Inside this Issue

• Message from Doug Sleeter
• Data Analysis Facilitates Successful File Conversion
• 2008 Sleeter Group Conference Update
• Sleeter Group Webinars - Summer Sale!
• 2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - EI Printing
• Our QuickBooks College Textbooks Updated for Version 2008
• 2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - A/R Connection
• New! Streamlined QBSS Teaching System
• Consulting for Small and Medium Sized Manufacturers
• Chuck Vigeant's Reporting Corner
• Consultants Tool Kit - Download at New Low Price
• 2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Profitable Accounting
• The Sleeter Group's Consultants Network Update
• 2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Corrigo
• Tricks of the Trade

 

Message from Doug Sleeter

Greetings,

This summer is a particularly busy one for us at The Sleeter Group. While I’m finding it harder and harder to keep up with all the innovation  flooding the small business accounting market, it is so exciting to see the quantity and quality of solutions for you and your clients.

A key trend I see is that nearly every software company is moving at lightspeed to "webify" their application and turn their revenue models into Software as a Service (SaaS) as opposed to selling and licensing software on CD.

For example, at their recent users conference, BQE Software announced a new online version of BillQuick (billquickonline.com) which is scheduled to release later this year. This product will provide users with a choice between using the desktop or an online version of BillQuick, or any combination of the two. People who are tied to their desks all day can use the desktop version of the software while mobile workers can use the web version and the software does the hard work of combining the web data with the desktop data. I think this is the wave of the future for accounting and business management software, and I salute BQE Software for their spot-on vision of what their users want and need.

We have also been quite busy preparing for our own November conference. We have just finalized our Conference Flyer (PDF) and have posted the updated 2008 Conference Tracks on our web site. Over the next month we will be adding specific break out session information.

We are excited about the choice of our new conference location for 2008: Phoenix, AZ. After hosting the conference in Las Vegas for the past three years, our attendees indicated they were interested in visiting a new location. We selected Phoenix as it is beautiful in November and flights to Phoenix are very reasonable from most airports in the US. The hotel is less than one year old and is situated next to the University of Phoenix stadium (site of the 2007 Super Bowl). In fact, for 49er and Cardinals fans… these two teams will play each other for Monday night football at the stadium (walking distance from the conference hotel) on Monday November 10th, the night before our Main Conference begins.

Hope to see you there!

Data Analysis Facilitates Successful File Conversion

File conversion is a time consuming but necessary step to fixing many problems in a QuickBooks data file. Assessing the health of the file through data analysis can help determine if a file conversion is necessary or can be avoided by implementing other solutions. Data analysis can also help establish if any clean up procedures are need prior to file conversion work.

In this month’s Consultant Corner, SGCN member,  Bonnie Nagayama looks at data analysis as an initial step in the file conversion process. Click the link below to read the full article about Data Analysis and QuickBooks Data File Conversion.

Bonnie will also be offering three webinars on QuickBooks Data File Conversion during the upcoming Summer Series. These webinars are currently on sale for 20% off.

• File Conversion In-Depth (8/20)
• Avoid Pitfalls in Data File Conversion (8/26)
• Case Studies in Data File Conversion (9/3) 
  

See article below for information about our Summer Webinar Special.

2008 Sleeter Group Conference Update

The 5th annual Sleeter Group Conference will be held in Phoenix, Arizona November 10-13 at the Renaissance Glendale hotel.  The conference is for accounting professionals, bookkeepers, CPAs, and small business technology consultants.

Registration Contest – REGISTER BY JULY 31st and Enter To WIN THREE NIGHTS FREE HOTEL STAY!
Don’t miss your chance to win!
Register for this year’s conference by July 31st and you will be eligible to win THREE nights accommodations at the beautiful Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa. Plus you will want to take advantage of the Early Bird registration price and the Renaissance Hotel discount rate.

Our 2008 Conference Flyer will be arriving in mailboxes of clients who have purchased from us in the recent past. However you don’t have to wait for yours to arrive in the mail! Click here to view the eight page 2008 Conference Flyer PDF.

Content Update:
We have added all of our Conference Track descriptions to our website.
We have listed the first few  Conference Giveaways. More will be coming over the next few weeks.

2008 Conference Exhibitor Webinars
Join Doug Sleeter as he hosts our 2008 Platinum and Gold Conference Exhibitors. for a series of free webinars demonstrating some fantastic accounting software solutions. visit www.sleeter.com/webinars.

If you have questions about the conference please give us a call at 888-484-5484.

Sleeter Group Webinars - Summer Sale!

Summer Webinar Sale!
All summer webinars are on sale for a limited time. Register for a summer webinar and you will receive a 20% discount off the regular price.

