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General ledger reports offer a quick and easy way for business owners and accountants to identify all Quickbooks transactions within a given time frame. Unlike the standard built-in Quickbooks account manager, using the general ledger allows users to modify and amend their transactions. Once the report is complete, you can go scroll through the transactions recorded for the given time period and modify those with discrepancies or errors. For a step-by-step walkthrough on how to run a general ledger report, keep reading.

Steps To Running a General Ledger Report:

1. Log in to your Quickbooks account.
2. Click on the ‘Report’ option from the drop-down menu.
3. Choose ‘ Accounting and Taxes’ from the available options.
4. Click ‘General Ledger Report’
5. Select ‘Next’ to run the report.

Why Is My General Ledger Report Showing a Positive Balance With One Account Filtered?

One of the most common problems Quickbooks users experience when running general ledger reports is their report showing a positive balance when only a single account is filtered. Some users automatically assume this problem is due to a bug or error, but there’s actually a reason for this issue — when you run a general ledger report with all accounts selected, Quickbooks creates split details for each transaction. When you run this same general ledger report with a single account filtered, however, it excludes transactions associated with the filtered account; thus, creating a positive balance.

The good news is that you can fix this issue in just a few simple steps. Go ahead and create a general ledger report using the steps listed above. Once the report is complete, click on the ‘Customize Report’ option, followed by the ‘Filters’ tab. Next, enter in the amount in the ‘Filter’ field (amount you wish to filter). You should now see a dialog box with several new options, one of which is ‘Include Split Detail?’ Make sure this option is checked and click ‘OK’ to run the report again.

Following these steps should balance the filtered account appropriate, creating a negative balance in your general ledger report.

Other General Ledger Report Tips:

• Refresh your general ledger reports by using the ‘Refresh’ button.
• Save a general ledger report for later use and/or reference by clicking the ‘Memorize’ button at the top of the report.
• General ledger reports can be printed with the ‘Print’ button.
• General ledger reports can be exported in XML or PDF format.

Quickbooks File Doctor is free add-on utility program designed to fix a broad range of common errors. If you’re currently experiencing error messages when using Quickbooks, you should first attempt to use this tool before resorting to account restorations or other, more in-depth solutions. While errors are few and far between, certain incompatibilities and bugs may trigger error messages. Thankfully, however, File Doctor is designed to solve most of these problems in fast, easy and effective manner without losing your vital data. To learn more about how to download, install and use Quickbooks File Doctor, keep reading.

What Does File Doctor Fix?

• Corrupted files
• Data corruption
• Network errors
• 6000 series errors

Download File Doctor

It’s important to note that File Doctor is a separate add-on that Quickbooks users must download. You can find the official free download available at http-download.intuit.com/http.intuit/QBFD/qbfd.exe. Simply click on the link previously mentioned and choose the ‘Save’ option to save File Doctor to your hard drive. Since the files are compressed, it should only take a few minutes to download. Wait for the files to download before locating them on your computer and launching the self-install file.

Note: File Doctor is available for all versions of Quickbooks. Whether you’re using Online, Plus, Enterprise or any other version, you can download File Doctor by following the link mentioned above.

Using File Doctor

Once you’ve downloaded and installed File Doctor to your computer, you can then use it to fix a variety of Quickbooks network and file-related errors. Assuming you ran the self-installation file mentioned above, you should have a new icon for the File Doctor program on your computer. Click on this icon to automatically open and run the File Doctor utility tool. Alternatively, you can also access File Doctor by clicking Start — Programs — Quickbooks — Quickbooks File Doctor. If the self-installer didn’t place a shortcut icon on your desktop, find the program in your start menu, right click and choose “Send To Desktop” to create one.

After launching the File Doctor utility program, browse through your hard drive to locate your company’s Quickbooks file and select ‘Open.’ Next, select the ‘Diagnose File’ option to scan it with the File Doctor utility program. Before the program runs, you’ll be prompted to enter your Quickbooks password. Go ahead and enter your pass and select ‘Next.’ File Doctor will then scan and automatically fix certain errors. Upon completion, it will display a report of the errors found and whether or not they were fixed.

Offered exclusively with Quickbooks Enterprise, Advanced Inventory is a highly convenient add-on that’s designed to save you time by automatically tracking and accounting for inventory. While most businesses probably already have some form of product tracking system in place, Advanced Inventory integrates directly into your Quickbooks account to streamline the process; thus, saving you time and energy in the long run. Whether you run a brick-and-mortar retail store or a large distribution factory, you should consider using Advanced Inventory. To learn more about this add-on and whether or not it’s right for you, keep reading.

