QuickBooks is the number one small business accounting software and for good reason. It is easy to use and reasonably priced. QuickBooks can do the following things that Attorneys generally need:
Track Billable and Non Billable Time - QuickBooks has a great Time Tracking feature. An attorney can track their billable and non billable time for their clients. It also has a Timer program that comes separate and able to run without QuickBooks. This enables everyone in the office to track time and the bookkeeper and pull the time into QuickBooks.
Billing Rates and Price Levels - You can create custom price levels for your clients. It can also track Billing Rate levels that can be associated by the time keeper. (This is available in the Professional Services edition.)
Conflicts of Interest – In the 2009 versions of QuickBooks you have the ability to do advanced searches quickly and easily within your customer list.
Retainers – Yes you can track retainers in QuickBooks. Reports can easily be created and memorized so you will always know what money you are holding in retainers.
Trust Accounting – Easily track the money you are holding in trust and create reports to help you stay in compliance with Trust Accounting Laws.
QuickBooks also has the ability to:
Write checks
Link to online Bank Accounts
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
Payroll
1099’s
Need help getting started or training I can help. www.attorneystechnology.com
February 25, 2009
Sample Chart of Accounts for Law Firms
Here is a link to two sample chart of accounts that Attorneys can use for their Law Firms. The Medium size chart of accounts was modeled after the American Bar Association.
Quickbooks for Attorneys Sample Chart of Accounts
Quickbooks for Attorneys Sample Chart of Accounts
February 11, 2009
Can Lawyers Use QuickBooks?
The answer is Yes. QuickBooks is the number one small business accounting software and for good reason. It is easy to use and reasonably priced. It allows you to keep track of your Trust account, Retainers, Billable Time, Clients and Income and Expenses. The key is choosing the right version for your law practice and setting it up right to begin with. I have written a book that is step-by-step on how to use in a Law Practice. You can find it at www.attorneystechnology.com.
QuickBooks has serveral versions available, Online edition, Simple Start, QuickBooks for Mac, QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier, QuickBooks Enterprise. Choosing the right one for your business can be confusing. First let me tell you that I do not personally recommend Simple Start for attorneys. The following questions may help you decide which version of QuickBooks to get.
Do you need more than 5 people to have access to QuickBooks? If so you need the Enterprise Edition. This will allow up to 30 users.
Do you need access to the QuickBooks file anywhere any time? If so and you don’t use things like pcnow or gotomypc you may consider using the online edtion for QuickBooks. The cost starts at about $9.95 a month not including payroll $19.95 a month. If you need more than one person besides your accountant to have access to the file you will need to upgrade to the online plus which starts around $34.95 a month not including payroll $19.95 a month. This is not my favorite choice because I find it cumbersome when it comes to tracking time and billing clients. Also one feature I don’t like is it allows you to delete stuff that can reallly cause a problem later.
Do you want to setup rates for individual clients? This is a biggie. If you want to be able to charge a different rate for each client or type of client you really need to get the QuickBooks Premier Edition. This not only allows you to setup rates for clients but rates for your employees.
Do you track time? If so and you want to bill your clients using the invoice method the QuickBooks Premier Edition is perfect for this. It allows you to see unbilled time and expenses on one screen and bill for it.
Are you just starting your Law Practice? If you are just starting your law practice and you still don’t know which version to get I recommend getting the QuickBooks Pro version.
The main differences between the Pro and the Premier version that could affect your buisness type is the Premier version allows you to set indivudal rates for your clients, for your employees and allows you to bill your time in one screen. The cost is about $199.00 for the Pro version and $399.00 for the Premier version. If you think you will need to set individual rates for clients and employees I really recommend making the investment for the Premier version.
QuickBooks has serveral versions available, Online edition, Simple Start, QuickBooks for Mac, QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier, QuickBooks Enterprise. Choosing the right one for your business can be confusing. First let me tell you that I do not personally recommend Simple Start for attorneys. The following questions may help you decide which version of QuickBooks to get.
Do you need more than 5 people to have access to QuickBooks? If so you need the Enterprise Edition. This will allow up to 30 users.
Do you need access to the QuickBooks file anywhere any time? If so and you don’t use things like pcnow or gotomypc you may consider using the online edtion for QuickBooks. The cost starts at about $9.95 a month not including payroll $19.95 a month. If you need more than one person besides your accountant to have access to the file you will need to upgrade to the online plus which starts around $34.95 a month not including payroll $19.95 a month. This is not my favorite choice because I find it cumbersome when it comes to tracking time and billing clients. Also one feature I don’t like is it allows you to delete stuff that can reallly cause a problem later.
Do you want to setup rates for individual clients? This is a biggie. If you want to be able to charge a different rate for each client or type of client you really need to get the QuickBooks Premier Edition. This not only allows you to setup rates for clients but rates for your employees.
Do you track time? If so and you want to bill your clients using the invoice method the QuickBooks Premier Edition is perfect for this. It allows you to see unbilled time and expenses on one screen and bill for it.
Are you just starting your Law Practice? If you are just starting your law practice and you still don’t know which version to get I recommend getting the QuickBooks Pro version.
The main differences between the Pro and the Premier version that could affect your buisness type is the Premier version allows you to set indivudal rates for your clients, for your employees and allows you to bill your time in one screen. The cost is about $199.00 for the Pro version and $399.00 for the Premier version. If you think you will need to set individual rates for clients and employees I really recommend making the investment for the Premier version.
February 8, 2009
Before Updating to QuickBooks 2009 Read System Requirements
The system requirements have changed for QuickBooks 2009. It does not work on Windows 2000. Make sure your computers are upgraded before you install. Here is a link to the system requirements. http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product/accounting-software/small-business-accounting-software.jsp
Operating Systems supported:
Windows XP (SP2 or later strongly recommended), all editions
Windows 2003 Server
Windows Vista (w/UAC on), all editions
Windows Longhorn Server (database only, not client)
Operating Systems supported:
Windows XP (SP2 or later strongly recommended), all editions
Windows 2003 Server
Windows Vista (w/UAC on), all editions
Windows Longhorn Server (database only, not client)
My Customer List in QuickBooks is Sorted Wrong on Reports
I got a call from one of my clients and she was so frustrated because her customer list was sorted wrong on her aging report and customer sales report. I couldn’t figure out what she could have done so I had to see for myself. YEP it was messed up. This is how you fix this if the QuickBooks gremlin gets in your company file.
Go to the Write Checks Window.
When the window appears click on the Payee field and press CTRL and L.
The Names List window will pop up. Click on the Name button at the bottom.
Choose Re-sort list.
This should fix it.
Go to the Write Checks Window.
When the window appears click on the Payee field and press CTRL and L.
The Names List window will pop up. Click on the Name button at the bottom.
Choose Re-sort list.
This should fix it.
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