Business Discussions

Welcome back Community! I hope everybody is doing great today, and if you're not so great just remember it's a short week that ends with pie and that will most likely bring a smile to your face. I read a post shared on the QuickBooks Resource Center that was written by a bookkeeper and covered some helpful tips to keep in mind when it comes to bookkeeping for your own business.     Separate your personal and business bank accountsWhether you're just getting started or are already an established LLC it's always a good idea to keep your business and personal accounts separate. Actually, if you are an LLC it's required to keep them separate. This protects your bookkeeper and allows for a clear spending trail in case of an audit.   Do your bookkeeping weeklyBookkeeping is one of those things where if you don't do the small tasks regularly, they can pile up to create a big job. The bookkeeper mentioned in the article that "regular maintenance" is the most important

As long as there have been businesses, there have been shady characters that you have to be aware of. As technology has evolved, so has the cybercriminal. Verizon found that phishing attacks rose by 11% and were the most common cause of corporate data breaches in 2020. Over in our QuickBooks Blog, Nick Summers has given you the help you need to spot phony emails to keep your business information safe.     1)   Check for typosCybercriminals don’t typically take their time and watch for typos. If you look closely you may find some spelling or grammar mistake that could raise some flags. No one is perfect in emails, but if you see more than a few, it could be worth looking into. Also make sure you check on your name and your company’s to make sure they are correct.   2)   Check the sender’s email addressIf the person claims to be from a big company, most likely you won’t see Gmail, Outlook or yahoo. Summers points out, “Most cybercriminals are

It's that time of year... With the various winter holidays and get-togthers, one of the main attractions will always be what is being served and those special dishes that you only get to eat a few times a year.   So of course with American Thanksgiving just around the corner, I asked the team about their go to recipes or signature dishes and they absolutely didn't disappoint!       ++++++ From Rose: Over the last year or so and all the time spent at home, I have developed several new hobbies. One of which is cooking things from complete scratch. My sister and I both received stand mixers as a gift last year and since then, we have gotten every attachment possible including the pasta roller and meat grinder. Interestingly enough, my sister also works for a meat supply company which allows us to get high quality meat for low prices. With all of these pieces falling into place, we decided to give homemade lasagna a whirl. Now, I'm not talking about the heavy

It's Friday!!!! I don't know about you, but I felt like this week flew by, and I'm not mad at it at all! Hello everyone, and welcome back to another segment of Talk About Your Business. With talks going around about wearing a mask and not wearing a mask, have you constructed your mask policy? Inc.com  gives us insights into writing one, and I do see this can be very instrumental to your business. Here's what they shared:   GuidelinesThe Centers for Disease Control can advise on what you can do in your business, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration makes the rules. When they release guidelines, you must abide by them. Therefore, please ensure you are checking these within your state before modifying your policies.   Different TreatmentsIf your state allows vaccinated employees to be mask-free, the same can apply to your business. However, for non-vaccinated employees, let them still wear their masks to protect themselves and others. You can rest

Time is flying here in the Community (and elsewhere) and many of you are gearing up for a busy season. If you’re looking to bulk up your team, here are some suggestions for questions to ask your interviewee.     Do you prefer working in a team or alone? Finding out someone’s personal preference when working can help you find a role that will be a good fit or determine that this candidate may not be the right one for your needs.   What has been your proudest moment at work? This will give you the greatest insight into what their strengths are and how they best handle tough situations.   Why did you apply to this position? Did they do their research before applying? Do they have any knowledge of the requirements or job description?   What has your typical role been like? This is a good gauge to see if they have been given manager-like responsibilities or have mostly been in a supportive role.   How do you deal with deadlines?As a business owner you’ll want

Join us live on Wednesday, November 10th from 10a - 2p PT for a live #AskMeAnything session around preparing for the end of the year.  Our Experts will be answering your questions on all things year-end - payroll, reports, closing the books, and more.         Good morning and welcome to our preparing for year-end AMA!  The AMA is live, so please feel free to ask your questions now and our Experts Alison and Mateo will be answering them live.  