Benefits of Using Advanced Inventory

• Allows for bar code scanning.
• Integrates directly into your Quickbooks account.
• Use either serial numbers or lot numbers to manage product inventory.
• Track inventory across multiple destinations.
• Free to download and usefor Quickbooks Enterprise users.

Note: if you currently have Quickbooks Pro or Premier installed, you’ll need to upgrade to Enterprise in order to take advantage of Advanced Inventory. It’s one of the many features that’s offered exclusively with Quickbooks Enterprise.

How To Set Up Quickbooks Advanced Inventory

Assuming you are running Quickbooks Enterprise, setting up Advanced Inventory is a quick and easy process that should only take 5-10 minutes. Start by logging into your Quickbooks account as the administrator (or user with admin privileges). Next, choose ‘Edit’ from the main menu followed by ‘Preferences.’ You should now see a list of new options appear on your screen. Scroll through the available options until you find ‘Items and Inventory;’ click on it and proceed to the next step.

After selecting ‘Items and Inventory,’ choose  the ‘Company Preferences’ tab from the drop-down box. This will bring up a new dialog window with several different options, one of which is ‘Inventory and Purchase Orders.’ Make sure this box is set to active before clicking through to the next step. On this same window, you should also see an option for ‘Advanced Inventory.’ By default, this option is turned off; however, you can active it by clicking the on/off toggle box. Congratulations, you should now have Advanced Inventory fully functional and integrated into your Quickbooks account!

Tips For Using Advanced Inventory

• Make sure you have at least 2.5 GB of hard drive space available.
• Decide whether you want to track inventory using serial or lot numbers.
• If the Advanced Inventory option is grayed out, you will need to sync your account to enable it.

Quickbooks Bill Pay offers a fast, safe and convenient way for companies to pay their bills straight from their Quickbooks account. While users can always print their check payments and physically mail each one to their respective client, a smarter solution is to use Bill Pay. Quickbooks has made several improvements and tweaks to this feature over the years, streamlining the bill paying process for its users. To learn more about Quickbooks Bill Pay, including the steps to setting it up, keep reading.

Why Choose Quickbooks Bill Pay

• Full secure — rest assured knowing that your bill payments are safe and secure.
• Automatically adds the bill pay entry into your Quickbooks account.
• Send payments to any individual or company based in the U.S.
• Reduce your time spent paying bills.
• Save money on stamps and paper.
• Consolidate multiple invoices into a single payment (assuming it’s for the same client).
• Add details about the transaction in a ‘credit memo.’

Setting Up Quickbooks Bill Pay

It’s important to note that Bill Pay is an additional feature that users must add on to their Quickbooks account; however, you can take advantage of Intuit’s current 30-day free trial (under 20 transactions) to see if it’s right for you. If you send multiple payments each week, signing up for Bill Pay is a smart decision that will save you time and energy in the long run. Once the free trial is up, you’ll have to pay  $15.95 for 20 payments and $6.95 per additional 10 payment set. Considering all of the benefits (listed above), this is a small price to pay that most businesses will find well worth it.

After signing up for Quickbooks, go into the ‘Banking’ portion of your account and click on ‘Online Banking.’ Next, choose the option labeled ‘Set Up Account For Online Services.’ Scroll through the available options and select the bank account you wish to use with Quickbooks Bill Pay. Note: you’ll need to go back and add it if it’s currently not there. Before proceeding, select ‘Quickbooks Bill Pay’ next to ‘Financial Institutions’ and click on the ‘Next’ button.

A new window will appear prompting you for a username and password. This isn’t your actual Quickbooks username and password, but rather the username and password used during the creation of your Bill Pay account. Go ahead and enter this information and you’ll have full access to the Bill Pay Center, including options to write checks and pay bills online.

Struggling to save sales receipts in your Quickbooks account without having a Customer:Job attached? In some of the older versions of Quickbooks, users could add sales receipts without having this information attached. In Quickbooks 8 and newer, however, you’ll likely receive an error when attempting to save sales receipts without a Customer:Job. It’s downright frustrating when you receive an error message each time you perform a basic operation like saving receipts, but the good news is that you can solve this problem in just a few easy steps. To learn more about saving sales receipts without a Customer:Job, keep reading.

