the end of the year/April 15th and again in March to actually do the taxes. Had to refer my 84 year old father to her after the fact because he refused to get help dealing with my brother's estate (all life insurance proceeds) and not only paid when he shouldn't have, he was ready to pay $9K more when the IRS came after him for more just to get it all (suicide) behind him rather than getting help. He is actually due a refund. So a good accountant is a must in many situations.

Sorry about your brother. Life insurance payment should not be taxable. What gives?
 
Great point and thank you! I need to get myself into gear on that then. Time will fly! :eek:

Just a few thoughts on Sub S Corps -

- You could be the owner (employee) and a shareholder. Any money coming to the employee is wages (personal tax rate). Any money coming to a shareholder as a distribution could be a capital gain (15% tax).

- An owner employee might not have to pay some state business taxes.

- You might have more business deductions compared to a Sole Proprietor, LLC or LLP.
 
Just a few thoughts on Sub S Corps -

- You could be the owner (employee) and a shareholder. Any money coming to the employee is wages (personal tax rate). Any money coming to a shareholder as a distribution could be a capital gain (15% tax).

- An owner employee might not have to pay some state business taxes.

- You might have more business deductions compared to a Sole Proprietor, LLC or LLP.

Much to research and get consult on. Thank you for the tips!!
 
Just a few thoughts on Sub S Corps -

- You could be the owner (employee) and a shareholder. Any money coming to the employee is wages (personal tax rate). Any money coming to a shareholder as a distribution could be a capital gain (15% tax).

- An owner employee might not have to pay some state business taxes.

- You might have more business deductions compared to a Sole Proprietor, LLC or LLP.

I am a little confused by your post. For S Corp, money paid to you as an employee is treated as employee wages. Any profits (net income) are pass through income and needs to be reported as regular income in the personal income tax. The only difference is the avoidance of FICA. Pass through income cannot be treated as capital gains.
 
Sorry about your brother. Life insurance payment should not be taxable. What gives?

Dad obviously filled the tax forms out incorrectly. There was a little bit of final paycheck money too. Tom died on Veteran's Day two years ago and estate closed in 2015. Dad has always done his own taxes and would not hear from me that maybe he ought to have help with taxes that involved an unusual circumstance.
 
I am a little confused by your post. For S Corp, money paid to you as an employee is treated as employee wages. Any profits (net income) are pass through income and needs to be reported as regular income in the personal income tax. The only difference is the avoidance of FICA. Pass through income cannot be treated as capital gains.

There is no pass thru income. Funds are distributed to shareholders by K-1 and that's why the 15% capital gain rate applies.
 
There is no pass thru income. Funds are distributed to shareholders by K-1 and that's why the 15% capital gain rate applies.

Great info. Thank you!
 
There is no pass thru income. Funds are distributed to shareholders by K-1 and that's why the 15% capital gain rate applies.

You better check with your CPA. That is not how S Corp works. You only get relief if it is a C Corp where taxes have been paid by the corporation.
 
The taxes are paid on the personal 1040 level with the K-1 as an income source.
 
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