QuickBooks Help and Small Business

Archive for October, 2009

Memorized Transactions

Friday, October 9th, 2009 by lacrews

One way to be more efficient with your time is by using Memorized Transactions in QuickBooks . When you memorize a transaction, QuickBooks remembers all of the relevant details and either processes it automatically or reminds you that it’s due, you decide. A memorized transaction could be bills that show up in the same amount every month, like your rent payment, or obligations that change regularly, like your utility bill. You can specify the amount due if it’s static, or leave the amount open if it regularly changes, making this feature very flexible and easy to set up. Think of the possibilities: invoices, credit card charges, maintenance fees…. What do YOU use Memorized Transactions for? We’d love to hear your suggestions.

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Record Keeping for Business Expenses

Monday, October 5th, 2009 by lacrews

We’ve entered Q4 of 2009! Generally, you must have documentary evidence, such as receipts, canceled checks, or bills, to support your expenses. This chart offers some information you may need to keep to prove expenses for travel, entertainment, gift, and transportation expenses courtesy of IRS.

If you have expenses for . . .	THEN you must keep records that show details of the following elements . . .
	Amount	Time	Place or Description	Business Purpose Business Relationship
Travel	Cost of each separate expense for travel, lodging, and meals. Incidental expenses may be totaled in reasonable categories such as taxis, fees and tips, etc.	Dates you left and returned for each trip and number of days spent on business.	Destination or area of your travel (name of city, town, or other designation).	Purpose: Business purpose for the expense or the business benefit gained or expected to be gained.Relationship: N/A
Entertainment	Cost of each separate expense. Incidental expenses such as taxis, telephones, etc., may be totaled on a daily basis.	Date of entertainment. (Also see Business Purpose.)	Name and address or location of place of entertainment. Type of entertainment if not otherwise apparent. (Also see Business Purpose.)	Purpose: Business purpose for the expense or the business benefit gained or expected to be gained. For entertainment, the nature of the business discussion or activity. If the entertainment was directly before or after a business discussion: the date, place, nature, and duration of the business discussion, and the identities of the persons who took part in both the business discussion and the entertainment activity.Relationship: Occupations or other information (such as names, titles, or other designations) about the recipients that shows their business relationship to you. For entertainment, you must also prove that you or your employee was present if the entertainment was a business meal.
Gifts	Cost of the gift.	Date of the gift.	Description of the gift.
Transportation	Cost of each separate expense. For car expenses, the cost of the car and any improvements, the date you started using it for business, the mileage for each business use, and the total miles for the year.	Date of the expense. For car expenses, the date of the use of the car.	Your business destination.	Purpose: Business purpose for the expense.Relationship: N/A