QuickBooks® and PeachTree® Training: A small Business Accounting Guide

QuickBooks® and PeachTree® are two popular accounting programs for small businesses. Many business owners consult their accounting team to install, train, and provide staff support with these popular software applications. Below are some common questions and brief answers about QuickBooks® and PeachTree® accounting file management systems.

1.      Can QuickBooks® and PeachTree® help me understand my financial statements?

Yes! Set up is everything in these programs, and can be tailored to fit individual business owner’s needs. Designs can include account setup to feed back information about job costing, overhead, and comparisons to prior periods.

2.      Can I prepare my own payroll?

Yes! Both of these programs can be used to prepare payroll. Learn how to pay employees, make tax deposits, and prepare payroll forms, all using the computer system.

3.      Do I need a degree in computer science to run these programs?

No! Business owners, their spouses, children, and colleagues can all learn to run these user-friendly programs. Reputable accounting firms offer on-going support, on-site or by telephone, for questions and challenges.

4.      What reports can I run on my system?

There are more reports than can be listed in this article, but the traditional financial reports, Balance Sheet and Income Statement, are very useful in evaluating your performance and can be easily run on either QuickBooks® or PeachTree®. Other reports frequently utilized by business owners are payroll summary reports, sales by customer, purchases by vendor, and statements comparing periods. All can be run on either system easily with the proper training.

5.      Can an accounting firm help me set up job costing?

Yes! Knowing which costs are unique to your business is essential for properly pricing your product or service. These programs can be set up to track sales and costs by customer, job, and job type, for example. In most cases, job costing is one more keystroke to allocate each transaction.