By: Karen Mitchell, Craig Savage, Jim Erwin
Why You Need This Book
Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro is a simple,
hands-on guide for contractors, remodelers, subcontractors, and real
estate developers who plan to use, or are now using, QuickBooks Pro
accounting software. Think of this manual, like QuickBooks Pro, as a
powerful new tool. Used correctly, it will get results you never
thought possible - in ways you never imagined.
This book was written for contractors by
contractors. That's why it's low on "accounting speak" and high
on practical examples. We're not going to talk about debits and
credits. QuickBooks Pro doesn't use those terms, so we won't either.
Instead, we'll use words we all understand, like checks, estimates,
bills, timecards, purchase orders, and deposit slips.
We'll help you set up a good, effective, highly-professional
bookkeeping system as quickly and painlessly as possible. You'll
know, at the click of a mouse button, who owes you money and who you
owe. You'll know if there's enough cash on hand to pay bills. When
you need a current profit and loss statement, you'll have one in a
minute or two - either for the month, the year, or for just one job.
When a lender or a bonding company needs a balance sheet, you'll get
one in minutes.
Contractors have special payroll requirements. This book will show
you how to get the most out of QuickBooks Pro's payroll system. No
matter where you do business in the 50 states, QuickBooks Pro has a
current tax table exactly right for your company. If QuickBooks Pro
isn't doing your payroll now, we predict it will be before too long.
Since estimating is important to most construction contractors,
we're going to cover estimating from three perspectives. In Chapter
12, you'll see how to enter the summary data from estimates you've
already written into QuickBooks Pro. From here, you can do progress
billing and job cost tracking. In Appendix A you'll learn how to use
the estimating system built into QuickBooks Pro to create estimates.
And for those who want still more estimating power, Appendix B has
complete instructions for using Craftsman's estimating software,
National Estimator, and Job Cost Wizard, a program that
lets you turn estimates into invoices that will export to QuickBooks
Pro. Both are included on the CD in the back of this book.
What You Can Expect from This Book
According to a recent national survey, more construction contractors
use QuickBooks Pro and QuickBooks than all other accounting programs
combined. When set up properly, QuickBooks Pro can handle the
accounting for most small- to medium-sized (to $10 million a year)
construction companies. But despite the sales hype, QuickBooks Pro
isn't easy to set up and learn. Dozens of options and preference
settings may lead you down the wrong road, resulting in hours of
frustration. We've spent hundreds of hours testing the options and
preferences in QuickBooks Pro to help you get it right the first
time. Follow our examples and you'll have an effective accounting
system that provides all the information any successful business
needs - and in the shortest time possible.
QuickBooks Pro doesn't replace accountants. But it does help
organize and standardize your bookkeeping system. Every report your
accountant needs is readily available. This makes it easier for your
accountant to prepare tax returns and annual reports. The time saved
should translate into lower costs for your company.
In this book, we'll explain how to:
set preference options correctly for your company
set up a Chart of Accounts that matches the work you do
set up, edit, and use classes
set up customers and jobs
set up vendors and subcontractors
set up employee payroll
get your current account balances into QuickBooks Pro
track transactions through QuickBooks Pro
create and use estimates
set up a simple and effective job cost system
create and send invoices
enter vendor bills
write checks
process payroll
get payroll tax and workers' comp expenses into job cost reports
get an owner's time into job cost reports (for a sole
proprietorship)
run workers' comp reports
create and interpret job cost reports to keep track of your business
prepare financial statements
set up end-of-the-month and end-of-the-year procedures
In short, we'll show you how to get everything a construction
company needs out of QuickBooks Pro. If you understand and apply the
methods in this book, you should see real improvement in the
effectiveness of your accounting system. And, you'll gain the
personal and financial rewards that come from working not just
harder, but smarter.
QuickBooks: Simple Start, QuickBooks Pro or QuickBooks Premier:
Contractor Edition?
