Getting a headache from doing your own bookkeeping?

As a small business owner, especially a start-up, you wear a lot of hats – one of those is probably bookkeeper. With all the things you have to do to start and grow your business, tracking the numbers is most likely something you really don’t like to do or have the time to do well. So now you are thinking about hiring a bookkeeper – what should you look for?

1.  Accounting expertise – does the person you are considering have an accounting degree or extensive accounting experience? Understanding “the why” is as important as “the how”.  Do they know the difference between cash and accrual basis of accounting and how looking at your financials using both methods can help your business? Do they know the deadlines that need to be met to keep you in compliance?

2. QuickBooks (or other accounting software) expertise – does the person you are considering have at least 2-4 years of experience using all aspects of QuickBooks (entering and paying bills; setting up items; creatings estimates, invoices and statements; setting up and processing payroll; creating 1099s; reconciling bank, credit card and loan accounts; tracking jobs, creating budgets, etc.)? Do they know how to customize reports to get the infomation you need?

3. Understanding of your industry – does the person you are considering have a familiarity with your industry? Do they understand what data is key for you to know and what processes may be mandated for your industry?

4.  Ability to communicate – can the person you are considering explain what the numbers mean in terms you can understand?

5. Bondable – is the person you are considering bondable (internal hire) or do they have professional liability insurance (external hire) that protects you in the case of fraud or theft?

Whether you are hiring a part-time or full time employee or using an independent contractor or bookkeeping company, it pays to be careful with this critical decision.

For more info about the bookkeeping services provided by Roper Bookkeeping, click here.

Nov. 16, 2012 - Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence (CMI), the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education, and community support for women entrepreneurs, has named Jess Roper McLamb of Raleigh, NC as one of 38 Pitch Winners selected for Urban Rebound-Charlotte, which was held Monday, October 29, 2012, at the Westin in Charlotte, NC, as part of a national business growth initiative funded by the Sam’s Club Giving Program to support revenue and job growth for women-owned businesses.

Read more…

To set up the bank account in QuickBooks:

1. From the Home screen, click on the Chart of Accounts
2. Single click on the bank account to be set up for online banking.
3. Click on the Account tab at the bottom of the screen > Edit Account
4. Enter the bank account number and routing number in the appropriate boxes.
5. Click Yes to the pop up message.

Setting up Direct Connect in QuickBooks

You can set up online banking through Direct Connect in QuickBooks 2009 or later (note: the QuickBooks version can’t be more than three years prior to current year). When you go online, QuickBooks both sends information to the bank and downloads data from it, otherwise known as Direct Connect.

1. Choose Banking >Online Banking >Set Up Account for Online Services.
2. Click the Select your QuickBooks account drop-down arrow, select the QuickBooks account that will connect to your bank and then click Next.
3. Click the Enter the name of your Financial Institution drop-down arrow and select your bank’s name.
4. Click Next.
5. Select the Direct Connect option (if displayed) and click Next.
6. Note: If Web Connect is selected, you will need to log into your bank’s web site before you can download transactions (see Web Connect section)
7. Select I have my special QuickBooks Password and click Next.
8. Enter the Customer ID, Password, and Confirm Password to sign in to the bank.
9. Click Sign In. QuickBooks will connect to the bank’s server to download bank data for the selected account.
10. Select the account you want to connect to QuickBooks.
11. Click on the box, Activate Online Bill Payments, if you want to pay bills from QuickBooks directly to the bank. I recommend that you use your bank’s online bill pay through QuickBooks to avoid double entry and to ensure accurate coding of each transaction (see entering bills below).
12. Click Finish after the download completes. You have successfully activated online banking.
13. To ensure online banking is functioning correctly, select the following option that fits your online banking preference:
14. Click on Receive Transactions. You will be asked to change your initial Pin number. Enter the new number and click OK
15. Click Close, and add Transactions to QuickBooks.
16. Allocate the downloaded transactions to the correct account listed on the Chart of Accounts. Click on Add Multiple. A screen will show transactions that are matched to existing transactions already in QuickBooks and what transactions need to be renamed and added to QuickBooks.
17. Put a check mark beside the transaction to be changed and enter the correct Payee (vendor) and Account (from the chart of accounts). Then click Add Selected, then Yes. QuickBooks will add all renamed transactions to your check register. QuickBooks will also remember how you coded the renamed transactions for future downloads.

Using Web Connect In QuickBooks

When setting up online banking, select the Web Connect option.  Download the Web Connect file from your bank’s website. This file will have a QBO extension.

1. In QuickBooks, go to the File menu, Utilities > Import > Web Connect Files
2. Select the QBO file you saved in Step 1 and then click Open.
3. When prompted to Select Bank Account, select Use an existing QuickBooks account if the account you are importing is already set up in QuickBooks. If not, select Create a new QuickBooks account and enter a name.
4. Click Continue.
5. Once imported, go to the Online Banking Center to review your transactions.

