New Features for QuickBooks 2009

QuickBooks 2009 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 both include new features that will assist accounting professionals and their clients.

Key new features include:

• Company Snapshot
• Improved Bank Reconciliation
• Client Data Review
• Intuit Statement Writer 2009
• New External Accountant User
• Multi-Currency
• Changes to Online Banking
• Improved Multi-User Functionality
• Item Duplication
• Improved Accountant’s Copy
• And more

 

The Product Line

The Intuit product line for 2009 includes: QuickBooks Simple Start, QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier (available in 6 industry versions), QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 (available in 6 industry versions), QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks for Mac.

Intuit Simple Start 2009

Single User: Free Version offers up to 20 customer list item maximum.
Single User: $99, no limit to number of customer list items.

Overview

QuickBooks Simple Start offers the most basic feature set and the simplest navigation and terminology. Simple Start is designed for businesses that:

• Currently track their accounting using spreadsheets, Quicken, or other personal financial software.
• Use no accounting software at all (“shoebox clients”).
• Are switching from Write-Up services to in-house software.
• QuickBooks Simple Start 2009 offers many of the features in QuickBooks Pro. The key features not found in Simple Start include Inventory, Accounts Payable, Budgets, Multi-User Capability (including multiple usernames and passwords). There is also a limited set of reports. There are 17 reports in Simple Start, while the Pro edition offers far more reports.

Note: Though the features are limited, you can open a Simple Start data file using Pro or Premier without converting the data. You can then use the Pro and Premier features to edit/adjust the data and return the file to the client who uses the Simple Start edition. To trade files back and forth like this you must have the same version (i.e., year) of QuickBooks as your client.

New Features in Simple Start 2009

The new features for Simple Start 2009 include:

• Improved Bank Reconciliation
• Live Community Help

QuickBooks Pro 2009

Single User $199.95
2-User $199.95
3-User $549.95

Overview

In addition to all of the features of the Simple Start, QuickBooks Pro is multi-user capable and is typically the best choice for small businesses that have 5 or fewer employees.

New Features in Pro 2009

QuickBooks Pro 2009 includes all of the new features of QuickBooks Simple Start plus:

• Access to Client Data Review through the External Accountant user account.
• Multi-Currency
• Company Snapshot
• Changes to Online Banking
• Improved Multi-User Functionality
• QuickBooks Instant Messenger
• QuickFilter List Functionality

QuickBooks Premier 2009

Single User $399.95
2-User $749.95
3-User $1,099.95

Overview

QuickBooks Premier (available in 6 industry specific versions) provides additional features like Sales Orders and Multiple Billing Rates. These editions include:

• Onscreen Help customized for each industry.
• Industry-specific features (for most industries).
• Sample Data Files for twelve business types.
• Industry-specific reports.
• Industry-specific form templates.

Tip:If none of the industry-specific editions is a match for your client’s industry, we recommend the Premier Accountant 2009. This version includes all the reports and features of all of the industry-specific editions, plus you can access the Accountant specific features, such as GAAP reporting with Intuit Statement Writer 2009 (additional fee applies), Fixed Asset Manager, Working Trial Balance, etc.

New Features in Premier 2009

QuickBooks Premier 2009 includes all of the new features of QuickBooks Pro 2009.

QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2009

Single User - included with QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program membership
2-User $749.95
3-User $1,099.95

Overview

The Accountant version includes all of the features of QuickBooks Simple Start, Pro and Premier plus several additional features designed to help accountants and consultants. The key accountant features are:

• All features of Premier Industry-Specific versions are included to help accounting professionals support clients on any QuickBooks software from Simple Start, Pro or Premier (industry specific). With the Accountant Edition, you can toggle between each of the other editions.
• Intuit Statement Writer 2009 (additional fee applies).
• Adjusting Journal Entries and Adjusting Journal Entries Reports.
• Fixed Asset Manager (to depreciate fixed assets).
• Working Trial Balance.
• Remote Access – to access your clients’ computers through a secure Internet connection (no cost to your clients). Enabled by WebEx. (QuickBooks only access is free for 12 months).

A single-user copy of QuickBooks Premier Accountant and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Accountant 9.0 is included with membership in the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program.

New Features in QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2009

Premier Accountant includes all of the features in Simple Start, Pro, and Premier, plus an improved Accountant’s Copy that allows more flexibility when working on an Accountant’s Copy of the client’s file.

• Client Data Review
• Ability to use Intuit Statement Writer (additional fees apply)
• Improved Accountants Copy

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0

Single User Accountant Edition - included with membership in the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program
5 Users - $3,000.00, 10 Users - $5,000.00, 15 Users - $7,000.00,
20 Users - $9,000.00, 25 Users - $11,000, 30 Users - $13,000

Note:
QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions clients can purchase an annual support plan that includes technical support and upgrades to new versions of the software. These supports plans are significantly less than purchasing the software at retail. The first year of support is included in the initial purchase price of the software.

Intuit offers industry-specific editions of Enterprise just like those in QuickBooks Premier. QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions is designed for businesses that require more power and capacity from their accounting system.

