Business Discussions

Welcome, welcome everyone to the QuickBooks Community! As the year begins to wind down, business owners have an opportunity to look beyond daily sales and take a closer look at their financial performance. Reviewing your numbers before the year ends can help you identify opportunities, prepare for upcoming expenses, and make more informed decisions for the year ahead. The QuickBooks Resource Center offers helpful guidance on financial management and year-end planning. Here are three areas worth reviewing before closing out the year. 1. Review your profit and loss statementYour profit and loss statement shows how much your business earned and spent over a specific period. Reviewing this report can help you identify rising expenses, understand your profitability, and determine whether your current pricing is working for your business. 2. Check outstanding invoices and billsUnpaid invoices can affect how much cash you have available, even when sales are strong. Review outstanding customer

i would love to hear your alternative programs.  I know of a few but what are your favorite non-Quickbooks programs?  they probably will delete this...QB price goes up continuously and the software gets worse with every so-called “update”. 

 Running a business can keep you occupied from morning to night. There are customers to serve, orders to fulfill, expenses to manage, and countless decisions to make. But being busy does not always mean your business is moving forward. According to QuickBooks' July 2026 Small Business Insights survey, 79% of surveyed small businesses want to grow, while 50% reported that their businesses were growing. The findings highlight an important question for business owners: what does growth actually look like for your business? Growth does not always mean opening another location, hiring more employees, or doubling your sales. Sometimes, it means improving your profit margins, attracting repeat customers, reducing unnecessary expenses, or creating more time to focus on your long-term goals. Here are a few ways to evaluate your progress.Look beyond sales. Review your profits, expenses, and cash flow to understand whether your business is becoming financially stronger.Pay attention to your custo

Fellow small business owners -curious if anyone else has run into this, and how you handled it.Quick background on me: I run a seasonal student storage business in Massachusetts. We've been with QuickBooks Payments for 14 years. Last year we processed about $1.72 million in card payments through Intuit. Long track record, clean payment history, no chargeback issues.Last May (2025), I noticed Intuit had quietly raised my processing rates heading into my peak season. I caught it on the statement, called support, and after some back-and-forth got the rates walked back. You can actually see it on my June 2025 statement where there are duplicate fee line items at both the old and new rates from the mid-month adjustment.This year I decided to be proactive. I got a written competitive quote from another payment processor that uses interchange-plus pricing — basically pass-through interchange plus a small processor margin instead of Intuit's flat-rate model. Their effective rate estimate for m

We've talked a lot about social media and how it can help your business grow. Let's say things are going really well and the social media aspect of your business has become increasingly more difficult to keep up with. Have you ever considered hiring a social media manager? Here are a few things one could do for you: ManagementThis one is pretty straight forward; it's even in the job title! A social media manager will be able to do just that - manage, across all platforms.EngagementEngaging on social media is done through replies, comments, and direct messages. Again, one of those things that can be really time consuming especially when there's a lot of it do. A social media manager will get this done for you!Graphic DesignHave you ever heard the saying, "We eat with our eyes first"? The same can be said about consumers when choosing a company to do business with. Help in the graphic design department will take your business to the next level.Product PhotographyEven more assistance to m

We analyzed over 45,000 appointments across Indian salons, clinics, and studios. Here is how WhatsApp notifications compare against traditional SMS in real-world attendance rates.Appointment reminders are the single most effective barrier against costly customer no-shows. But in the Indian market, where spam SMS filters and DND regulations are stringent, how does traditional SMS compare against verified WhatsApp Business messaging?The Delivery & Open Rate ComparisonTraditional SMS delivers reliably across basic feature phones, but user attention has migrated completely to WhatsApp. On average, SMS reminders see an open rate of roughly 35-40% within 1 hour, whereas WhatsApp messages achieve a 92% open rate within just 15 minutes.Two-Way ActionabilitySMS notifications are one-way broadcasts. When clients need to communicate timing changes, messaging platforms like WhatsApp enable fast interaction and direct feedback loops into your daily schedule."Switching to dual-channel (SMS for t

 The holiday season is an important opportunity for small businesses to connect with customers, introduce new products, and build lasting relationships. With shoppers beginning to plan their holiday purchases, business owners can start thinking about how to make their products and services stand out. You do not always need a big advertising budget to get noticed. Sometimes, small changes in how you connect with customers can make a meaningful difference. Here are a few ideas to consider:Make your business gift-worthy. If you sell products or services, consider creating gift bundles, special packages, or gift certificates that make holiday shopping easier for your customers.Give customers a reason to return. A personalized thank-you message, loyalty reward, or special offer for returning customers can help strengthen relationships beyond a single purchase.Show up where your customers are. Use your social media platforms to showcase products, share customer testimonials, and remind shopp

