Finding inspiration

We are currently looking into a new accounting/payroll/project management system and have narrowed it down to Xero and QB However, after reviewing Xero's latest Facebook post, it seems like a lot of people are experiencing dreadful problems with their platform, which has dramatically moved the needle in favour of QB But before I pass any further judgement, please can any QB users (ideally those based in the UK), share their own personal experience of this platform, specifically in respect of reliability and support levels, so I've got something to compare to Thanks in advance

I just saw my subscriptions go from £237 to £302 between January 2023 and January 2024.  Given the mediocre state of the software, the degrading customer service and the apparent lack of any substantial advancement in the software/product offering, the 35% hike can only be ascribed to profiteering. And it gets worse, looking a the 2022 subscription fee, the actual increase is nearly 40%, How the haitch could that be justified? If I jacked my 2022 fees by 40% I would by now have no clients left. Shame on you Intuit.

Afternoon All.We are a small charity and I receive weekly small amounts from church services and donations in cash only, which I use to keep petty cash topped up. it never goes into the bank account.  In the past on SAGE i have been able to show this as a cash payment direct to petty cash.  however I am stumped on Quickbooks.  I think where it says transfer from I have to set up a new one.  Would you keep this as cash in hand and bank and just give the name something like service cash?  Hope this makes sense as I am going round in circles trying to work this out. 

Hi All Is there a way to use the connected Gmail account email address when sending invoices using the API? https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/manage-invoices/send-invoices-from-your-gmail-address/00/484688/message-id/7194 Thanks  

Name: Travis Troyer  Business: Basik Candle Co Founded: 2016   Travis Troyer had spent 10 years working in the corporate world, but he wanted to be in control of his own future - and his own business. After signing up for a variety of creative classes at a local studio, Travis fell in love with the process of making coconut wax candles. Very shortly thereafter, he launched his own company offering luxury candles at an affordable price.   What’s the story behind your business? I worked in accounting and IT for about 10 years doing software implementation. While I was successful in my job, I was frustrated by my experiences in large corporations. For example, I’d get excited about projects that could potentially save the company a lot of money, make a process significantly more efficient, improve employee satisfaction etc, only to have it killed or get lost in a steering committee. It was so frustrating.   When I moved to a new city to be with my partner, I real

  Name: Alana Rivera  Business: Etta + Billie Founded: 2009   When Alana Rivera began making skincare products in her small city-centre flat, she never dreamed she’d one day quit her job to create Earl Grey soaps and poppy seed body scrubs. Four years after launching Etta + Billie, however, Alana was ready to turn her side-passion into a full-time career.   What’s the story behind your business?   In 2009, I was a full-time recruiter at a solicitor’s office making body skincare products on the side. I didn't go to school for business, and I don't have a chemistry degree. Essentially, I taught myself everything by reading books, taking a few courses and going to conferences.   I left my full-time job at the end of 2013 and moved into a workshop where we manufacture all our small-batch, farm-to-bottle products: processed bar soap, lotions, body scrubs, skin balms, body oils and room sprays. We make every single Etta + Billie product in our workshop. I think

  Hello and welcome to the QB's Community!   If you’re new to the QuickBooks Community and wondering what’s happening here, you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find information about our community and guidance on how to find your way around and get the most out of your experience.   Why we built the QB Community   There are tonnes of people out there trying to offer you “help”. From sketchy pyramid schemes to unknown “experts” stating little more than the obvious, there’s plenty of noise to distract you from the real business of starting and growing your business.   We know the noise can be deafening. Frustrating. Exhausting. And downright confusing.   We wanted to escape the din. We knew we needed a place for real conversation. We wanted to be able to share real stories about our adventures—and misadventures—in entrepreneurship. We want to enable millions of people who work for themselves to grow and keep moving forward.

how can you organise the chart of accounts in QBits sorting at the moment is totally random and rubbishdoes anyone agree or worry about this or is everyone happy to be a mess

Name: Kevin Gambini Business: Breakaway Bikes Founded: 2014   Kevin Gambini was due to become a licensed property surveyor when he noticed that inventory was unusually low at his favourite cycle shop. Turns out the owner was getting ready to either sell off all the inventory or find a buyer for the business. Something clicked—and Kevin decided to buy the store.   Suddenly, in addition to being a newly minted business owner, Kevin was also a manager, a merchandiser, a salesman, a marketer, an accountant and an HR department. He tells us about the challenges he’s faced and why learning to accept his own shortcomings was critical to his success.    How did you go from cycle enthusiast to business owner? It was a steep learning curve, for sure—and there were a lot of hard knocks. Early on, I got advice from people who wanted to see me succeed. A friend of my dad’s was a business coach, and he helped me as I picked my way through understanding purchasing, sales trends,

