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Home Archives for Art Stumpp
Payroll Overview

October 15, 2013 By Art Stumpp

Payroll Overview

payrollThere are a healthy number of payroll services that we can manage and overview for your company or financial needs.

Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly, Check processing– We can create payroll checks. One can pay employees weekly, every two weeks, or monthly

Business Tax Deposits and Reporting– We can manage federal, state, and local payroll deposits and reports.

Year-end W2 Processing– We can create annual tax forms.

Wage Garnishment Checks & Processing– We can manage garnishments on payroll checks.  We can pay third parties the garnishments that are required.

Finally, we can manage the following special situations:

  • Vacations
  • Sick Pay
  • Direct Deposit
  • Garnishments
  • HSA

Email us today to receive further information and to qualify for a limited time introductory offer.

art@stlouisaccountingservices.com

Filed Under: Payroll in St Louis

St. Louis Accounting Services Offered

September 6, 2013 By Art Stumpp

St. Louis Accounting Services Offered

The following are provided by St. Louis Accounting Services:

 

logo_stlouisaccountingservices1. Company Setup-QuickBooks and Sage 50 (Peachtree) – Create new company in QuickBooks or Sage 50 (Peachtree) Software-Setup Company information, preferences, chart of accounts, and basic financial reports

2. Bookkeeping-QuickBooks and Sage 50 (Peachtree) – Record daily financial transactions in QuickBooks or Sage 50 (Peachtree) software.

3. Write Up-QuickBooks and Sage 50 (Peachtree) – Reconcile Bank statements, Create standard financial reports consisting of : income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis in QuickBooks and Sage 50 (Peachtree) software

4. Quarterly Review- Examine and clean up 3 months of financial information in QuickBooks or Sage 50 (Peachtree) software.

5. Payroll-QuickBooks and Sage 50 (Peachtree) – Record and report payroll information in QuickBooks and Sage 50 (Peachtree) software.

6. Consulting-QuickBooks and Sage 50 (Peachtree) – Perform other assignments not covered in the above categories in QuickBooks or Sage 50 (Peachtree) software.

Filed Under: St Louis Accounting Services

An Overview of Sage 50 Accounting Software

September 3, 2013 By Art Stumpp

An Overview of Sage 50 Accounting Software

sage-50.jpg I will discuss the different accounting software offered by Sage for various businesses. Sage 50 accounting software is the new name for what was formerly known as Peachtree accounting software.

Sage 50 has the following accounting software programs:

1. Sage 50 Pro Accounting

2. Sage 50 Complete Accounting

3. Sage 50 Premium Accounting

4. Sage 50 Quantum Accounting

5. Sage 50 Accounting by Industry

Sage 50 Pro Accounting is for organizations that need basic accounting functions. It has accounts payable. Accounts payable covers check writing, bill payment, and purchases. It has accounts receivable. Accounts receivable covers quotes, invoices, payment receipts, and sales orders. Sage 50 Pro Accounting also has automatic backup.

Sage 50 Complete Accounting controls cash flow, payments, and customer collections. It has custom reporting for budgeting, cash flow reporting, and to help set goals and measure results. It helps an organization get a complex view of their financial measurements. It tracks inventory, anticipated purchases, and increased service offerings. It helps decrease errors and discourage fraud with screen level security and a sound audit trail.

Next, Sage 50 Premium Accounting is more advanced than the previous accounting software. An organization can manage budgets and departments: it has dashboards that focus on key business statistics and that can change order processing. Change order processing means that one can change a purchase order or sales order on the fly. It has more advanced inventory features, can use serial numbers to manage warranty claims, recalls, and more. An organization can create and share meaningful reports with custom reporting tools.

Next, Sage 50 Quantum Accounting is useful for large organizations. It can handle between five to forty licensed users. An organization can design customized dashboards to manage important real time information and access it easily. One can stay current on their order process with automated workflows. It helps manage customers, inventory, and jobs with important management centers. It has industry- specific functionality and has custom reporting tools to create important reports. Sage 50 Quantum Accounting is for organizations that are large and have complex accounting needs.