The holiday shopping season is approaching, and for small business owners, this is an important time to prepare for increased customer demand, manage expenses, and identify opportunities to grow revenue.According to the QuickBooks Small Business Data Research Hub, its September 2026 Holiday Shopping Survey projects $278 billion in consumer spending, including a record $118 billion share for small businesses. This highlights the opportunity for small businesses to attract customers during the holiday season.So, how can business owners prepare?1. Review your finances. Take a close look at your cash flow, outstanding invoices, and available funds before committing to additional inventory or holiday promotions.2. Plan your inventory and expenses. Review previous sales trends to help estimate what customers may want. Avoid tying up too much cash in products that may not sell.3. Make your marketing count. Consider holiday bundles, loyalty rewards, gift cards, or special promotions that encou

Welcome to the "Talk About Your Business Page"! We're happy to have you here. I'd love to share a great article from the QuickBooks Firm of the Future site that covers data analytics and how it can fuel your small business and mid-market growth.Before doing a deep dive into analytics, you need to be able to answer a few questions about your business to make sure you're on the right track to begin with: Are we focused on the right things? Is our quality where it needs to be? How are we doing financially? Where are our opportunities and challenges? Are our customers happy? Are our employees happy?Once you've answered those questions and are satisfied with your answer you can move onto the business analytics.One of the most important metrics to consider is the IRR, or Internal Return on Investment. This figure will tell you how attractive your business is to customers.Here are a few other metrics to take a look at: Unit economics - a method applied to analyze a company’s cost-to-revenue r

Welcome friends! Thanks for stopping by the Business Discussion board. Today I'd like to share an article I came across on Inc.com that covers three ways to make your business newsletter more engaging. Here are a few key points...Ask for feedback"To get a clearer idea about how you could improve, start by gathering impressions about the current format and content of your newsletter. Ask for feedback from groups like:Your team (especially those outside of the marketing department) Colleagues and peers Your own audienceFor the latter, a short survey should be enough to find out what readers enjoy and what they tend to skip."Reconsider your layout and format"Have you ever opened a long email and felt like closing it right away? Even great content can lose readers if the layout feels overwhelming or difficult to scan. To make your newsletter more inviting:Choose a font that’s comfortable to read Avoid overly long sentences and paragraphs Highlight key takeaways"Always edit AI-written conte

Welcome back to the Business Discussion board here in the Community! Today, I may step on some toes. I've compiled a list of "wake-up calls" that every good leader should hear. So get your boots on, let's take a look... If you can't handle criticism, you may not be fit to lead. Your title makes you a manager, your people make you a leader. Don't preach teamwork, and then play favorites. If you're not developing your team, you're diminishing them. If you're not accountable, you're not credible. Don't just set the pace, set the standard. If you're actions don't inspire, your words won't either.Now, it's not all up to the leader. This is still about teamwork and there has to be a team with a great work ethic and willing to be led. A "well oiled machine," if you will. What would you add to the list? What are some other good leadership traits?

A quick purchase here, an unexpected expense there, and before you know it, personal and business transactions are showing up in the same place. It may not seem like a big deal at first, but over time, these small overlaps can make it harder to track expenses, maintain accurate records, and understand your business's true financial position.Keeping your personal and business finances separate isn't just about staying organized. It's about creating a clearer financial picture, simplifying bookkeeping, and making tax preparation less stressful.According to the QuickBooks Resource Center, separating business and personal finances can help simplify bookkeeping, make tax preparation easier, and provide a clearer picture of your business's financial health.Here are a few ways to keep things organized:Use a separate business bank account to manage business income and expenses. Keep business and personal purchases separate whenever possible. Review and categorize transactions regularly to ensu

Hello, Community! I hope you're doing well and ready for a great weekend. Before you leave for the day, I wanted to share an article from inc.com that talks about making your brand AI visible. Let's take a look at it...SEO (Search Engine Optimization) hasn’t disappeared, but AI visibility is now the new layer of discovery. Here are five strategies to make sure your brand shows up in AI‑generated answers.1. Write citation-ready content blocksYou want your content to be fact-dense and modular, meaning you’re prioritizing definitions and quick comparisons. Adding or converting to step-by-step guides and decision helpers gets your content noticed. You’re outlining how your audience can decide between their choices.2. Strengthen your entity signalsAI models need to understand who your brand is. Align your brand name consistently online by using similar descriptions and categories when highlighting products or services and founders. You can build an entity hub page with an about section disc