• Need more than 5 simultaneous users. Enterprise 9.0 supports up to 30 users.
• Need enhanced user security and access privileges.
• Need to combine financial statements from multiple QuickBooks data files.
• Need enhanced multi-user performance. The SQL database available in all editions of QuickBooks increases performance across the entire product line. However, Enterprise Solutions optimizes the database to operate even faster than the rest of the QuickBooks product line.
• Need to streamline more business tasks for customer management, field services, and warehouse management.

New Features in QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 includes all of the new features of QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2009 and includes the new Intuit Statement Writer 2009 for free.

Company Snapshot

QuickBooks Pro 2009, Premier 2009 and QuickBooks Enterprise 9.0 offers a new Company Snapshot for reporting company information and accessing critical QuickBooks tasks in a single window (see Figure 1). The Company Snapshot offers real-time visual analysis of a company's important information.

Figure 1 Company Snapshot

Income and Expense Trend Graph

The Income and Expense Trend Graph in the upper left of the Company Snapshot shows money going in and out of the business. Click on the drop-down arrow in the Income and Expense Trend Graph pane to select a different date range to view.

You can display a total by hovering your mouse over the individual bar. Double click any bar to see the Quick Insight: Income and Expense Graph for that period.

Reminders

Reminders are displayed in the upper right of the Company Snapshot. Click the Set Preferences link in the Reminders pane to customize what information you want displayed.

Account Balances

By default only Balance Sheet accounts are shown in the Account Balances section of the Company Snapshot. You can add additional accounts of any account type by clicking on the Select Accounts link.

You can sort the information in the columns by clicking on the column headers. Double clicking on a Balance Sheet account opens the account register for that account. Double clicking on an Income or Expense account opens an Account QuickReport. The Go to Chart of Accounts link in the lower right corner of the Account Balances section opens the menu option to add or edit accounts.

Customers Who Owe Money

The Customers Who Owe Money section displays the Customer Name, Due Date (for the earliest invoice) and the total Amount Due on all open invoices. Similar to Account Balances section, you can sort any of the columns by clicking the column header. Overdue items are shown in red.

You can receive payment directly from this window by selecting the customer and clicking the Receive Payment link. You might also be directed to information on taking credit card payments from your customers.

Double click on any Customer opens the Customer Open Balance report, listing the individual transactions that make up the balance shown.

Vendors to Pay

The Vendors to Pay section displays total amount of unpaid bills for each vendor. You can see the bill detail by double click on any vendor in the Vendors to Pay section which opens the Vendor Open Balance report, listing the individual transactions that make up the balance shown. Amounts shown in red are past due.

Just as with the other sections in the Company Snapshot, you can sort any column by clicking the column header. You can pay bills from the Company Snapshot by clicking the Pay Bills link. The Due Date is the earliest due date that the vendor bills are due.

Click on any vendor list item and a Vendor Open Balance report displays. However, if you click on an open balance for your sales tax vendor, a vendor Sales Tax Vendor QuickReport will open for that vendor for all dates.

Setting Company Snapshot as Default Home page

If you wish to have the Company Snapshot default when you open a company file, follow these instructions:

• Open the Company Snapshot by clicking the Company Snapshot icon or from selecting Company Snapshot from the Company menu.
• From the Edit menu, select Preferences and choose the Desktop View preference from the left margin.
• On the My Preferences tab, select the Save Current Desktop radial button as shown in Figure 2.
• Uncheck the option to Show Home page when opening company file. When you open your data file, the Company Snapshot will default as the new Home page.

Figure 2 Set the Company Snapshot to be default Home page

If your company has created user restrictions in QuickBooks, the user will have access only to areas of the Company Snapshot that they have been provided permission to access.

Improved Bank Reconciliation

One of our longtime requests has finally been delivered! You can now sort by columns in the bank reconciliation window! A small addition, but it has huge benefits for the users, and accountants will really appreciate this new functionality.

To sort a column by the column header, complete the following

• Open a Reconciliation window.
• Click on the desired column header. For example, to sort by check number, click the Chk # header (see Figure 3).

Figure 3 Click on any header column to sort the details in the bank reconciliation window

Client Data Review Tool

Overview of Features

The Client Data Review (CDR) tool is included with the QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2009 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Accountant 9.0 versions. The CDR tool allows the accountant to review, detect, and correct errors in the client’s data file. In a nutshell, the tool consists of the following features:

A customizable master control screen with a checklist-style view that provides access to tools and reports used by the reviewing accountant. This master control screen tracks the “status” of each review task (not started, in progress, completed or not applicable) and allows you to keep “task notes” as you perform the data review.

A printable “status” of your review progress that includes the status of each review task along with notes about each task.

A “freeze” feature that takes a snapshot of your prior period reviewed balances. The next time you review the client’s file your stored balances are compared to current QuickBooks balances for that review period. If CDR finds a difference, it recommends a journal entry to restore your original balances.