Finally, Sage 50 Accounting by Industry fulfills specific accounting needs to the construction, distribution, manufacturing, and nonprofit organizations. Each version has functions and reporting specific to each industry. It also has the core accounting features that is required for each industry.

In conclusion, Sage 50 (formerly Peachtree) has various accounting software. It has different levels of accounting software for most organizations. An organization should select the software that fits their accounting needs. If you would like further information, or have questions, please sign up for a free consultation with St. Louis Accounting Services.

Filed Under: St Louis Accountant, St Louis Accounting Services, St Louis Bookkeeping Services

The Advantages of QuickBooks (QBO) Online

August 30, 2013 By Art Stumpp

The Advantages of QuickBooks (QBO) Online

quickbooksonlineI would like to discuss the unique advantages of QuickBooks (QBO) Online. QuickBooks Online is responding to the wishes of business owners. Intuit (the creator of QuickBooks software) found in a survey in the fall of 2011 that 58% of business owners wanted to access business and financial records on- the- run. In the same survey, 63% use at least one online software product for their business needs. In addition, business owners expect to increase their application usage from 2 to 7 in 2012.  Finally, 43% of all owners state that all their employees use mobile devices to work outside of the office.

QuickBooks Online has experience growth of 30% to 40% for several years.

Now, I would like to start showing some of the advantages of QuickBooks Online. It reduces workflow cost; by cloud computing, QuickBooks is available anytime and anywhere. It saves costs on data entry- the information is available on the Internet. It reduces the costs of meeting between the accountant and the business owner- travel time is eliminated, allowing the business owner to be more aware of the accountant’s workflow. The secured sharing is stronger- the infrastructure where the data is stored is similar to what the major banks use. The data is encrypted and the speed and productivity increases.

Large training manuals do not exist. The initial setup is faster. QuickBooks Online (QBO) offers automatic backup and upgrades. Business owners do not have to worry about backup files or the latest version of software. Finally, it is very affordable. The costs are subscription based. QBO support is free.

Also, having a software application manage your IT costs reduces the hardware, software, and people who are required to manage it all.

QuickBooks Online can serve the needs of various types of businesses. It has three versions:

1. QuickBooks Online Simple Start

2. QuickBooks Online Essentials

3. QuickBooks Online Plus

QuickBooks Online Simple Start is for business owners that are just starting. One can import customer data from Excel. One can create and manage bills. It measures sales and expenses. It has over twenty one-click business reports. It can handle one bank account or credit card account. It prints checks. It can only accommodate one user.

QuickBooks Online Essentials starts with all of the features of QBO Simple Start. It has automated invoicing, accounts payable, and estimates. It can handle payroll. It has over forty plus one-click business reports. It can manage unlimited downloaded transactions. One can have three users, and permission controls can be created.

QuickBooks Online Plus starts with all of the features of QBO Essentials. It offers for established businesses, time tracking, purchase orders, FIFO inventory management, and 1099 tax forms. It can manage sales tax. It has class and location functions. It has budgeting and planning tools. It has over sixty five plus business reports. One can have five users.

Finally, business owners can increase and grow the power of QuickBooks Online by adding applications (apps) from third party providers. QuickBooks Online handles all of the accounting needs of an organization. Apps can help with small business management. One does not have to reenter data and risk creating mistakes. Recently, Intuit created the Intuit Payment Network. It handles QBO invoices that have been emailed. One can pay them online by check or credit card. Finally, QuickBooks Online (QBO) changes every day since it is online.

In conclusion, QuickBooks Online (QBO) responds to the wishes of the business owner. It has several advantages and can serve the needs of many organizations. One can increase the power of QuickBooks Online (QBO) with business applications (apps).

This discussion gave a brief overview of QuickBooks Online (QBO). If one has questions or needs further information, please do not hesitate to contact St. Louis Accounting Services for a free consultation.

