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Common QuickBooks
Mistakes Clients Make and
How to Fix Them
Brought to you by:
Presented by:
Wayne I Greenfeld
- QuickBooks Advanced Certified Pro Advisor
- Certified QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Provider Team Member (ISP)
- Appointed to QuickBooks Advisory Council
- Appointed to Intuit Trainer/Writer Network
-Authorized Reseller of QuickBooks Merchant Services,
Payroll Solutions and Checks & Forms
Wayne I Greenfeld, Presenter
Wayne is an independent Accountant
and owner of Wayne I Greenfeld LLC.
He and his team specialize in
implementing QuickBooks® based
solutions as well as providing
outsourced Bookkeeping and Accounting
services to a wide array of clients in the
Washington DC area
Prior to entering the consulting arena, Wayne was the CFO
of an international real estate development company and
was a partner in a local CPA firm, where as Director of
Technology Services he was charged with the responsibility
of guiding the team toward his goal of becoming the premier
DC area solutions provider for QuickBooks® software. Wayne
holds many top-level software certifications and served on
the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 Accountant and Customer
Advisory Councils for Intuit, Inc., developers of QuickBooks®
Accounting Software
Wayne is a native Washingtonian and graduate of Benjamin
Franklin University in Washington DC
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Learning Objectives
• Understand data file types and other
initial considerations
• Explore symptoms and causes of
common mistakes
• Determine if these mistakes occurred and
the impact on the accounting records
• Discover alternatives available to fix
these mistakes
• Identify ways to minimize these mistakes
in the future.
Module 1
Initial Considerations and
Data File Types
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Module 1 Objectives:
In this module, I will show you how to:
• Consider initial preparations before making
changes
• Understand different data file types
Initial Considerations
• Back up the data file prior to
implementing any changes and
periodically during the process
• Prior to making any changes,
print reports to PDF
• For major changes, have the
client sit with you!
They see results of the situation
they created
They understand changes that will
be made in the data file
They know how long it took to
correct the mistakes
They LEARN
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Working with Different Data File Types
• QBW (Working copy)
Log in remotely or at client’s office to work
• QBB or QBM (Back up or Portable file)
Client should not work in file while you have it
Changes do not merge back into their file
• QBX or QBA (Accountant’s copy)
Many changes will import back into their file
Some limited backward compatibility (1 year)
Must have QB Premier Accountant Edition
• In general
You need the same year of QB as the client
(unless you use remote access)
Module 1 Review:
In this module, I showed you how to:
• Ensure you backup and other considerations
before making changes
• Consider the different data file types
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Module 2
External Accountant User and
Client Data Review Overview
Module 2 Objectives:
In this module, I will show you how to:
• Benefit from using the External Accountant User
• Utilize Client Data Review for managing and
documenting the engagement
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External Accountant User
• Introduced in 2009
• Provides you with Admin rights except:
Cannot access sensitive credit card information
Cannot create or modify users
• Allows you to track your changes separately
Client Data Review (CDR)
• Introduced in 2009
with 4 new tools in
2010
• Find and fix errors
quickly and efficiently
• Assign and monitor
tasks and document
the engagement
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Module 2 Review:
In this module, I showed you how to:
• Login as the External Accountant User and the
benefits
• Use Client Data Review to help manage and
document engagements
Module 3
List Mistakes and
Misclassified Transactions
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Module 3 Objectives:
In this module, I will show you how to:
• Understand mistakes with lists and how to
clean up lists
• Identify misclassified transactions and discover
a way to reclassify them quickly
List Mistakes – Chart of Accounts
• Common Mistakes:
Duplicate accounts
Accounts duplicate the
function of customers,
vendors, or items
• Symptoms:
Extremely long chart of
accounts
Balance Sheet and Profit &
Loss reports looks wrong
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List Mistakes – Items List
• Common Mistakes:
Duplicate items
Items duplicate the
function of customers,
vendors
One sided items
Inconsistent account
mappings
• Symptoms:
Extremely long items list
Balance Sheet and Profit &
Loss reports looks wrong
Review List Activity and Setup
• Common Mistakes:
Changes to lists:
New
Changed
Merged
Deleted
Mistakes in setup of Items
• Symptoms:
Prior year balances changed
Income accounts may
include negative amounts
Inconsistent postings (from
item mappings)
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Misclassified Transactions—Unassigned Class
Common Mistakes:
Transactions posted to
wrong accounts
Inconsistent posting
Transactions not
assigned a class
Symptoms:
Unusual variances in
account balance
Notice inconsistencies
Unassigned amounts on
P&L by Class
Module 3 Review:
In this module, I showed you how to:
• Identify mistakes with lists and methods to
clean up lists
• Locate misclassified transactions and how the
CDR tool can reclassify them quickly
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Module 4
Undeposited Funds and
Receiving Payments
Module 4 Objectives:
In this module, I will show you how to:
• Identify mistakes with undeposited funds and
