Business Discussions

Is there an update of QBO calculating finance charges?  I understand how we can assess a late fee, I just don't know where to start to manually calculate an interest based finance charge for our receivables.

Good afternoon everyone! I hope this work week has been good to you and not too crazy since returning from a nice holiday break.   So it's 2022 and you're ready to start hiring new team members. There are several traits to consider when choosing the right candidate for a job position within your company. Hardworking, honest, punctual, trustworthy, creative, works well with others, you know the checklist. But what about the legal side of hiring? This article from uschamber.com breaks it down for us.   Apply for an EINFirst things first, before hiring employees you need a payroll system, and to have a payroll system you must have a federal EIN. This is a number, unique to your business, that's used for tax identification purposes. You can apply for an EIN on the IRS website and you'll just need to provide documentation such as a social security number and the basic information regarding the company, including corporation status.   Register with your state’s unemp

Happy Wednesday and Happy New Year, everyone. In the spirit of "new," let's talk about "New Opportunities," especially recognizing new opportunities for your business. I would like to give you a few pointers regarding this. Before we get started, remember this, the key is to understand the type of opportunity you are looking for. To do this, you would need to establish or set goals to determine why that makes it a reasonable possibility. At times, these new opportunities do not have the desired outcomes, but don't be discouraged. Get back on the saddle, and keep trying.   Does the product or service meet customers' needs?This is probably one of the most crucial factors. You need to examine the circumstances, determine if it is worth it, and see if customers' needs are being fulfilled. Could these new services solve difficulties for clients? These are questions you should be thinking about. No one wants to waste time, energy, and money on something that wouldn't reel in profits or

  Before 2022 gets too much older, I wanted to sit down and take a look at 2021 and see how the Community has fared.     Lets start with the numbers:   Overall we continued to grow the community, with increases in almost all metrics.  I narrowed the focus down to the Q&A forums for this year's review since that is where the bulk of activity is, but even so we put up some impressive numbers for 2021, with 37,503,329 views and 12,893,266 unique visitors for the year.     One area that I am particularly excited about is the increase of mobile traffic to our site.  When looking at the breakdown of desktop to mobile views/visits/visitors, we are seeing a steady but dramatic increase every year.  In 2021, we had 2,529,738 unique mobile visitors to the forums, which accounts for just under 20% of our total unique visitors.  This is fantastic because it tells us that not only are people on mobile finding the site, but that t

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the QuickBooks Community! I hope all is well and you are getting through all you have to accomplish. Quick question, want to boost morale in your workplace? Well, I have a few ideas to help with this. Let's dive in!   For holidays and special occasions, since we are in the Christmas season, why not plan a family Christmas Party to foster a family-friendly environment. Possibly go the extra mile and hire a Santa for the children to meet and if you can afford to, give them a little token. You can encourage those who may not have kids to bring another family member or pets.   Another idea could be to host a Potluck! Have employees bring their favorite dishes or desserts, and you can even kick it up a knock and have a themed potluck like Hawaiin Luau, 5 Ingredients or Less, or A Tour of the Mediterranean, to name a few.   For ongoing events, an idea could be to host a weekly "Best of" Contest. For example, create a poll and have co-w

Hello Community! Hope you are feeling accomplished and rested now that we’re at the end of the week. I know it’s been a busy one, but here’s your reminder that you’re doing a great job.   Today I’m discussing this article from Inc.com that talks about understanding your customer’s pain points. I know that phrase gets thrown around a lot in the business world, but every business owner wants their service or product to fulfill their customer’s needs. This is important even for the most experienced people in the biz. So what does this mean and how can you apply it?   Understanding their pain points helps you know where you may need to make changes and how to be more effective in your marketing. Inc.com has 4 tips for how to accomplish this.   1. Be Mindful of the type of problem you’re trying to solve Common problems are pricing, productivity or convenience. It can also be a mix of them as well. Don’t become so focused on one issue that you don’t