You'll notice that the title of this manual refers to the "Pro"
version of QuickBooks. We recommend that you use at least QuickBooks
Pro because QuickBooks: Simple Start can't create estimates and
can't track time spent on specific jobs. If time tracking and
estimating are important to your construction company, invest the
extra money to get QuickBooks Pro. If you have QuickBooks Premier or
QuickBooks Premier: Contractor Edition, this book will work for you
as well. All the features in this book are based on QuickBooks Pro,
which is included in the Premier and Contractor editions. When we
refer to QuickBooks Pro, we are also referring to QuickBooks Premier
and QuickBooks Premier: Contractor Edition.
You'll find another major advantage to QuickBooks Pro once we get
into estimating. QuickBooks Pro can do progress billing - creating
an invoice for each part of a job as you complete that part. That's
important if you handle larger jobs that take weeks or even months.
For example, you can send out a bill that covers 100 percent of the
foundation work, 40 percent of the framing, and 20 percent of the
plumbing on a job. That's an important advantage. No calculation is
required. QuickBooks Pro does the math and keeps all the records:
what you told the customer it would cost, what you've billed so far,
and what is left to be billed. These progress billing statements may
also become important business records to reduce arguments over
what's still owed.
We believe QuickBooks Pro has the best combination of power and
simplicity for small-volume builders and general contractors. It
makes accounting simple for non-accountants because it works the way
you do. You've been writing checks for years. With QuickBooks Pro,
you fill in blanks on a check the same as always. But you do it on a
computer screen. And you add notes to check stubs about accounts and
jobs to be charged just the way you've always added notes to the
stubs of paper checks.
Timecards, purchase orders, and invoices work the same way.
Can QuickBooks Pro do the job for you? The thousands of construction
companies now using QuickBooks Pro are good evidence that it can. If
you're serious about making your construction business grow and
prosper, you'll want the accounting and reporting power built into
QuickBooks Pro.
There's an old saying among builders about construction accounting:
"A builder who knows where he stands won't stand there very long."
You need to know where you stand so you can make informed decisions
quickly. If you agree, QuickBooks Pro may be perfect for your
company.
For more than ten years, the three authors of this book have used
construction accounting packages, some costing thousands of dollars.
None are as slick, professional, and as easy to use as QuickBooks
Pro. In our opinion, QuickBooks Pro offers the builder, remodeler,
general contractor, and specialty subcontractor the best
off-the-shelf accounting program on the market. It's affordable,
reliable, and probably has all the features you'll need.
Even though QuickBooks Pro never mentions debits and credits, it
handles accounting and reporting functions the same way an
accountant would. It follows what professional bookkeepers and
accountants refer to as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
You may never notice, but QuickBooks Pro uses conventional
double-entry accounting. That means each time you enter a
transaction, the numbers go two directions - one way as a debit and
another way as a credit. Suppose you enter a bill from a supplier.
Behind the scenes, QuickBooks Pro records the transaction two ways,
first as an account payable and then as a charge to an expense
category.
Strictly speaking, the way it comes out of the box, QuickBooks Pro
isn't a true construction accounting program. But it's adaptable
enough to fit the needs of most construction companies like a glove.
For example, you can customize reports to get great job cost
reports, just like a so-called "construction accounting package."
That's why we feel so strongly that QuickBooks Pro is right for most
construction companies.
Should You Believe Us?
All three authors have been in construction, using computers, and
using QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro for many years. We've helped
hundreds of contractors set up and use QuickBooks and QuickBooks
Pro. We're confident that what we've done for others we can do for
you, too.
Karen Mitchell was a general building contractor and is currently
co-owner of Online Accounting (www.onlineaccounting.com) which uses
the Internet to help train contractors on QuickBooks Pro and Master
Builder. Karen conducts seminars nationwide for contractors who use
QuickBooks Pro. She is a frequent speaker at many construction trade
shows such as: A/E/C SYSTEMS, JLC Live!, and NAHB's PCBC (Pacific
Coast Builders Conference). Karen has written several books
including: Construction Forms & Contracts, Quicken for
Contractors, Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro,
Architect's Guide to QuickBooks Pro, Interior Designer's
Guide to QuickBooks Pro, and Real Estate Investor's Guide to
QuickBooks Pro.