receiving payments improperly and methods to
correct the mistakes
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Mistakes with Undeposited Funds and
Receiving Payments
• Common Mistakes:
In addition to Receive
Payments—used Make Deposits
Deposits directly into check
register (skipping Receive
Payments)
• Symptoms:
Accts Receivable is high with
old A/R
Growing balance in
Undeposited Funds
Income is unusually high
Bank balance may be OK
Module 4 Review:
In this module, I showed you how to:
• Locate mistakes in undeposited funds and
methods to make corrections
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Module 5
Accounts Receivable and
Accounts Payable
Module 5 Objectives:
In this module, I will show you how to:
• Identify payments and credits not applied to the
invoice or bill
• Understand how to write off invoices
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Accounts Receivable—
Open Credits or Small Balances
• Common Mistakes:
Payments not applied to an
invoice
Credit issued and not applied
to an invoice
Small balances need to be
written off
• Symptoms:
Open Invoice report is lengthy
with unapplied credits,
payments and/or small
account balances
Accounts Payable Mistakes
• Common Mistakes:
Client enters bills then writes
checks
Unapplied vendor credits
• Symptoms:
A/P balance high with many
old A/P
Expenses too high
Bank account balance is OK
Numerous unapplied vendor
credits
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Module 5 Review:
In this module, I showed you how to:
• Locate unapplied payments and credits and
methods to use for correcting them
• Write off invoices as necessary
Module 6
Credit Cards
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Module 6 Objectives:
In this module, I will show you how to:
• Understand mistakes with credit cards and
proper treatment
Credit Card Mistakes
• Common Mistakes:
Only amount paid is entered
into QB as a guesstimate of
how to allocate payment
Balance to a single expense
account
A/P used to enter bills
Credit card balances not
reconciled
• Symptoms:
Credit card register balance
only increases
Bank account balance looks OK
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Module 6 Review:
In this module, I showed you how to:
• Identify credit card mistakes and proper
procedures for credit card transactions.
Module 7
Sales Taxes, Payroll Taxes and
Reconciling after Corrections
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Module 7 Objectives:
In this module, I will show you how to:
• Understand mistakes with Sales taxes and
Payroll taxes and methods to fix them
Sales Tax Mistakes
• Common Mistakes:
Clients write checks to
pay taxes
Sales taxes not set up
properly
• Symptoms:
Sales tax payable
appears too high
Sales tax expense
Pay Sales Tax dialog does
not show previous
payments
Sales taxes not
calculating properly
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Payroll Tax Mistakes
• Common Mistakes:
Clients write checks to
pay payroll taxes
• Symptoms:
Payroll liabilities higher
than expected
Payroll tax expense
higher than expected
Bank account is OK
Payroll tax returns
show no balance due
Module 7 Review:
In this module, I showed you how to:
• Identify mistakes with Sales taxes and Payroll
taxes and different methods for correcting the
mistakes
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Module 8
Inventory
Module 8 Objectives:
In this module, I will show you how to:
• Understand inventory mistakes
• Troubleshoot to make corrections
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Inventory Mistakes
• Common Mistakes:
Incorrect and/or
inconsistent inventory
procedures
• Symptoms:
Inventory valuation
summary report does not
appear correct
Inventory quantities are
negative or too high
Average cost appears too
high, too low or is zero
Asset value does not agree
with GL
Module 8 Review:
In this module, I showed you how to:
• Identify mistakes in inventory
• Use reports or CDR tools to troubleshoot and
make corrections
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Module 9
Prior Period Discrepancies
Module 9 Objectives:
In this module, I will show you how to:
• Identify changes to prior period balances
• Understand the possible causes of the changes
• Discover tools and reports to help adjust them
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Prior Period Balance Discrepancies
• Common Mistakes:
Users record, modify,
delete and void
transactions
Users never enter year
end journal entries
provided to them
• Symptoms:
Ending balances used
by the tax accountant
have changed from year
to year
Reports to help with Prior Period Discrepancies
• Several Reports to
help troubleshoot
Go to Reports>
Accountant & Taxes
to find:
Audit Trail
Closing Date
Exception report
Voided/Deleted
Transactions
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Set a Closing Date Password
• Set Closing Date
Password
Necessary for the Closing
Date Exception Report
Go to Edit>Preferences>
Accounting>Company
Starting in QB 2009, you can
set the closing data password
in the Accountant’s Copy to
send back to the client
Module 9 Review:
In this module, I showed you how to:
• Examine prior period balances to identify
changes
• Determine possible causes of the changes
• Utilize CDR tools and reports to help adjust
them
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Most Important Fix of All!
Train your clients to use QuickBooks properly to
eliminate these Mistakes in the future.
Review
• Understand data file types and other
preliminary considerations
• Explore symptoms and causes of
common mistakes
• Determine if these mistakes occurred and
the impact on the accounting records
• Discover alternatives available to fix
mistakes
• Identify ways to minimize these mistakes
in the future.
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Thanks for Participating!
Presented by:
Wayne I Greenfeld
703.217.4277
[email protected]
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