Several tools are provided that allow you to detect problems (or verify accuracy) of transactions in the client data file. These tools provide review at the account level for any account in the general ledger, as well as tools to verify sales tax, inventory, payroll, and “links” between transactions. Incorrect links are often the cause of inaccurate financial statement reports. For example, when a payment is applied to an invoice, QuickBooks creates a link between the two transactions. If for example you find an incorrect “link” between a payment and an invoice (e.g. if the payment is applied to the wrong invoice), this could cause big problems in the reports, especially the cash basis financial statements.

In addition to tracking changes to transactions, as is provided by the Audit Trail, the CDR tool tracks changes to the QuickBooks lists including additions, deletions, merges and edits to list items. This includes the Chart of Accounts, the Item list, the Fixed Asset Item list and the Payroll Item list.

Starting a Client Data Review

The CDR tool (shown in Figure 4) is launched from the Accountant menu in both QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2009 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Accountant 9.0.

Note:
You can also access the CDR in any QuickBooks Pro or Premier 2009 or QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 by using an External Accountant User. For more information on the External Accountant User, see page 25.

Figure 4 Client Data Review

The header at the top of Client Data Review control screen displays the review basis (accrual or cash) and the review period (specific date range). Also, the CDR will indicate when you are logged into the data file with the new External Accountant User type (see Figure 4). Although the CDR tool only works in single-user mode, it is possible for multiple reviewers (users) to work on the same file and perform review tasks. This allows the audit trail to report on the activities of each reviewer separately and it also allows reviewers to document their work using the task notes.

Customizing the Client Data Review

You can customize the view you have in the CDR center to make it unique for each client's QuickBooks 2009 file. To customize the task list, click Customize Cleanup Tasks at the top center of the CDR feature as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 Customize Cleanup Tasks

You can select the categories or tasks you want displayed in the Client Data Review tool to customize the review tasks for each QuickBooks data file (see Figure 6).

Figure 6 Customize the tasks you want to display. These settings are specific to each QuickBooks data file.

Client Data Review Tasks and Reports

The following sections provide general information about each of the Client Data Review tasks and reports.

Troubleshooting Account Balances

The Troubleshooting Account Balances (as shown in Figure 7 ) displays the current account balances and the “frozen” balances from the last review. Any differences are highlighted in the Difference column. You can set the view to Only show accounts with different balances.

You can create a new Transaction Change Report, listing those changes since the last review period, allowing you to drill down to the specific transaction(s) creting the difference.

If CDR finds a difference, a recommended journal entry to restore your original balances is prepared for your review. The journal entry can be modified if needed prior to saving so that you remain in control. Some re-work of the journal entry may be needed if both Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable had differences. This is due to the limitation with a QuickBooks journal entry not allowing and adjustment to both Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable in the same journal entry.

The Last Review Balances are updated after the completion of each review. These balances cannotbe changed by clients.

Figure 7 QuickBooks identifies differences between your reviewed balances and current data

Tracking Changes to QuickBooks Lists

QuickBooks 2009 tracks changes to list elements. The Chart of Accounts, Items, Fixed Asset Items, and Payroll Items lists are tracked when list elements are added, deleted, merged or edited.

Your client’s data will start tracking this valuable information as soon as they update their file to QuickBooks 2009.

To access the Review List Changes dialog as shown below in Figure 8, click on the + sign in front of the Review List Changes task in the CDR tool (as shown previously in Figure 4) to expand the menu options.

Once expanded, you can click the CDR Review List Changes link for Chart of Accounts, Items, Fixed Asset Items and Payroll Items. Optionally, once a Review List Changes menu is opened, you can also move between the lists by clicking on the tabs at the top of the Review List Changes dialog as shown in Figure 8 below.

Figure 8 Review List Changes

Fix Unapplied Customer Payments and Credits

Often your clients will create a credit memo or receive a payment from a customer but not apply it to the original open invoice. The net total on the Aging Summary report is correct, but when looking at the Open Invoices report, both the credit memo or unapplied payment and open invoice amount are still listed.

To access the Fix Unapplied Customer Payments and Credits dialog as shown below in Figure 9, click on the + sign in front of the Accounts Receivable task in the CDR tool (as shown previously in Figure 4) to expand the menu options including a link to open this tool.

Use the new CDR clean-up feature to apply the open credit or unapplied payment to the open invoice as shown in Figure 9 .

Figure 9 Apply open customer credits with open invoices

The window will only show those customers with open credits or payments that need to be applied. You can apply them one at a time, or select a customer on the left and auto apply to all transactions.

Note:
This feature is only available when you are working in a clients working file (.QBW file extension). The feature described here is not available when working with the Accountant’s Copy of the client’s data file.

Clear-up Undeposited Funds Account

When a client creates a customer receive payment but does not properly include that customer payment in a Make Deposit form, the result is a growing balance in the Undeposited Funds account on the balance sheet.

To access the Clear-up Undeposited Funds Account dialog as shown below in Figure 10 , click on the + sign in front of the Accounts Receivable task in the CDR tool (as shown previously in Figure 4 ) to expand the menu options including a link to open this tool.

The Client Data Review provides a one-screen view (see Figure 10 ) of all customer payments that are included in the Undeposited Funds balance and any Make Deposit forms that were recorded and assigned to that customer.