Craig Savage has been a general building contractor, remodeler and
custom homebuilder for over 25 years. He was an editor at The
Journal of Light Construction magazine for many years, director
of the JLC LIVE! Training Shows, Vice President of Marketing
& Sales at www.BobVila.com, and most recently, VP of Marketing at
Building Media, Inc.
In his free time Craig is a construction management computer
consultant. He started Construction Business Computing and
Macintosh Construction Forum newsletters, and his articles have
appeared in Architectural & Engineering Systems,
Architectural Record, Fine Homebuilding Magazine,
Computer Applications Newsletter, Remodeling News,
NAHB Commercial Builder, NAHB Single Family Forum,
Remodeler Magazine, Mac Week, Document Imaging,
Imaging World, and A/E/C Computer Solutions.
Craig is a regular speaker at the A/E/C Systems, NAHB, NARI, CSI,
and PCBC annual conventions. He also instructs at seminars sponsored
by the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering, and the
University of California Santa Barbara Extension.
Other books he has co-written for Craftsman Book Company are
Construction Forms & Contracts and Quicken for Contractors.
With Taunton Press he wrote Trim Carpentry Techniques.
Jim Erwin is a partner in several second-generation family-owned
construction companies in upstate New York that are involved in land
development as well as residential and light commercial
construction. He's an active member of the National Association of
Home Builders and has written articles on using computers in
construction for a variety of construction magazines. He's also the
creator of GC/Works (published by sYnapse Software, Inc.), a
full-featured software solution for the construction industry that
uses Quicken or QuickBooks Pro as its basis.
What Comes Next?
But don't just take our word for it. Here's a brief summary of some
of the features we'll show you to make QuickBooks Pro specific for
your construction business needs.
Payables/Receivables
One of QuickBooks Pro's greatest strengths is in tracking money owed
to you (Accounts Receivable) and money you owe others (Accounts
Payable). For example, when you buy materials from a vendor and
receive an invoice or delivery slip, you enter the information in a
screen form called a Bill. You've seen lots of these, even if you've
never used a computer and don't know anything about accounting.
QuickBooks Pro tracks payables and receivables so you can see at a
glance what's owed and what's due. You can even see what's due on
several different reports: Accounts Receivable Aging, Open Invoices,
and Customer Balance Summary. Having all this information available
almost instantly should help you sleep better at night. And it helps
you make better decisions. For example, it's nice to know how long
it's been since you received the last check when a customer asks for
"just a little more work" on a project.
The Estimating Programs and Cost Data
QuickBooks Pro doesn't come with cost estimating data. And the
estimating function built into QuickBooks Pro is limited, as you'll
discover in Chapter 12. That's why we include the National Estimator
and Job Cost Wizard programs. You can create an estimate with
National Estimator and then import it into QuickBooks Pro.
Everything you need for estimating is on the CD inside the back
cover of this book and gets installed when you select the "Complete"
installation.
Purchase Orders
There are three good uses for the purchase orders in QuickBooks Pro.
The first is to track orders placed for special order items, such as
windows, doors, and skylights. Another is to track what you've
committed to pay subcontractors. For example, suppose a
subcontractor bids a project at a certain price. You can use a
purchase order to track the bid price to compare it with the bill he
submits. The third use is to establish a schedule for multiple
payment draws for a subcontractor. If you agreed to pay a framing
contractor, say, 30 percent on completion of the floor framing, 30
percent on completion of the walls, and 40 percent after the roof
framing, you can use purchase orders to keep track of those payment
schedules and payments you make against them.
Time Recording and Payroll
Payroll and time billing are flexible and sophisticated functions in
QuickBooks Pro. The timecard window looks like a paper timecard, so
data entry will be a familiar task. You'll find QuickBooks Pro's
payroll function to be very accommodating.