Business owners everywhere depend on their local community to be successful. In our QuickBooks Blog, Carla Morla is giving advice on how to market locally during this holiday season. In a recent study done, 72% of U.S. adults have make it more of a priority to support local business as opposed to pre-pandemic times. This is great news for business owners but how do you get your name out there? I’m going to pick my top 3 from Morla’s article and share them here. Let’s do it!     Be easy to find onlineThere are so many different platforms available to us these days . If you already have a website, try creating a social media page or use other directories like Nextdoor, Apple maps, Google, etc. The more places you are, the more customers will find you.   Connect with your local communityHoliday parades? Markets? Fundraisers? Getting out there puts your face and brand right in front of people and also around other business owners. Consider partnering with another local busi

Like many people, many business owners are finding themselves on Zoom or video calls way more in the past two years than ever. Although it can be taxing, it’s a great way to interact with partners and clients, while keeping in touch with your team. I’m here today with some tips on how to make sure you look your best on camera!     Use a ring light or opt for natural lightNatural light will always be your best bet so finding a spot with a nice amount of windows will have you looking refreshed. If you don’t have access to a bright room,  look into getting a ring light. This is what a lot of online/social media influencers use and it helps you look professional and gives the video a great look.   Camera positionIt may feel natural to be really close to your computer, but giving yourself a good arms length is ideal. Laptop cameras tend to be a wider angle so this distance prevents features being distorted. It also puts your face and body in great proportions within the

Hello everyone! Welcome to the Talk About Your Business segment where we talk about......you guessed it...Business! I'm curious as to know how many of you have heard about BNPL, also known as the "buy now, pay later" payment option? Since the pandemic, this has become a prevalent practice for many businesses, as mentioned in this article by Forbes. They shared why this would be a wise business decision in 2021 and beyond.    One reason is that it will work for items that may be on the higher end of the budget. For example, selling luxury goods like jewelry would make it easier for customers to decide to purchase your goods. Not only would it work for high-end products but also cheaper items. With customers having this option, it opens the door for them to increase their order size. For example, instead of purchasing one dress, they may buy three. That way, you are getting more value out of one sale. Also, this could have them coming back more to add goods, building up your cu

Failing in any capacity is hard. Most times, you’ve put a lot of time and energy into something that didn’t work out. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it. Both unfortunately (and fortunately), failure is a great breeding ground for growth and learning. Here’s why failing is good:     Learn what not to doWe don’t live life in a simulator where we can try a number of different paths and see how things play out. The best lessons are always learned in real time and often are because things didn’t work out the way it’s intended. That hands on experience ensures that the lessons stick moving forward.   Promote adaptation OK so that didn’t work out, now what? One thing failure does is make you rethink and reinvent. Maybe the whole idea needs to go, or maybe it was just your approach. There’s so much insight to be gained by taking the time to look at what went wrong and why. Then you can look to the future and try again.   Not a waste of timeSometimes failure doe

Hello everyone, and welcome to the QuickBooks Community! Today, I have an interesting article for you about increasing your customer base in the restaurant industry. Our Resource Center mentioned are few ways, so let's dive in and see what they said.    Social Media Marketing has become one of the inexpensive means yet effective ways of bringing customers in. Below are some strategies to gain more locals.   Complete Your Profiles with Relevant InformationOnce you are setting up your profile, ensure that you have the most relevant information, such as your menu (with pictures), website, location, number, and hours. Have you ever researched a restaurant and they have no photo of their food? Doesn't it turn you off? For me, it does a little unless the reviews are extremely good.   Include Mouth-Watering PhotosStemming off the first point, sharing pictures food presentations is a huge trend. It may be because of this generation, but I will admit I am one to take photos

