Setting a closing date "locks down" QuickBooks. Once the closing date has been set, transactions for that period can no longer be adjusted (except by the Administrator). While closing dates can be seen as a roadblock to you, they may also save you from considerable costs if an error is made. 

For accountants, this time of the year is about reconciling and meeting deadlines. We reconcile monthly and quarterly payroll information to annual reports. We reconcile reported sales to annual sales as recorded on your books. We reconcile balance sheet numbers and profit and loss numbers to file your year-end taxes.

If your QuickBooks numbers don't match up to what was previously reported (last year's income tax return or last quarter's 941) the previous period needs to be reviewed to find out what changed. We may even have to amend previously filed reports.

When an error like this is made, it may be a costly mistake for you. Setting a closing date and being conscientious about using it is a simple way around this expense.

Setting a closing date is easy to do:

• Click on the Company menu
• Click on Set Closing Date
• Closing Date section is at the bottom of the box that appears
• Click on the Set Date/Password Box
• A password provides more security that something that shouldn't be changed isn't changed (a QuickBooks Administrator can override the closing date.)
• Choose your closing date, which is usually the end of a month, quarter, or year
• You can choose to check the box to exclude estimates, sales orders, and purchase orders from the closing date. If you are using these features, many of the grievances from setting a closing date are avoided.
• Click OK

Written By: Kristen Herrick, CPA, QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor

507.452.8313

kherrick@hawkinsashcpas.com

Condensing your company file summarizes old transactions and makes your QuickBooks file smaller.

By condensing you can:

• Remove transaction details before a certain date. This option decreases the file size and improves performance if you have a large company file.
• Remove all transactions. You can select this option to start over without losing your lists, preferences and service subscriptions.

When you condense your company file, QuickBooks deletes transactions that you no longer need, replacing them with one of the following, depending on the option you choose:

• One summary journal entry
• A new general journal transaction for each month
• No journal entry

You can also tell QuickBooks which transaction types to remove and to delete unused list entries.

To condense your company file:

Always make a backup prior to condensing!  Click File, Utilities, Condense data.  This process can take some time with larger company files.

Written By: Debbie Denny, Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor

920.336.9850

ddenny@hawkinsashcpas.com

The My Preferences area of QuickBooks has several features that will make the day-to-day use of QuickBooks much easier for you.

• Click the Edit menu
• Click on Preferences
• On the left hand side of the box that appears, click on General
• On the top of the box, click on the My Preferences tab

In the middle of the box, you can check the "Automatically Remember Account" or Transaction Information

• You can choose to automatically recall the last transaction for this name, or
• Pre-fill accounts for vendor based on past entries

Below this section you can choose to use today's date as the default for new transactions, or use the last date entered as the default. This is particularly useful if you are recording information from the past.

In this box, you can choose among other things:

• To be warned when you are deleting or editing information (helpful when your fingers are faster than the computer)
• Automatically place the decimal point
• Turn off pop up messages for products and services

Are your lists getting cluttered with obsolete information - customers who have moved away, vendors whom you no longer use, employees who have terminated?  You can "hide" these and other list items in QuickBooks. 

To inactivate/hide list items in the customer/vendor/employee center, or in any list, right click on the name. Then, click Make Inactive and the name will be hidden on your list. 

If you want to see the inactivated names, when in the customer/vendor/employee center, click the down arrow next to Active Vendors, for example, and choose All Vendors (or in a list, click the box for show inactive).  Any vendors that you have made inactive will appear on the list with an X to the left of their name.  You can reactivate any of these names by clicking on the X. They will then appear on your Active Vendor list again.