QuickBooks Pro payroll handles tax withholding, additions,
deductions, and company contributions. Deductions such as health
insurance, payments to a retirement plan, or union dues are simple
to set up and report. So are company contributions such as health,
life, and workers' comp insurance paid by the company. You can
record irregular payroll events such as bonuses, reimbursed travel
expenses, and advances against salary. QuickBooks Pro even keeps
track of sick and vacation time due employees.
QuickBooks Pro payroll reports provide all the information you need
to file state and federal employer tax forms in any of the 50
states. That's part of the QuickBooks Pro payroll system. Intuit,
the developers of QuickBooks Pro, have a small additional charge for
the current tax table. Payroll tax tables are updated automatically
as tax rates change.
If you want, you can use the QuickBooks Pro Online Payroll Service
to pay all of your state and federal taxes and file all the
necessary forms (including W2s) for a modest cost. You can have
QuickBooks Pro print payroll checks, or use the QuickBooks Pro
Online Direct Deposit Service to deposit employee paychecks
automatically at nearly any bank.
What's on the CD?
We hope you bought this book because there's a CD in the back. We've
loaded the CD with everything you need to get the most out of
QuickBooks Pro:
A QuickBooks Pro data file with a Chart of Accounts, items list,
class list, and memorized reports for you to adapt to your business.
Just plug in your own company data - vendors, subs, customers, etc.
and you're up and running.
National Estimator, an easy-to-use estimating program
with over 200 pages of construction cost estimating data for general
contractors. The subtotals you create in National Estimator become
cost categories in QuickBooks Pro.
Job Cost Wizard, software that converts your National
Estimator estimates into QuickBooks Pro format so you can create
invoices and track costs on every job. (Requires Windows Vista, XP,
2000, ME, or 98SE.)
ShowMe, a 60-minute interactive video that shows how
to use National Estimator, Job Cost Wizard, and QuickBooks Pro to
estimate and track job costs.
Sample business forms in the Forms folder. You'll find a grid
to track change orders and a timecard to collect payroll data from
tradesmen in the field. Other forms will help you organize
information gathering in your office. Estimators may like using the
estimate summary form to collect estimating data for transfer to
QuickBooks Pro. To use these forms, you'll need a word processing or
spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word,
Microsoft Works, WordPerfect, or Lotus 1-2-3.
However, the CD in the back of this book doesn't include QuickBooks
Pro. You won't get much out of this book without a working copy of
QuickBooks Pro. So the first step will be buying and installing
QuickBooks Pro if you don't have it already.
How Do I Use This CD?
To use the CD in the back of this book, you'll need a computer
running Windows (Vista, XP, 2000, ME, or 98SE), a CD-ROM drive, and
21 to 40 Mb free on your hard drive (depending on your computer's
configuration).
If you're using a version of QuickBooks Pro older than the 2007
version, many of the illustrations in this book may not look exactly
like what's on your screen. That's because this manual is based on
QuickBooks Pro version 2007. If you're using version 2000 - 2006,
the changes will be mostly cosmetic. Version 99 and older versions
are different.
>>>
<<<
Conclusion
Most contractors would agree that accounting is what they like least
about running a construction business. When we started out, we felt
the same way. We had a well-founded fear of accounting and an
irrational loathing of computers. But using a computer for the first
time isn't much different from using a Skilsaw for the first time.
Treat it with respect. You'll gain confidence with every use.
We wrote this book because so many of our friends and colleagues
asked us for a simple guide to setting up a construction accounting
system. We've worked hard to keep it simple and still provide all
the information you need. We feel the mission has been accomplished
and hope you agree.
Now it's time to take the plunge. In Chapter 1, we'll wade right in
by giving you some choices on how best to start using QuickBooks Pro
for your company accounting.
>>
Back to
Contractor's Guide to QuickBooks Pro
Related:
Cost Guides
Business / Legal Related
Construction Related
HVAC/R Related
Electrical Related
Plumbing Related
1572181869
|
Order online: Add 
submit your order online
Order offline: 
