22 Nov QuickBooks Tips & Tricks – Year End Suggestion
QuickBooks Tips & Tricks – Year End Suggestion
Are there certain procedures you wish your clients would do BEFORE they send you their QuickBooks data? Do you spend time troubleshooting what they have done, just in time to receive an updated” back up file from them? Is there one prominent issue you wish they would handle differently? Here”s our suggestion for eliminating some of these issues: A Client Instruction Letter
Opening Paragraph – Set the stage that you are excited to be working with them again this year. Include something about what a wonderful tool QuickBooks is to help them manage their business but stress that it also has some inherent issues that need to be addressed to make the experience a good one for everyone. You may even want to go so far as to state that following the guidelines detailed below will help to eliminate the need for additional work to be performed by your firm.
Confirm beginning balances – include a trial balance or balance sheet from your work papers. Request that they create the same report, on the same basis, for the same time period and double check that all the amounts agree. If you have not previously done so, this is the time to send the adjusting journal entries for the client to enter prior to reconciling the two reports. Include what they should do if an amount does not match. Do you have certain steps they should follow to try to find the difference themselves, do you want them to call you, should they work first with their bookkeeper, do you have a QuickBooks consultant that you work with that they should call?
Provide details on how you prefer to work on the file – Do you prefer they send an Accountants Copy, do you prefer to go to their business location, is the remote access feature your preference, should they send a back up file, if so via what media? The clearer you can be, the more consistently you will receive the information, which will improve efficiency for the staff processing the incoming work. Don”t forget to include that they should provide you with the version, release, and password for their file. Recommend they change the closing date to keep changes from happening.
What should they do if they find something after the file has been sent to you – Do you prefer they send you a fax, an e-mail, just call and let you know? Which ever alternative you choose, make sure that you let them know that after you get the file, any corrections or adjustments will be included in your journal entries.
What should they expect back from you – Are you issuing financial statements that will be returned with the tax return and adjusting entries? Will you be returning the Accountant”s Review Copy with instructions on how to import the changes into their file? Will you be going on site to finish your work and update their system at that point? Are you going to provide any value added reports or graphs to help them understand how the business did in the previous year?
Closing paragraph – Once again reiterate how glad you are to have them as a client and how you are looking forward to helping them with all their financial and tax related needs. If they have any questions, please call.