Hi All.  This seems like the perfect place to ask or look for some inspiration to make some business changes.  I have been a Proadvisor for over 15 years.  I started training and consulting but realized very quickly that in order to be the best teacher I could be, I had to learn how best to "take care" of the books.  I then got trained as a full charge bookkeeper.  Circumstances in my life since then have change, and I have had to concentrate on the bookkeeping for my bread and butter.  I find myself at a crossroads: I have to pay the bills and work to survive but I am feeling little inspiration to continue on the straight bookkeeping front.  I put this out to this community and ask for ideas on where I can go from here.  Any suggestions of other opportunities or business paths that I might pursue that will utilize all my years of QuickBooks and bookkeeping experience and challenge me in ways that I may not be thinking about but will still e

    Chances are you’re reading this post because you’re curious about our QuickBooks Community. If you like what we’re doing, we hope you’ll sign up as a member and join our active, engaged community. After all, we built it for small business owners just like you.   Here are our top 5 reasons to join the QB Community.    Our members are supportive Sure, you work for yourself. But that doesn’t mean you have work by yourself. Whether you’re celebrating a new customer, solving an inventory problem or venting your frustration about a late payment, you’ll be cheered - or cheered up - by others in our supportive community.    “If I’m in the middle of my worst day ever and someone else is having a great day [in the Community], I remind myself tomorrow will be easier” — Danielle Vincent, soap maker and QB Community member.   Our members are resourceful When you work for yourself, you have to figure out a lot of things on your own. This Co

How do you stay on top in business?

    There’s so much to see and do on the QB Community site that we know it might be a bit overwhelming at first.   Here are all the areas you’ll find once you sign in:   Here’s what has been happening: Once you’ve signed in, you’ll land on your personalised QB Community homepage. Look around. See the welcome message? Underneath is a list of everything that’s happened since you last visited the site. If other members have cheered your post, replied to your question or mentioned you in a comment, you’ll be notified there. If you ever need to make changes to your profile, select the "My Profile" button just below your list of notifications.   Featured: Here we shine the spotlight on some of our favourite articles, resources and information on the site. Featured content might be a profile of an inspiring QB Community member or some news or updates about the site. You’ll find articles, questions and conversations, plus answers to all your question

  Founder: James Ellender Business: Spun Candy Location: London with 7 total stores Launched: 2013   Since their London launch in 2013, Spun Candy has developed hundreds of designs and flavours of confectionery -- just check out their Instagram to see the huge variety of sweets. Impressively, they’ve opened seven stores around the world. Their product range includes handmade hard rock candy and confectionery, while they also offer candy-making classes to the public.   We caught up with James ahead of QB Connect London, where he will be a featured vendor, to discuss the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur and what he’s looking forward to at QB Connect London February 27-28.   James, how did you get started? I spent many years in the food industry and I was also lucky enough to travel the world. I was able to explore a range of cultures and consumer behaviours as a result of those two things. This background helped me to identify the potential here in the U.K.

A pile of ironing, the school run, answering emails, scheduling meetings and remaining creative!? Almost seems impossible, doesn’t it?   I have watched my parents juggle more than one job at a time, and yet they have managed to achieve a joyful balance between work and family life. What’s their secret, I wonder? What’s yours?   How do you achieve the family and work-life balance without losing creativity?

  When event and floral designer Rachel Bowes was made redundant from her event planning job, she decided to be her own boss. She started Finch and Thistle with the goal of having greater flexibility at work. We spoke with Rachel about leveraging social media to build her brand and coming up with creative and new ideas to serve her clients.   What made you go into floristry and event planning? When I was working as a charity event planner full time, I found I liked the more creative parts of my job the most—the art direction, the floral design. I enjoyed art and art classes all throughout school, but I didn’t get to pursue that love in any job I’d had before. Designing events and flowers is a special way I get to express myself. I’ve always been a keen gardener, and working with flowers seemed really natural for me.   What made you want to work for yourself? Circumstances. I was made redundant, and I had to do something else. At that time, companies were making event p

