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QuickBooks 2012 Coming By September 26th

Chief Mechanic · September 14, 2011 ·

Intuit has announced that QuickBooks 2012 and Enterprise Solutions 12.0 will ship on September 26, 2011. That’s about 1 week later than last year, but it still gives users plenty of time to get the new version up and running before the end of year. We’ve already downloaded the software and have begun to prepare articles on some of the new features.

Highlighting the changes are:

  • New Calendar View
  • Improved To-Do List
  • Ability to update existing Excel reports directly from QuickBooks
  • Improved memorized transactions
  • Changes to document management
  • New Lead Center to manage leads and prospects directly in QuickBooks

Enterprise Solutions 12.0 users will have the ability to use FIFO inventory costing with an extra-cost service. For industry specific products, such as QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition, there are additional enhancements, such as the inclusion of Intuit Statement Writer.

Our first impression is that QuickBooks 2012 seems to perform faster than previous versions on the same company files.

Every QuickBooks user will have his or her own favorite, but for those that prepare reports in Excel, if that feature can deliver on the promise, it will prove a huge timesaver.

What looks the most interesting to you?

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Our New Forum, Part 2

Chief Mechanic · September 10, 2011 ·

We’re in the early stages of setting up a forum for new questions that aren’t covered by our QuickBooks KnowledgeBase. We had an active forum before but found the format wasn’t ideal for the material we wanted to present, so we closed it. Still, we missed the opportunity for easier interaction that it offered, so we’re back with a new forum that offers a place to pose questions that we haven’t gotten around to answering.

The look isn’t fully polished yet, and we’re running an alpha version of the forum software, so you may find a rare glitch or two.

But our testing shows that basic functionality works just fine. So without further delay, head on over to our forum and fire away with your questions.

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How Does QuickBooks Attached Documents Handle Security?

Chief Mechanic · March 19, 2011 ·

QuickBooks Attached Documents Manage Users
QuickBooks Attached Documents addresses the need for security by providing 4 levels of application permissions across 8 areas of QuickBooks functionality under an account overseen by a single user.

Users log into Intuit’s secure servers using an email address and password. While we’re on the subject of security, there’s one small drawback: the password is not case-sensitive and is therefore not considered a strong password.

A QuickBooks Attached Documents subscription is managed by a Company Administrator, the sole pre-defined role supported by the service. A user with the role of Company Administrator can:

  • Edit the business profile
  • Add other Attached Documents subscriptions
  • Update the current subscription

Here’s a screenshot of the screen to add a new user, which shows the range of security settings. After a user is added, security settings can be modified by clicking on the Manage Users button in the upper right of the browser screen, followed by editing a specific user. You can only manage users from a browser-based interface, not from within QuickBooks itself. The Setup and Manage Users menu selection will only open browser access to Attached Documents.

Quickbooks Attached Documents Add User

The service supports 4 levels of application permissions:

  • Administrator: can perform all functions and manage users
  • Full Access: can perform all functions but cannot manage users
  • View Only: can view any attachment in any area but cannot add new attachments and cannot modify or delete existing documents
  • Custom Access: controlled access across 8 functional areas

Necessarily, the user with the role of Company Administrator must have Administrator application permissions, but other users can have Administrator application permissions as well. While those users will have powerful capabilities, they won’t have the powers specific to the role of Company Administrator, such as editing the company profile.

The Custom Access permission is used to control access to documents in functional areas of QuickBooks. Custom Access supports 8 functional areas:

  1. Sales and Accounts Receivable
  2. Purchases and Accounts Payable
  3. Checking and Credit Cards
  4. Time Tracking
  5. Payroll and Employees
  6. Inventory
  7. Sensitive Accounting Activities
  8. Company Documents

Within these 8 areas, there are 4 capabilities:

  • Add: this is a global permission; if a user can add an attached document, he can add it to any area
  • View: this permission allows a user to look at but not modify or delete a document
  • Modify: this permission necessarily includes the View permission
  • Delete: this permission is only available to a user with Modify permissions in the same area

Users assigned a Custom Access level can make use of their capabilities (i. e., Add, View, Modify, or Delete) on lists and transactions associated with that area of accounting. A user can be assigned to more than one area, a necessity in a small firm that still wants to set some restrictions on document access.

