QUICKBOOKS PREMIER 2010/11

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1 QUICKBOOKS PREMIER 2010/11 INTRODUCTION AND NOTES FOR TEACHERS QuickBooks Premier is a commercial accounting package designed for small and medium sized businesses. It is a flexible and comprehensive package which can also be used with great effect in the classroom in the teaching of Accounting. WHEN CAN I INTRODUCE QUICKBOOKS? The use of QuickBooks Premier does not require a detailed understanding of double entry accounting therefore it can be used very early in the introduction to the study of Accounting. It is particularly useful when introducing the concept of two effects of each transaction. For example, the initial capital can be entered and immediate access can be made to the balance sheet to see the effect. In this way, the students see the immediate effect of each transaction on the accounting equation. Some teachers prefer to wait until the students understand the double entry process before introducing QuickBooks. The students are then able to complete more complex exercises including the use of the general journal with balance day adjustments for accruals and depreciation. QUICKBOOKS AND THE GST QuickBooks provides for the quick and painless recording of GST as well as the preparation of the Business Activity Statement. If you do not require the GST in your recording, simply answer No when asked Do you require recording for GST? MOVING AROUND QUICKBOOKS There is great flexibility in the manner in which the program can be operated. Home Page The Home page screen can be used to move around the program. There are four main sections: Suppliers, Customers, Company and Banking. The main functions of the program can be accessed by clicking on the icons included in each section. Notes prepared by Suzanne Collings 1

2 The screen can provide further information if the Open Window box is displayed on the left of the screen. To do this, use the pull down list View and click on Open Window List. A list of the screens currently being used will be displayed. It is very easy to move between sections of the program by clicking on these screens rather than opening and closing each section. The Home page can be turned off by clicking on X near the top right of the screen. To open it again, use the pull down list Company > Home page. Menu Bar Pull-down menus of lists, company activities, customers, vendors, employees, banking and reports can be accessed from the menu bar at the top of the screen: Notes prepared by Suzanne Collings 2

3 File, Edit and View provide the usual range of options for Windows. Lists can be accessed for information on all of the following: Chart of Accounts, Items (of stock), Customers (debtors), Suppliers (creditors). New accounts can be established (or edited) for all of these through Lists. If the information regarding all of these is entered correctly then auto-fill will speed up processing by eliminating the need for a lot of the keying in of detail. Company, Customers, Suppliers, Employees, Banking pull-down lists provide you with the relevant activities for each of these areas of the program, in the same way that the Navigator screens do. Reports is used to display a wide range of reports and graphs (which are prepared as the processing is carried out no further action is required. Icon Bar If preferred, the icon bar can be displayed on the screen (View, Icon bar) The most important icons for our use are Customer Centre, Supplier Centre and Report Centre. HOW DO I? On most of the screens at the top right hand side is a button How do I? Clicking on this will take you directly to the appropriate part of the Help menu so that you can read more about what is being achieved on the screen. OPENING AND CLASSIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS It is not necessary to create a chart of accounts with a complex numbering system when using QuickBooks. Accounts can be created while working through the Interview in the introduction to the program, or they can be created just prior to processing a transaction, or they can be created during the processing of the transaction. In the same way, lists of debtors and creditors can be established during the Interview, or at any time as required. Classification of the accounts for the preparation of reports is determined by the type of classification the account is allocated as it is opened. If the account for telephone expenses is classified as a Bank account then it will be included in the Balance Sheet! For some types of account it is not possible to alter the type Bank accounts, Accounts receivable and payable. For other types, this can be altered by selecting the account on Notes prepared by Suzanne Collings 3

4 the chart of accounts, clicking on Account, Edit at the bottom of the box, then pulling down the list of types of account and selecting another type. USE OF DOCUMENTS QuickBooks can be used to emphasize the importance of the documents in the accounting process. Each transaction can either be entered using the register or by completing a form which appears on the screen when any activity is selected. For example, when cash payments are to be made, a cheque will be completed. This is the preferred approach in the classroom. For the more experienced users, the use of the register is may be quicker and more efficient. Details of the transaction and the account which is being changed by the transaction are entered in the boxes below the cheque form. Notes prepared by Suzanne Collings 4

5 DATES It is most important to be aware of the dates when processing transactions and accessing the reports. Firstly, it is important to set the date of the financial year properly, then to be careful of entering the appropriate date for each transaction. The report which reflects the period of processing can only be accessed if the date is set correctly on the report screen. Exercises given to students will probably not be using today s date so it is important to keep an eye on the dates displayed. Dates can be altered by keying in dd/mm/yy or mm/dd/yy. Alternatively, by clicking on the small box at the right hand side of the date field on any screen, dates can be selected by using the calendar. The date can be advanced one day at a time by using the plus key (+) while the date is selected. The previous day can be adjusted by using the minus (-) key. DROP DOWN LISTS When keying in names of debtors, creditors, stock lines, payees for cheques etc. time and effort can be saved by using the drop down lists indicated by the down arrow at the end of the line. Alternatively, the full name should appear as soon as first letters of the name are keyed in through the autofill. Notes prepared by Suzanne Collings 5

6 If the required name is not on the list, after keying in and pressing tab, the name can be added to the list by using Quick add. GENERAL JOURNAL When using QuickBooks Premier in the classroom, the general journal is necessary only for purchase and sale of non current assets on credit, non cash contributions by the owner, balance day adjustments and correcting errors. The entry must balance before the program allows you to exit this function. REPORTS AND GRAPHS These are automatically prepared by QuickBooks as the processing is carried out and are accessed through the Reports menu. The dates will need to be adjusted to display the desired report for the appropriate date and length of period. When the cursor is positioned over any part of the report or graph, it will change to a magnifying glass. Clicking will display the details which gave rise to the amount shown on the report or graph. Basic ratio calculations are also displayed on the graphs. Notes prepared by Suzanne Collings 6

7 SAVING THE WORK QuickBooks saves all of the work as the processing of each transaction is completed. Click on Save & New to save the transaction and move on to the next document of the same type. Click on Save & Close if all the transactions of the same type are finished to move out of that section of the program. No special procedure is necessary to save before closing down. In the Interview section, nothing is saved until the screen appears informing you that the details of the company are about to be saved, so if the work is interrupted before getting to that point, nothing will be saved and the process will need to be started again. Notes prepared by Suzanne Collings 7