So with that said, here’s a bunch of links to all the different articles I’ve been writing about QuickBooks.  I’m sure you’ll find them helpful for setting up or working with QuickBooks in your own business.

Getting Started with QuickBooks

Paying Bills with QuickBooks

Invoicing with QuickBooks

Customer Payments and Deposits with QuickBooks

Past Due Reminders with QuickBooks

Reconciling your Bank Accounts with QuickBooks

Customize your QuickBooks Invoices, make them your own!

If you have any questions or comments on any of the articles please leave a comment or contact me at deb@gemsvirtualoffice.com  Thanks for reading and have a great day.

1. When you receive invoices that need to be paid, immediately place them in a folder, either in a file drawer or the in-box on top of your desk, labeled invoices or bills to be entered . Set aside some time at least once a week to enter them into your bookkeeping software. After you’ve entered the invoices, file them in a to-be paid folder. Depending on how many invoices you have, you can file them all in one folder or alphabetically by vendor. If you are going paperless, scan the invoices into your computer and file them the same way, in a file folder for Vendor invoices to be paid on your desktop.

2. Before you can enter any of these invoices and bills you’ll need to create a chart of accounts. Keep your chart of accounts simple. The chart of accounts is a listing of all your balance sheet accounts(assets and liabilites) and your income statement accounts(income and expenses). You’ll use these accounts when entering your transactions. Most accounting software packages will suggest a basic chart of accounts for you to start with. You can then add or delete accounts as you see fit.

3. At the same time your entering invoices to be paid, briefly look at any unpaid invoices you’ve already entered to make sure they aren’t due to be paid this week. Instead of looking at the invoices manually, run a quick unpaid bills report. You can then either print any checks needed using your software or pay them using on-line banking. On-line banking is a free service with most major banks, and you can enter the amount of the invoice and schedule it for payment before the due date. And with many accounting software packages you can accomplish this right within the software itself. The benefits of online bill pay is that it saves on postage and also by scheduling before the due dates you’ll avoid any late fees. Just remember if you pay the bills directly from your bank website, you will also need to enter those payments in your accounting software.

4. Reconcile your bank statements monthly. Try setting up time on your calendar the week the statement is received. You don’t want to put this task off because the longer your accounts stay unreconciled the harder it will be to find errors. If you have been disciplined in entering your transactions each week, it shouldn’t be a time consuming process and can easily be accomplished using your software’s reconciliation function.

5. Don’t forget your credit card purchases. If you’ve set up your credit cards as accounts they will need to be reconciled on a monthly basis the same way you reconcile your checking account. So be sure that you’ve been entering the charges daily or weekly. Credit cards statements can also be treated as regular bills, where you enter the bill for payment just like the rest of your monthly bills. If done this way you obviously won’t have an account to be reconciled every month.

6. If you use PayPal, you also need to set up this account similar to how your checking account is setup. And it will also need to be reconciled each month. With PayPal you can download the monthly reports for reconciling. To keep yourself current though I would also recommend doing this on a weekly basis to record any deposits and payments, and then reconcile on a monthly basis.

We’ll talk about handling your accounts receivable another time. We don’t want to forget that. You have to be invoicing customers and making deposits to pay all those bills we just talked about. Are you feeling frustrated and flustered with the thought of bookkeeping? Don’t worry, your not the only one. I think most business owners consider bookkeeping a dreaded task and put it off as long as possible. Unfortunately it’s not something that can be put off altogether unless you decide to outsource to someone that actually enjoys bookkeeping. Even then you shouldn’t ignore it completely, to effectively run a business you need to know what’s going on in every corner of it.

How do you stay organized? I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Business Darlings is set to launch tomorrow, February 14th, and I’m very excited and honored to have been asked to offer my advice, opinions and idea’s in the Finance section.

Here’s what Christina Nelson, owner of VOS Team and Vital Office Solutions, and the creator of Business Darlings has to say about the launch.

I am so excited to be able to give back to the industry that has been so good to me. Business Darlings is a labor of love and I am very proud of what we have accomplished so far.

