Pathways Consulting understand that learning and understanding a new interface takes time. While we are always here to assist you with the more accelerated features QuickBooks has to offer, we thought compiling tips on beginning stages of Quickbooks would help, too! The information below will cover navigation, icons, and how to maneuver within the program. Quickbooks is known for easy use which will make learning and understanding the interface come sooner than you think!

HOME SCREEN NAVIGATION
The Left Navigation Bar
Perhaps the most important feature of the home screen to familiarize yourself with, the left navigation bar lists all the “centers” you will be working in. The names of each Center is displayed:

• Dashboard
• Banking
• Sales
• Expenses
• Employees
• Reports
• Taxes
• Accounting
• My Accountant

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Pathways advises all their clients to take a few moments in the beginning to click through each and see what options are available within the Centers. Familiarizing yourself with QuickBooks is the first step in becoming a QuickBooks professional.

Gear Icon
Located at the top right of your home screen will be a gear icon.  As with many other systems, the gear icon represents access to settings and tools.

Plus Sign (Quick Create)
One of the most convenient tools within QuickBooks, the Quick Create plus sign allows you to create any of the amazing transactions.  When you click the icon a list of actions will appear with everything you needs to accomplish for your business. Some example include;

• Building your Chart of Accounts (Transactions)
• Invoicing Customers
• Check Writing / Expense Recording
• Making Deposits (This is where you will set up your bank account)

LISTS
QuickBooks has a large arrangement of lists that you can choose, use, and manage for your business or personal use. 
Sales
A wonderfully organized location where you can see all transactions regarding sales including sales receipts and invoices. *Note that deposits will not be included in this section

Customers
A nice location to store all your many customers! Make sure you have as much information on each customers as possible, the more detail the better you are in the long run! Running a smooth business is difficult, but using QuickBooks’ efficiently will help!

Expenses / Vendors
As with the title, you can expect what will be within these lists.  Expense transactions will be located in the expenses list in an organized fashion. Vendors will be listed with the corresponding list title.

Accounting / Chart of Accounts
You may want to ask one of our talented staff to go over the Accounting and Chart of accounts with you so you can receive a better understanding of what this section of QuickBooks does and needs to function.  As with any business, each moving part matters! When you use other QuickBooks services such as invoicing and expenses, you will be able to choose an account it wi be labeled as.  This provides you and your business with the best organization of accounts in order to see where money is being spent and what on.

Now that you have read through the information we provided, do you feel more confident in your QuickBooks knowledge? If you have any questions or concerns, give us a call and set up an appointment. Our staff at Pathways consulting are here to help you get the best out of your QuickBooks journey!

Running a small business is no small task. Often times, a business owner will find themselves looming over numbers and bookkeeping more so than running their business. Why? Because they haven't switched their business over to Quickbooks! The advantages of using Quickbooks for your small business are endless, but here are some quick do's and don'ts when it comes to understanding what Quickbooks can do for you!

Do’s
Take advantage of the automatic bookkeeping tasks
QuickBooks is a wonderful tool that takes time to devote toward Small Businesses. With is comes the ability to connect various kinds of money keeping engines. Connect your bank, PayPal, credit card, or Square to access transaction access. Quickbooks will even take of the calculations, so you don’t have to! Balancing has never been so easy!

Perform tasks on mobile while in the field
Does your business require you to be on site and not cooped up in an office? With Quickbooks, mobile is just as functional as the desktop version! With todays technology, there is no reason for a business owner to be unable to access all bookkeeping information while on the go. Your information will be synced with Quickbooks so all changes will be kept safe and correct.

Use Quickbooks to keep a healthy business
Quickbooks allows you to stay organized in order to keep your business running smoothly. Receive reports and access to data that shows you how your business is doing in a straightforward fashion. 


Don’ts
Manage bills on your own
It’s frustrating having to keep up with paying bills on multiple platforms. With Quickbooks, all bills are easily scheduled and formatted. There is no need to manage your bills on your own. Everything is documented when using the billing section of Quickbooks, even your records and bookkeeping.

Forget to log expenses
There is nothing left unlogged with Quickbooks. When making purchases for the business, quickly use the mobile app to take a photo of receipt. Quickbooks will quickly log and organize the expense among previous entries. No more worry of having lost a receipt!

Become frustrated at tax time
With Quickbooks, you don’t have to worry about being unorganized when Tax Time comes around. If you have used Quickbooks efficiently, the software will organize all the information you need for tax season for easy access. All records are alongside the FASB regulations.


There are only positives when it comes to Quickbooks helping your small business. Ensure that you are getting the most out of your experience with Quickbooks by asking any of our trusted members of Pathways Consulting. We are trained in understanding Quickbooks to the fullest extent and love helping others! Take your business organization to the next level with Quickbooks and our help!