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Good afternoon to you and welcome back to the Business Discussion board. The years 2020 and 2021 have brought about many changes in many aspects of all of our lives. One thing that changed was that a lot of people started side gigs that could be done from home. According to an article I read that was shared on the QuickBooks Resource Center, it's highly possible to turn your side gig into a successful business. Let's take a look...     There's probably a lot of reasons why people start their side hustle. Some of the top reported reasons are:- needed additional source of income- idea for new product or service- opportunity presented itself with new market   If you're among the many that plan to start your own business, here are a few keep points to keep in mind:   Embrace the virtual reality87% or more of small businesses that will open within the next 12 months will be online. With that being said being set up for online sales, having a nice up-to-date website, and

Anybody here watch Shark Tank? I think it's interesting to see new products and the sharks always have the best insight. I found an article earlier this week from therichest.com that shared an interview with Shark, Mark Cuban. Mark is a very successful businessman who offered some great tips for businesses. Here's what he shared...   Don't Start Something You're Not Passionate AboutWhich makes perfect sense. Money is a great motive to start a business but if you don't love hat you're selling, you'll quickly lose that motivation.   Sales is Crucial to BusinessLeads, interests, engagement, and traffic are all important metrics for any business. However they don't mean much if they don't ultimately lead to sales. Sales leads to revenue, which leads to turning your hobby or interest into a real business.   No Private OfficeThis was kind of surprising to read and something I would've never thought of. People always joke about making it to "the corner office" as a ma

Financial AccountantThe Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, CT seeks a bookkeeper/accountant with a proven record of success for a part-time position. Reporting to the Museum Operations Director, this part-time on-site position is responsible for processing transactions in existing accounting system (QuickBooks) and performing various clerical tasks within the Finance department The ideal candidate is a self-starter who possesses the ability to work both independently and collaboratively and has at least an Associate’s Degree in Accounting or 5 years of relevant accounting experience and is proficient with Microsoft Office Suite. Experience with QuickBooks is required. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position if filled. Please send cover letter and resume with references to [email address removed]. The Lyman Allyn Art Museum is an equal opportunity employer. 

Welcome back to the Business Discussion Board! Have you ever found yourself in the predicament where your customers aren't purchasing your product or service as often as they did before? If so, I've listed a few reasons why they may not be buying, as well as pointers on how to get this resolved.   One reason people may not be buying from you is because your offer lacks clarity. You can't expect them to pay for something they don't know all of the details about. To avoid this you should use plain, descriptive, detailed language in each post, marketing campaign, and listing you present.   Next up, you may be too "behind the scenes." Many sales come from a personal connection. If your customers never see your face or your personality they're going to have a hard time build trust and a connection to your business. To prevent this from happening it's important to share frequently, and you don't have to be an open book but a few personal stories here and there can be really helpfu

  Accounting is a process. There’s an order to everything, from completing sales transactions to running financial reports and reconciliations. Your First Time with QuickBooks Online is a series geared towards first-time QuickBooks users who want to get started bookkeeping right now. These articles cover all of the setup and accounting workflows you need to know for a comprehensive setup, guiding you from your initial sign up through your next financial quarter and beyond. Each article provides step-by-step instructions based on where you are on your journey. We’ve included the essential tasks as well as recommended workflows and optimization practices you can easily integrate into your routine. By the end of the series, you’ll feel completely confident with your accounting in QuickBooks. While we recommend specific time-frames for completing each task, always go at a comfortable pace - it's

Our Resource Center is another place where QuickBooks has your back! Ken Boyd wrote a helpful article on 1099 forms that is sure to add some clarity to your tax work flow.     Many business owners utilize contractors to work, but let’s make sure we know the difference between a contractor and an employee. This is the first step in having a successful filing period with your 1099s. Boyd breaks it down into three main questions to help you determine where your worker stands:   Behavioral control: Does your company have a right to control what the worker does and how they perform the job?   Financial control: Does your company have a say in the material aspects of a worker’s job? In other words, do you decide which expenses are reimbursed or who provides necessary tools and supplies?   Contractual relationship: Is there a written contract? Are benefits such as pension, insurance, or vacation days a part of that contractual obligation?   These quest