Filed Under: Quickbooks Online, St Louis Accounting Services, St Louis Bookkeeping Services

August 27, 2013 By Art Stumpp

An Overview of QuickBooks Payroll Software

Shutterstock - BusinessQuickBooks is known for their accounting software but they also offer payroll software too. This payroll software is compatible with the accounting software. Intuit (The maker of QuickBooks software) has several payroll options for all types of businesses and organizations. I will give a brief overview of their payroll software. QuickBooks has the following payroll software:

1. QuickBooks Payroll Enhanced

2. QuickBooks Payroll Assisted

3. QuickBooks Online Payroll

4. QuickBooks Payroll Enhanced for Accountants

5. QuickBooks Online Payroll for Accounting Professionals

First, let us examine QuickBooks Payroll Enhanced. This payroll software allows organizations to control their own payroll within the software. It computes earnings, payroll taxes, and deductions. It computes gross pay. It can handle workmen compensation, federal forms and most state forms, and also has a direct deposit feature. QuickBooks Payroll Enhanced also has a job costing feature. This payroll software is for organizations that want to manage their payroll reporting internally.

Next, let us examine QuickBooks Payroll Assisted. It is for organizations that want a third party to manage their payroll. It pays employees by direct deposit within the QuickBooks software. Tax payments are created and tax forms are produced as part of the service. The funds for the tax payments are withdrawn from the client’s bank account directly and transferred to the correct taxing authority. It is compatible with QuickBooks software and has a job costing feature.

Next, let us examine QuickBooks Online Payroll. It is available anytime and anywhere. It computes earnings, payroll taxes, and deductions. One can print paychecks and pay stubs from their printer.

Direct deposit and electronic tax filing are available. One can create quarterly and year- end tax filings and W-2s. It can export payroll data to your QuickBooks file with a single click. Finally, this option offers an independent payroll solution. One can hide the payroll information from the staff that works in the QuickBooks file.

Finally, the last two options are for organizations that want an accountant involved in their payroll management. QuickBooks Payroll Enhanced for Accountants creates payroll records for those clients that do not use QuickBooks software or keep manual payroll records. It can produce client-ready payroll reports.

QuickBooks Online Payroll for Accounting Professionals is available any time and any where. The client can control how much or how little the accountant is involved in the payroll management.

The accountant can set the client’s access level to the online payroll software. The clients and their employees can enter their own hours. Management can review the information before payroll is produced.

In conclusion, QuickBooks has several options for payroll. One has to decide how involve they want to be in their payroll management. One can also decide the accountant’s level of involvement. If one has questions or needs further information, please do not hesitate to email me at art@stlouisaccountingservices.com to set up a free one hour consultation.

Filed Under: Payroll in St Louis, St Louis Accounting Services

QuickBooks Banking Overview

July 8, 2013 By Art Stumpp

QuickBooks Banking Overview

banking, bank, auickbooks, accounting, saint louisQuickBooks can help one manage their business. One area that needs a lot of attention in any business is the banking area. I will discuss the banking functions in QuickBooks.

From the banking area in QuickBooks, one can record deposits, reconcile bank statements, write checks, analyze the check register, print checks, and enter credit card charges.

On the deposit screen in QuickBooks, one can select the specific bank account to enter a deposit.  The date can be moved both forward and backward.  If it is moved backward, one is looking at the deposit history.  The following information is important: who made the payment, the account that was used, a description field, check number, payment method, and the amount.

QuickBooks helps one reconcile the bank statement.  It is important to reconcile the bank statement to get the book balance and the bank balance to agree.  One can select the account to balance.  QuickBooks fills in the beginning balance.  One should enter the interest earned, and any bank service charges.   One should enter all deposits and payments on this form.  When the difference between the book balance and the bank balance is zero, the account is reconciled.

QuickBooks can help one write checks from the banking section.  One can select the specific account, the date, the payee, and the amount.  One should also enter the account number and the description.

QuickBooks can open the check register for a specific bank account.  One may want to see a check that was written in a past period.  One may want to confirm a more recent check transaction.

Once the checks are created, QuickBooks can print one or several checks at one time.  The actual check forms should be entered into the printer before the printing happens.

QuickBooks can help keep your credit cards organized.  One can enter credit card charges into QuickBooks.  One can select the specific card.  Enter the date, amount, description and the account.

Finally, QuickBooks plays an important part in helping a business with their banking function.  It records deposits, reconciles bank statements, creates checks, creates a check register, prints checks, and manages credit card expenses.