Hello Community, the end of the year is on the horizon! It’s been a tough year for a lot of people, especially for business owners who needed to make a significant shift in the way they run their companies. Forbes magazine has published an article about building a strong connection with your online buyers. Having a digital business (or one that recently transitioned to digital) doesn’t mean curating strong connections with your customers isn’t important. This article has 3 fantastic tips to help you out, so let’s get to it!     Create An Aspirational ImageYour online image is important and can bring people to your page if they find something eye-catching or relatable. Sharing your journey, your wins and loses, is a great way to bring customers to you. “Regardless of what your customers aspire to, you can create a powerful connection and an identity that truly resonates with them when you tie your business to these goals and dreams."   Show a human faceBusiness is person

Over Thanksgiving weekend my dad was in town visiting from South Carolina where he is a project manager for his company. We were discussing the latest operations he has been working on and he mentioned a chart the people involved with the job use to stay on task. I thought this would be a great topic to relay here in the Business Discussion space as the holidays are here and there is lots of work to be done.   The plan I'm referring to is known as the RACI Chart. Let's break it down:   R - Responsible Definition: Does the work to complete the task Number of team members to assign: At least one per task A - Accountable Definition: Delegates work and is the last one to review the task or deliverable before it's deemed complete Number of team members to assign: Limit to one per task C - Consulted Definition: Provides input based on either how it will impact their future project work or their domain of expertise on the deliverable itself. Number of team members to assign: No

Hello - We purchased a school with real estate a couple of months back.  For liability protection, the real estate is under an LLC and the Operating business is under an S Corp.  Our total investment was 20%, including down payment and closing costs and the rest was financed.  My questions are as follows:1. I am assuming I set this up as two entities in QB - the LLC and the S corp.  How much of our down payment should I put as owners equity for each?2.  We received cash from the Sellers in this transaction as fees that was collected in advance.  Is that equity or a short term liability as a pre-paid revenue?Thanks in advance for any help

According to their website, Giving Tuesday "is an opportunity for people around the world to come together through generosity in all its forms by sharing acts of kindness and giving their voice, time, money, goods, and advocacy to support communities and causes."  Knowing that everyone has different causes near and dear to their heart, I asked the team to share some of their favorite charities.       ++++++   Morgan: My favorite charity is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I chose this charity as my favorite for a couple of reasons. First, because I believe there is life saving work being done there and secondly, I can't imagine how concerning it would be for your child to have to be a patient at St. Jude and the last thing any family that finds themselves in that situation needs to worry about is doctor bills or money for a place to stay. With charitable donations, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food.

There's no denying the pandemic changed our lives in many different areas. One of those would definitely be work, specifically where we work. As we move forward many employers and employees are embracing permanent work from home status. If you fit into this category, I recently read an article shared on the QuickBooks Blog that discusses a few ways to effectively manage remote workers.   Set Weekly GoalsShort-term achievable goals are a great way to keep everyone motivated and oriented. "Setting weekly goals helps employees know what they’ve accomplished, where they’ve exceeded and how they need to step up. Establish metrics they can live by and make sure those results are readily accessible."   Make meetings short and informativeThink about work-life when you were in the office; meetings didn't typically last for hours. There were more quick yet informative conversations that happened more often. Meetings are necessary but keep them short and sweet to all

Hello QuickBooks Community! How is the Thanksgiving prepping going? I am so behind but looking forward to tomorrow! Welcome to the Talk About Your Busines segment!  In this season of thankfulness, it would be a great time to share this joy with your customers, employees, and others. Here are a few Thanksgiving messages that I found would be perfect for the occasion:    As I count my blessings this Thanksgiving Day, know that you are among them. Employees like you have made my business what it is – and for that, I am extremely grateful.   In this season of thanks, I have many things to be grateful for. And one of them is wonderful clients like yourself. Thank you for your friendship and Happy Thanksgiving.   The opportunity to serve clients like you gives me joy and thankfulness every day of the year. I would like to wish you a peaceful Thanksgiving holiday and the time to truly enjoy it with your friends and family.   May the good things of life be

I am a new QBO ProAdvisor and I’m not sure what to charge clients. I live in Texas( not sure if the location affects price).  How do you determine your prices? Does anyone have a pricing/fee sheet that they can share with me? 

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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