Thirty years ago, we didn’t have a choice. When it was time to pay bills, we either mailed off checks immediately or put the paper bills in a folder or stack. Maybe we marked their due dates on a calendar or clipped them to calendar pages a few days before the due date so we wouldn’t forget.  But we sometimes forgot anyway – especially if we didn’t have a system for organizing our accounts payable. When this happened, it could lead to late fees and uncomfortable relationships with the people and companies we owed money to.   Of course, these days, you may pay your bills directly on t ..read more

Unless your business always collects payment for items and services on the spot (or accepts credit cards on your website), you must know how to create effective invoices. QuickBooks Online makes this easy. You could complete invoice forms and send them out within about 15 minutes of logging in for the first time.  But would these sales forms be the best you could do? No. To get them noticed and (hopefully) paid immediately (or at least by the due date), you need to take advantage of the tools QuickBooks Online provides to improve the effectiveness of your invoices. And you’ll need to use ..read more

Accounts payable (AP) fraud is a significant risk that can harm your company's finances and reputation. This article will cover the essentials of detecting and preventing AP fraud. Understanding AP Fraud Vulnerabilities AP fraud can manifest in various forms, including billing schemes, check tampering, and expense reimbursement fraud. Traditional manual processes often leave room for these frauds due to issues like: Lack of segregation of duties Inadequate controls over vendor master files These vulnerabilities can allow fraud to go undetected, impacting financial stability and stakehold ..read more

Starting June 13, 2024, QuickBooks Online Payroll will offer a significant upgrade that empowers employees with a more flexible way to manage their direct deposit information. This new feature, accessible through QuickBooks Workforce, will streamline how your staff updates their banking details, making payroll processes smoother and more efficient for small businesses. Here’s everything you need to know about these changes and how they can benefit employers and employees. Critical Changes to QuickBooks Payroll Direct Deposit Management Direct Edit by Employees Employees paid exclusively via di ..read more

Creating comprehensive, accurate customer profiles in QuickBooks Online takes time. It’s tempting to enter the minimum information required to process transactions, but there are numerous benefits to including every possible detail that QuickBooks Online allows – and making sure they’re correct. For example:  You can do deeper, more insightful searches Your reports can be filtered by more criteria, making them more focused Your marketing efforts can be more targeted Your communication with customers will be more informed Importing customer files If you have customer files in CSV ..read more

Do you remember trying to summarize your accounting data before you started using QuickBooks? It couldn't be done. You'd have to organize your invoices, bills, and purchase orders into stacks and comb through them. A calculator was involved, and a lot of time. Trying to match invoices with payments had you look back and forth between your bank statements, computer screen, and the invoices themselves. One of QuickBooks' top features is the ability to run reports. A combination database and giant calculator, the software's dozens of pre-built report templates run in seconds. You can customize th ..read more

Ever feel like your business finances are on a rollercoaster ride? One minute, you're flush with customer payments; the next, you're scrambling to cover payroll. Cash flow – the lifeblood of any small business – can be a tricky beast to manage. But fear not, fellow entrepreneur! There's a powerful new weapon in your financial arsenal: Artificial Intelligence (AI). Intuit is at the forefront of integrating AI into its QuickBooks Online software to help you manage cash flow. Here's how this exciting technology can give your business a much-needed financial edge: Predicting the future (without a ..read more

As a trusted advisor and partner to many businesses, Peak Advisers is always at the forefront of accounting software innovations. This post aims to update you on an important upcoming QuickBooks Online change involving how you handle invoicing – a critical aspect of any business's workflow. Goodbye old, hello new: Invoice layout update Starting May 6, 2024, QuickBooks Online is phasing out the old invoicing layout in favor of a sleek new design. This is not just a cosmetic update – the new layout streamlines invoicing processes, incorporating user feedback and the latest usability research. Wh ..read more

Small business owners often manage multiple roles, from day-to-day operations to growth strategies. Because of this complexity, QuickBooks Enterprise emerges as a versatile tool, making processes easier and improving financial management. Yet, the real magic happens when this advanced software is paired with the specialized guidance of Peak Advisers. Here's how this partnership moves the traditional approach to business management into a more straightforward, more strategic process. QuickBooks Enterprise's new and upgraded capabilities Now, let's take a closer look at some of the specific fea ..read more

The Projects function in QuickBooks Online is not just another tool, it's a game changer for job costing in the construction industry. Its unique features offer real-time insights into project profitability, revolutionizing how you manage your projects and paving the way for a new era of efficiency. Simplifying Project Management Projects in QuickBooks Online offer an easy way for construction businesses and contractors to track and manage their construction projects: New projects can be set up swiftly Asset invoicing and budgeting are organized under individual projects Project-related ..read more