Good afternoon! Welcome back to the Business Discussion board. Today we're facing a fear! Something that we do to ourselves that can limit growth, especially in a business ownership role. And that is limiting beliefs. Here's how to overcome them...Change Your Relationship With FailureNot scoring the winning goal, not getting the promotion, going into debt, you get the idea of these few examples of what our structured ideas of failure looks like. Entrepreneurship forces you to re-arrange our relationship with failure. Rather than seeing it in the traditional sense, "failure" will look like: not being resourceful, being a poor leader, being too afraid to make mistakes, and not learning from those mistakes once they’re made. Remember, struggle is a necessary part of the process.Identity Your Largest Fear and Face ItSay your biggest fear is actually starting your business; what better way than to dive in head-first? Register your business name and tell 5 people close to you to check in on

Managing inventory becomes more complicated when a business has multiple stores, warehouses, or both online and offline sales channels. Keeping stock records updated manually can lead to mismatches, overstocking, or unexpected stockouts.I’ve been looking into different inventory management system options that can provide a centralized view of stock and make day-to-day inventory work easier. One solution I came across is Vasy, which offers features such as real-time stock tracking, warehouse management, barcode scanning, stock alerts, automated reorders, and inventory synchronization across locations.

Getting paid is one of the most important parts of running a business, but customers do not all want to pay the same way. Some prefer cards, others like bank transfers, and some may still prefer more traditional payment options. QuickBooks recently highlighted the different payment methods businesses can use and the importance of choosing options that fit both the business and its customers.When reviewing your payment options, consider:• Convenience: Is it easy for customers to pay you?• Speed: How quickly will the money become available to your business?• Fees: Are there transaction or processing fees you need to account for?• Security: Does the payment method offer appropriate protections for you and your customers?• Recordkeeping: Can you easily track and organize the payments in your books?Offering several payment options can make it easier for customers to complete a purchase, but more options are not always better if they make your bookkeeping harder to manage.Take some time to r

Welcome to the QuickBooks Community! Fall is officially here, and for many businesses, this time of year marks the beginning of a much busier season. From seasonal promotions and changing customer habits to holiday shopping, now can be a great time to look at what your business needs before things get hectic.You don't have to wait until November or December to start preparing.Here are a few things business owners can review this fall: Refresh your marketing. Take a look at your website, social media, email campaigns, and promotions. Are they ready for the season? Review your inventory. If you sell products, check what is moving quickly and what may need to be reordered before demand increases. Look at your numbers. Reviewing sales from previous months or the same season last year can help you identify trends and plan ahead. Prepare for more customers. Make sure you have enough staff, supplies, and time to handle an increase in orders or customer questions. Start planning promotions ear

Welcome to the "Talk About Your Business Page"! We're happy to have you here. I'd love to share a great article from the QuickBooks Firm of the Future site that covers data analytics and how it can fuel your small business and mid-market growth.Before doing a deep dive into analytics, you need to be able to answer a few questions about your business to make sure you're on the right track to begin with: Are we focused on the right things? Is our quality where it needs to be? How are we doing financially? Where are our opportunities and challenges? Are our customers happy? Are our employees happy?Once you've answered those questions and are satisfied with your answer you can move onto the business analytics.One of the most important metrics to consider is the IRR, or Internal Return on Investment. This figure will tell you how attractive your business is to customers.Here are a few other metrics to take a look at: Unit economics - a method applied to analyze a company’s cost-to-revenue r

Welcome to the QuickBooks Community and our Business Discussions! There is a lot that comes with owning a business, and it can be tempting to handle everything yourself. From bookkeeping and customer service to marketing, scheduling, and day-to-day operations, you may feel like asking for help means you are not doing enough. But knowing when to delegate is actually a valuable business skill. Start by looking at the tasks that take up the most time but do not necessarily require you to do them personally. Could someone else handle scheduling? Can a recurring administrative task be automated? Is there a service that could take something off your plate? Delegating does not mean giving up control. It gives you more time to focus on the areas where your experience and decision-making have the greatest impact. It can also help prevent burnout. When every responsibility falls on one person, even simple tasks can start to feel overwhelming. Building a support system allows your business to gro

