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TRACKING INVESTMENTS WITH QUICKBOOKS
QuickBooks doesn’t have the prepackaged tools to track investments (as does Quicken) but there are three options to
help you complete this task in QuickBooks.
Option One: Aggregate Values by Brokerage Accounts
Work from Statements received from your Brokerage Firm to set up accounts as “Other Current Assets” and rely on
broker statements to enter the monthly changes in value (dividends, sales, purchases, etc.).
These changes are recorded as summary general journal entries. There is no tracking of individual securities or mutual funds, unit prices or numbers of shares. Using this option, the QuickBooks user does not recreate the wheel, and the statements provide the detail.
Option Two: Create Accounts for Each Security or Mutual Fund
Use a sub-account for each security or mutual fund, and keep track of each transaction in QuickBooks, with details
and numbers of units in the memo field of each entry. Since memo fields are text fields, this won’t provide complete quantity information at the end of the year. However, it is possible to print out the
transaction detail report including the memo which specifies numbers of shares or units. This approach can get cumbersome if the number of transactions is high.
Option Three: Use QuickBooks Inventory Tracking
Use QuickBooks inventory tracking to track individual stocks or mutual funds. Parts are parts, and these securities
are just parts that you buy and eventually sell. Set up each stock/fund as a separate item (“Inventory Part”) in QuickBooks. Set up an item called “Investment Portfolio” and each of the stocks as a sub item
of this item. Enter the purchase price and the sales price the same upon initial setup, then change the price of the stock each month to reflect the market value. The financial statements of the company are
unaffected as stock prices have no impact until they are sold. The number of shares can be tracked along with their cost.
Dividend reinvestments in terms of extra shares can be tracked using the “Adjust Qty/Value on Hand” (with
offsetting account as Dividend Income).
Note that you check OFF “Value Adjustment” in the bottom left corner of the “Adjust Quantity / Value on Hand”
window, put in the new quantity and new value, then make the “Adjustment Account “Dividend Income”.
To sell stock, use the “Sales Receipt”. Use the item of stock, number of shares sold, and for rate use the
selling price net of commissions per share. The income should be mapped to an income account (Shares Sold) and the cost should post to “Cost of Shares Sold”
By using this option you can indeed track investments.
Improve QuickBooks Startup Time
If you find that it takes too long to load or open a company file, try the following tip for better performance.
First: Take the time to close all components (opened reports and or lists) within QuickBooks
before exiting the company file. If you don’t want to lose the report, remember there is always the “Memorize” option.
Closing components within QuickBooks before exiting will decrease the start up time on the next launch of
QuickBooks.
- Close all Windows: Close all windows within the QuickBooks application before closing the file or exiting QuickBooks. Next time you open the company file or launch QuickBooks (with the
last file used) it will come up quicker. You can do it by selecting Close All from the Window menu or by pressing Alt + W and then pressing A.
- Close Company File. If you close the company file before exiting QuickBooks, the next time you launch QuickBooks you will be up and running much quicker. On the next time you launch, QuickBooks will display the
No Company Open window, and you can then select the file you want to work on. Select Close Company from the File menu or by pressing, Alt + F and then pressing C.
- Run from Hard Drive (Not Removable Media). Some users run the company file from removable media like a flash drive or a CD-ROM. This helps them keep companies separate and is one way they juggle multiple company
files. However, running the company file from removable media is definitely slower than from the hard drive. In the interest of speed, Intuit recommends moving the company file from the CD to computer’s hard
drive for faster operation.
Payroll in Version 2007………………….Yikes !
By now you have probably noticed the changes in version 2007 for payroll. They have created a “Scheduled Payroll” setup which is causing
nightmares for folks in Oregon and perhaps other locales.
QuickBooks wants you to pay the Oregon SUTA, WBFA, TriMet Transit District, and Lane Transit District Taxes every pay period, which we know are
only due on the Quarterly reports.
You can correct this by going to each individual employee’s set up (including the inactive employees) and under the “Payroll Comp. Info”
option DELETE the “Payroll Schedule” and choose “Pay Frequency” instead.
This is also true with the new “Employee Center” “Payroll Tab” for the “Pay Scheduled Liabilities”. Sometimes you will have
scheduled liabilities that you have already paid still sitting there to be paid. You can get rid of these by following these steps:
1. Checking one line to pay.
2. Click “View/Pay” box.
3. When the check appears, notice the payroll item it is paying. Click on the Expense Tab and choose the liability account to which the
liability tab item is mapped. Enter in the amount as a – (negative) number. When you are done the Expense Tab (-) and the Liability Tab (+) will equal zero.
4. Click on the box “To be printed” so it appears as the check has been written.
5. Change the check amount to zero.
6. Change the check number to Adjmt. (short for adjustment).
7. Save and close.
8. When the Payment Summary Window appears just click on “close”.
You will notice in the payroll liability accounts on the chart of accounts register shows an “increase” and a “decrease” for the pmt.
(Which equals zero).
When you don’t use the Scheduled Payroll option you will have to click on the “Related Payment Activities” box to choose “Pay
Unscheduled Liabilities”.
This will look familiar and bring up the “Select Date Range for Liabilities” screen.
Simply continue by putting in the date range you wish to pay.
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