Name: Lee Weinstein  Businesses: Weinstein PR and Intentional Life Planning Founded: 2007 and 2017   One morning about 10 years ago, Lee Weinstein was standing in front of his bathroom mirror, shaving. He asked his reflection a question: Do you want to keep working for someone else? After 15 years happily working as a corporate public relations executive, he opened his own PR firm. In 2017, he wrote a book that details his goal-setting methods. He and his wife offer companion workshops to help individuals plan out their life goals.    Why did you decide to write a book about life planning? My wife Melinda and I were married in 2000. Soon after, on a Saturday morning, I bought this big sheet of grease-proof paper into the kitchen and said, “OK. We’re married. What do you want to do with your life?” We figured we had until we were about 83 years old or so. We sketched out the years, and we saw we had about 4 decades to plan out.   When we shared r

Name: Cheri Drake Business: Sisters Staging Founded: 2016   Cheri Drake had been in broadcasting for more than 30 years when she lost her job during a round of redundancies. As she tried to figure out her next move, a former colleague offered some advice: reinvent yourself. Those 2 words launched Cheri down a totally new career path as co-owner of Sisters Staging, a company that preps homes for sale or to let. Cheri had never predicted she’d be running her own home design company. But like so many people who work for themselves, Cheri’s unexpected “reinvention” lets her turn a long-time side passion into a burgeoning business.   What made you choose the home improvement industry? I’ve always been interested in interior design, and I produced a radio show about home improvement for about 15 years. When friends had a house to sell, as a favour I’d help them “stage” their home. Those houses would always sell! People wanted to pay me, but I just thought of it as a hobby. My siste

Name: Dawn Brown  Business: AZ Business Consulting Founded: 2006    Dawn Brown is on a mission. As an accountant running her own business, she wants to make her all clients’ numbers add up. But Dawn is also deeply committed to contributing to society in a meaningful way. By staying true to those two parallel goals - growing her accounting business and doing good - Dawn has successfully carved out a niche for her business. Today she specialises in helping charities manage their money to achieve goals.   What made you start working for yourself? I spent many years as an accountant and a CFO for companies and clients. I worked on projects that were assigned to me. Not every project was a great fit, and I often felt I wasn’t making a meaningful contribution. I also saw businesses being sold products or services they didn’t need. I wanted to be straightforward with the customer. If I couldn’t help them, I wanted to send them to someone who could.   When my husband a

Name: Jeremy Malman Business: Worth Motorcycle Company Founded: 2013   When Jeremy Malman was accepted into a highly competitive PhD programme, he was elated. But nearly 3 years into his clinical psychology coursework with at-risk adolescents, he was disillusioned. Not by the kids—Jeremy loved helping teens who were having trouble at home, in school and in life. His frustration stemmed from a deep desire to support struggling youths in real, meaningful ways. So he opened a motorcycle workshop, with a twist.     What gave you the courage to leave academia? At the time, I was frustrated. My academic peers didn’t seem to share my complete, unwavering commitment to making things better for kids. When I thought about what I really wanted to be doing with my life, I remembered how grounding it had been to work with my hands, fixing motorcycles. There’s nothing esoteric about it—you turn a screw, it tightens. Do it wrong, someone could die.   But I’d been in school almost

Today is National Paper Clip Day! A day to remind yourself that those documents on your desk… Yeah, they definitely need organising.   As the world begins to go more digital, are we leaving these great organisational tools behind?   How do you organise your files? Comment your tips and tricks below!  

Hi everyone,    I am copying this post over from the U.S community board as I am really interested in how people self-educate. Do you read forums, watch tutorials etc?   Please comment below!    (Ps. if you are the type that loves a YouTube tutorial - please visit my channel. I am currently also taking requests for personal guide videos so if you have anything specific that you are currently stuck on or struggling to get to grips with please do let me know!)      I look forward to hearing your responses.   Kind Regards, Emily

Just signed up a charity on Quickbooks online.I am guessing they are so pleased with it for the first time they now have trustees working on Quickbooks whilst they are on assignments abroad 

Just helped a client to export bank feed for last 6 months using quick export facility.It was really easy!

Name: Crystal-Marie Sealy  Business: Successiory Founded: January 2009   Crystal-Marie Sealy wasn’t planning to start working for herself as soon as she graduated with an MBA from business school. But when the recession made it hard for her to find a job, she decided to forge her own path. Recognising that plenty of professionals struggle with time-management and making smooth business transitions, Crystal-Marie founded Successiory to help entrepreneurs make the most of their time, experience and expertise.    What’s the story behind your business? I've always wanted to run my own business, although I never thought I’d start as early as I did! My long-term goal was to have a virtual business so that when I became a mother, I wouldn’t have to worry about maternity leave or being made redundant. I'd be able to manage my own time and be in control of my money. Also, I was never a fan of always having to look busy at work or working 10 times harder just to prove myself