Assuming you are attempting to save a sales receipt without a Customer:Job in Quickbooks 8 or newer, there’s a good chance you will see the following error message: “Warning: Sales receipts that are paid by credit card via Intuit Merchant Service must be associated with a customer. From the Customer:Job drop-down list, choose a customer, or you can enter a new one.”

Option #1) Add a Customer:Job To Your Sales Receipts

There are a couple of different solutions available to solve this problem, one of which is to attach the respective customer to each and every sales receipt you add to your Quickbooks account. Yes, this is somewhat time-consuming, and oftentimes unnecessary in certain situations, but having a Customer:Job element added to your sales receipts will prevent this error dialog box from popping up on your screen. However, taking the time to add this information to your sales receipts will provide for a more thorough accounting; thus, reducing the chance of errors in the future.

Option #2) Add a ‘fake’ Customer:Job To Your Sales Receipts

A second option available is to create a ‘fake’ Customer:Job and amend it to all of your sales receipts. Rather than using the actual customer, you can simply add a fake one to bypass this error. And best of all, you can continue using the same ‘fake’ Customer:Job for each of yours ales receipts; there’s no need to go back and create a new customer for each new sales receipt.

To create a fake Customer:Job, open the respective sales receipt and type “Sales Receipt Customer” in the Customer:Job field. Note: you can choose any name you would like for your fake Customer:Job name, Sales Receipt Customer is just an example. Next, click on the “Quick Add” button to add the Customer:Job to the sales receipt, and voila, you’re finished!

Quickbooks offers a convenient tool which allows users to access their files and data remotely from any computer with an active internet connection. Known as remote access, it allows Windows-based Quickbooks users to access their account from anywhere in the world– assuming the computer has an active internet connection. This tool is especially helpful for individuals who are constantly traveling and away from their home and/or office. For some important tips on how to use Quickbooks remote access, keep reading.

Note: Quickbooks remote access is currently available only for Windows-based computers (sorry Mac users!).

How Much Does Remote Access Cost?

Remote access is a feature that users must add to their account if they wish to use it. Like most of the add-on the featured offered in Quickbooks, however, the pricing options are flexible and it’s not going to place a heavy financial burden on most users. So, how much does remote access cost? The cheapest option is available for just $3.95/month, offering users remote access to all of their Quickbooks related data and files. This option should be more than enough for most typical Quickbooks users.

The second remote access option offered by Quickbooks costs $7.95/month, offering complete access to all file and software. So, which option should you choose? It really depends on your accounting and business needs. $3.95/month option is perfectly fine for most normal users, but the upgraded $7.95/month offers a greater level of depth and versatility since there are no restrictions on which files users can access with it.

Wait! Remote Access Might Be Included

Before you go signing up for remote access, you should first check to see if it’s included in your original Quickbooks purchase. QuickBooks Premier or Enterprise purchase offer it free for 12 months, at which point users will have the option to continue using remote access for either $3.95 or $7.95/month. Quickbooks Pro also comes packaged with a free trial of remote access, but it’s slightly shorter at 6 months instead of 12. Check to see if your current version of Quickbooks comes with a free trial of remote access before you spend additional money on this feature.

Remote Access Tips

• Access remote access by clicking “File,” followed by “Remote Access.”
• You can print files and documents to your local printer from a remote location.
• Data is completely secure, so rest assured knowing that your sensitive data is safe.

Have a company file that you want to automatically open in multi-user mode each time you fire up Quickbooks? While you can always open files manually in multi-user mode, Quickbooks comes with the option to set choose multi-user mode as default. Toggling on this option will automatically open the respective company file in multi-user mode; thus, saving you time and energy. If this is something you are interested in doing, keep reading to learn more about setting a company file to open in multi-user model.

Note: by default, Quickbooks opens company files in single-user model. This is done to ensure the security of sensitive data. Of course, there are a number of instances where multi-user mode is preferred. In just a few minutes, you can modify the default settings of your Quickbooks account to automatically open company files in multi-user mode.

After logging into your Quickbooks account, select the ‘File’ option from the main menu, followed by ‘Open or Restore a Company File.’ Choose ‘Open a Company File’ from the available options and click ‘Next.’ You will now see a list of all your company files. Scroll through the available options until you find the one that you want Quickbooks to automatically open in multi-user mode. Highlight the respective company file, and at the bottom of the screen you’ll see a box labeled ‘Open in Multi User Mode.’ Click this box followed by the ‘Open’ option. Congratulations, you’ve just set your company file to automatically open in multi-user mode each time you launch Quickbooks! You’re no longer forced to go through the task of manually opening your company file in multi-user mode each time there are multiple people working on it.

