Finding Data Entry Mistakes

Once you've been a consultant for awhile, you will hopefully pick up my favorite kind of client. These are the clients that want you to visit monthly (usually) and "find mistakes" or "clean up". I like these clients because it is indeed a challenge to simply walk in and find mistakes. By this time I pretty well know the business, but of course don't have time to go through every transaction. So this is my routine.

I first pull up a YTD P&L to see if 1) there are any account names followed by "-Other" and 2) if there are any negative numbers where there shouldn't be. The first problem means that the proper subaccount is not being used for allocation. The second problem could mean a lot of things including but in no way limited to income being allocated to expense or vice versa, a large refund check from a previous year, some dang journal entry from the accountant, items in the Item List set up incorrectly, etc. If there is too much for me to clean up in my 2-hour visit, I show the client where to go and how to clean.

I next look at the P&L by Class (if the company uses Classes), collapse the report, and look for any headings followed by "-Other". If they appear, subclasses are not being used correctly. I also look again for inappropriate negative numbers within each class's P&L.

Finally, I look at the Balance Sheet. Again, I look for inappropriate negative numbers and this is a long discussion in itself. Is A/R negative? It shouldn't be on Accrual, but may be on a Cash Basis. Same for A/P. Does the Payroll Liabilities balance match the balance appearing in the Pay Payroll Liabilities window? And the Sales Tax Liability balance with the Pay Sales Tax window?

Do you have a different routine to share? I'd love to know.

Handling Cancellations

We just got a cold blast from the north, and my schedule has suffered. No, there was no snow, but a client called to cancel and another was running 15 minutes late. Which brings me to the question: do you charge for cancellations? Usually I don't charge for cancellations made in advance of the appointment. They don't happen often and usually there's a good excuse (isn't there always?). When I get to a client's office, I start my clock at the agreed upon hour. If they are late, they pay for the time I waited. If they don't show within 15 minutes, I leave and charge them a half hour for my time. How do you handle cancellations?

QuickBooks 2006 is Here

QuickBooks 2006 is on the market and one of our responsibilities is to decide which of our clients should upgrade and help them obtain the software. If you're certified, you already have a copy of 2006 and know what the benefits are. I recommend the upgrade to clients that make heavy use of customer and/or vendor reporting since the new Customer and Vendor Centers are really awesome. Any of your clients with payroll must upgrade if they're using version 2003. You alone know your clients' needs and should keep their best interests in mind. The best prices that I've seen out there are via Intuit Affiliates like myself (www.realitycheckonline.com) or through Amazon.com using an Intuit $20 promo certificate (mailed to some clients to encourage upgrading). Happy QuickBooks New Year!