Before examining how Custom Access applies in specific areas, it’s important to understand how access to files in the Document Inbox is controlled. Any user with View permission in any area can see all unattached documents in the Document Inbox. Custom Access can’t take affect until after a document is attached and put into a specific area. Therefore, for documents requiring controlled access, care must be taken to start the upload process by attaching them from within QuickBooks. If you elect to upload a document to the Document Inbox and attach it later, it is viewable by any user with View permissions until it is attached to a list item or transaction.

8 Functional Areas

Let’s review which lists and transactions are associated with specific areas. Note that a list or transaction type can appear in more than 1 area. For example, the Other Names list appears in both the Sales and Accounts Receivable and the Purchases and Accounts Payable areas.

Sales and Accounts Receivable: Customers, Other Names, Fixed Asset Item List, Estimates, Sales Orders, Invoices, Sales Receipts, Credit Memos, and Payments.

Purchases and Accounts Payable: Vendors, Other Names, Fixed Asset Items, Bills, Bill Credits, Bill Payments, Credit Card charges, Credit Card credits, and Purchase Orders. Note that Checks – which represent a different transaction type – cannot be seen unless the user has View permissions in the area of Checking and Credit Cards.

Checking and Credit Cards: Vendors, Other Names, Fixed Asset Items, Checks, Deposits, Credit Card charges, and Credit Card credits. Note that users with View permission can see documents attached to transactions in bank or credit card accounts but cannot see documents attached to the bank or credit card accounts themselves. Note also that Transfers are not included in this area.

Time Tracking: Other Names and Timers.

Payroll and Employees: Employees, Other Names, Paychecks, Payroll Liability Checks, Liability Adjustments, and Year-To-Date Adjustments.

Inventory: Items, Vendors, Other Names, Fixed Asset Items, Bills, Bill Credits, Bill Payments, Purchase Orders, Item Receipts, Inventory Adjustments, and Build Assemblies.

Sensitive Accounting Activities: Accounts, Journal entries, and Transfers. Note that users with View permission can see documents attached to general ledger Accounts, but to also see documents attached to transactions in a particular area, View permission for that area is required. For example, to view a document attached to a Check, a user must have View permissions in the Checking and Credit Cards area.

Company Documents: Documents attached to the company file itself via the Company Information window.

This last area is not an accounting function similar to managing A/R or A/P. Instead, it includes more general corporate documents that are connected to accounting and recordkeeping. Documents here include those attached to the Company Information via the Company->Company Information… menu selection. A screenshot of this point of attachment is shown below. Examples of documents that might be attached here include corporate organization documents such as articles of incorporation, bylaws, or meeting minutes.

QuickBooks Attached Documents Company File

A few examples of how applying security in QuickBooks Attached Documents will illustrate the power and flexibility of this security model. First, consider the need to upload bank statements but to restrict access to selected individuals. Bank statements attached to the Account are only viewable by users with access to Sensitive Accounting Activities, so the specific bank account to which the statement applies is the best point of attachment. We don’t recommend bank statements be attached to other list entities, such as Other Names, because documents attached to those lists are accessible to other areas.

Next, consider the need to upload payroll tax forms. If every user requiring access to the payroll tax forms will also have access to the Sensitive Accounting Activities area, one good point of attachment might be the liability account to which the tax form relates. Another approach might be to treat these forms as Company Documents, and attach them to the Company Information. A workable but slightly less desirable method would be to create employees representing the tax agency as placeholders and attach tax forms to the relevant placeholder employee. However, even though a tax form is often accompanied by a payment to a Vendor, we don’t recommend attaching a tax form to a Vendor because documents attached to that list item would be accessible to other areas, such as Purchase and Accounts Payable.

