FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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GUARANTEED
GREAT IDEAS!
Accounting
Tips from Real
Clients & Profits Users
These Clients & Profits
users share their tips on how they manage financial
accounting better:
Clone journal entries
to save time "I clone JEs all the time," says Kym Tedesco,
accounting consultant for ParkerWhite. "When I'm doing
the bank reconciliation, I add monthly bills for the
next month (like insurance). I work from the previous
month's proof list, find the JE in the G/L, clone it,
and change the date to the correct month. If you took
that feature away, it would be a nightmare for me!"
Fiscal planning
through budgeting "We had lots of growth in the past
few years, so I've entered budgets for our job costs
and expenses," says Johnna Baker of Image III. "We
realized we were spending too much and really needed
to better plan our expenditures. In the near future,
we'll work on budgeting income, so we can know if we're
meeting our sales goals."
Lock accounting
periods "I lock accounting periods to prevent people
from entering work into closed months, including myself!" says
Erik Kulvinskas of NetFaction.
Print comparative
reports. "We use the comparative Balance Sheet and
Income Statements regularly," says Marjorie Garrick
of Griffith Phillips Creative, Inc. "We see at a glance
if we are advancing our income without increasing our
expenses. Our goal is to increase sales while trying
to keep expenses under control."
Cash Flash "The
Cash Flash report is an easy way to keep track of day-to-day
financial information," says Suzanne Conklin of Howard
Miller Associates, Inc. "The ability to e-mail those
important balances to top management makes it a great
timesaving tool." |
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Q.
Are the journal entries in our General Ledger saved forever?
No, they're purged when the year is closed. However,
the original A/Ps, A/Rs, checks, and client payments can still
be viewed in their respective areas of your database...at least
until you purge them, which shouldn't be done for at least 3
or more years.
Q. When should I change the current accounting
period?
Advance the accounting period on the first day
of the new month so that staffers' time entries and other work
are automatically assigned the right period. For you accounting
types to continue working in the prior period, simply edit it
during data entry. (You trust yourself more than them, right?)
Q. What is a ratio?
Ratios are mathematical formulas. They show the
relationship between the amounts of two things, expressed as
a quotient. In C&P, the Ratio reports examine your shop's
ability to meet its cash requirements, measure how well it's
utilizing its resources, and determine your shop's overall financial
health.
Q. How do I handle payroll in C&P if we
use a payroll service?
If you use a payroll service, you'll receive
summary information with each payroll run. Enter it as a balanced
journal entry directly into your General Ledger. If it's direct
deposit for everyone, you simply enter a single JE. |
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If anyone
in your shop doesn't participate in direct deposit, enter their
payroll information as a separate journal entry because you run
the risk of their check not clearing in a timely fashion.You
have to be able to mark those entries as cleared when you do
the bank reconciliation. (Remember, you can clone previously-made
journal entries, and edit them before posting to save time!)
Q. How do I handle payroll in C&P if we
do it ourselves?
Simply enter the payroll as separate balanced
journal entries directly into your General Ledger. Since all
staffers gets their own check, they may not clear the bank at
the same time. (Cloning JEs would help here, too!)
You may want to consider buying CheckMark Payroll
Software. All payroll-related activities are handled through
CheckMark, then imported directly into your Clients & Profits
General Ledger as unposted journal entries with no rekeying of
information. This saves time and cuts down on data entry errors.
Their phone number is: 800/444-9922.
Q. Are the 1099s based on amounts from A/P
invoices?
No. The 1099s come from the amounts paid to vendors
via the checkbook. 1099s are cash basis for tax purposes.
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