New Business Direction LLCIf you frequently enter the same transaction, you can memorize and schedule the entry of the transaction so that you will not have to re-enter it each time. For example, you can memorize your monthly rent or a journal entry for monthly depreciation expense or even a recurring invoice to a customer.
If the amounts on the transaction do not change (for example, if you always pay the same monthly rent), you can fill in all of the details for the transaction and can even have QuickBooks® automatically enter the transaction for you.
If the amounts or other details sometimes change, you can enter the memorized transaction and leave some of the fields blank. When you want to use your memorized transaction, just choose it from your Memorized Transaction List and edit it as needed.
Memorizing a Transaction
First, create the transaction that you want to memorize.
For a bill – Enter Bills.
For credit card charges – Enter Credit Card Charges.
For an Invoice – create an Invoice.
For a journal entry – Make General Journal Entries.
Once you have created the transaction to be repeated, click Memorize from the Edit menu.
Enter the Name of this Memorized Transaction using a name that you will recognize so that you can easily find this transaction in the Memorized Transaction List.
Set the fields as shown in the screen shot above to indicate when and how often you want the transaction entered and then click OK.
Click Save & Close to record the transaction.
Every time you open QuickBooks®, it checks your Memorized Transaction List for transactions that need to be entered automatically. If the system date is on or after the date in the Next Date Field (less the number in the Days in Advance to Enter field), QuickBooks® will ask you if you want to enter the memorized transaction.
To see your Memorized Transaction List, choose Memorized Transaction List from the Lists menu or hit Ctrl T. This report shows detailed information about each transaction you’ve memorized, including the transaction type, the account, the amount, the frequency and the next date.
Rescheduling a Memorized Transaction
When you specify a schedule for a memorized transaction, you can choose whether QuickBooks® should remind you of the transaction or automatically record it for you.
- Go to the Lists menu and click Memorized Transaction List or Ctrl T.
- Select the memorized transaction whose schedule you want to change.
- Click Memorized Transaction at the bottom of the list and click Edit Memorized Transaction.
- Select a different scheduling option for the transaction.
- Click OK
Deleting a Memorized Transaction
To delete a memorized transaction:
- Go to the Lists menu and click Memorized Transaction List or Ctrl T.
- Select the memorized transaction you want to delete.
- Click Memorized Transaction at the bottom of the list and click Edit Memorized Transaction.
- Select Delete Memorized Transaction or Ctrl D.
As always, if you have any questions or would like more information, please call us.
This article of QuickBooks Tips and Tricks was based on the 2012 version of QuickBooks.
Kristen has joined the team at New Business Directions. She has been with the company since December of 2011 and has undergone an extensive in-house training program on QuickBooks.
Kristen is a 2006 graduate of Colby-Sawyer College with a BFA in Fine Arts and has experience in graphic and web design, managing administrative functions and payroll processing. She has a successful track record of providing administrative support for businesses and individuals alike.
She has been instrumental in implementing our online marketing promotion and ensures our company branding is consistent across each platform.
In addition to marketing, she will be responsible for administration, client services and general recordkeeping tasks.
“We are excited to have Kristen as part of our team!” says Rhonda Rosand, owner of New Business Directions. “Her attention to detail is what makes her a great asset and a really good fit for the company and our clients!”
At New Business Directions we help small business owners streamline the process of making money. If you would like to create order out of chaos and improve your bottom line, call us at 603-356-2914 or visit our website at www.newbusinessdirections.com.
Did you know that there are at least 40 different file extensions in QuickBooks®? Those are just the ones that I found when researching this article – I am sure there are many more!
There are extensions for everything from Loan Manager and Financial Statement Designs to Online Banking and Images. There is even one called LGB which stands for Little Green Box. This file contains encrypted information on user names and passwords.
Here is just a sampling of the file types and extensions in QuickBooks.
It is important for accounting professionals to understand the different file types and file extensions involved with QuickBooks®.