You can associate the customer receive payment transaction to the make deposit form. The result is that the customer payment is no longer included in the Undeposited Funds account balance and the overstatement in the account used in the make deposit form is reversed. Note, you will have a credit in the accounts receivable account if the customer payment was not applied to an invoice.

Figure 10 Fix client data when payments were not included on a Make Deposit

Fix Unapplied Vendor Payments and Credits

Some clients may create a vendor bill and create a vendor credit without applying the credit to the original open vendor bill.

To access the Fix Unapplied Vendor Payments and Credits feature click on the + sign in front of the Accounts Payable task in the CDR tool (as shown previously in Figure 4 ) to expand the menu options including a link to open this tool.

The options available with this feature are very similar in design to those in Figure 9showing open customer credits.

Quick access is provided to assigning open vendor credits while working in the dialog shown in Figure 9by clicking on the Vendors tab to the right of the Customers tab. With the Fix Unapplied Vendor Payments and Credits, you have easy access to one window to apply the credit to the bill.

Note:
This feature is only available when you are working in a clients working file (.QBW file extension). The feature described here is not available when working with a client’s Accountant’s Copy file.

Find Incorrectly Paid Sales Tax

In previous QuickBooks versions, reviewing a client’s file for incorrectly paid sales tax payments was a lengthy process and involved preparing multiple reports. With this custom Client Data Review report, you can identify these errors by generating an Incorrectly Recorded ‘Sales Tax Payable’ Payments report (Figure 11 ).

Figure 11 Locate sales tax payments recorded using the incorrect form

This Client Data Review custom report simplifies the identification of the sales tax payable payments that were incorrectly created. If these transactions are found in your client’s data, you will need to make a correcting entry. Methods to correct these transactions may include voiding the original check form and re-creating the payment through the Pay Sales Tax dialog, or creating a Sales Tax Adjustment form.

Using the Client Data Review tool makes it easier to locate these and other types of QuickBooks data entry errors.

Find Incorrectly Paid Payroll Liabilities

The Payroll Liabilities Paid by Regular Check report provides details of transaction that were incorrectly recorded when paying payroll liabilities (Figure 12).This report eliminates the need to search through reports and the payroll liabilities register for payments made with the wrong QuickBooks form. If your client assigned an account other than the QuickBooks created Payroll Liabilities on a check form, CDR will list those transactions on the report. This Client Data Review custom report helps identify checks paying payroll liabilities but not using the proper payroll liabilities payment form.

Figure 12 Review your client’s data file for incorrectly paid payroll liabilities

While the CDR and the Payroll Liabilities Paid by Regular Check report help you identify payroll liability payment errors, you will need to take further steps to address any problems, including voiding the original check and re-creating the payment through the Pay Scheduled Liabilities screen or by using the Adjust Payroll Liabilities screen.

Marking a Review as Complete

After reviewing your client's data for a specific accounting period, you can finalize the review by clicking Mark Review Complete. Marking a review complete will transfer your reviewed balances to the Last Review Balances column in the Troubleshooting Account Balances task (see Figure 7 ) and it will prompt you to print a report of the review (see Figure 13 ).

When starting a new review, you can open the prior review or continue to a new review period.

Figure 13 Final report of Client Data Review activity

Intuit Statement Writer 2009

The Intuit Statement Writer 2009 (ISW) tool assists accounting professionals prepare customized financials. Customized financial statements can be GAAP-compliant or can be non-compliant management reports. ISW uses Microsoft® Excel (as shown in Figure 14 ) as the platform for creating and customizing financials for your clients. The QuickBooks data can be refreshed in Excel, so the statement’s data can be kept current.

Note:
The Intuit Statement Writer works with Excel 2003 and Excel 2007. It will not work with Microsoft Excel 2003 Standard Edition, 2003 Student Edition or 2003 Small Business Edition. Microsoft Excel must be installed before QuickBooks to have all of the necessary files installed.

Figure 14 Intuit Statement Writer 2009 Connects QuickBooks Data with Microsoft Excel

The ISW tool is available with Intuit QuickBooks Premier Accountant Edition 2009 (additional fee applies) and all editions of Intuit QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 (no additional fee).

The Intuit Statement Writer connects QuickBooks data to Excel and provides customized formatting and roll-up functionality. Roll-up functionality is the ability to group multiple rows of data into a single row. For example, the roll-up feature would let you combine separate cash accounts into one line on the financial statement and allow you to rename that line to “Cash and Cash Equivalents”. Additionally, your statements are opened through QuickBooks but all customized reports are created using ISW macros and Excel.

QuickBooks Premier or Enterprise users who install the R2 update (or newer patch) will also have access within the ISW tool to creating supporting documents using Microsoft Words power merge feature.

The ISW statement writer replaces the Financial Statement Designer (FSD). To see a comparison of ISW to FSD, refer to Table 1 below.

ISW Features Overview

Features of the Intuit Statement Writer include:

• Create customized financial statements in Excel from QuickBooks data adding all the additional features and reporting flexibility available in Excel.
• Create statements from scratch, or use the pre-defined templates. Templates come in a variety of formats for Balance Sheets, Income Statements, Cash Flow Statements, Budget to Actual Statements, and multiple supporting statement documents.