Happy Friday! When was the last time you posted something for your customers without asking them to buy anything? According to our article for today, marketing can sometimes feel like a constant sales pitch, but the content that gets people to stop scrolling may simply be something useful, interesting, or relatable. Sharing helpful information can give customers a reason to follow your business even when they are not ready to make a purchase.Try mixing different types of content throughout the week:Share something helpful.Offer a quick tip, answer a common customer question, or share information related to your industry.Show the people behind the business.A behind-the-scenes photo, a look at how something is made, or a simple introduction to your team can make your business feel more personal.Start a conversation.Ask customers what they think. A simple question can encourage comments and give you insight into what your audience actually cares about.Share customer experiences.With permi

Thanks for joining us here in the Business Discussion space! I hope this week is treating you well! Today I'm going back to the basics to remind employers and new potential employees of a few skills that all-star workers display.CommunicationClear speaking, active listening, and concise writingOrganizationCategorizing, sorting, and prioritizing physical and virtual environments in the workplacePunctualityManaging your time, showing up on time, meeting deadlines, and completing important tasksTeamworkWorks well with others, relating to colleagues, and managing conflictEmotional IntelligenceRecognizing one's own and other people's emotions and using it to guide thinking and behaviorCreativityThinking out-of-the-box by seeing things differently and proposing novel solutionsAdaptabilityAdjusting to abrupt change, managing multiple tasks in a fast paced environment, and persevering through difficultiesYou may feel like you have most of these memorized, but some you may have unintentionally

Welcome to the QuickBooks Community! I hope all is well!  We all know that there is a difference between owning a business and having a business that can actually operate without you.It is easy to become the person who does everything. You answer every customer question, approve every purchase, handle every payment, solve every problem, and keep all the important information in your head. It may work for a while, but eventually, it can become exhausting.Interestingly, QuickBooks research found that 35% of small business owners define success as reaching a point where their business runs profitably without them.So, what would happen if you stepped away for a week?Could someone else find the information they need? Would customers still receive the same level of service? Could invoices, payments, orders, and daily operations continue?If the answer is no, that does not mean you are doing something wrong. It may simply mean your business has outgrown some of its original processes.Start by

 Sometimes, saying yes feels like the easiest way to keep customers happy and opportunities coming in. But there is also value in knowing when to say no. Your business is your time, your energy, and your hard work. Protecting those things can be just as important as finding your next customer. A “no” list does not have to be negative. Think of it as a list of things that simply do not work well for your business. Maybe you have decided not to take on rush projects without enough notice. Perhaps certain discounts no longer make sense, or there are services you would rather not offer because they take too much time for the return. You might even decide that answering messages outside of business hours is something you want to limit. Having those boundaries can make it easier to focus on the customers, projects, and opportunities that are a better fit. And sometimes, saying no today can create room for a much better yes tomorrow. Take a few minutes this week to think about what you could

Good afternoon, Community! Have you ever used CAS? Client Advisory Services, otherwise known as CAS, allows you to estimate growth, margins, and pricing potential for your business in the most efficient way. This article posted on the QuickBooks Blog offers more info about using CAS and even provides a CAS Revenue Calculator. Let's take a look...Making wavesCompliance work is becoming more automated and price-pressured, while clients increasingly expect proactive insights, not just reporting. That shift has made Client Advisory Services (CAS) the fastest-growing service line in the accounting profession, with firms projecting nearly 100% growth in CAS revenue over the next three years.The CAS revenue calculatorThis tool helps accounting firms model the potential revenue, profitability, and pricing impact of launching or scaling CAS. Whether you’re just starting to explore CAS or refining an existing CAS offering, the calculator lets you forecast how advisory could perform for your firm

Happy Friday! We know that every business has its busy moments, but what happens when things slow down? A slower season does not have to mean a stressful season. In fact, it can be the perfect opportunity to prepare your business for what comes next.Start by taking a close look at your cash flow. Knowing how much money is coming in, what expenses are coming up, and which bills are essential can help you make smarter decisions before sales dip. It is also a good time to review your inventory. Are there products that have been sitting on the shelf too long? Could you offer a promotion to move them? Or should you rethink how much inventory you order in the future? Slow periods can also be valuable for your customers. Reconnect with past customers, update your website, refresh your social media strategy, or finally tackle those projects that always get pushed aside when business is busy. Most importantly, use the slower months to plan. Look at what worked during your busiest season and wha