-Starting the Easy Step Interview

-Starting the Easy Step Interview

After downloading the QuickBooks Pro 2008, you are now ready to get started with the Easy Step Interview. The QuickBooks Pro 2008 icon can be found in your desktop. Double click the icon and launch the QuickBooks program. Remember, if you’re upgrading from a lower version of QuickBooks Pro, you just have to open existing file and undergo the conversion process. In the QuickBooks start up screen you can find on top the Easy Step Interview while the “Convert Data” down below. If you are from other programs like Peachtree, you must click on the “Convert Data” icon and be able to enter a new wizard for conversion. This means you are already skipping the Easy Step Interview.

For those who are creating a new company profile, click on the QuickBooks Easy Interview icon instead of the conversion process. A new screen on company information will appear. The items with red asterisk indicate that the item is required of you to fill. “Company Name” has a red asterisk on it so it means that QuickBooks is obliging you to fill in company name. And since you are to set up a new business profile, it is indeed a must for you to fill up all other blanks with information about your company even if they are not marked with the red asterisk.

As we go on, let us assume that you have filled up the “company name” with BlueMoon Cakes and Pastries (your business name). Hit the tab key and notice that the BlueMoon Cakes and Pastries will automatically fill in the “legal name” box. Thus, the “company name” and the “legal name” would be the same. However, there is an exception to this. If your company is doing a business as DBA, then there will be two separate names for the “company name” and the “legal name”. For instance, the legal name would be Anna Jonhnson Incorporated but the business name is Anna Johnson then there would be two different names. In our above example (BlueMoon Cakes and Pastries), the company name and the legal name are the same so you have to leave the boxes as such.

The next box will require you of your Federal Tax ID number which can be found in your tax return. This ID number indicates the business organization you are into like Incorporated, Sole Proprietorship, or a Limited Liability Corporation. This could be verified with your accountant in order for you to populate this field accurately.

Let us now proceed with our example. BlueMoon Cakes and Pastries is a Corporation. So go ahead with filling in the box for Federal Tax Id number corresponding to your business operation.

Other boxes to be filled in are the street address, phone number, email address and all factual information about your business. After completing this screenshot, you can now click on the “next “button.

On this page you will be required to select the type of industry you are into. Identifying the right industry will turn on certain QuickBooks features that could be helpful in catering to your business needs. Provided on this page is a long list of industry types. Sometimes you will not be able to find the correct industry suitable for your business so what you should do is to select the one nearest to your industry. QuickBooks will then assign features for your chosen industry. You must turn off some of the opened features which you may feel will not be suited for your business. As for BlueMoon Cakes and Pastries, we are going to click on “restaurants” and then push for the “next” button.

On the next page you will have to identify how your business is organized. Again, you need to know whether your business is a Regular Corporation, a Limited Liability Corporation or a Sole Proprietorship. For BlueMoon, we are going to choose ‘Corporation’ for the company entity. Right after identifying how your business is held, QuickBooks will ask you of your ‘fiscal year’. Remember, the fiscal year refers to the twelve-month period duration used to determine your company’s financial data. For this category, QuickBooks will default to January since this is the recommended start of the fiscal year. However, beside this box is a drop down arrow that shows the other months of the year. This means you can choose from any other months aside from the default if you decide to disregard the January recommendation. BlueMoon will have January as the start of its fiscal year.

Following this step is QuickBooks allowing you to have a password for your system to keep your company information confidential. Generally, this password is utilized only in a network environment yet is also advisable in a single-user scheme. In a multi-user field, your are not only allowed to assign password for each authorized user. You can also designate levels of access based on the password. This will be useful in maintaining company security. For example, a bookkeeper will just be allowed to access the payroll section but will not be able to browse on other data of your company. Further, those who are assigned to take care of financial obligations will only get to access the account payables information. QuickBooks will give you the advantage of limiting users with the information they are supposed to see providing maximum security for other confidential company data. However, you are advised to assign one person who can really have access to all areas of your company. Single user scheme uses passwords too, in cases where the computer is not exclusively used by the business owner. Password is a security feature but you can have the freedom to turn them on or off depending on your desire to protect your business. QuickBooks strongly recommend, though, that you provide password for your file. For the BlueMoon industry, leave the password off. Click on the “next” button to proceed.

This page allows you to create your company file. QuuickBooks has devised defaults but you have the option to follow or change these defaults. You will be then asked to choose ways to locate your company file and what are you going to name this file. Depending on your company needs, QuickBooks made suggestions on location schemes. On top of the screen you can see a ‘save in’ window and an indicator where your files can be saved. BlueMoon will then be saved within the QuickBooks default. As you move on, you can notice that QuickBooks has also filled in you company name as your file name. If you are satisfied with the defaults, you can continue with the process and click on ‘save’ button. But if you do not adhere to the QuickBooks default regarding the location and name of your file, you can always do away with the default and change it.

As you click on ‘save’ you have completed the first half of the Easy Step Interview. You are now ready to proceed with the next one which is customizing QuickBooks for your business.