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How does QuickBooks Accountant 2013 work with QuickBooks 2013 files?

QuickBooks Accountant is the master QuickBooks program designed for accounting professionals serving multiple accounting clients. QuickBooks Accountant 2013 includes full working copies of QuickBooks 2013 Pro, Premier, Premier Industry editions, and Professional Bookkeeper.⁵ This allows you to exchange, open, modify, and return accounting records with your QuickBooks 2013 clients.

Why would I choose QuickBooks Accountant over QuickBooks Pro?

QuickBooks Accountant is designed for professionals who support multiple accounting clients. It includes unique, time-saving tools that help streamline your work including:

Multi-instance⁴ — allows you to open two different company files at the same time by opening two instances of QuickBooks Accountant.

Client Data Review - gives you 8 specialized tools to help quickly find and fix common data entry errors, such as writing-off invoices in batch instead of individually, reclassify transactions in batch, easily see changes to account balances on one screen, quickly identify and fix incorrectly recorded sales tax payments.

Accountant's Copy⁵ — allows you and your client to work in the same file simultaneously by setting a dividing date in the file. You work in the past period, while your client works in the current period. Once you have made changes, your client can incorporate the changes with their file.

Batch Enter Transactions — enables you to enter hundreds of client transactions, all at once on a screen designed for power data entry. Easily paste transactions from Excel too. You can customize the columns to enter transactions such as checks, deposits and credit cards transactions.

Email Journal Entries² — you can create adjusting journal entries and email them to clients for easy and automatic import into their QuickBooks with just a click.

Toggle³ — QuickBooks Accountant 2013 includes full working copies of QuickBooks 2013 Pro, Premier, Professional Bookkeepers and Premier Industry editions. This allows you to exchange, open, modify, and return accounting records with your QuickBooks 2013 clients.

I have a lot of clients on Pro 2013. Will I be able to "see" what they are seeing when they call with questions?

Yes. QuickBooks Accountant 2013 includes full working copies of QuickBooks 2013 Pro, Premier, and Premier Industry editions³. This allows you to exchange, open, modify, and return accounting records with your QuickBooks 2013 clients.

Is QuickBooks Accountant backward compatible? Can I use QuickBooks Accountant to work on client files from older versions of QuickBooks?

Some features in QuickBooks Accountant 2013 allow you to work on client files from QuickBooks 2012 depending on how you choose to work with your clients accounting records. QuickBooks Accountant 2013 is built to allow you to easily exchange and work with your clients' QuickBooks 2013 accounting files. There are three different ways to exchange QuickBooks accounting data, to suit how you work with your clients.

Accountant's Copy⁵
Allows you to exchange, open and adjust virtually all your clients' prior period accounting records from QuickBooks Pro 2012 and QuickBooks Premier 2012. When you've finished making adjustments, your client can review and merge your changes into their ongoing accounting records.

Backup Copy
Open, adjust, and return full data files from your clients' 2013 QuickBooks files. When the client imports a backup file, it overwrites the current file. If you want the client to import your changes, they must stop work in their file so their work is not lost. You can open and modify files from prior year versions. However, files opened and converted in QuickBooks Accountant 2013 cannot be sent back to prior year versions of QuickBooks.

Portable Company File
All the benefits of a Backup Copy but in a much smaller file size making it easier to email. Contains only your company file financial data but doesn't have related files such as letters, logos, images, and templates.

Can I use QuickBooks to run payroll for my clients?

Yes. If you offer payroll services as a part of your practice, Intuit has a solution designed specifically with you in mind:

Intuit QuickBooks Payroll Enhanced for Accountants⁵ gives you the control and flexibility to process payroll for up to 50 clients with a single payroll subscription. Federal and most state tax forms are provided and filled out automatically with your clients' QuickBooks data, so there is no need to enter data more than once. This can minimize data entry errors from storing data in multiple places.

Learn more about all of the Intuit Payroll Services.

Are there training and support options available to me as I get started?

Yes. QuickBooks offers a variety of training courses, from free online recorded training sessions to live online and in person events. You can learn more about the QuickBooks products for you and your clients. Also, when you register, you receive 30 days of free unlimited technical support from the date of software registration.

What other business products and services work with QuickBooks Accountant?

We offer a full range of products and services that integrate with QuickBooks Accountant to streamline your work. Some of our additional products and services (each sold separately) include:

• Intuit Payroll Services
• Checks, Forms and Supplies
• Merchant Service (Credit Card Processing)
• Third-Party Software Applications

How does the Accountant's Copy work in QuickBooks Accountant 2013?

