Kathy Ivens writes regularly about computer and small business topics for a variety of periodicals. She is the author of more than 50 books, including Home Networking for Dummies, Quickbooks: The Official Guide, and Running Quickbooks in Nonprofits. She lives in Philadelphia.

Running QuickBooks 2008 Premier Editions

By Kathy Ivens

CPA911 Publishing, LLC

Copyright © 2008 CPA911 Publishing, LLC
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-932925-03-6

Contents

Title Page,
Copyright Page,
A Note to the Reader – From the Publisher,
Acknowledgments,
Chapter 1 – Getting Started,
Chapter 2 – The Chart of Accounts,
Chapter 3 – Lists and Classes,
Chapter 4 – Sales Tax,
Chapter 5 – Payroll,
Chapter 6 – Premier-Only Accounting Functions,
Chapter 7 – Enhanced Sales Features,
Chapter 8 – Advanced Reporting Tools,
Chapter 9 – Planning and Forecasting,
Chapter 10 – Accountant Edition Features,
Chapter 11 – Contractor Edition,
Chapter 12 – Manufacturing and Wholesale Edition,
Chapter 13 – Nonprofit Edition,
Chapter 14 – Professional Services Edition,
Chapter 15 – Retail Edition,
Appendix A – Importing Excel and CSV Files,
Appendix B – Importing IIF Files,
Appendix C – Tips & Tricks for Accountants,

CHAPTER 1

Getting Started

Updating existing company files
Creating a new company file
Configuring the QuickBooks window
Creating opening balances

QuickBooks Premier editions offer features not available in other versions of QuickBooks. If you previously worked with QuickBooks Pro, you’ll find that your Premier edition of QuickBooks has all the features available in QuickBooks Pro, plus the advanced features built into the Premier editions.

Many of the advanced features are in both the generic Premier Edition and all the industry-specific Premier editions. However, each of the industry-specific Premier editions has additional features and tools that are helpful for running QuickBooks for that specific industry. If you have the Accountant Edition, you also have all the tools that are in the industry-specific editions. This makes it easier to support clients who install any of the QuickBooks Premier editions.

Company File Setup

You have several options available for setting up your company file in QuickBooks 2008 Premier.

• If you upgraded from an earlier version of QuickBooks (any edition), you must update your existing company file.

• If you’re new to QuickBooks, you need to create a company file, either by going through the EasyStep Interview, or creating the file manually.

(In QuickBooks terminology, the word “version” means year, and the word “edition” means Pro or Premier.)

Opening an Existing Company File

If you installed QuickBooks 2008 Premier in the same folder that held your previous version of QuickBooks, the first time you launch QuickBooks the software opens the company file that was open when you last closed QuickBooks in the previous version. Then the system begins the process of updating the file to Premier 2008.

If you installed QuickBooks 2008 Premier in a new folder in order to preserve the previous version (a common scenario for accounting firms), no existing company file opens when you first launch QuickBooks Premier.

If you already have a previous version of QuickBooks, and you installed QuickBooks 2008 in a new folder, you can copy existing files to your QuickBooks 2008 data folder (the files you want to update to QuickBooks 2008). Then select File [right arrow] Open or Restore Company. Follow the prompts in the wizard, locate the copy of the file, open it, and let QuickBooks begin updating it. This is a good way to install QuickBooks, because it lets you learn the new version without permanently updating your company file from the older version. If someth