Business Darlings is an online magazine/blog focused on providing tips, inspiration, direction and motivation for YOU to start and build a Virtual Business.The Virtual Industry is BOOMING and it’s time you got your piece of the Internet. Having a Virtual Business has some unique challenges and we want to help you get the answers you need to face, and overcome, them (or beat them into submission, whatever works lol).Business Darlings has been blessed with (so far) 8 wonderful experts (7 Darlings & a Dude) who have agreed to volunteer their time each week to bring you the information you need to be successful. Plus, we are always looking for more experts to add (email me to see if we need someone with your skills contact@businessdarlings.com). Pop over to http://businessdarlings.com and bookmark us for the launch on FEBRUARY 14th (yep Valentine’s Day)

This week that website is Small Biz Bee where they are “Making a Big Deal Out of Small Business.” They share all kinds of lists, video’s and idea’s that I’m sure you’ll find beneficial to your business.

Take a few minutes to explore and then let me know if you liked the site. And if you have other suggestions for good websites geared towards small business owners please share them in the comments. Thanks!

Why not shove them all into an envelope on a weekly or monthly basis and send them to Gem’s Virtual Office instead!

I’ll use QuickBooks software to post and record your income and expenses for the month. You’ll receive monthly reports so that you are always up to date on how your business is doing! If you want to go a step further, I’ll balance and reconcile your banking and credit card accounts, invoice your customers, pay your bills and more.

Let me take some of those nail biting, hair pulling hours away from you! Take the time to sit back and relax or, spend those extra hours building your business further.

So are you one of those guilty ones? Contact Gem’s today for additional information and a free consultation at deb@gemsvirtualoffice.com I look forward to hearing from you.

How are you handling your monthly bookkeeping tasks?

Knowing that, why not let a Virtual Bookkeeper like Gem’s Virtual Office handle it instead. Wouldn’t it be nice to end the day knowing that your bookkeeping and bills aren’t waiting on your desk for attention! 

Here is a list of 10 tasks that Gem’s can complete for you in an hour: 

   1. Balance your checking account.

   2. Enter your vendor invoices

   3. Call your customers in regards to past due invoices

   4. Post your cash receipts and deposits

   5. Pay your bills

   6. Invoice your customers

   7. Assist with your payroll

   8. Reconcile your credit card statements

   9. Generate P/L Reports each month

 10.  Work with your accountant as needed. 

Get in touch with Gem’s today and let us show you how working with a Virtual Bookkeeper can save your business both time and money!

Task #1 was to write a brief overview of your business concept in 200-350 words. Explaining the business type, services, where you’ll find customers, how they will hear about your business, and how will they take delivery and pay for your services. Here’s my completed task.

“Gem’s Virtual Office is a small business owned by Deborah Frawley of Williamson, NY. It was originally opened as a virtual business offering bookkeeping and administrative services to small businesses and individuals needing an additional person to help them manage and grow their business. Today Gem’s is not only virtual, supporting businesses in any location, but also a local business, offering pick up and delivery of projects as well as onsite support as needed.

Some of the bookkeeping services that Gem’s offers are: Accounts Payable (entering and paying bills), Accounts Receivable (invoicing customers and recording payments), collections of overdue accounts, financial statement preparation (so a client always knows where their business stands), and bank account management and reconciling.  Gem’s bookkeeping software of choice is Quickbooks and Deb is a certified Quickbooks user.  Clients can choose to have the bookkeeping done at Gem’s home office with reports generated weekly, use the online version of QuickBooks, or their software can be accessed remotely using programs such as Log Me In.  Administrative services provided include: e-mail and calendar management, data entry, customer service, word processing, bulk mailing, and travel arrangements.

Gem’s will be marketing and networking locally and nationally on social networking sites such as Facebook,  Twitter, and LinkedIn. Brochures and postcards are also being sent out locally, and businesses and individuals can view Gem’s website at www.gemsvirtualoffice.com.  I’ll also look forward to meeting a lot of local businesses and people at area networking events.”

If you’ve been following along with the contest please share. It’s been a very good tool and motivational exercise for me,  and you might find it to be the same for you. Check back in the next few days and you can read my response to Task #2.

To see the Tasks as they post them for people to join in and to hear how the Stick Business contest is going, visit Men with Pens.