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quick books pro fields

I have purchased quickbooks pro.
In the past on other systems I have always used a journal/transaction number as my main reference for filing. Thus I file purchase invoices under journal/transaction refernce number and it seems to work quite well.
In quickbooks pro the journal reference doesnt seem to be listed on reports am I missing something?
There appears to be 2 fields a ref field and a memo field. I was thinking of using the ref field for the supplier invoice number, and perhaps the memo field for our inhouse sequential filing number so that we can then find the invoices. However the memo field doesnt appear to be printed on the standard reports.
What do other quickbook users use as a source number for reference/filing.
Thanks
Lee

AccountingWEB.co.uk 2-Mar-2005
Categories: Software, Software, Any Answers
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Number of comments: 5

User Comment Lee, 03 March 2005 @ 17:46 PM

thanks Joyce
Yes it may be cleaner although presumambly you have to be pretty careful on monthly managment accounts re cut off, ie if you go back and change an analysis code or the date on an invoice, presumambly your monthly movment on a particular account when added to the prior months YTD balance will not then add up to the cumulative to date figure (when using last months printed man acs prior to adjustment), which may look a little silly. I guess its just a question of being careful at month ends, and ensuring that once the management accounts are done for a particular period, then either shut the period as per Tims reply, or force the invoice date to the next period.
Have you had any such problems?
Lee

User Comment Joyce Beck, 03 March 2005 @ 13:43 PM

The joys of QuickBooks
Once you get your head round it, the fact that QB does NOT close periods in any meaningful sense gives you a better set of accounting records.

You can recall an old transaction and correct it, instead of posting journals - QB will not let you change the VAT on a transaction it has already filed, but you could, for example, change the expense account to which it posted, the date, the supplier, the reference and memo fields - so you won't end up with a pile of journals that require explaining and mess up your reports, but much 'cleaner' data instead. This helps to make QB's data a good source of management information, when coupled with its versatile reporting. Do find time to play around with the reports, particularly see what you can achieve with the Custom Transaction Detail Report and exporting to Excel - you can't possibly do any harm, and you should find that you can answer some quite obscure managerial questions, with judicious use of memo and description fields.

I don't use the transaction number in any regular sense, I file purchases alphabetically by supplier - then anybody looking through them doesn't need to know anything about how I post them in order to stand a good chance of finding what they are looking for.

User Comment Tim Reed, 03 March 2005 @ 09:26 AM

Closing date
Hi Lee
You can 'close' a period this way:~
(edit)(preferences)(accounting)(company preferences)closing date. If you enter a closing date then you will be asked to confirm an entry if it's date is prior to the close.
As to month end accruals you can enter a journal (banking)(make journal entries)for the transaction. Once made if you recall the journal on screen hit the 'reverse'button and the journal will be reversed on the first day of the next month. Then you can post the invoice properly.
Cheers
Tim

User Comment Lee, 02 March 2005 @ 18:30 PM

Fantastic
Thanks Tim, thats fantastic.
Do you mind if a ask you one more thing?
Re Cut off there doesnt appear to be a posting period. Am I correct in thinking that basically the transaction date is the key here.
So one needs to be pretty careful re month end and quarter ends not to accrue for an expense and when the invoice comes if one uses the original date there is a chance of double counting. Can you force such items into the next period, or is it just a matter of changing the date on the invoice.
Is there a way of closing/locking the period.

I've only had a quick look at qb but other than the the queries above it looks a pretty good bit of kit and very good value for money.

User Comment Tim Reed, 02 March 2005 @ 15:27 PM

Trans Number
Hi Lee
Yes use the ref field for the supplier invoice number. That way if you inadvertantly enter a supplier invoice twice you will be warned that you have done so.
QuickBooks assigns a "trans number" to each transaction. This is hidden away in the background and is not normally shown in reports.
You can modify most reports to include the trans number( run the report, click "modify report" and under display check the 'trans number' option.) I find this particularly useful for the VAT detail report( which I sort by trans number).

You can also run a report based on the transaction number.(reports)(custom transaction detail report)Choose your dates, check the 'trans number' field, sort by 'trans number'and sort in descending order.
This will report all transactions with the most recent at the top. When entering bills I use an automatic numbering machine to stamp the trans number before filing away in order.
You can find the trans number of any transaction by hitting the 'journal' button when the transaction is on screen.
I only use the memo field for comments.

I think you will find that this will be the best solution, if not ask again!
Cheers
Tim

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