If one has questions about the banking function in QuickBooks or wishes to use the banking function in QuickBooks more efficiently, one may call St. Louis Accounting Services at 314-718-0956.  One can also email us at art@stlouisaccountingservices.com.  One should get started today to improve the financial picture of their business.

Filed Under: St Louis Accounting Services

July 8, 2013 By Art Stumpp

Minimizing QuickBooks Mistakes

quickbooks logoQuickBooks software offers a large amount of benefits.  It handles company information, customer information, vendor information, employee information, and banking information.  However, it is very easy to make an error in your QuickBooks company file.  One can minimize their errors by following a few basic rules:

QuickBooks Basic Rules

  1. Do not use sample files.  Sample files exist to help one learn how to do specific tasks in QuickBooks.  These files contain basic information.  One should create their company file in QuickBooks very specifically to get the most out of their QuickBooks software.
  2. Use the receive payments option.  This option should be used when one desires to create customer invoices to record sales.  This action allows one to apply payments against the customer invoices.
  3. Use the apply payment option.  QuickBooks offers many ways for a business to pay their bills.  When paying a bill, one should have a consistent method.  To avoid payment errors, one should enter the bills first, and then use the pay bill option when the payment is due.  Another option to pay bills is to write checks or enter credit card charges.
  4. Exercise caution when recording expenses.  One should not tie their bank account to the expense field.  If the bank account is tied to the expense field, then the money will leave the account and come right back into the bank account.  One should tie a specific expense account to the expense field such as: utilities, insurance, or rent.
  5. Exercise caution when recording customer payments.  One does not want to duplicate a customer payment by recording deposits and applying it to the specific customer account simultaneously.  The deposit can be associated with a specific bank account and recorded in the owner’s bank account on the same day of the transaction.
  6. Maintain important accounts.  QuickBooks creates important accounts to help business owners in setting up their company files.  Some important accounts are: Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Retained Earnings.  These accounts have specific names associated with them and deleting and/or editing them can cause QuickBooks to malfunction or create errors in the owner’s financial statements.
  7. Exercise caution when creating items in QuickBooks.  Items in QuickBooks include things that businesses buy, sell, or resell in their normal operations.  An item in QuickBooks may include a purchase of a product or service, shipping or handling, a sales discount, and sales tax.  Each item must be associated with a specific account that is correct for the type of item.

In conclusion, QuickBooks offers a business a variety of benefits.  However it is easy to make an error in QuickBooks.  One should follow a few basic rules to minimize their errors in QuickBooks.

At St. Louis Accounting Services, we offer a full range of QuickBooks services.  If one has questions or needs assistance with their company file, one can call us at 314-718-0956.  One can also email us at art@stlouisaccountingservices.com.  One should clean up their QuickBooks file today!

Filed Under: St Louis Accounting Services

QuickBooks Employee Center Management

July 8, 2013 By Art Stumpp

QuickBooks Employee Center Management

Quickbooks Employee CenterQuickBooks helps a business manage employee information.  One can access employee information through an Employee Center.  One can get to the employee center by clicking on the Employee menu option in your software.  The next step is to choose the Employee Center.  I will give a brief overview of the employee center.

From the employee center, one can do the following activities:

  1. Add an employee or edit an existing employee that was previously created in the system.
  2. Create direct deposits for employees so that their paychecks go straight into their bank accounts.
  3. Make an employee inactive or release the employee if they are no longer connected to your business.
  4. Run employee reports, for example Payroll Summary or QuickReport.
  5. Find, edit, or print your transactions for employees.  One can print reports for a single employee or one can print summary reports for all employees.
  6. One can send emails directly from the Employee Center.

Common employee issues can be addressed from the Employee Center.  For example, how to create payroll garnishments for child support, etc. and how to setup reports per employee such as an Employee Earnings Summary or QuickReport for an employee.  Also the Employee Center contains valuable tutorials on how to use the Employee list, and how to solve any concerns one may encounter such as one of your employees missing from the list.

One can manage all employee aspects directly in the QuickBooks Employee Center.  One can create payroll information.  One can also add, edit, and delete employee information from the Employee Center.  I believe this is a great feature for one’s business.

