Scott Gregory, QuickBooks Expert

QuickBooks Enterprise 2010 - Great New Feature: More and Better Custom Fields

2010-02-09T09:00:00-05:00

QuickBooks Enterprise 2010 has a great new feature that didn't receive nearly as much fanfare as the new document management did...

It should have though!

To me, the ability to have more (and more functional) custom fields in QuickBooks Enterprise 2010 adds a great deal of functionality that many businesses have been searching for.

The "new and improved" custom fields come into play in several places:

Item list
Customer list
Vendor list
Employee list

We'll start with the Item List - once you open an item in QuickBooks Enterprise (any item), click the "Custom Fields" button, then click the "Define Fields" button, and you will see a window that looks like this:

I have filled in some of the fields above with examples to get your mind stirring about how you can adapt these new tools to the specific needs of your business.

Take note of the following enhancements - these are really great improvements to QuickBooks Enterprise:

Use up to 15 custom fields instead of 5
Pre-determine what type of data will be used in the custom field. In addition to the any text that has always been available, you can also choose from a variety of number options, phone number, date or even create your own custom list of options! (see the "what kind of data" column highlighted above)
Require that the field be filled in either on a transaction OR when the item is being added to the item list for the first time (see the "required on" columns that are highlighted above).

That's right - you can require a field to be entered on a transaction! Think about how functional that could be to ensure that your order entry staff gets the order right the first time.

NOT JUST FOR ITEMS!

You also get more choices of custom fields when it comes to customers, vendors, and employees.

For example, in QuickBooks Enterprise 2010, if I am reviewing the details of a customer account, I can click the "Additional Info" tab within the customer account, then click the "Define Fields" button and then a window like this appears:

New and improved in this set of custom fields:

You can have up to a total of 20 custom fields to be shared across your customer, vendor and employee lists
You now have the same new choices when it comes to the type of data to be entered just as shown in the item list above.
You can also make the entry of data into these fields mandatory on a transaction OR when setting up a customer, vendor or employee for the first time.

Think about the possibilities this opens up for capturing even more important data in QuickBooks. For example, you could easily set up two new custom fields and call them "Sales Contact" and "Purchasing Contact" - you have instantly doubled your number of fields available to hold important contact information.

How is your business using these new and improved custom fields in QuickBooks Enterprise 2010? Post a comment below to share your story with our readers!

RELATED POSTS:

Let me provide you a customized quote on QuickBooks Enterprise 2010. It takes just a second to let me know what you need
QuickBooks Enterprise 2010 - Free guide, FAQ, and other product insight

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Scott Gregory is a specialist with QuickBooks Enterprise, Premier and Pro accounting software. He has been helping businesses "think beyond the ledger" for over 25 years.

Accept Credit (and Debit) Cards in QuickBooks

2010-02-05T10:00:00-05:00

Looking for ways to improve your cash flow? (and who isn't these days!)

If so, consider how one simple button within QuickBooks can improve your cash flow AND your efficiency as well. That button is the "Process Credit Card When Saving" option, which allows you to accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover card payments from your customers quickly and easily (the Visa example is shown in the screen shot below)

Once you have a merchant account set up with Intuit Payment Solutions, this button becomes active and ready to use for "one click" processing of credit card payments.

This solution is perfect for businesses that have have a fixed location. The process works exactly the same whether you swipe the card or just get the card details via mail order, internet, etc. (other solutions suggested below)

Watch a video on how to accept credit cards in QuickBooks using Intuit Payment Solutions

IF YOU NEED A MOBILE CREDIT CARD SOLUTION...

Let's say that you have a service business where you or your team is out on the road all day. Just because you are mobile doesn't mean you can't have a credit card processing solution that is simple too.

The Intuit GoPayment solution may be just what your CPA ordered to help improve your cash flow.

The GoPayment solution allows you to accept credit cards using your mobile phone. You can even get a Bluetooth card swiper and printer to complete your mobile credit card processing setup.

