Tips for tracking details in QuickBooks
As part of the Simplified Accounting and Bookkeeping series, I present an ancient handout from my days of teaching QuickBooks courses.
QuickBooks is capable of tracking an enormous level of detail and then generating reports from it. This does make the program extremely flexible, offering several different options for each type of detail. No one way is the “right” way in any given situation. Examine your options, looking for the level of detail that makes sense for your business.
Tactics for Tracking Details in QuickBooks
|
Tactic |
Situation |
Examples |
|
Classes |
a subset of both income and expenses |
locations, fund, department, business segment, employee, partners, product lines |
|
Items |
products and services |
specific items and services |
|
Jobs |
multiple jobs for customers |
customer locations |
|
Expense tracking |
expenses incurred for a specific customer |
filing fees, special orders |
|
Built-in fields |
special customer and vendor info, already set up |
email address, payment terms, sales tax status, sales rep, “ship to” addresses, tax ID numbers, account numbers, credit limits |
|
Custom fields |
special customer, item, employee and vendor info, not previously covered |
item color, pager numbers, employee certifications, birthdays, program participation |
|
Customer/Vendor types |
grouping customers or vendors |
residential vs. commercial, remodeling vs. new work, subcontractors vs. materials suppliers vs. overhead vendors |
|
Subaccounts |
grouping of accounts with subtotals |
insurance, utilities, supplies, taxes |
|
Subitems |
grouping of items with subtotals |
related items, product lines |
|
Item Group |
fast entry of a set of items |
items frequently entered together, sets sold together and separately |
|
Payroll Items |
workers compensation classifications |
carpentry, roofing, driving, etc. |
|
Memo |
consistent coding of detail it doesn’t make sense to track other ways, or when you’ve used up other ways |
repair bills by piece of equipment, RMA numbers on bill payments |
|
Name coding |
distinguishing similar names, usually with a prefix or suffix |
customer who is also a vendor, similar account names, internal designations |
Say it out loud with me, track only the level of detail that makes sense for your business.
©2001 Becky McCray
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Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
Thank you. You’ve helped me a great deal!
You are most welcome! Watch for more QuickBooks info soon.