Entering Bills

You can enter a bill for any kind of expense you track through expense, asset, equity, or liability accounts.

1. From the Home Screen, choose Enter Bills.
2. In the Vendor field, choose or enter a new vendor.
3. Enter the date from the vendor’s invoice as the date on the billl.
4. In the Amount Due field, enter the amount of the bill.
5. Complete the Ref. No. (vendor’s invoice no.), Terms, and Memo fields as needed.
6. In the detail area, assign the b
7. ill to one or more expense accounts. Optional: To correct mistakes in the detail area, click Clear Splits or Recalculate.
8. Save the bill.

Paying Bills:

1. From the Home Screen, choose Pay Bills.
2. Select the bills you want to pay.
3. Set any discount or credits that you want to apply to the bill.
4. QuickBooks automatically enters today’s date in the Payment Date field. This is the date that will appear on your printed checks. You can change this date, if needed.
5. From the Payment Method drop-down list,  choose one of three payment method options:
   • Check: If you plan to print this check from QuickBooks, select the To be Printed check box. If you plan to hand write the check or if you’re using a debit card, select the Assign Check No. check box. When you record your bill payment after completing this form, you’ll be prompted to enter check numbers and dates.
   • Credit Card: This will not automatically charge the credit card – it will just record the transaction in QuickBooks.
   • Online Bank Pmt: Click on Include Reference Number. Note: You must have a phone number and account number assigned to each vendor paid via Online Bank Payment.
6. From the Payment Account drop-down list, choose the bank account or credit card account from which you want to pay the bills.
7. Click on Pay Selected Bills. Note: The Ending Balance shown on the screen is the balance in your bank accounts after the bills you have clicked on are paid.
8. A Payment Summary screen will pop up. Select either Pay More Bills or Done.
9. For Online Bill Payments to be sent, go to Banking, Online Banking, Online Banking Center, and click on Continue, then Send/Receive Transactions. A pop up will prompt to Enter your Pin. A confirmation screen with appear.
10. Print a copy and click Close.

To define who your targeted customer is – think about who would normally want or need the products or services you are selling. You may find you have multiple markets and may need to just focus on one or two for now. In the small business classes I teach, I usually tell new businesses to focus on the market they can grow the fastest. The more specific you can profile who the customer is you want to do business with, the more cost effective your marketing efforts can be – because now you can direct your marketing efforts to specific people or businesses and not to the “world.”

So how do you define your market? You need to understand:
• Who they are – the demographics of your market (age, income, gender, education, occupation for individuals; industry, sales volume, number of employees, etc. for businesses)
• Where they are – the geographics of your market (where they live, work, and shop – especially important if clients have to come to you to do business; for other businesses this could be their location, number of sites, where they do business)
• What they care about – the psychographics of your market (buying styles, how they live, likes and dislikes, hobbies, interests, and beliefs for individuals; business culture, how they do business for businesses)
• What transitional changes are happening to them – the synchrographics of your market (changes that may prompt them to buy – marriage, divorce, graduation, etc. for individuals; for other businesses this could mean where they are in their growth cycle)

Once you know who your target market is, you can determine what their wants and needs are. To do this, you can ask them directly or facilitate a focus group (or two or three) of selected customers or potential customer and pick their brain!

For an established business, I think it is important to look at your existing client base and make sure these are the people or businesses you want to do business with. In other words, are you attracting the clients you want with your marketing activities? Profile your existing clients and see if the profile matches the one you did above for the clients you want to have. If you are not attracting the customer you want, it is probably for one of two reasons: you are not reaching the customer you want with your marketing efforts and/or your products or services are not wanted or needed by the market you want to do business with.

1. Go to the lists menu and click “Item List” or go to the Home Screen and click “Items & Services”
2. Click Item at the bottom of the list and then click New.
3. Select the type of item that you want to create:
   • Service:    Services you charge for or purchase. Examples include specialized labor, consulting hours, and professional fees.
   • Non-inventory part: Goods you buy or sell but don’t track (such as office supplies) or materials you buy for a specific job that you charge back to your customer.
   • Other charge: Miscellaneous labor, material, or part charges such as delivery charges, setup fees, and service charges, bounced checks, late fees, opening balance, reimbursable expenses, retainers, surcharges, gift certificates, prepayments, retainers, sales tax, and shipping and handling fees.
4. Click on the box labeled “This service performed by a subcontractor, owner, or partner”
   • When you set up Other Charge items for reimbursable expenses, select the “This is a reimbursable charge” checkbox.
   • By selecting this checkbox, you can enter what you paid for the item as well as what you sell it for. The set up screen (below) has a place to enter the expense account you want to charge when using this item when entering a bill or writing a check (left side) and the income account you want to post sales to when using the item on an invoice or sales receipt (right side). Selecting this checkbox also ensures that your job cost report compares actual costs versus actual revenue or estimated costs versus estimated revenue for each job phase.

