As an example, a client who used class as a geographical categorization had a large customer that would purchase items from multiple classes on the same invoice. I showed the client how to add class as a column on their invoice, and they were relieved that they didn’t have to do their extra paperwork anymore.

Take a look at how several Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors® are solving business issues by simply adding a field or two to various QuickBooks forms.

Faster, Smoother Collections












Beth, a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, uses the payment stub idea on her firm’s invoices. “We include an area with credit card processing information, so the client can choose to pay that way. Our invoices also include the logos of the credit cards that we accept,” says Beth.

Clearer Invoices























Profitability

Mario Nowogrodzki, CPA, CITP and founder of Mendelson Consulting, Inc. in Pembroke Pines, Florida, uses the Class column on his firm’s invoices to designate which of his consultants (timekeepers) has done the work. “We also Class the related expenses, such as salaries and subcontractor payments, so we can have a Profit and Loss Report by Class showing us the bottom line on what each consultant is bringing in.”












Better Customer Service








This way, “Sales enters the shipping information, such as ship collect or ship using customer’s shipping number, in the two fields on the Sales Order. It rolls to both the Purchase Order and the Invoice,” says Anne, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks® ProAdvisor and a member of Intuit® Accounting Professionals Trainer/Writer Network. “When the customer receives the invoice, they know their shipping instructions were followed.”

Time Savers

Mario redesigned a Sales Receipt for one restaurant client to help out their elderly bookkeeper. He matched the Sales Receipt design, line by line, with a daily summary report from a POS system that wasn’t integrated with QuickBooks. “The bookkeeper could keypunch the day’s totals into the form, and each line would represent the pertinent revenue and cash equivalents,” he says. (Mario is also a member of Intuit® Accounting Professionals Trainer/Writer Network.)












In summing up, consider making it a regular practice to review the tasks your clients are struggling with, and keep in mind the idea of customizing forms as a possible solution. Your client will likely be grateful for the time you save them.

Sandi Smith, CPA, coaches CPAs to succeed in business. Her website is http://www.BrainWaysTraining.com.

Renee Daggett, President of Administrative Bookkeeping Co., Inc. in Morgan Hill, California, helps clients speed their collections by adding a PAST DUE watermark to applicable statements. “My clients say that this feature opens communications; their customers call them to let them know a check is already in the mail or when they will be able to pay,” says Renee, a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.

To add a PAST DUE watermark to your statement, copy your existing statement template and name it Past Due Statement Template. In Layout Designer, add a text box with PAST DUE, and adjust the colors and fonts to your liking. When sending out statements to clients with past due balances, switch to the Past Due Template before printing.
It’s easy to have a new QuickBooks® client use the standard forms templates that come with QuickBooks. After all, there’s so much else to set up in the initial engagement, and your client is anxious to get started. But if you use the standard templates, you are overlooking a prime chance to add tremendous value for your customer.

Even if you wait until after setup time, or gain a new client that is already using QuickBooks, I have found that reviewing their use of forms and customizing them for their business can save the client precious time. Making basic modifications, such as helping clients add their logos, change their fonts, and add new fields to the invoice form, is only the start.
To make sure payments get matched to the correct property, Beth Whitworth, CPA and principal of On Point Solutions, LLC in Fenton, Missouri, has added a return payment stub to the invoice for her Homeowners Association clients. The stub includes the property address and resident name so the payment can be accurately matched, avoiding deposit delays.

“The clients use the weekly timesheets to record their employees' hours, Customer:Job, and Service Item information. They then record a brief description of the work performed on that day in the Notes field,” she says. “Now invoicing is a breeze.”
Linda Swett, founder of R-Tech Services, Inc. in Redwood City, California, has customized the invoice layout for several of her clients that bill on a time and materials basis. “I added the Date as a column. When clients select the ‘Add Time/Costs’ button to bring in billable time on an invoice, it also brings in the date. In that way, the customer being billed can see by day what work they are being billed for,” Linda says, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.

Linda uses this same technique with her invoices. “I find it helps the client remember all of the valuable work I did on a given day rather than just billing them for two hours of QuickBooks consulting.”
A Selling Advantage

“We redesigned an Estimate template to resemble a letter for a client who sold high-end CAD software support subscriptions,” says Mario, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and a member of Sleeter Group Consultants Network.

“The client sent these estimate forms as their customers’ subscription renewal notices. This was much easier for the client than generating them in Word.”

When a manufacturing customer needed to coordinate customer-supplied shipping information among three departments, sales, purchasing, and warehouse, Anne Coles, President of The Wren Group, Inc. in Loganville, Georgia, had a solution.

"I added two custom fields, Shipping Terms and Shipping Account, on the customer forms,” she says.
Laura Madeira, a QuickBooks Enterprise Solution Provider and founder of ACS, Inc. in Plano, Texas, is not into reinventing the wheel. “I love showing clients how to go to the Intuit Community Forms Template Gallery to download forms, custom readymade!” says Laura, author of QuickBooks 2009 Solutions Guide and an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. “In fact, our own business uses one of the invoice forms.”

To Sum Up

Well, first we want to thank Renee, Beth, Linda, Mario, Anne and Laura for their time and helpful advice.