When it comes to small business accounting, there are many options. Some available options are good, and some are not so good. Quickbooks is one of the most popular and widely used accounting programs. It’s also a little more advanced than many other alternatives. But don’t be put off by that!
Here are five ways your small business can use Quickbooks beyond “just normal accounting.”
1. Tracking Income and Expenses
Quickbooks will record all of the bills that come in regularly, and it will show the amount due and the date by which it is due. There’s no need to waste hours at the neighborhood accountant’s office trying to track all of this information down. Just enter it into Quickbooks and let the program do the work for you.
It will also help you see where your money is going to run your company more effectively. For example, if you’re not receiving the income you expect from a product or service, you can adjust your pricing or advertising strategy to bring in more revenue. If you’re spending too much on marketing or too little on payroll, Quickbooks will tell you so that you can adjust your budget.
2. Payroll Management
Quickbooks makes it easy to manage payroll and make payments to employees automatically through direct deposit or check payments. QuickBooks makes calculating net pay a snap with its built-in payroll program. You enter your gross income and taxes owed, and QuickBooks does the rest for you. It’s a great way to get started and double-check your calculations as well.
Additionally, you can track employee time by selecting the “Employees” option from the home screen. You track time through a single, hourly event or a weekly timesheet. For job costing purposes, tracking time in QuickBooks can help measure employee productivity.
Quickbooks also allows you to create employees’ accounts. You form them separately before you start adding employees to them. It makes it easier to change an employee’s information later on, such as a new address or contact information.
3. Manage Taxes Easily
One of the most important things you need for tax time is your tax reports. QuickBooks allows you to save your reports in the form of PDFs or Excel spreadsheets, both of which are great if you need to send them to your accountant or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In addition, you can customize your reports. For example, if a particular piece of information is essential to you, you can add it as an extra column in your reports so that it’s available every time.
4. Manage Inventory
Running out of something and sending customers away empty-handed isn’t suitable for anyone. With QuickBooks, you can track what you have in stock and avoid shortages. It helps you keep track of inventory without worrying about manually updating spreadsheets or other data entry methods.
The intuitive system also allows you to keep tabs on purchase orders and receipts, making it easy to determine when to reorder inventory. An advantage is getting the inventory scanner device from Quickbooks pos hardware for easier tracking and operation.
5. Create Invoices and Track Payments
As part of your sales process, you must keep track of every invoice you send out—both the amount owed and the due date. Using Quickbooks can save time and money when you create invoices.
You can easily customize invoices to fit your needs, and the software will do it automatically based on the information from your customers. You’ll also be able to generate reports based on the invoices you have sent out, allowing you to see which ones have been paid and which ones are still outstanding.
Keeping track of payments is also very important for any business, whether online or brick and mortar. When you send out an invoice, be sure to include an area where your client can write in their account number and details about their payment method and when they plan to make the payment so that you know when to expect it.
The Bottom Line
QuickBooks is a must-have tool for any small business. It lets you manage your own business’s finances, allowing you to focus on your core competencies and gain an extensive grasp of your company’s health. The longer you can keep QuickBooks in use, the better off your small business will be in the long run.