We bring our expert level training right to you! Learn new skills and get your toughest questions answered during these training webinars taught by industry experts.

Summer Webinar Series (20% Discount)
Tips and Tools for Training Online (7/23)
Become and Expert Construction Consultant (7/24)
Nonprofit Consulting (7/31)
Internal Control and Fraud Reduction (8/6)
Understanding Your Network Options (8/7)
More…view the entire series here

Conference Exhibitor Webinars (Free)
The Hartford (recorded webinar)
BillQuick Software (7/30)
Method Integration (8/6)
Migrating from Retail Systems to Sage MAS 90 (8/13)
PayCycle (8/14)

Additional recorded Exhibitor Webinars available at www.sleeter.com/webinars.

2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Ei Printing

Our QuickBooks College Textbooks Updated for Version 2008

Announcing the 2008 update to our QuickBooks college textbooks. These textbooks are filled with in-depth step-by-step exercises that walk students through learning QuickBooks. Students with no previous accounting or QuickBooks experience can learn what they need to be successful at their business or in the workplace. Our Fundamentals book is available now and other textbooks are available shortly.

Instructors who use our textbooks have access to our companion PowerPoint slides, Test Banks and Instructors Manual to make preparing for class easy. Click here to request an exam copy.

QuickBooks Fundamentals Version 2008 is now shipping! Covers accounting basics, tracking revenue and expenses, bank reconciliation, file setup and more. This popular college textbook also serves as an excellent self-study manual. Click here to order.

QuickBooks Intermediate Version 2008 is at the printer and will be shipping by the end of July. Covers inventory, sales tax, payroll, estimates, budgets and more. To place a pre-order, call our office at 888-484-5484.

QuickBooks Complete Version 2008 will be shipping in early August. This book covers the material in the Fundamentals and Intermediate book combined. To place a pre-order, call our office at 888-484-5484.

2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - A/R Connection

New! Streamlined QBSS Teaching System

Our popular Learning QuickBooks Step-by-Step Teaching System (QBSS)  just got easier to use! Announcing two new streamlined seminar books to accompany our upcoming 2008 update.

In previous versions, our QBSS Teaching System included our QuickBooks Fundamentals and Intermediate textbooks. We have heard from many of you that you wanted a condensed version of these books, designed specifically for a one day seminar. The 2008 QBSS will include two new condensed workbooks: QuickBooks: Seminar 1 and QuickBooks: Seminar 2. We have designed these books with your clients and your practice in mind.

QuickBooks Seminar 1 workbook covers much of the same material as our Fundamentals book, including accounting basics, tracking revenue and expenses, bank reconciliation and file setup.  Seminar 2 workbook covers material similar to our Intermediate book including inventory, sales tax, payroll, budgets and estimates. These books are only available to those who purchase our teaching system and members of Sleeter Group Consultants Network. The Best News: The price of each of these workbooks has been reduced to as low as $29 each!

The QBSS Teaching System includes everything you need to offer seminars to enhance your practice. Our Seminar Planning Guide includes helpful advice for getting started including securing a venue, advertising and using seminars to market your practice.

The 2008 QBSS Teaching System and the new condensed books will be available in mid August.

For more information, contact our office at 1-888-484-5484.

Consulting for Small and Medium Sized Manufacturers

MISys and the Sleeter Group invite you to join us for two informative webcasts designed to introduce you to the world of consulting for small- to medium-sized manufacturing companies and to MISys Small Business Manufacturing (MISys SBM) for QuickBooks.

• July 21st
  2:00-3:30pm EDT (11:00-12:30pm PDT)
  Exploring manufacturing solutions in the SMB marketplace
• August 11th
  2:00-3:30pm EDT (11:00-12:30pm PDT)
  Exploring MISys SBM, the QuickBooks manufacturing solution

The event on July 21st explores the general needs of small- to medium-sized manufacturing firms and what you, as a consultant, need to know when helping your clients select the right manufacturing software.

The event on August 11th goes into the specific features and functionality of MISys Small Business Manufacturing with particular attention to its integration with QuickBooks.

Contact us today to register for this informative event, or you can link to the registration on the MISys website here.  If you’re working with small manufacturing businesses, you won’t want to miss this webinar.

Chuck Vigeant's Reporting Corner

Most of the reports we provide to clients falls into four main categories, Financial, Sales Job Cost and Business Intelligence. Within the Sales category, the most requested report is the commission report. You might think that after thousands of reports, we would have generated every type of commission report imaginable, but nothing could be further from the truth.

This month, Chuck shares the key information you need to gather to create commission reports. To read Chuck Vigeant’s full article click the link below.