Note:
QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2009 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 users must install the R2 or newer update patch for supporting statements.

• Refresh reports with current QuickBooks data without leaving the ISW tool.
• Combine multiple QuickBooks account lines into one line on financial statements without changing the QuickBooks chart of accounts.
• Add rows or columns of detail using QuickBooks data and Excel functionality.
• Drill down to QuickBooks data and modify QuickBooks transactions within the ISW tool.
• Automatically include new accounts on reports if and when they are added to the chart of accounts.
• Prepare customized Budget versus Actual reports in ISW.

See the following table for a comparison of the features of the ISW and Financial Statement Designer.

Table 1 Feature Comparison Intuit Statement Writer 2009 and Financial Statement Designer

Intuit Statement Writer Icon Functionality

The Intuit Statement Writer specific icons are shown in Table 2. These icons are only available when you have opened an ISW statement from within QuickBooks. These icons make it easy for you to access ISW specific functionality with the click of a mouse.

Table 2 Intuit Statement Writer 2009 Icon Functionality

Working With the Intuit Statement Writer 2009

The ISW Document Actions pane also includes these specific options used to customize the statement. When you need to affect the data displayed including dates, fonts, as well as refreshing data from QuickBooks for the entire statement (not just a row or column) you will use the Statement Properties To expand the menu options available click on the drop-down arrow next to the each action (row) name. These ISW specific document actions are only available when you launch ISW from within QuickBooks.

Statement Properties

The Statement Properties pane allows you to modify the reporting period after beginning your customized financials and make changes to the QuickBooks data including refreshing the data (see Figure 15).

Figure 15 Statement Properties

Row Properties

Use Row Properties (see Figure 16 and Figure 17) to manage the data in a single or in multiple rows. You will use Row Properties activities when you are changing the label or accounts shown on a specific row. Since the worksheet is protected in Excel, you will need to use these features in the ISW Row Properties pane when you need to manpulate the data in a single row.

Figure 16 Row Properties

The row properties pane includes controls for rows in the statement including:

• Combining rows together (roll-up), splitting out previously combined rows, adding new rows or deleting rows in a statement.
• Link for “Show all Accounts” will display all accounts. Accounts in red indicate they are new or missing from the current statement.
• Selecting the option to Reverse Sign will change positive numbers to negatives on the current statement.

Figure 17 Row Properties Accounts List

Column Properties

With Column Properties, you can add a new column as shown in Figure 18 .

Figure 18 Column Properties

Use column properties to control the type of data in a column including:

• Data types: Accounts, Normal, % of Budget, % of the Whole, QuickBooks Data and Variance (see Figure 19).
• Multiple choices for date type, such as Current / Prior Period, Specific Month, Specific Quarter to name just a few.
• Option to select the number of years of data to display.
• Option to select a specific class or all classes for reporting.

Figure 19 Column Properties to control the type of data displayed in a single column

General Properties

The ISW tool provides a General menu option (see Figure 20 ) to add your specific preparer information to your statements including:

• Accounting firm information, name, address, etc.
• Edit appearance of the entire statement (same as Change Appearance mentioned previously).
• Insert option for you to select an Excel cell in the statement and then manually insert preparer information, page number, etc. into that specific cell.
• Select from a variety of styles when displaying the statement date.

Figure 20 General properties of the Intuit Statement Writer

Converting Financial Statement Designer Documents

The ISW feature replaces the Financial Statement Designer reporting tool used in prior versions of QuickBooks. However, your previously created Financial Statement Designer documents can be converted and used with the new Intuit Statement Writer.

To convert your previously stored Financial Statement Documents to ISW format, download this free conversion tool: http://accountant.intuit.com/isw_convert as shown in Figure 21 . The Intuit Statement Writer Conversion Tool imports your Financial Statement Designer files into Intuit Statement Writer.

Figure 21 FSD Conversion Tool

• What features can be converted from FSD to ISW?
• You can only convert balance, income statements and supporting documents.
• Inactive Accounts are not used in ISW and are not converted.
• Formatting is not converted. You must use the ISW Appearance features to apply formats to the converted statement.
• If you renamed a total row in FSD, it will not be converted.
• Most rollups convert correctly. However, if you have changed an account name and number, it will not be included in a rollup. Inactive Accounts are not included in rollups.
• If you see #NAME or #REF in the converted file, something did not convert correctly. Try recreating the contents of the cell that contains the invalid name or reference.

External Accountant User Designation

New for QuickBooks 2009 is a new type of user called the External Accountant shown in Figure 22 . When you create a new user (or edit an existing user) in QuickBooks, you can now assign that user as an External Accountant.

Logging into your client’s QuickBooks data file as an External Accountant gives you:

• Complete Admin access, with the exception that you cannot create or edit users or view sensitive customer credit card numbers.
• Access to the CDR feature in a client's 2009 QuickBooks Pro, Premier (all editions), and Enterprise (all editions).

Figure 22 External Accountant user type

You can access the CDR feature using QuickBooks Pro 2009, Premier 2009 or Enterprise Solutions 9.0 using your External Accountant login. That means you can always have access to the Client Data Review whether you visit your client’s site or interact with them via Remote Access, even without the Accountant version.