If you are a movie-goer, then you know that November and December is when studios put out a lot of their "big ticket" movies to take advantage of the various holidays and extra time off that people have at the end of the year.   So in preparation, I asked the team what everyone's go to movie snack is.  Keep reading to see what they had to say!   ++++++ From Kiala: Our family loves going to the movies and it wouldn't be the same without snacks. My kids and husband always go for the gummy things: sour patch, Swedish fish, Mike n Ikes, etc. I'm more of a hot dog/nachos kind of person. And to top it off, I always need a blue slushy.   ++++++ From Sasha:When I do get the chance to go to the movies, this is what I get. First, a large popcorn, depending on the movie I'm watching, I do not want the traditional large bucket of popcorn but the one with the movie characters on there if available. Second, I get a large Schweppes Ginger Ale because that is the best ginger

Happy Friday! Nice to see you here in the Talk About Your Business segment. Here is a quick thought? As your business grows over time, there may be a moment where you have to outsource to focus on more pressing matters in your industry, right? It can be simple as getting someone to handle your social media pages to help grow your business with their tools and strategies. Today, I wanted to stop by and share this article by Forbes about six questions to ask a social media agency before hiring. Let's dive in!   Can you outline your experience growing a community?Growing your account is the main purpose of a social media agency, but what you would need to look out for is if the tools and strategies they used in the past confirm valid results and truly reach the target audience.   How do you combine organic content development and paid content development?Once asking the agency this question, this will reveal if they use additional advertising funding or are they creative enough

I need a barcode scanning tool to work with quickbooks. I need to scan a barcode on a rental car that would download into into invoice. Anything out there for this?

Do you believe in coaching your team members to do or be their best as a leader? I'm assuming there is a resounding Yes! Perks of doing this are that it helps them make better decisions, solve problems efficiently, learn new skills to advance their career. But the question arises how do I do this? Well, you are in luck! There is a framework that can help, and it is called the GROW Model.   G stands for goal. At this moment, you want to establish the purpose and figure out how you plan to achieve this. A question that could be useful is, does this goal fit with their overall career objectives? And does it work with the team's objectives?   R represents Current Reality. This is where you get insight from your team member about their current reality. Questions that can be helpful here are: Have you already taken any steps toward your goal? Does this goal conflict with any other goals or objectives?   O means to explore all Options. Once their current realit

Hello Community! If you haven’t checked out the QuickBooks Resource Center, you should head over there this week. There are many amazing articles to help you start, grow, and understand your business. Today I want to talk about beginning inventory. Not sure what I mean? Read below for the breakdown.     Most likely you know what inventory is but beginning inventory is the valuation of all inventory held by a business at the starting point of an accounting period.Being able to compare beginning inventory period over period allows an accurate look into business performance, such as the value of your inventory. There are so many reasons why knowing the value of beginning inventory can prove useful to your business, including:   Noting changes in demand Identifying inventory management issues Highlighting supply chain issues Preparing to file your taxes Keeping an eye out for shrinkage  Now that we’ve gone over what beginning inventory is, how do we calculate it

Hello Fellow QB Users! I was interested in seeing if it were possible for some firms to share their experience the good and the bad with me regarding QB Intuit Practice Management - the firm that I work with is looking at bringing it on and I really would like to hear from some firms about the good, the bad, and the ugly, when it comes to your experience with the platform. I'd love to hear answers to questions like there; What do you find the most useful feature?What was the most unexpected feature that you didn't plan to use but couldn't go without now?How did your firms productivity respond to bringing on the program? Is there anything that you found particularly hard to train your team on? Thank you in advance for taking some of your time to answer my questions, and happy resting after the deadlines! Rand