There are five (5) main file extensions used for holding transactions and data for a QuickBooks® company file. The table below describes these file extensions.
| Extension |
File Type |
Description |
| .QBW
|
QuickBooks® for Windows company file |
This is the main file type for a QuickBooks® company file. All of your data is entered into this file. |
| .QBB | QuickBooks® backup file
|
A backup file is a compressed file containing everything you need to recreate your company file and QuickBooks® environment. Use a backup file to safeguard your QuickBooks® files against accidental data loss. When you create a backup, QuickBooks® starts a log of transactions (.TLG) that you have entered since the last time you backed up. To open a .QBB file, go to the File menu and click Restore. Double-clicking the file and choosing Open from the File menu will NOT restore or open a backup file. |
| .QBM
|
QuickBooks® Portable company file | This is a compressed file that contains all of the data of a QuickBooks® company file, but not the database indexing, so it is much smaller than the .QBW or .QBB files. It is useful for transferring data through the Internet because the data file size is much smaller than any of the other file types and it can be restored to the full .QBW on the receiving end. |
| .QBX
|
Accountant’s Copy (Export File) |
This is also a compressed file format and it is used specifically for transferring a file from an end user (client) to an accountant for review. This includes a Dividing Date which prevents the client from creating transactions on or before this date. |
| .QBA
|
Accountant’s Copy (Working Copy) |
When the accountant opens a .QBX file they must restore and convert it to a .QBA file in order to enter transactions and run reports. |
It is important to assess the client’s needs and determine which file type is appropriate for the situation. It will depend on the type of work to be performed, the condition of the client’s current data file, the nature of their operations and a number of other factors. If you have a solid
understanding of the different file types and options available, then you can make a more informed decision on how to best serve the needs of your client.
QuickBooks® also uses many other file extensions to access or store other types of data associated with QuickBooks®. The table below describes a few of these file extensions. It is not an all-inclusive list.
|
Extension |
File Type |
Description |
|
.QBW.TLG
|
Transaction Log File for QuickBooks® company file
|
When you backup a company file, QuickBooks® starts a log of transaction that you have entered since the last backup. In case of accidental loss of data, Intuit Technical Support can use your most recent backup in conjunction with the transaction log file to recover your data. This log file is also used if you sync your QuickBooks® data with certain online services using Intuit Sync Manager. This allows ongoing syncs to happen much more quickly than the initial full upload of QuickBooks® data into your online service. Note: A manual backup (not an automatic backup) is required to ‘reset’ the .TLG file. If the .TLG file is too large, create a manual backup. |
| .QBA.TLG
|
Transaction Log File for Accountant’s Copy
|
When you backup an Accountant’s review copy, QuickBooks® starts a log of transaction that you have entered since the last backup. In case of accidental loss of data, Intuit Technical Support can use your most recent backup in conjunction with the transaction log file to recover your data. Note: This file is created during backup provided that you have set a verification level. |
| .QBY
|
Accountant’s Copy (Import File)
|
When you (the Accountant/Consultant) are finished making changes in an Accountant’s Copy, you provide the client with a .QBY file to be imported into their company file. Note: This file only includes the changes made by the Accountant and not all of the transactions of the company. |
| .IIF
|
Intuit Interchange Format file
|
You can import and export lists and/or transactions using text files with an .IIF extension. |
| .ND
|
QuickBooks® Network Data file
|
A configuration file that allows access to the QuickBooks® company file. Note: DO NOT DELETE this configuration file. |
| .DES |
Form Design Template file |
This file type is created when you export a form design from the templates list. |
For a printable list of file types and extensions, click here.
This article of QuickBooks Tips and Tricks was based on the 2012 version of QuickBooks.
Rhonda Rosand, CPA received her designation as an Advanced QuickBooks® ProAdvisor from Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks®, in June of 2012.
In order to be eligible for Advanced Certification, she was required to complete the three (3) most recent, consecutive QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification exams and to pass a rigorous examination testing both accounting and technical expertise.
The QuickBooks Advanced Certification Course is designed to deepen the expertise of ProAdvisors who are already knowledgeable in QuickBooks and distinguish these “QuickBooks experts” as highly proficient in this field.
The Advanced Certification is the highest designation that Intuit offers QuickBooks® experts. Only 11% of Certified QuickBooks® ProAdvisors within a 500 mile radius of the Mount Washington Valley are Advanced Certified.
Advanced Certification entitles her and her clients to increased discounts on QuickBooks software and supplies as well as access to unlimited U.S. – based Diamond level VIP technical support.