As an accounting professional using the Client Data Review tool, you will want to request that your client create a user name for you and assign the new External Accountant Type. If you have the Admin login, then you can create a new External Accountant user type for yourself.

Multi-Currency Tracking

QuickBooksPro 2009, Premier 2009 and Enterprise 9.0 now supports all global currencies, making it easier for you to support clients with international business relationships. Multi-currency tracking is available with sales, purchase, credit card and banking transactions in any currency they choose.

Figure 23 Enabling Multi-Currency

You can track sales and expenses in foreign currency just as you do for U.S. customers and vendors. QuickBooks automatically converts foreign transactions into the home currency. Current foreign exchange rates are downloaded either in QuickBooks or manually entered (see Figure 24). Any time you record a transaction that involves currency exchange, you can manually update the exchange rates as you’re entering that transaction.

You can also process wire transfers and drafts from within QuickBooks.

QuickBooks records to the foreign A/R, A/P, Bank and Credit Card account the value at the time of the settlement. QuickBooks posts exchange rate fluctuations to an Other Expense account called Exchange Gain or Loss. You can track these fluctuations with the Realized and Unrealized Gains & Losses Report. Balance Sheet financials are displayed in the home currency (U.S. Dollars). The home currency is in the country where your client pays taxes and processes payroll. Also, this selection determines the currency QuickBooks uses to present financial statements. Subsidiary ledgers such as Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable can be displayed in either foreign currency or home currency.

Figure 24 Downloading Latest Exchange Rates

Changes to Online Banking

QuickBooks online banking feature was redesigned in 2009 to include easier setup with a new user-friendly interface and functionality aimed to decrease data entry by downloading transactions from financial institutions directly into QuickBooks.

Overall, changes to the online transaction download functionality in QuickBooks 2009 include:

• Easier initial setup steps encouraging new users to begin downloading transactions into their QuickBooks data file.
• New Online Banking Center (see Figure 25) that includes the online banking tasks in one place.

Figure 25 New Online Banking Center

• New renaming rules can be defined to automatically match downloaded payees to existing QuickBooks vendors. QuickBooks will match new downloaded transactions to vendors that contain a portion of the name, useful when a vendor places a transaction number after the name. For example, Verizon phone service may place a transaction number in the vendor name field such as, “verizon wrls 70315-01 frisco”. Previously, QuickBooks recognized this as a new vendor or ask you to associate it with an Alias name. Now for 2009, QuickBooks online banking feature will look to your renaming rules for this list item and match the “Verizon” to your QuickBooks “Verizon” vendor list item name, essentially ignoring the transaction number in the name. (See Figure 26 below).

Figure 26 New for QuickBooks online banking, setup renaming rules for your vendors.

• The downloaded transaction will assign the default account(s) you have defined for that vendor under Account Prefill tab in the New or Edit Vendor dialog (see Figure 27). QuickBooks online banking will now recognize which ledger account you assigned in the New Vendor or Edit Vendor window. If no account is defined in the Account Prefill dialog, QuickBooks online banking will default the account if it was used three times consecutively in prior downloaded transactions.

Figure 27 Account Prefill in New Vendor window

• For this pre-fill feature to work, you must also have the My Preference setting in Edit, Preferences, General set to “Automatically recall information Pre-fill accounts for vendors based on past entries” (see Figure 28).

Figure 28 Set the “Automatically recall” preference to Pre-fill accounts when using QuickBooks online banking

• To record an expense you can select the individual expense item and then select from the Payee drop-down you QuickBooks list name item as shown in Figure 29. QuickBooks online banking will remember this the next time you download a transaction from the same vendor.

Figure 29 Online banking will recognize the account defined with the vendor record.

• Delete transactions downloaded, before they are placed into the register. One convenient window displays all transactions, letting you select which transactions, if any, you want to delete or remove from being included in the data imported as shown in Figure 30.

Figure 30 New for 2009; delete selected transactions before downloading into your data file.

• Link (match) downloaded expense transaction to an open vendor bill. Conveniently pay your vendors with an online payment, then when you download your online banking transactions, you can match the downloaded transaction to the open vendor bill.
• Link (match) a downloaded deposit to Undeposited Funds or open customer invoice. For banking downloads, you can now assign the deposit received in your banking to the associated undeposited funds or open customer invoice.
Updating your data file to the most current release (R5 as of this writing) is very important for improved functionality of QuickBooks online banking feature. With the release of R4 and R5 QuickBooks update patches in December 2008, the following features were added or improved:
• You can add accounts or vendors list item within the Online Banking window. (Previous to the R4 update, a user had to close out of the online banking Center to open the Chart of Accounts or the Vendor Center to add a new list item).
• Recording new transactions is easier than before, with the new QuickFill capability. Enter a few letters of the name or account and QuickBooks will list matches to select from. (Previous to R5 most entries required you to select a list item from a small drop down list rather than entering the first characters of the list item).
• Add multiple transactions with a single click as shown in Figure 31. Previous to R5, you had to download each individual transaction separately, particularly cumbersome if your download included many transactions.