A client using QuickBooks Pro or Premier 2012 or 2013 sets a dividing date that determines past and current periods, and then creates and transfers an Accountant's Copy (.QBX) to their accountant. The client continues working on their QuickBooks file, and is restricted from changing the past period. You receive the Accountant's Copy from the client, and convert it to a working Accountant's Copy (.QBA).

You can add or adjust virtually all Banking, Sales, Customer and Vendor transactions and complete bank reconciliations. Additionally, you can adjust and merge the chart of accounts. There are some restrictions in what you can edit. You cannot edit transactions in the current period, but can add transactions. Once you have completed your changes, you can review the change summary, add a client note, and export the changes (.QBY). Your client can review the changes and then automatically import them into their working copy of QuickBooks. After import, the dividing date is removed, and you can "Set closing date" in their file to password protect and preserve your changes.

Only QuickBooks Pro and Premier 2012 and 2013 allow the client to create an Accountant's Copy that can be opened in QuickBooks Accountant 2013. If a client creates an Accountant's Copy using an older version of QuickBooks Pro or Premier, the accountant will not be able to open this file directly as an Accountant's Copy in QuickBooks Accountant 2013. The accountant can upgrade the file to a QuickBooks 2013 format, but the file will be converted to a regular working copy (.QBW) and not an Accountant's Copy.

Can I open an Accountant's Copy in a version of QuickBooks 2012 and 2013 other than the QuickBooks Accountant?

No, you cannot. Accountant's Copy files created by your client in QuickBooks 2012 and 2013 can only be opened in QuickBooks Accountant 2013 (and QuickBooks Accountant 2012). If you are using a version of QuickBooks 2013 other than the QuickBooks Accountant you can either convert the file to a regular QuickBooks file (.QBW) or ask your client to send a backup or portable file for you to review.

How do I convert an Accountant's Copy to a regular QuickBooks file?

To convert an Accountant's Copy file to a regular QuickBooks company file, go to the File menu, click Utilities, and then click Convert Accountant's Copy to Company File (.QBW). If the file is from an older version of QuickBooks, then you will be prompted to upgrade the company file during the conversion. Once the file is converted, your client will NOT be able to import your changes into their file automatically.

What types of transactions can I enter in batches and how is it faster than using a register?

You can enter client checks, deposits or credit card charges/credits using this feature. You can customize the screen to include just the fields you want for a particular type of transaction. So instead of tabbing through a register and clicking "save" for each transaction, you can enter them all at once and click save. If your client sends you information in a spreadsheet or you download bank transactions for them as a .CSV, you can copy complete rows from Excel and paste them directly into Batch Enter Transactions.

When I email journal entries how does my client enter them into QuickBooks?

Sending journal entries to your clients is a great way to cut down on the time spent exchanging files and confusion for you client. It's essentially an alternative to sending back an Accountant's copy. After you make your journal entries, click the "Send General Journal Entries" button on the top of the form and select the entries you want to send. Your client receives an email with a .QBJ file attached. Your client simply needs to have the company file open and double click the downloaded .QBJ file and it will import the entries automatically. The journal entries must be made in Accountant Edition 2013 and sent to client on a QuickBooks 2013 software edition only.

How can more than one person work on QuickBooks Accountant 2013 at the same time?

The Multi-user mode in QuickBooks Pro and Premier allows up to five users to collaborate on the same company file simultaneously. All users must be networked and must each have their own QuickBooks license (sold separately). To enable multi-user mode, go to the File menu in QuickBooks and choose "Multi-User Mode." If you need more than five users to access QuickBooks at the same time see QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions products.

What are the benefits of Multi-User Mode?

Multi-user mode enables more than one person to work on a company file simultaneously, increasing collaboration and productivity. It ensures that all users are working on the most current data and allows you to set individual user access levels.⁸

When do I need an additional license?

Our standard license agreement requires separate QuickBooks licenses for each person who uses QuickBooks software. However, if you have both a laptop and desktop PC, and you're the only person using QuickBooks, you only need one license. You need to get additional licenses when additional people need to use QuickBooks on their computers. For full details on our license agreement, please click here.

What should I know before installing multiple licenses in a multiple user environment?

All users must be networked in order to take advantage of Multi-User Mode. The company file is a true SQL database, so you can either install QuickBooks on a server and have all users access it there, or users can access the file from a designated user's computer. The installation interview will guide you through the process of setting up QuickBooks according to your network configuration.

What is the maximum number of simultaneous users for a QuickBooks company file?