Consultants Tool Kit - Download at New Low Price

The Consultant’s "Tool Kit" has been one of our best selling products since 2000. We are now offering this product as a download from our web store. In this new format we are able to offer it to you at a New Low Price of only $99.95.

The  Consultant’s Tool Kit is packed full of time saving files including sample correspondence, engagement letter templates, spreadsheets, and graphically designed marketing templates to assist CPA firms, professional bookkeepers, and accounting software consultants with the marketing of their services to prospective clients and the management of their existing client relationships. The Consultant’s Toolkit will save hundreds of hours worth of time!

Download the Tool Kit here.

2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Profitable Accounting

The Sleeter Group's Consultants Network Update

The Sleeter Group Consultants Network is the nation’s premier accounting software consultant’s network. With over 600 members located throughout the US and Canada, our members serve over 150,000 small businesses. We provide expert QuickBooks consulting, add-on integration services, business process workflow consulting, outsourced bookkeeping services, and financial statement preparation.

In addition to client consulting, many of our consultants provide consulting services to software developers who seek advice on the best practices for integrating their applications with QuickBooks and other accounting software products. To locate one of our certified consultants visit our Find a Consultant page. To learn more about becoming a consultant visit our Become a Consultant page or call our office at 888-484-5484. Members of the network receive a substantial discount on our resource products as well as our annual Accounting Software Consulting Conference.

New Sleeter Fishbowl VAR Forum now available on Yahoo Groups

Fishbowl Inventory is the premier Inventory Management add-on for QuickBooks, and is a Solution Partner to the Sleeter Group.  Now, Sleeter Group consultants and value added resellers working with Fishbowl have a dedicated forum where you can post questions or issues, and work directly with the community of Fishbowl Inventory resellers.  For current Fishbowl resellers, make sure to join the forum and connect with other resellers and Fishbowl employees.

If you aren’t yet a Fishbowl Inventory reseller, get more information here to find out how working with Fishbowl can help you drive additional value and revenue to your practice.

2008 Conference Exhibitor Information - Corrigo

Tricks of the Trade

Every day, members of The Sleeter Group Consultants Network tackle the day-to-day problems of their clients in the real world. The following is an example problem and solution that surfaced this month on our Sleeter Group Consultants Network E-Mail Group.

Question: I have found the description of recording daily POS sales summaries in the The Sleeter Group’s December 2000 newsletter quite helpful. However, my POS accrues sales tax, but it contains rounding differences and adjustments. When I enter a daily total sales figure into a QuickBooks receipt or invoice, QuickBooks uses a fixed tax rate to keep track of sales tax. How is it possible to account for the adjustment?

Doug Sleeter answered: For recording daily sales summaries from a POS z-tape, or other source that contains the total sales activity for the retail store, the 2000 newsletter article describes the general process. Of course, this method only applies when you do not have a POS software (e.g. QB POS, or AccuPOS) that automatically feeds sales information into QuickBooks Financial Software.

Each day, you should record the totals from the z-tapes from the cash register(s). However, to handle the issue of sales tax roundoff, that is, when the cash register collects a certain amount for sales tax, but the QuickBooks sales tax calculation on the sales receipt is off by a few cents, here is what you need to do.

1. Create a "zerotax" sales tax item that charges 0%.
2. On all sales receipts that you use to record the daily sales, use this zerotax sales tax item at the bottom.
3. Enter all the sales items on the face of the sales receipt and then add the actual sales tax item in the body of the sales receipt with the actual sales tax amount.

I like to create a zero-dollar sales receipt that includes all sales items, sales tax, and payment items for the amounts received by VISA/MC, AMEX, Checks, etc. The key is that this sales receipt completely zeros out each day. If for some reason it doesn’t zero out, you can add an over/short item that points to some expense account and enter whatever amount necessary to force the sales receipt to zero out.

So the lines would look like this:

• Sales Item 1 – Electrical 325.00 Total Daily Sales for this item
• Sales Item 2 – Retouching 95.00 Total Daily Sales for this item
• Sales Item 3 – Case 450.00 Total Daily Sales for this item
• Sales Tax – Contra Costa 39.38 Sales Tax Collected (Per Z-Tape)
• Payment1 – VISA/MC received -300.00 VISA/Mastercard Payments Received
• Payment2 – AMEX received -308.38 AMEX Payments Received
• Payment2 – Checks/Cash Received -300.00 Checks/Cash Payments Received
• Over/Short -1.00 Force sales receipt to zero
  
• Sales tax item at bottom – Zerotax 0.00
  
• Total at bottom of sales receipt 0.00