Opening a Company File Manually In Multi-User Mode

Since we’re on the subject, let’s go over the steps of opening a company file manually in multi-user mode. The process is pretty much the same as choosing Quickbooks to automatically open company files in multi-user mode; select the ‘File’ option from the main menu, followed by ‘Open or Restore a Company File.’ The difference, however, is that you’ll now want to choose the option to open a company .QBW. From here, you can select the appropriate file and whether to open it in single-user or multi-user mode.

Choosing to open company files in multi-user mode allows multiple people to work on the same file. Whether your business is small, medium or large, you may find yourself in need of this option. Thankfully, Quickbooks makes toggling between single and multi-user modes a breeze.

Many business owners will find themselves in need of converting an estimate into an actual invoice for their Quickbooks account. After sending a price estimate to a customer for a product or service, they will either accept or deny the quote. If they deny the estimate, there’s no additional steps necessary on your part. If they accept the estimate, however, you’ll need to convert it into an invoice; otherwise, it won’t factor into your Quickbooks account properly. Keep reading to learn the basic steps of converting an estimate into an invoice.

Step #1) Locate The Estimate

The first step in converting an estimate into an invoice is to locate the estimate in your Quickbooks account. With your Quickbooks account open, click the ‘Customer Center’ tab on the main menu. It’s important to note that you must have the estimates feature turned on in order to locate past and current estimates. You can refer to this guide located at Intuit.com for more information how to toggle on and off the estimate feature.

After selecting the ‘Customer Center’ from the main menu, click the ‘Customers and Jobs’ tab. You should now see a list of all the respective customers and clients associated with your Quickbooks account. Scroll through them until you find the client connected to the estimate. Click on the client and locate the estimate.

Step #2) Creating The Invoice

The second step is to create the invoice. Assuming you followed the steps previously mentioned, you should see a button titled ‘Create Invoice’ above the client details box. Click this button and adjust the invoice as needed. This option allows you to manually enter in the desired amount for the customer’s invoice. As long as the customer accepted your previous estimate, you should be able to use this same number. If they countered with another number, though, you’ll have to use it instead.

Please note that Quickbooks users with ‘Progress Invoicing’ turned on will have to enter additional information during this step. Progress Invoicing is a slightly more complicated and time-consuming option which allows for greater transparency, so there are a  couple extra dialogs and options to choose from when creating a customer’s invoice.

Step #3) Save & Exit

As with any major change or update in your Quickbooks account, double check the changes to your invoice before clicking save. You can always go back and modify invoices later, but taking a minute to double check them before saving will ensure your account is properly balanced and accurate.

So, you just realized that you’re using the wrong account type when recording transactions in Quickbooks. Now what should you do? The good news is that Quickbooks makes it easy to switch out different account types. And even if you initially used the wrong one, you can go back and correct the mistake in just a few simple steps. Taking the time to fix these errors now will ensure your accounting goes smoothly and without any discrepancies.

Note: there are certainly restrictions placed on changing account types. These restrictions are in place to maintain the integrity of Quickbooks. See the list below for a brief outline of account-changing restrictions.

• Accounts receivable and accounts payable are not changeable.
• If the account type was automatically created by Quickbooks, you cannot change it.
• Subaccounts can’t be changed; however, a simple fix to this problem is to drag them to a new location.
• Accounts can only be changed one at a time.

Another Note: always back up your Quickbooks data before changing account types. While this typically won’t cause any issues with your Quickbooks data, it’s always a good idea to have a full backup in the event of data corruption. Some users may not want to spend the additional time and energy to create a full backup before changing their account types, but doing so will give you the peace of mind knowing that your data is 100% secure and protected from failure.

Changing Account Types

To change account types, fire up your Quickbooks and visit the “Chart of Accounts” section and select the account you wish to change. If you look down at the bottom of this screen, you’ll see a list of available options for changing your account types. The first option available is “Options.” Click this button and choose “Edit Account” from the drop-down menu. After doing this, proceed to the next step listed below.

After selecting the “Edit Account” option, you’ll be able to specify the type of account used in your Quickbooks. Click “Account,” followed by the appropriate ‘type’ of account you wish to use. Double check this option to ensure it’s the desired account type and select “Next.” Quickbooks will now associate the Chart of Accounts with this new account type. Even if you previously entered an item under a different account type, you can easily go back and adjust it using this method.