Best Practices
Periodic Maintenance Checklist for Accounting Systems
- Reviewing memorized reports to remove any inactive GL accounts.
- Clearing up any negative balance inventory items, at least every year or every cycle.
- Adjusting any unused inventory items to zero balance before making them inactive.
- Cross-referencing any item you intend to make inactive with other things (in groups or assemblies).
- Cross-referencing any GL accounts you intend to make inactive with items (like services, non-inventory items, inventory items) and refresh those items with a new GL account if they are to stay active.
Sequence of System Setup
* In general, the sequence for setting up the system’s main functional areas (where applicable to the organization) are:
- Evaluate user and server hardware, server OS, and network capabilities
- QBES system preference setup (i.e., use of sales orders, estimates, purchase orders necessary, turn on/off payroll module, connection to email client, etc.)
- Chart of Accounts
- Item List and Sales Tax List
- Set sale tax agencies
- Other Lists (i.e. Payroll item, Payroll schedule, Fixed assets, Terms, etc.)
- Employee List
- Customer List
- Vendor List
- Loading of outstanding A/R and A/P
- Setting of starting bank balances in the bank reconciliation module
- Connection of bank and credit card accounts
- Connection to email client/server
Checklist for Optimal Quickbooks Desktop Operations
Somewhere along the process, you might want to review and update the Templates – to design forms like Invoices, Estimates, and Purchase Orders.
** These are general best practices that apply to all QuickBooks desktop products for optimal operation:
- Have all users log off and close their QB app each day after work
- Change QuickBooks passwords at least once a year
- Backup and run verification of the books at least once a month – store backup QBB file on a network drive that runs regular backups of its own
- Clear any small immaterial balances from AR, AP, customer and vendor accounts, and COA accounts (and other areas like inventory, payroll, etc.) at least once a year (part of your year-end cycle) – idea is not to leave any “hanging” transaction on the books (allows for better data integrity)
- Run maintenance upgrades at least every six months – take advantage of the software update notices emailed to the registered owner
- Review customized reports if changing Chart of Accounts (adding new accounts, making old accounts inactive, etc.) – this will help maintain healthy data linkage/disassociation
- Schedule bi-annual and annual maintenance functions with the entire operations months in advance – all users should save their work and log-off QuickBook before the maintenance
- Do small maintenances before and after accounting’s year-end close
- Do system conversions shortly after a year-end close or during the middle of a fiscal year
- DO NOT do a system conversion close to or at the same time as accounting’s fiscal year-end close