Period Copy with Condense Data Feature – New in QuickBooks 2012

New in 2012 – QuickBooks® Accountant and Enterprise Accountant versions only

Starting with the 2012 version of QuickBooks® Accountant and QuickBooks® Enterprise Accountant, accounting professionals can now set a date range to extract transactions for a specified period of time and condense transactions outside the date range.

This preserves transactions in the condensed file only for a particular period with entries prior to that period summarized and entries after that period removed.

This is useful for clients with file size and list limit issues as well as for third-party requests of information – not only for audit requests, but also in the event of a business sale, a divorce or legal dispute when you do not need to provide the entire QuickBooks® file.

First thing – BACKUP your data file.

You are creating a new file to be issued to a third-party and you do not want to overwrite your working file.

Then under the FILE menu, UTILITIES, CONDENSE DATA – Accept the prompt that it is ok to lose Budget data.

When it prompts you for what transactions you want to remove, select “Transactions outside of a date range” to prepare a period copy of the company file. Set your before and after dates to include the period you want to keep.

Then when it prompts you how transactions should be summarized, choose “Create one summary journal entry”.

Remove the recommended transactions.

Remove the unused list entries.

Begin Condense.

This article of QuickBooks Tips and Tricks was based on the 2012 version of QuickBooks.