Both of these examples illustrate an important concept in making use of security in Attached Documents. Start by attaching a document to an area with the greatest restrictions and only attach it to other areas as required. If you attach a document to areas that include lists or transaction types that overlap, you may end up making the document available to a wider audience than you originally intended.

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QuickBooks Keyboard Shortcuts

Chief Mechanic · March 13, 2011 ·

QuickBooks includes a variety of keyboard shortcuts to make your use of the program easier and faster. We’ve compiled them into a single sortable and searchable list, shown below. All of these shortcuts are based on QuickBooks for Windows.

Here are a few pointers on making the best use of keyboard shortcuts:

  • Our list is sortable and organized by function; find a small number of shortcuts that are most relevant to your use of QuickBooks and use them over and over, because productivity gains only come with repeated use
  • Special keys, such as Alt or Ctrl, are shown in italics, and are often combined with another key that is listed in uppercase for consistency only; you don’t need to enter this key in uppercase
  • For some shortcuts, such as those used when starting the program, timing is everything; the shortcut must be invoked when QuickBooks is ready to process it, and if you’re too early or too late, the shortcut will not work

There’s an extensive group of shortcuts that relate to the use of the Alt key. We’ve included this group as a single shortcut at the end of the list. When you press the Alt key, a character in most menus is underlined, and that character is a shortcut to that menu function. For example, pressing Alt + B + L invokes the reconcile function because L is underlined in Banking menu.

QuickBooks Keyboard Shortcuts Using the Alt Key

Continue on to our list of QuickBooks keyboard shortcuts. This is one example where a shortcut in accounting can be a good thing.

CategoryShortcutFunction & Purpose
GeneralCtrl + double click on program iconStarts QB without a company file; if this shortcut isn't working for you, you're probably releasing the Ctrl key too soon; useful if you didn't close the last company file you worked on and now want to use a different file
GeneralAlt while login or Open Company window is displayedStarts QB with a clean desktop; if this shortcut isn't working for you, you are probably pressing the Alt key too early or releasing it too soon; useful if your last saved desktop had a lot of open windows unrelated to the current task at hand
GeneralCtrl + EnterRecord current transaction; can be faster than positioning your mouse on a button and clicking
Calculator+ or - or * or / in an amount field of a transaction windowPressing any of the 4 arithmetic operators in an amount field invokes QB's integrated calculator
Dates+Advances to next day based on current calendar selection
Dates-Goes back 1 day based on current calendar selection
DatesTSets date to today's date
DatesWSets date to first day of week based on current calendar selection
DatesKSets date to last day of week based on current calendar selection
DatesMSets date to first day of month based on current calendar selection
DatesHSets date to last day of month based on current calendar selection
DatesYSets date to first day of year based on current calendar selection
DatesRSets date to last day of year based on current calendar selection
DatesAlt + Down ArrowOpens calendar; since the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys can scroll through the calendar and Tab selects the date and advances to the next field, this can be a fast date selection method
EditingCtrl + EEdit selected transaction in register
EditingCtrl + DelDelete current line in detail area
EditingCtrl + InsInsert a line after the current line in detail area
EditingCtrl + CCopy selected characters
EditingCtrl + VPaste selected characters
EditingCtrl + XCopy and cut selected characters
EditingCtrl + ZUndo changes made to field
Editing+Increase form number, such a check number, by 1
Editing-Decrease form number, such a check number, by 1
ActivitiesCtrl + AOpens Account List
ActivitiesCtrl + DDelete transaction, such as a check or bill, or delete a list item
ActivitiesCtrl + EEdit transaction, such as a check or bill, or edit a list item
ActivitiesCtrl + FFind transaction
ActivitiesCtrl + GGo to register of transfer account
ActivitiesCtrl + HOpen history of A/P or A/R transaction
ActivitiesCtrl + JOpen Customer Center
ActivitiesCtrl + IOpen Create Invoice window
ActivitiesCtrl + LOpen list for current field
ActivitiesCtrl + MMemorize transaction or report
ActivitiesCtrl + NOpens window to add a new list item of currently selected list item window; if a list item is not the current window, the shortcut has no effect
ActivitiesCtrl + OCopy current transaction in register
ActivitiesCtrl + PPrint
ActivitiesCtrl + QQuickReport on current transaction or list item
ActivitiesCtrl + RDisplay register
ActivitiesCtrl + SShow list; this is a shortcut that is commonly included on lists of shortcuts but does not appear to function in current QB versions
ActivitiesCtrl + UUse list item; this is a shortcut that is commonly included on lists of shortcuts but does not appear to function in current QB versions
ActivitiesCtrl + VPaste transaction copied from register
ActivitiesCtrl + WWrite check
ActivitiesCtrl + YOpen transaction journal
Function KeysF1Context sensitive help
Function KeysF2 or Ctrl + 1Opens Product Information window
Function KeysF3With the Product Information window open, opens the Tech Help window
Function KeysCtrl + F4 or ESC (by itself)Closes the current window
Function KeysAlt + F4Exit QB
Moving AroundAlt + underlined letter in menuExecutes task assigned to that menu item; the underline only appears on menu items after the Alt key is pressed; the list of shortcuts possible with this technique is extensive
Moving AroundEndMove to last character of current field
Moving AroundHomeMove to first character of current field
Moving AroundTabAdvance to next field
Moving AroundShift + TabGo back to previous field
Moving AroundUp ArrowMove to previous line in form detail area or report
Moving AroundDown ArrowMove to next line in form detail area or report
Moving AroundPage UpMove to previous page in form detail area or report
Moving AroundPage DownMove to next page in form detail area or report
Moving AroundCtrl + Right ArrowMove to next word in current text field
Moving AroundCtrl + Left ArrowMove to previous word in current text field
Moving AroundCtrl + Page UpMove to first item in list or register
Moving AroundCtrl + Page DownMove to last item in list or register
Moving AroundCtrl + F6Moves to next open window and makes it the active window
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How Do I Unattach a Previously Attached Document In QuickBooks Attached Documents?