Hello everyone! While I sit here in my office, this thought came to me. How can one save money, but rather how can you save money for your business? Here are some points I jotted down:     Buying the NecessitiesGrowing up, my mother always told us, "Don't buy things that you want but rather the things that you need." That statement has stuck with me every day since then, and I apply it to every aspect of my life. So my question to you, business owners, are you buying things your company needs and not what you want.   Tracking your ExpensesSometimes it is best to take a few hours to look at your business expenses. Running an expense report is beneficial because you can see exactly where and how much money is being spent. In doing so, you may be able to find cheaper alternatives to save cash.   Taking care of your staffThis can benefit your firm in the long run. Taking an interest in your team like motivating them, engaging in conversations daily outside of work-rela

Hello Community! Fall is in full swing and I hope you're loving the cooler temps and all the cozy things. My current fall favorites are wearing all of my biggest comfiest sweaters and sipping hot coffee with pumpkin spice creamer, of course! Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled program - small business topics that is! Today I want to share an article with you I read on entrepreneur.com that talked about the importance of your business email signature. Let's take a look...     With the ever-growing popularity and use of social media among small business one may think email is a thing of the past. This is actually false. The writer of this article explains, "While your email signature may appear to be a trivial aspect of your day-to-day business operations, it can have a significant impact on your company’s profitability and how your customers perceive your brand. This is especially true if your business relies on outbound sales, email marketing, or di

Hello everyone! I hope you guys are having a good day thus far. Today, I wanted to stop by and share this article from our Resource Center pertaining to essential startup expenses and unnecessary ones. Here are some essential startup expenses they mentioned:   Business planAccording to 69% of small business owners in a QuickBooks survey writing a business plan is the best first step. This can typically range between $1000-$20,000. This investment can be costly, but it is worth it.    Business permits, license, and insurance This is an investment that is needed. Because of unforeseen circumstances, it is essential to protect yourself and your business and ensure your business is compliant. This cost ranges from $500–$30,000.   EquipmentThere is a high chance that everything can't be done with just your hands. There are other equipments need to help with your business. This could be simple as using an internet connection to assist with a consultation. A way to lo

Happy Friday, everyone! Welcome back to the Talk About Your Business page! Today, I wanted to share this article by TechRadar about the benefits of moving your business to the cloud. Here are some key benefits they provided:                                                                Reduce CostLet's be honest, we are always looking for ways to reduce costs. It could be as simple as signing up for clothing brands or restaurants' email subscriptions to get a discount. Moving to the cloud can reduce the upfront cost of computer equipment from different devices to save information. However, you could simply pay a monthly or annual subscription with the ability to upgrade or downgrade and extend your storage, depending on your business needs. The author even highlighted that your energy bill could also be reduced, allowing y

Hello, Community! It's me, here to share another wonderful business tip on the Business Discussion board. I hope the work week has been good to you so far and continues to do so. While you're here I want to chat a bit about action words and phrases. There's something people love about exclusivity and beating others to a purchase. One way you can encourage this feeling and promote customers to take action is to include these words and phrases in your marketing and sales posts:   "While supplies last" "Limited access" "Only __ days left!" "Limited time only" "Ends today" "Subscribers only" "Expires soon!" "Only available until ___." "Subscribe to our newsletter for 15% off." "Featured" "Exclusive" "Today only" "Hurry!" "One-time offer" Just to name a few. These, among others, are a great way to encourage customers to take action when they see your product or service. How do you get viewers to take immediate action to make a purchase rather than putting it off? We'd love to hear i

Hello beautiful Community! You all know about our Community page, but did you know about our QuickBooks Blog? There are some amazing articles and information there on a variety of topics. You should check it out and learn something new today. :)   Today I want to highlight Andy Latkovskis article on ethics in your business. Maybe you think about ethics often or not that much. Either way, it’s a constant presence in your interactions and decisions.   This leads me to the main question: What basic ethics should be followed in your business?   1. Keep your employees happy.This of course covers adequate pay, but there are so many other important aspects to customer employee satisfaction. Feeling valued and like they are a part of the bigger picture is just as critical as how much they’re compensated.   2. Honesty We all have heard honesty is the best policy and it couldn’t be truer to a small business owner. Charging fair prices and being transparent