Rhonda Rosand, CPA is the owner of New Business Directions. She specializes in QuickBooks consulting and training services, coaching small business owners and providing innovative business solutions.
For more information or to sign up for our Free monthly QuickBooks® Tips and Tricks newsletter, please visit www.newbusinessdirections.com.
I was telling a friend of mine about the topic of this months’ newsletter and he said “you’re the expert in QuickBooks® and you make a living from setting it up and cleaning it up and teaching people how to use it – why in the world would you tell people NOT to use it?”
The answer is simple – QuickBooks® is a really great program, it’s relatively low cost and it works well for most small businesses. However, one size does not fit all. It’s like that suit in the back of your closet. If QuickBooks® doesn’t fit, it won’t work and it won’t get used.
Fortunately, QuickBooks® has many solutions in their product line-up and with our expertise and knowledge we can customize and tailor a program specifically for you and your small business.
Data File Sizes and Transaction Limits
What impacts whether you should use QuickBooks® Pro or Premier or the more powerful version, Enterprise Solutions, is the size of your data file today and how that data is expected to grow over the time period for which you want to keep all transaction data in one (1) company data file.
The rate of growth of QuickBooks® company data files varies significantly from company to company. There is no “average” or “typical” data file size, since businesses track different information. How quickly a file grows depends on the number of transactions, the amount of information entered in each transaction and the number of “links” per transaction.
If your business generates more transactions than QuickBooks® can handle, performance may be affected. Technically, QuickBooks® Pro and Premier can handle two billion transactions in a single company file. In practice, however, tasks like running reports and finding transactions can take longer if the file grows too large.
We recommend that QuickBooks Pro and Premier data files should not exceed 200MB and that Enterprise Solutions files should not exceed 300 MB. These are general guidelines, based on several factors. There are no specific maximum file sizes and your system will not come to a crashing halt if you exceed these recommended sizes, however, as the data file grows, the overall performance of the software declines and the risk of data corruption increases.
To see how large your data file is currently, open your QuickBooks® file and press the F2 key. A Product Information box will appear and your data file size will be listed on the left hand side of the screen under File Information.
Item or List Limitations
QuickBooks® also has item limitations – counts that cannot be exceeded. Companies with list requirements that exceed those in the following table are not a good fit for QuickBooks®. This list highlights some of the more important physical limits and it is not an all-inclusive list. These counts are “combined” counts. For example, in Premier, you can have 14,500 customers, vendors AND items combined, not 14,500 per list.
| List Name | Pro and Premier | Enterprise Solutions |
| Chart of Accounts | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Names (customers, vendors, employees and other names) | 14,500 | >100,000 |
| Items (including inventory) | 14,500 | >100,000 |
| Classes | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Price Levels | 100 | 750 |
*For an all inclusive list click here
For companies that require a more robust inventory, we recommend using Enterprise Solutions, QuickBooks® Point of Sale or an add-on software such as Fishbowl.
To find out how many items your data file is currently using, open your QuickBooks® file and press the F2 key. A Product Information box will appear and your List Information will be shown on the right hand side of the screen – be sure to scroll down to see all of the lists.
User Access Limitations
QuickBooks® limits the number of users who can access the company data file simultaneously. Companies that require more users simultaneously accessing the company data file than QuickBooks® supports are not suited for QuickBooks®.
Inventory Method Limitations
Companies that require an inventory method other than average cost (such as FIFO or LIFO) may want to use QuickBooks® with an add-on software for the inventory feature. Note that an exception is QuickBooks® Online Plus – as of mid-2010 it offers Inventory using the FIFO cost method. Another exception is QuickBooks® Enterprise Solutions for 2012 with Advanced Inventory which has a FIFO option as well.
| QuickBooks® Product | # simultaneous users |
| Pro | 3 |
| Premier | 5 |
| Online Plus | 5 |
| Enterprise Solutions | 30 |
| Online | 25 |
Summary
Although QuickBooks® works quite well for companies of various sizes and across many industries, there are a few situations in which QuickBooks® may not be the best solution.
If you are interested in finding out more about any of the QuickBooks® line of products or if you would like to discuss what solution is best for your small business, please call us.
This article of QuickBooks Tips and Tricks was based on the 2012 version of QuickBooks.
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Tips & Tricks in QuickBooks®
