how to use quickbooks learn the basics

Want to learn how to use Quickbooks or Quickbooks Pro? Using Quickbooks doesn’t have to be a stressful experience; here is some basic information to get you started.

Why Should I Learn How to Use Quickbooks?

QuickBooks is one of the most trusted and popular accounting software programs. QuickBooks-Blog, in a Sept 2008 blog post, estimates that QuickBooks sales account for 78 percent to 94.2 percent of all small business accounting software program sales. These numbers remain true in 2011.

Learning how to use QuickBooks is a valuable skill for both the accountant and the small business owner. Using QuickBooks properly can make routine bookkeeping tasks less time consuming and more accurate. Less time spent on bookkeeping frees up more time to spend on managing your business and increasing your sales. QuickBooks also gives you the tools for getting better and more accurate information for financial reports, management decisions, and tax returns.

Where Should You Get Started When Using QuickBooks?

Before you begin to learn how to use QuickBooks, take some time to review the volume and type of data that you have in your business. The main areas of bookkeeping for a typical small business tend to be invoicing, writing checks, managing sales orders, and payroll.

Once you have determined the basic needs and volume of your business bookkeeping, then choose your QuickBooks program. The two main choices for a typical small business are QuickBooks Online (free trial and then $12.95 per month as of Jan 2011) and QuickBooks Pro (less than $200.00 as of Jan 2011). For a beginner, these are good packages to start with, and you likely will never have a need to upgrade from either of these.