Hans Kasper, MS-CPA, PS

Recommended Accountants and Bookkeepers
QuickBooks Bookkeeping Checklist
 

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Each of the accountants and bookkeepers below is capable of performing at a high level on most accounting and bookkeeping tasks.  In addition, each of them understands how a business operates.

King County
Rob Palmini
Part-time Controller Services
Palmini Consulting
Snoqualmie WA
425-677-5263
http://www.palminiconsulting.com
rob@palminiconsulting.com

Greater Snohomish County and North King County
Joyce Burns
Balanced Bookkeeping LLC
Mill Creek WA
425-923-8300
joyce@balancedbookkeepingllc.com

Seattle, Eastside, North King County, and South Snohomish County
Tracy Peterson
Accounting for You LLC
Kenmore WA
425-478-1013
accountingforyou@comcast.net
www.accountingforyoullc@comcast.com

South Snohomish County and the Eastside
Tiffany Pace
BS in Accounting
Bookkeeping and Accounting Services
Bothell WA
425-877-4355
Tiffany@northsoundaccounting.com
www.northsoundaccounting.com

Seattle, Eastside, North King County, and South Snohomish County
Linda Olsen
Full Charge Bookkeeping and Office Support
Lynnwood WA
425-381-0175
bnosolutions09@yahoo.com

QUICKBOOKS BOOKKEEPING CHECKLIST

Learning QuickBooks

I recommend that you purchase and read the following two books and read them.

□   QuickBooks for Dummies

□   Accounting for Dummies

Record Retention

  1. Asset purchase invoices and depreciation schedule—forever.
  2. Payroll records—forever.
  3. Bank statements—six years.
  4. Tax returns—forever.
  5. Cancelled checks—six years.
  6. Paid bills and credit card statements—six years.
  7. Customer invoices—six years.
  8. Lease agreements—forever.
  9. Contracts—forever.
  10. Corporate minutes—forever.
  11. Legal communication—forever.
  12. Real estate records—forever.

Simple Recordkeeping system for non-QuickBooks clients

Expenses

  1. Create 12—9x12 expense envelopes labeled January to December.
  2. As the month proceeds, place all of your expense receipts in the envelope.
  3. At the end of the month, write on the outside of the envelope, by expense category, the amount of each receipt and total each category.
  4. A list of common business expenses can be located at:

        http://hkmscpa.forest.net/Business%20Expense%20List.pdf

Income

  1. Retain copies of all customer invoices in date paid order.
  2. Prepare a schedule for the year listing income by month with a total for the year.

Complex Recordkeeping system for QuickBooks clients

Expenses

  1. Create 26 file folders labeled A-Z.
  2. Create file folders for specific vendors that are large and have many invoices.
  3. As the year proceeds and bills are paid, place the paid bill, based on the vendor’s name, in the appropriate file folder.
  4. Write the check number on the paid bill and the credit card statements.

Income

  1. Create the invoices in QuickBooks

Payroll processing

  1. We recommend that you do not process payroll yourself using QuickBooks unless you have a background in bookkeeping or have a bookkeeper doing the payroll.
  2. We recommend that you use a payroll service called Paychex (please call us for a local contact number—we do not receive a commission for this.)
    1. You will give them the hours by employee—this can also be done on the internet.
    2. They will take money out of your bank account and pay the employees by check or direct deposit.
    3. They will take money out of your bank account and pay the payroll taxes so that you can avoid late deposit penalties.
    4. They will file all of the payroll tax returns for you automatically—941, 940, Labor and Industries, Employment Security, W-2s and W-3.
  3. We recommend only Paychex because they are the only service that will also file the Labor and Industries tax returns.
  4. You must learn how to enter the Paychex payroll summary into QuickBooks using the “make journal entry” feature in QuickBooks.
     

Bank and Credit Card Accounts

We presume that you are correctly entering and reconciling your QuickBooks file data.  If you need help or training, please go to our web site at www.hkmscpa.com and look on the home page for a web link title Recommended Bookkeepers for a listing of people to call.
 

Checking, savings, and money market accounts

  1. Reconcile all bank accounts
  2. Review all old outstanding items and void them if they are no longer valid

Accounts receivable

  1. Print the accounts receivable aging from the Reports/Customers menu for the year-end
  2. Correct or clear all invoices that have been paid and
  3. correct or clear all negative balances that are incorrect


Inventory—for contractors, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retail businesses

  1. At year end, take a physical count of the inventory
  2. Value it at actual cost (including materials, labor, and overhead if you are a contractor or a manufacturer.)
  1. Make sure that the current year’s total fixed asset beginning balance equals the depreciation schedule in last year’s tax return
  2. Make sure that the current year’s total accumulated depreciation beginning balance equals the depreciation schedule in last year’s tax return.
  3. Vehicle and equipment purchases and leases that are purchases (a $1 buyout at the end of the lease) should be included in the fixed asset account
  4. Vehicle leases that are rentals (not a $1 buyout) should be included in the auto expense account
  5. For all assets that have been sold, book the sale transaction correctly including any related debt balances
  6. For all assets that have been traded-in, book the trade-in transaction correctly including any related debt balances
  7. For all current year fixed asset purchases that are less than $500, move them to an expense account


Accounts Payable in QuickBooks

  1. Print the accounts payable aging from the Reports/Vendors menu.
  2. Correct or clear all invoices that have been paid and
  3. correct or clear all negative balances that are incorrect


Line of Credit Accounts

  1. Reconcile all line of credit accounts using the QuickBooks feature that reconciles the accounts [bank menu / reconcile].
  2. Make sure that it balances to the year-end statement from the bank or loan company.