Watch a video on how the Intuit GoPayment solution works

POINT OF SALE (POS) USERS HAVE A SOLUTION TOO!...

Intuit has a solution for businesses that are using the QuickBooks POS too. It is designed to meet the unique needs of retailers and others that are tied into POS processing every day.

Watch a video on how the Intuit POS Payments solution works

THE KEY DIFFERENCE

Many of my clients have said the QuickBooks credit card solutions outlined above stopped them from having to do double work that is required if other credit card processing systems are used in addition to QuickBooks. In those cases, the data is entered twice.

In the case of using the QuickBooks solutions, the data is entered once, and only once. Given this, be sure to factor in the value of your time when assessing proposals from various credit card processors.

In addition, be sure to carefully review the fee structure and costs of any credit card processing solution you may be evaluating.

GET A NO OBLIGATION CUSTOMIZED QUOTE ON THESE QUICKBOOKS SERVICES FOR YOUR BUSINESS

If you would like to get more information and/or pricing on one of these services for your needs, pick up the phone and dial my associate Kirstan Gides who works for the Intuit Payment Solutions Group. Her number is 800-601-4083 x 68287. You can also e-mail Kirstan to get a conversation going that way too.

Be sure to mention the discount code "bottomline" to Kirstan in order to get the best package possible that meets the specific needs of your business.

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Subscribe to this QuickBooks blog today!

Download Scott's free QuickBooks guides and learn more about QuickBooks.

Scott Gregory is a specialist with QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise accounting software. He has been helping businesses "think beyond the ledger" for over 25 years.

QuickBooks Tip: Need More Report Options? Just a Click Away

2010-02-02T10:00:00-05:00

Tucked away in the corner of the Report Center screen in QuickBooks 2010 is a button called "Find More Reports" - an often overlooked but very powerful button.

Clicking the "Find More Reports" button transports you to the new QuickBooks Reports Library...

Here you will find an entire library of new reports that have been created by other QuickBooks users and QuickBooks ProAdvisors.

Within the library, you can search by the same categories you are used to seeing in QuickBooks, such as "company and financial", "customers and receivables" and more. You also have the ability to sort by the most recent, the most downloaded, and highest rated reports using the "sort by" button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD THESE REPORTS

Once you find a report of interest, simply create a folder on your computer to store the reports, click the download button and save the report in your newly created folder. Go to your reports folder, double-click on the report, and it will be added to your memorized reports menu. The process couldn't be any easier.

Some reports you may find of interest:

Payments by Vendor
Overhead as % of Total Income and Expenses
Unapplied Customer Payments and Credits
Sales by State
Cash Flow Forecast by Quarter
Many, many more...

What is your favorite report? Post a comment below and share it with everyone - thanks!

Save 20% and get an instant download or free shipping if you prefer to upgrade to QuickBooks 2010

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Subscribe to this QuickBooks blog today!

Download Scott's free QuickBooks guides and learn more about QuickBooks.

Scott Gregory is a specialist with QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise accounting software. He has been helping businesses "think beyond the ledger" for over 25 years.

Customize Columns in the QuickBooks Customer Center

2010-01-28T00:45:00-05:00

One little right click is all it may take to unlock a whole new level of functionality within your QuickBooks!

When reviewing information within the Customer Center (this also applies to vendor and employee centers too), you can RIGHT click your mouse when hovering over the details of a customer account to see the option that says "customize columns" as shown below:

Once you click on the "customize columns" option, this window appears:

The left hand side of the window shown above displays all the columns that are available for you to add in the display section and the right hand side of the window displays all the columns that are currently on display.

For example, if I wanted to add the memo column so that it displays each and every time, I would click the word "memo" on the left hand side and then click the "add" button in the middle.

If I really wanted to get fancy, I could then click the "move up" or "move down" options in the middle of the screen to move the memo column closer to the top (left) or or bottom (right) side of the screen.

Here is an example of how this looks when completed:

See how the memo column is now appearing?

TRUE STORY: This one little tip saved a client countless hours of searching customer invoice history as they rely heavily on the memo field for internal notes about the transaction.