5. Click “OK” to save the item

To use this item in a bill (be sure to enter the Customer:Job name for job costing):

To use this item in an invoice:

The Job Profitability Report generated with this item would look like this – see the line item “Design” below:

Note: When an expense is used instead of an item, the costs will appear as “no Item” – see above.

For one-on-one training check out: Roper Bookkeeping

A suspected phishing email on the Employer Identification Number (EIN), claiming to come from the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, is currently circulating. The IRS does not send taxpayers unsolicited emails about their tax accounts, tax situations or personal tax issues. If you receive such an email, most likely it’s a scam.

IRS impersonation schemes flourish during filing season. These schemes may take place via phone, fax, Internet sites, social networking sites and particularly email.

Many impersonations are identity theft scams that try to trick victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to access their financial accounts. Some email scams contain attachments or links that, when clicked, download malicous code (virus) that infects your computer or direct you to a bogus form or site posing as a genuine IRS form or web site.

Some impersonations may be commercial Internet sites that consumers unknowingly visit, thinking they’re accessing the genuine IRS website, www.IRS.gov. However, such sites have no connection to the IRS.

For more information on scams and what to do if you’re subject to one, see:

• Problem Alerts
• Online Scams that Impersonate the IRS
• Suspicious e-Mails and Identity Theft
• How to Report and Identify Phishing, E-mail Scams and Bogus IRS Web Sites

For information about what expenses are a tax deduction, click here.
Consult with your CPA or tax consultant for more information and congratulations on a good year!

There are several versions of QuickBooks that you may want to consider:

• QuickBooks Pro – With this version you can print checks, pay bills and track expenses; track sales, sales taxes and customer payments; create and e-mail estimates; track time and expenses to bill customers, track inventory and create purchase orders, manage payroll and payroll taxes (with additional download) and offer direct deposit
• QuickBooks Premier – Everything that QuickBooks Pro offers plus track your balance sheet by class, create a business plan and purchase industry specific versions (contractor, manufacturing & wholesale, non-profit, professional services, and retail).
• QuickBooks Enterprise – Everything that QuickBooks Premier offers plus consolidate reports from multiple company files; manage inventory using serial number or lot tracking, FIFO costing, and multiple location inventory and more!

There is also an online version and a version for the Mac. These two versions are not as feature rich as the three versions listed above but can be helpful in certain situations.

For more information and to get a discount on the purchase of QuickBooks, click here or call us at 919.844.6111.

1. Reduce software unless it makes you more efficient
Cut back on software that you don’t need or use. Stop auto-renewals.

2. Go paperless
Don’t print documents unless you absolutely need a hard copy.  You’ll save on ink and paper the less you print.  Begin scanning and e-mailing documents instead.

3. Downsize business location
Work from home, if possible.  Have employees telecommute.

4. Cancel your land line
Use cell phone instead.

5. Reduce business credit card debt
Pay off your credit card each month to avoid paying interest or at the very least, pay down the balance of the credit cards with the highest rates.

6. Buy used equipment and furniture
Check out Craig’s List or other places that you can find used equipment and office furniture. You can save a lot of money if you buy used equipment and furniture in good condition.

7. Use online business marketing
Utilize free social media to market your business such as FaceBook, LinkedIn, Google +1, and Merchant Circle.

8. Use technology to make a job easier, faster, more efficient
Some examples are teleconference services such as Accuconference, AT& T Conference, Skype, and Free Conference.  Setup online payment services.  Use energy efficient appliances and lightbulbs.

After 18 years of pretty much playing it by the seat of our pants, we recently did a brand analysis of our company. We hired a branding and marketing firm called Big Buzz Brands to help us rethink how to best serve our clients and potential clients. They interviewed several clients, employees and others who were familiar with our offerings in order to best understand common needs, perceptions, suggestions, etc.

They also looked at our competitors to see how we compared in services offered, marketing message, and expertise. They did a visual audit of all of our current marketing materials. Finally, they completed a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) to better define our marketing message. As a result, we defined our brand essence (the succinct idea that most often comes to mind when people think of our organization and should serve as the foundation for every interaction with the brand) and our positioning statement (what you do at what value to whom).

Now that we better understood our company, our clients and our competitors, the final step was to redo our logo, tagline, and website. Along the way, we also decided to rename our company to better define who and what we are.

Here are the results:

What we were …                                                                   What we are now …
Name:         The Roper Group, Inc.                                                            Roper Bookkeeping
Tagline:      The QuickBooks & Bookkeeping Experts                            Right by your side. Right on the money.

Check out our new website and logo at www.RoperBookkeeping.com and let us know what you think. Like us on FaceBook  and sign up for our newsletter.

For more info about Big Buzz Brands, go to: www.BigBuzzBrands.com