Chief Mechanic · February 16, 2011 ·

From time to time, you may find that you’ve attached a document to the wrong list item or transaction when using QuickBooks Attached Documents.

It’s easy to unattach a previously attached document in QuickBooks Attached Documents once you consider some Attached Documents basics:

  • Unless you want to remove a document from online storage, you can only unattach documents from within QuickBooks itself – not through the web interface
  • QuickBooks refers to the process of unattaching as “deleting the attachment”
  • Deleting an attachment from a linked list item or transaction does not necessarily involve deleting the attachment from documents stored on the Attached Documents server

To unattach a document from a list item or transaction, the first step is open the list of documents currently attached to that list item or transaction. For list items in a Center, such as Vendor Center, click on the paperclip next to the name of the vendor with an attachment that you want to unattach from that list item. For transactions, such as a vendor bill, open the transaction and click the paperclip at the top of the transaction form. Both of these approaches will take you to a list of the documents currently attached to that list item or transaction so that you can delete the attachment. Next, select the attachment you want to unattach and click the Delete button. In the screenshot below, the list of currently attached documents has been redacted.

QuickBooks Attached Document Current Attachments

Upon clicking the Delete button, you’ll see the Delete Attachment window. In this window, you’ll have the option to simply unattach the document but keep the document stored on the Attached Documents servers or to unattach the document and remove the document from Intuit’s servers at the same time. To unattach the document and permanently delete the file, simply click the checkbox for Also permanently delete this document from online storage.

QuickBooks Attached Documents Delete Attachment

Of course, you can delete a document using the web interface of Attached Documents. That will break the attachment to the list item or transaction in QuickBooks since the document will be removed from online storage. That list item or transaction will appear to have an attachment in QuickBooks until you attempt to access it or run the utility Sync and Clean Up Attachment Links on the Company->Attached Documents->Utilities menu.

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