Credit Card Accounts

  1. Reconcile all credit card accounts using the QuickBooks feature that reconciles the accounts [bank menu / reconcile].
  2. Make sure that it balances to the year-end statement.
  3. Make sure that all outstanding items older than 30 days are either voided or determined to be correct.


Payroll Taxes Payable

  1. Form 941 Federal income tax withholding, FICA tax, and Medicare Tax payable.
  2. Suta tax payable (Employment Security.)
  3. Form 940 Futa tax payable.
  4. Labor and Industries tax payable (Washington workmen’s compensation.)
  5. The payable amount  for the above four taxes should equal
    1. The amount paid in January that is attributable to 2007 payrolls PLUS
    2. Any amount still due and not paid prior to the end of the year.


Sales Tax Payable—City and State

  1. The payable amount  for the above taxes should equal
    1. The amount paid in January that is attributable to 2007 cash receipts from sales collected PLUS
    2. Any amount still due and not paid prior to the end of the year from prior periods / quarters.
       

Retirement Plan Contributions

  1. For Simple IRAs, 401k and profit sharing plans, balance the payable account to the amount due at the end of the year that is to be paid in January

  2. For SEP IRAs, make the balance come to zero since the amount due is calculated at the time of the preparation of the tax return


C Corporation estimated tax payments

  1. Estimated tax payments for C corporations account be booked to this liability account
     

Vehicle, Equipment, and Bank Term Loans

  1. Using either an amortization schedule or a loan balance statement from the lending company, balance the account to the year end balance.


Loans TO and FROM Owners of Corporations and Partnerships

  1. The balance at the beginning of the year should be the balance on the tax return for the prior year

  2. Make sure that interest is being paid

  3. Make sure that a note has been prepared


Opening Equity Balance in QuickBooks

  1. For each entry in the account
  2. Some of this balance may come from the opening equity account


Common Stock (Corporations) or Capital Accounts (Partnerships)

  1. The balance at the beginning of the year should be the balance on the tax return for the prior year
  2. If the entry amount is small, edit the entry and change the account it was charged to as “Bank Charges.”
  3. If the entry amount is large, then leave it alone and we will look at it or have a bookkeeper fix it.


Sole Proprietorship and Partnership Draw Accounts in QuickBooks

  1. Close the balance at the beginning of the year to the capital account

  2. This entry should be made on January 1st

  3. All estimated taxes paid on behalf of the partners should be booked to this account


“S” Corporation S-Distribution Account in QuickBooks

  1. Close the balance at the beginning of the year to the retained earnings account

  2. This entry should be made on January 1st

  3. All estimated taxes paid on behalf of the owner should be booked to this account
     

“C” Corporation Dividends Paid Account in QuickBooks

  1. Close the balance at the beginning of the year to the retained earnings account

  2. This entry should be made on January 1st
     

Income, Sales, or Revenue

  1. Reclassify all non-taxable amounts


Vehicle expenses for Vehicles Used in the Business

  1. Move all auto loan payments to the loan accounts on the balance sheet
  2. Move all auto lease payments that are treated as purchases to the loan accounts on the balance sheet
  3. Make sure that all actual auto expenses for the operation of the business vehicles are included in this account
  4. It is best to break the account down sub-accounts between gas, repairs, insurance, and interest for each vehicle as each vehicle may have a different personal usage amount


Off the Road Fuel Usage

  1. Book any off-the-road fuel purchases to this account

  2. For example: fuel consumed by generators used for business purposes


Salaries and Wages Expense

  1. Make sure that the salaries and wages are reported as the gross amounts

  2. Make sure that for corporations that the owner’s salary is booked into an account that is separate from the employees
     

Meals and entertainment 50%

  1. All meals and entertainment expense amounts should be entered to this account
  2. Except for company gatherings that include all employees, which should be entered to an account titled “Meals and entertainment 100%”


Business expense charges on a personal credit card NOT PREVIOUSLY ENTERED IN QUICKBOOKS

  1. Make sure that these expenses are recorded on the books
     

Personal Expenses

  1. All personal expenses should be booked to the draw, S distribution, or loan to owners account (C corporations)
     

Office in the Home

  1. Proprietorships – do not enter these expenses as we will make this calculation at the time the tax return is prepared

  2. Partnerships - do not enter these expenses as we will make this calculation at the time the tax return is prepared

  3. S and C Corporations – pay yourself a monthly rental amount that we will calculate for you
     

Operating License

  1. To protect yourself, you are responsible to make sure that you operating licenses are current

  2. We will not prepare a corporate return until the license is current

 

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This page was last updated on 06/21/2010