Keep in mind - you can click the title of any of the columns (type, num, memo, etc.) and the information displayed will then sort in whatever order you have chosen. This makes it a snap to track down information quickly when a customer is on the phone!

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Scott Gregory is a specialist with QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise accounting software. He has been helping businesses "think beyond the ledger" for over 25 years.

Subscribe to this QuickBooks blog today!

Download Scott's free QuickBooks guides and learn more about QuickBooks.

Using Custom Filters for Customers and Vendors in QuickBooks

2010-01-26T10:00:00-05:00

There is a very powerful option within QuickBooks to help you quickly filter and find customers and/or vendors that match certain criteria (i.e. zip code). It's unfortunate that this option isn't as obvious as it could be within the software.

When browsing your customer list in the Customer Center, there is a drop-down menu at the top of the list that provides several choices:

All customers
Active customers
Customers with open balances
Custom filters

In this post, we will focus on the custom filters option.

Once you select the custom filter option, another box appears. This box is where the power and functionality of this feature lies:

As you can see, you have the ability to search and filter by:

Name fields
Address fields
Phone fields
Customer: Job name
Company name
City
State
Zip
E-Mail
Accounts number
Custom fields
Memo

For example, if I wanted to filter my customer list for all (not just active) customers that had a zip code of 94326, I would complete the box as shown below:

and then click the "Go" button.

My customer list is then filtered by zip code!

Clearing this custom filter is easy - just click the red "X" that appears to undo your search and filters or simply remove the filter option you have entered.

ALTERNATE METHOD OF FILTERING - Just type the zip code in the "find" box at the top of the customer list. Keep in mind that this method may find matching results in other areas beside the zip code field - using this option, it will display ALL matches to the criteria you have entered, not just the zip code.

SPECIAL NOTE IF USING JOBS - If you use the custom filter option and you have jobs in your list, QuickBooks changes the view of the list from the standard "hierarchical view" (say that 3 times fast!) to the "flat view". Translated, this alternate view doesn't show the jobs as being "indented" in the customer list as they normally are. Quick fix - just right click on the customer list and click the "hierarchical view" to return it to normal.

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Scott Gregory is a specialist with QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise accounting software. He has been helping businesses "think beyond the ledger" for over 25 years.

Subscribe to this QuickBooks blog today!

Download Scott's free QuickBooks guides and learn more about QuickBooks.

Track Inventory in QuickBooks? Optimize Your Investment With This New Add-On

2010-01-20T13:00:00-05:00

Alterity, the creators of Acctivate, which is a leading inventory management add-on for QuickBooks, have recently released their "EZ Analytics for Inventory" software that plugs into QuickBooks 2009 and 2010 (Pro, Premier and Enterprise Windows versions only).

EZ Analytics for Inventory is designed to help businesses improve their inventory forecasting process while trying to find the optimum balance between customer service and inventory investment.

Inside EZ Analytics for Inventory you will find the following functionality:

Monthly Sales Analysis
Overstock Analysis
Understock Analysis
Reorder Analysis

Each of these reports is designed to pull your QuickBooks data and then analyze it against the desired objective of the report.

You can't beat the price of this software - it is currently free. The trade-off is that it is in beta form right now. The good news about it being in beta is that the developers would love to hear from you about how to make the product even better when it comes to managing your inventory.

This add-on concept relating to inventory management is excellent, as QuickBooks itself has been lacking in many respects in that area.

Take a look at EZ Analytics for Inventory and share your comments and insight below so the tens of thousands of businesses looking for inventory management tools for QuickBooks know how it works for you.

FOR MORE DETAILS ON ACCTIVATE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE: Contact Ryan Moeller at (817) 870-1311to get a complimentary demo and see how it can benefit your business.

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Scott Gregory is a specialist with QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise accounting software. He has been helping businesses "think beyond the ledger" for over 25 years.

Subscribe to this QuickBooks blog today!

Download Scott's free QuickBooks guides and learn more about QuickBooks.