If one needs any assistance with managing their employee information or any other aspect of QuickBooks, one may call St. Louis Accounting Services at 314-718-0956.  If one prefers, one can also email us at art@stlouisaccountingservices.com.

Filed Under: St Louis Accounting Services

June 22, 2013 By Art Stumpp

QuickBooks Balance Sheet Overview

accountingQuickBooks offers many company and financial reports.  One important company report is the balance sheet.  The balance sheet shows what a company owns and owes at a specific point in time.  QuickBooks has many different versions of the balance sheet report.  I will discuss each version:

  1. Balance Sheet Standard- This report is your basic balance sheet with the total reported for each asset, liability, and equity account.
  2. Balance Sheet Detail- This report shows each transaction that makes up the total for each asset, liability, and equity account.  It is very detailed.
  3. Balance Sheet Summary-This report shows assets and liabilities grouped into two separate categories.  The assets are grouped into current assets and fixed assets.  Current assets are assets that are going to be converted into cash within a year.  Examples of current assets are savings, accounts receivable, and inventory.  Fixed assets are assets that are not going to change in the next year.  Examples of fixed assets are buildings, leases, and equipment.  The liabilities are grouped into current liabilities and long term liabilities.  Current liabilities are liabilities that will be paid off within one year.  Examples are sales tax liability, payroll taxes liabilities, and accounts payable.  Long Term liabilities will not be paid off within a year.  Examples are: notes payable, bonds payable and mortgages payable.
  4. Balance Sheet Previous Year Comparison-This report shows the total balance of each asset, liability, and equity account for the current period and the previous period.  It also shows the difference and the percentage change.  This information is useful to compare one period to another period.
  5. Net Worth Graph-This report shows the net worth in graph form by month.  Net worth is equal to total assets minus total liabilities.  It shows the value of the business.

In conclusion, the balance sheet is an important financial statement for a business.  QuickBooks offers many versions of balance sheet reports.   At St. Louis Accounting Services, we offer a full range of QuickBooks services.  If one has questions about these reports, or if one wishes to create these reports in their QuickBooks software, do not hesitate to contact us today.  We can be reached at 314-718-0956. One can also email us at art@stlouisaccountingservices.com.

Filed Under: St Louis Accounting Services

June 21, 2013 By Art Stumpp

QuickBooks Profit and Loss Overview

quickbooks logoQuickBooks provides several company and financial reports.   In this article, I will discuss the profit and loss reports available in QuickBooks.  The profit and loss reports are the same as the income statement.  These reports show income, expenses, and net income.  The following profit and loss reports are available in QuickBooks:

  1. Profit and Loss Standard – This report has two sections: net ordinary income and net other income.  The bottom line of the report shows net income.  The first section shows ordinary income and expense items.  Ordinary income and expense items are those items that occur in each income statement.  These items are directly related to your main business activities.  This report shows net ordinary income.  Net ordinary income is the difference between total ordinary income and total ordinary expense.  The next section of this report shows other income/expense items.  Other income/expense items are items that affect your net income but are not directly involved or necessary for your main business activities.  An example of an other income/expense item is interest expense.  One can operate his/ her business with debt or choose to operate it without debt.  The sum of other income/expense items is net other income.  The sum of net ordinary income and net other income is net income.
  2. Profit and Loss Detail – This report is divided like the Profit and Loss Standard report but it shows all of the detail of the income and expense items.  One can see each transaction that is behind the totals.  It is quite lengthy.
  3. Profit and Loss YTD Comparison – This report shows the monthly activity for the income and expense accounts.  In another column, it shows the year to date (YTD) activity for the income and expense accounts.
  4. Profit and Loss Previous Year Comparison – This report shows the current YTD activity for each income and expense item.  In another column, it shows the activity of each income and expense item from last year.  It has two additional columns to show the difference and the percentage change between the two time periods.

Finally as one can see, QuickBooks provides valuable information in their profit and loss reports.  If one has questions about these reports or wishes to create these profit and loss reports in QuickBooks, St. Louis Accounting Services can help.  Please do not hesitate to call 314-718-0956 or to email art@stlouisaccountingservices.com today.

Filed Under: St Louis Accounting Services

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