New to Quickbooks - Direct entry of A/R from custom application? Check amount editing?

Posted by Laura on September 6, 2008, 12:25 pm

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> >> We're moving from Real World to Quickbooks at the beginning of the

> >> year,

> >> so I'm

> >> playing with it now to get a feel for it. We do all our billing of

> >> customers in

> >> a custom application so have no need for Quickbooks' customer invoicing

> >> module.

> >> However, I still need to record Accounts Receivable and deposits in

> >> Quickbooks,

> >> of course.

> >> In Real World all I do is, on the last day of the month, make a General

> >> Journal

> >> entry debiting A/R for the total amount billed for the month and

> >> crediting

> >> breakouts to each of the service accounts the company has (5 of them).

> >> Then

> >> when each deposit is made I make a checkbook entry that debits Cash and

> >> credits

> >> A/R.

> >> I'm not sure if this is possible with Quickbooks. I haven't yet seen a

> >> way to

> >> make direct entries into the ledger. A similar situation exists with

> >> Payroll; a

> >> payroll service cuts our payroll checks and all we do here is record a

> >> lump sum

> >> Payroll amount each week as an outgoing check, and splitting out the

> >> amounts for

> >> taxes, insurance, etc. into the ledger with direct ledger entries. The

> >> check

> >> amount gets edited in the checkbook each month when the bank statement

> >> comes in,

> >> being split out for the cleared checks and the uncleared (the ledger

> >> amounts do

> >> not change). So there again is a need to perform direct entry, in the

> >> ledger

> >> and in the checkbook as well.

> >> Any suggestions on how to proceed?

> >> **

> >> Captain Infinity

> > For the receivables, you could set up a customer called something like

> > "All Customers" and do all invoicing & payments to that name. Then

> > create

> > one invoice per month allocating all the service accounts, and receive

> > all

> > payments against that invoice.

> > It may be easier to avoid the A/R account altogether & just create an

> > asset account (non-A/R) that doesn't require a customer name - call it

> > Customer Receivables. Then use that account in the JE just like you used

> > to.

> I agree with this suggestion. Avoids all issues of A/R in journal entries

> that QB has imposed on the user.

For A/R, I agree with a summary sales receipt to a customer called
'monthly' sales or using a non A/R acct as well--either method will
work.

For the payroll, the entries you make should match the actual bank
activity. Hopeully, your payroll service pulls out payroll in 1 or 2
lump withdrawals (not each individual paycheck--otherwise you might
was well be doing payroll yourself. Check into QB Assisted PR for
about 1/2 the cost).
**********
I have not run into any third party payroll providers that will take the
employee pay out in a lump sum. I have always seen them take the taxes out
in 1 or 2 lump sums but since they are issuing checks cut from your client's
bank account, individual checks will be posted to your bank account.

And yes, you might as well use QB Assisted PR. Many business owners don't
want to be bothered with payroll tax forms so that is one compelling reason
they go with a third party provider.

Posted by Captain Infinity on September 9, 2008, 1:21 pm

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Once Upon A Time,
Laura wrote:

>I have not run into any third party payroll providers that will take the

>employee pay out in a lump sum. I have always seen them take the taxes out

>in 1 or 2 lump sums but since they are issuing checks cut from your client's

>bank account, individual checks will be posted to your bank account.

We send timecard data on our employee's hours worked to our payroll service on
Tuesday mornings. They already know all our employees pay rates and deductions
such as 401K, insurance, child support, etc, but we inform them if there are any
changes. They cut all the payroll checks and do the computations on taxes, and
track the W2 and 1099 info. We receive the chacks in a packet on Thursday,
along with a payroll check register and distribution report. We enter the
entire payroll as a direct lump sum check into our checkbook, and then do GL
journal entries that distribute the amounts. It all goes fairly smoothly. The
only time there's a bobble is when a check is cut to, say, the State of
Massachusetts for a quarterly tax payment and rounding has an effect. This
happened last month; the payroll service rounded up and the State rounded down,
so there was a discrepancy of a buck that had to be dealt with.

>And yes, you might as well use QB Assisted PR. Many business owners don't

>want to be bothered with payroll tax forms so that is one compelling reason

>they go with a third party provider.

Our payroll service charges us $60 a week, and we're glad to pay it to not have
to be bothered with the tax crap. I'd lose what little hair I have left if we
brought payroll in-house.

Thanks to everyone for the advice, I feel like I'm on more solid ground now.

**
Captain Infinity

Posted by aps on September 10, 2008, 9:24 pm

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>Once Upon A Time,

>Laura wrote:

>>I have not run into any third party payroll providers that will take the

>>employee pay out in a lump sum. I have always seen them take the taxes out

>>in 1 or 2 lump sums but since they are issuing checks cut from your client's

>>bank account, individual checks will be posted to your bank account.

>We send timecard data on our employee's hours worked to our payroll service on

>Tuesday mornings. They already know all our employees pay rates and deductions

>such as 401K, insurance, child support, etc, but we inform them if there are any

>changes. They cut all the payroll checks and do the computations on taxes, and

>track the W2 and 1099 info. We receive the chacks in a packet on Thursday,

>along with a payroll check register and distribution report. We enter the

>entire payroll as a direct lump sum check into our checkbook, and then do GL

>journal entries that distribute the amounts. It all goes fairly smoothly. The

>only time there's a bobble is when a check is cut to, say, the State of

>Massachusetts for a quarterly tax payment and rounding has an effect. This

>happened last month; the payroll service rounded up and the State rounded down,

>so there was a discrepancy of a buck that had to be dealt with.

>>And yes, you might as well use QB Assisted PR. Many business owners don't

>>want to be bothered with payroll tax forms so that is one compelling reason

>>they go with a third party provider.

>Our payroll service charges us $60 a week, and we're glad to pay it to not have

>to be bothered with the tax crap. I'd lose what little hair I have left if we

>brought payroll in-house.

>Thanks to everyone for the advice, I feel like I'm on more solid ground now.

>**

>Captain Infinity

Sir, take my advice, outsourcing your payroll is the best solution. Even though
you are
paying $60 per week, that is a small price to pay ADP, Paychex, PayLogic or
whoever
you use, especially if you have several employees. And it takes the hassle out
of
having to do it yourself. The problem is if you do it inhouse, you have the
worry and
frustration of doing it right, and it has to be correct all the time.

As for rounding taxes, it should not be out but a few cents. That difference
can simply
be put in as an adjustment due to rounding on the tax return.