The maximum number of simultaneous users (users in the file at the same time) for QuickBooks Pro and Premier Editions is five users. A server does not count as a user if no one works on QuickBooks on the server itself. Our Enterprise Solutions and QuickBooks Online products offer the ability for more users to work in the file at the same time.

Can I install a copy of QuickBooks on my network server? Do I need an additional license?

You do not need a separate license if you install QuickBooks on a server for other users to access, but no one directly uses QuickBooks on that server. By choosing the Server Installation during the Installation Interview, QuickBooks will install a version that is appropriate for server access but not for regular QuickBooks use. If you install QuickBooks on your server, you still must have a license for every user of the program.

Is QuickBooks a "true" accounting program? For example, I've heard that: 1) there's no double-sided entry; 2) you can't use account numbers and 3) you can't close periods.

QuickBooks was originally built for small business owners as an accounting management tool to help them make faster work of repetitive tasks. Instead of requiring small business owners to make double-sided entries, QuickBooks automatically provides the balanced entry in the background.

While QuickBooks does not default to using account numbers, you may choose to use account numbers if that's your preference. To use account numbers, open a QuickBooks file. Then, navigate to "Edit" and select "Preferences." Enable the check box for "Use account numbers."

QuickBooks was built to provide flexibility and legitimacy to small business owners and accounting professionals. Closing periods are an important step to ensuring the validity of a company's books. To set a closing date and password in QuickBooks, open a QuickBooks file, navigate to "Preferences," and select the "Company" tab. If you did not password protect the close date and changes have occurred in the closed period, you can use the Closing Date Exception Report to quickly identify the errors.

22. I see the value of having QuickBooks to provide better service for the clients I have who use QuickBooks. What about the clients I have on Peachtree? Why should they switch to QuickBooks?

QuickBooks may be easier for your clients to learn and use than many other small business accounting programs. The simplified "Home" page and Customer, Vendor, and Employee centers make it easy for your clients to quickly access the tasks and data they need. Along with QuickBooks navigation and overall layout, QuickBooks offers several interactive tutorials in the Learning Center that help clients take full advantage of their use of QuickBooks.

Your clients may find QuickBooks is more adaptable for their industries than Peachtree. QuickBooks offers six different industry-specific editions — Contractor, Nonprofit, Retail, Manufacturing and Wholesale, and Professional Services.

Can I use QuickBooks for payroll and write-up services?

QuickBooks Accountant 2013 is a comprehensive bookkeeping, write-up, and financial reporting tool. With built-in features like Client Data Review, Working Trial Balance tool, and Fixed Asset Manager you can provide multiple services to different clients of varying sizes and industries. Additionally, QuickBooks Accountant integrates with the different QuickBooks editions,⁵ allowing you to easily exchange, adjust and return the accounting records from your QuickBooks clients. It also integrates with Intuit's professional tax programs.

QuickBooks also provides a full range of payroll solutions from in-house options like QuickBooks Payroll Basic and Payroll Enhanced. QuickBooks Payroll Enhanced for Accountants integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks⁵ and is strongly recommended for accountants who provide payroll processing as a value-added service to clients.

What about inventory? I've always thought that Peachtree was better for product-based businesses than QuickBooks.

QuickBooks Accountant 2013, QuickBooks Premier Manufacturing and Wholesale 2013, and QuickBooks Premier Retail 2013 have comprehensive inventory features for product-based businesses. These features include:

• "Available to Promise" window
• Bill of Materials feature:
  • View the total cost associated with price-assembled products in one simple view
  • Factor in cost of materials as well as non-material items such as overhead, supplies, depreciation, and labor
• Sales Order Fulfillment worksheet
• Backorder capabilities
• Ability to store 200 unique addresses for each customer
• Power to update costs directly on transactions such as bills
• Capability to run price list reports within the price level list
• Ability to choose from a large selection of rounding options for each price level
• There are also over 400 QuickBooks Software Add-on applications, developed by the Intuit Developer Network that can help your clients with their specific inventory needs

If I'm using the same software that my clients use, will I be able to charge the rates that I do? Can't my clients do the same thing I'm doing if we're using the same accounting software platform?

QuickBooks Accountant is a tool, but it cannot replace an accounting professional's experience, expertise, and analytical judgment. If you and your clients are using the same accounting software platform, you can accomplish your most repetitive tasks faster, giving you more time to provide the expert service that commands higher billable rates. Accountant is specifically designed for accounting professionals, not your clients. This comprehensive bookkeeping, write-up, and financial reporting tool includes advanced accounting features to help you expand the scope of services you offer clients.