What Should You Know About QuickBooks?
By Lisa Gecko
Quickbooks is the most popular and feature rich accounting and business management software on the market. Quickbooks includes several versions, all with differing levels of features and support. In this article we will take a look at the Pro version and determine if it is the one that is right for you.
QuickBooks Pro 2012
The latest version of QuickBooks Pro makes it easier to stay on top of invoices and bills, complete tasks in few steps, and customize QuickBooks to work the way you do.
New features for 2012 include the ability to see your invoices, billing and other important tasks in a Calendar view. You can quickly scan invoices, billing, past transactions and more items at a glance in the Calendar as well. The improved “to-do” list captures more relevant information and displays it all in a calendar format.
Another new feature is the ability to save your worksheet formatting when you export QuickBooks reports to Excel. Now when you export your QuickBooks reports to Excel, refresh the saved worksheet and your formats will be applied to the new report. QuickBooks remembers your Excel formats so you can work seamlessly.
With Pro 2012 now you can process and select when to run Memorized Transactions. You can set up Memorized Transactions for recurring billing, invoices, and estimates. Review and process each transaction individually, and select which transactions to run now and which to run later. You can also set up bi-monthly processing.
Additionally, you can attach and store documents in the Document Center, and
stay organized by attaching receipts, estimates, & other documents to invoices & customer files with a simple drag & drop – a major advantage at tax time. Local storage is now included with your QuickBooks Pro.
You can track and follow up on sales leads in the new Lead Center. The new Lead Center makes it easy to keep track of your sales leads and import existing leads into QuickBooks. When your lead becomes a customer, move the contact information into the Customer Center with one click.
You can also save time with Batched Time Sheets for multiple employees or vendors by creating and using the same time sheet for employees or vendors who worked the same hours.
Another helpful feature is the ability to access industry-specific report templates created by other QuickBooks users. Now QuickBooks gives you access to Contributed Reports in your industry, created by other QuickBooks users. Search by industry, user rating and popularity. Choose the template you like and QuickBooks will populate the report with your business data in one click.
Quickbooks also offers the Premier and Accountant editions that provide additional features. Premier comes with a higher price point than Quickbooks Pro, but Premier has many features that may be important to your small business. Before purchasing Quickbooks, take a look at the features that are available in the Premier addition.