Figure 31 New with the R5 update patch the ability to Add Multiple Transactions with a click of the mouse

If you or your customers are using QuickBooks in a release earlier than R5, it is strongly recommended to update to the most current release patch offered. The QuickBooks online banking features and functionality were greatly enhanced in both the R4 and R5 update patch.

Improved Multi-User Functionality

Multi-User Backup

With QuickBooks 2009 you can make a QuickBooks backup (.QBB file extension) in multi-user mode.

QuickBooks "In Product" Instant Messenger

The new QuickBooks Instant Messenger feature (see Figure 32 ) is available when you are logged into the same data file in Multi-user mode. QuickBooks Instant Messenger does not keep a "chat log" at this time and can be turned off from the File, Utilities, Disable QuickBooks Messenger menu.

Features of the QuickBooks Instant Messenger include:

• Send a message to other QuickBooks users (who are logged into that specific QuickBooks data file).
• Ability to see which users are current logged into the data file.
• Close the QuickBooks file for currently logged in users.

Figure 32 New QuickBooks Instant Messenger

QuickFilter List Functionality

QuickBooks Pro 2009, Premier 2009 and Enterprise 9.0 includes the ability to search for customers, jobs, vendors or items within a list (See Figure 33 ). This is new functionality for the Pro and Premier product and was previously only available with QuickBooks Enterprise.

Figure 33 QuickFilter

In the Items List, you can filter the search results on Item Name/Number, Description (Sales) and Purchase Description, Preferred Vendor, Man. Part Number and any of the Custom fields.

Create Duplicate Items

The Items List also has a new function to create duplicate items. Select an item on the Item List, right click and select Duplicate Item, as in Figure 34 . The result is a New Item dialog displays with all the details of the duplicated item. Edit the name of the item or by default QuickBooks will insert “DUP” (for duplicate) in front of the name.

Figure 34 Item List Search

Improved Accountant’s Copy

Accounting Professionals often prefer to work with an Accountant’s Copy of their client’s data. While the accountant is reviewing the data and making needed corrections, the client can continue their day-to-day transactions without interruption. Using an Accountant’s Copy can be problematic if you need to correct payroll records, sales tax items, and if you want full functionality of the Client Data Review tool. QuickBooks 2009 has improved the overall functionality of this type of file sharing.

The import process has been improved so that there are no longer wholesale import failures because of one “bad” entry. In earlier versions of QuickBooks, if a single transaction included in an Accountant’s Copy import file was determined to be defective, the entire import would fail. With QuickBooks 2009, if a specific entry is “bad” it will not be imported but all other entries will be.

Also, you can now import changes to 1099 account mapping within the Preferences. When you make changes to accounting fields mapped in the Tax:1099 preference settings in a client’s Accountant’s Copy data, these changes will be imported back into the client’s working file. In Figure 35, the shaded fields in the Accountant’s Copy indicate that the data entered in these fields will be imported back into the client’s file.

Figure 35 Account’s mapped in 1099 Preferences will be imported into Client’s File when using Accountant’s Copy

Bank reconciliations have been improved as well. When you are working in the Accountant’s Copy, if the statement date and all transactions involved in the reconciliation are on or before the Dividing Date, the reconciliation work will be imported into client's .QBW file. Reconciliations with transactions or with a statement date after the dividing date do not go back to the client. Meanwhile, if the client is working in the .QBW file with a pending Accountant’s Copy, when the statement date and all transactions involved in the reconciliation are after the Dividing Date and the accountant doesn’t reconcile this account in the Accountant’s Copy, reconciliation work remains in the .QBW file after the import. However, any bank reconciliation work on or before the dividing date is rolled back at the import time.

Finally, you can now edit or merge classes in a client’s Accountant’s Copy. Prior to QuickBooks 2009, while working with a client’s Accountant’s Copy you could not edit the name or merge class list items.

Backwards Compatibility with 2008 Files

QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2009 software can access Pro or Premier 2008 and 2009 data using the Accountant’s Copy file sharing method, allowing you to perform your review and return the data back to your client in either 2008 or 2009 format. However, feature changes that are new for QuickBooks 2009 will not transfer back to a client’s 2008 data file. For example, in QuickBooks 2009 Accountant’s Copy you can map 1099 box detail to specific QuickBooks chart of accounts. This change made in an Accountant’s Copy file is only recognized when imported into a client’s 2009 file, not in a 2008 year file. This is because the ability to assign Chart of Accounts to 1099 box details was not possible with the QuickBooks 2008 Accountant’s Copy.

Additionally, if you are using the Client Data Review tool with a client’s 2008 or 2009 client file, you will not be able to use the Fix Unapplied Customer Payments and Credits or Fix Unapplied Vendor Payments and Credits. Both features are only accessible when working with a client’s full working copy of QuickBooks.

Live Community in QuickBooks

Live Community is a community help function available within the software. Live Community acts as a real-time message board for asking and answering questions without leaving the QuickBooks application.

Free Business Website

QuickBooks 2009 includes easy website creation tools from Intuit’s Website Services. Tools include customizable templates, one-click publishing, and website hosting.

