Backing up your company files on regular basis is an important, sometimes overlooked, task. This is especially true when you have a lot of daily transactions – you want to make sure your file is still safe if there is any data corruption or loss. Thus, backing up your company file on daily basis is recommended.
When backing up files, QuickBooks will assign the same file name as your working file, except with extension .QBB. You also have to be in a single user mode to back up your file.
From the Main Menu, go to File > Create Backup to open window below:
Hiding Accounts (Making Accounts Inactive)
Sometimes your chart of accounts is too long – some of accounts are duplicates, others are not used anymore. For duplicate accounts, you can merge them. For unused accounts with existing historical transactions, you can hide or make them inactive. Hiding accounts simply hiding them from your chart of accounts, so you can manage the list easier. QuickBooks continues to hold historical transactions, but they do not appear in the list of chart of accounts, and remove them from any drop-down list that uses accounts.
To hide your accounts, open your chart of accounts and highlight the account that you want to hide, for example, Short Term Loan:
Accounts Receivable is money owed by customers to you, i.e. all invoices that have not been paid for. As such, managing and collecting A/R is one of the most important tasks in running your business. Imagine all the works you have done up to date, but your total A/R is as much as your total invoices. In other words, your customers do not pay you on time and you will have a cash flow sooner than later.
QuickBooks provides two reports for tracking A/R:
1. A/R Aging Summary
This report shows you how much your customers owe for the Current billing period, 1-30 days late, 31-60 days late, 61-90 days late, and more than 90 days late. The more current the aging, the better you collect your money.
Go to Main Menu > Reports > Customers & Receivables > A/R Aging Summary to open A/R Aging Summary:
Accounts Payable (A/P). All the money you owe to your vendors/suppliers is reflected in this account.
Accounts Receivable (A/R). This account tracks the money your customers owe you, for example, invoices that have not been paid yet.
Accrual (vs. Cash) Accounting. Accrual basis follows matching principle, which synchronizes generated revenues with corresponding expenses. You recognize income as soon as you invoice your customers, even though you have not received the payment yet. You also recognize expense as soon as you enter your bills, even though you have not made the payment yet.
Cash basis, on the other hand, only recognizes income or expense when you receive or make payment.
Aging Reports. A/R Aging Reports show you how much your customers owe and how current/late they are. The more current the aging, the better you collect your money.
A/P Aging Reports show how much you owe to your vendors/suppliers and how current/late you are.
Assets. These are economic resources owned by you or your entity to produce value in the future. Cash is the classic example of assets. Other examples of assets are account receivables, bank accounts, equipment, vehicles, etc.
Read more: Accounting Terms Most Commonly Used in QuickBooks
Once you create paycheques for your employees, QuickBooks tracks the taxes liabilities resulted from the cheques which must be paid to Receiver General (CRA). To review your payroll tax liability, select
• Employees > Payroll Liabilities > Review Liabilities Balance, or
• Reports > Employees & Payroll > Payroll Liabilities Balance,
to open Payroll Liabilities Balance report.
Once you review the Payroll Liabilities Balance report, you are ready to remit the payroll taxes. Assuming there are only CPP, EI, and income tax items in your payroll setup, here is how to remit these taxes:
1. Open Payroll Centre and select Pay Payroll Liabilities. Choose the dates in the fields provided and click OK.