To get started, click on the Intuit.com Services icon from the QuickBooks Home page. You will be directed to create an Intuit Online account. This account will allow you to set a user password you will need if you are calling in for support. Once the Intuit Website Services is launched within QuickBooks, you can choose from several pre-defined website templates (see Figure 36 ) or create one from scratch. You can also access this option directly from the www.Intuit.com website.

Figure 36 Website Templates

Improved Year-to-Date Payroll Data Entry

Year-to-date payroll is the information that businesses retain regarding employees' year-to-date (YTD) paycheck information, as well as payroll tax payments and non-tax payroll liability payments when they first begin using QuickBooks for payroll processing.

This new process will be available to Intuit QuickBooks Payroll subscribers who use QuickBooks 2008 or QuickBooks 2009. The new year-to-date payroll data entry (see Figure 37 ) feature replaces the existing Step 5: Payroll History in the Payroll Setup wizard.

Figure 37 Enter year-to-date payroll data when beginning to use QuickBooks payroll mid-year

The improved year-to-date payroll data entry feature allows you to enter all the year-to-date totals for employee earnings, tax payments and non-tax payments each in a single grid. Additionally, you can customize the order of the columns to be entered to match your customer’s previous payroll records. As you enter the data, you can review your month-, quarter- and year-to-date totals conveniently in the same data entry window. Or, simply choose to enter one summary transaction for the prior payroll period. No general ledger transactions are created. This data entry prepares QuickBooks payroll for proper quarterly and annual federal and state form filings.

If you have your client’s complete this process, assistance with the proper steps is provided with the new Coach interface, took tips and improved Help topics.

Previous versions of the QuickBooks Payroll Setup dialog required that you enter the data in a very specific order. With this near payroll interface, you can navigate around and enter the information in a sequence that works best for you.

Save your work as you go and then return to finish up where you left off. Most importantly, let the new Payroll Reports provide an up-to-the minute review of your data entry, detailing any data calculation errors by employee.

New Payroll Reports

The year-to-date payroll data entry process includes two new reports. The Historical Paycheck Report - Basic report shows a summary all year-to-date paychecks, calculated company-paid items, and pay date, monthly, quarterly, and annual totals. The Historical Paycheck Report - Advanced report shows company- and employee-based liability adjustments for each payroll item. This report summarizes by payroll item the Historical paychecks, QuickBooks created paychecks, Employee Liability Adjustments and Employer Liability Adjustments. Use this report to review what QuickBooks calculates for each of the payroll item totals by quarter

You can access these reports directly in Payroll Setup menu. These reports help you review the new data entered during the new YTD Payroll process to the payroll totals processed by the prior payroll service provider. The new payroll reports will show what QuickBooks calculates as the correct information and what you have entered, identifying any differences.

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions Suite

QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 includes a new suite of products designed to help business take care of the demands of tracking sales, warehouse, and field service management. Each of these offerings is web-based SaaS (software as a service) and integrates with the desktop version of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0. We have summarized each below.

One license of each of the ES Suite products is included with the purchase of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0.

Intuit Sales Management ES

Intuit Sales Management ES (now in beta) captures, organizes, and shares customer information between employees. Sales team’s daily tasks, calendars, quotas and forecasts will be available in a single dashboard view. You can track opportunities throughout the sales cycle by assigning leads to sales associates and tracking their progress. Contact information can be synchronized with Microsoft Outlook®.

Intuit Warehouse Management ES

Companies with more extensive inventory needs can track multi-location inventory, print bar codes, and assign unique attributes to inventory items. Intuit Warehouse Management ES includes build tickets for assembled items, as well as serial number and lot number tracking. Inventory information is automatic synchronization with QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0.

Intuit Field Service Management ES

Intuit Field Service Management ES helps to eliminate the paper bottleneck with wireless communication between the field and office. Dispatchers use a dashboard to schedule techs in the field. Work orders and schedules can be assigned with a drag and drop interface. You can use GPS for scheduling and mapping. In the field, payment can be collected at the time of service or work orders can be converted directly into invoices.

Business Analysis ES

Figure 38 Business Analysis

The Business Analysis ES is an online application that offers advanced analysis and reporting. Business Analysis ES works with your client’s QuickBooks Enterprise data files (see Figure 38). It is currently available as a Beta product.

Summary

In summary, QuickBooks 2009 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 have features that will extend the usability of QuickBooks, including Multi-Currency and improved Multi-User capability. There are also several features that will help accounting professionals, such as Client Data Review and Intuit Statement Writer 2009. However, there were concerns about online banking, but these concerns have been successfully addressed by Intuit with the R5 update patch delivered in December.

Some of our favorite enhancements in this new version are relatively minor, particularly the improved Bank Reconciliation feature. We haven’t found any serious bugs, and this version appears very stable after upgrading data files from earlier versions. Overall performance is as good as or better than version 2008.

Our favorite enhancements this year are:

1. Client Data Review because of the added tools, including account balance tracking and list tracking.
2. Ability to sort Bank Reconciliation.
3. Multi-Currency, which is a very stable improvement and increases the viability of QuickBooks financial software for companies that with a global business.

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