There are many reasons that contribute to the success or failure with QuickBooks; but here are 5 that we at BW/API see on a regular basis. If you're not a bookkeeper before you buy QuickBooks, you won't be after either.Please - do NOT fall victim to the siren song of do-it-yourself bookkeeping that the marketing folks at QuickBooks are singing.Concepts such as "if you can write a check, you can use QuickBooks" and "QuickBooks is built for butchers, bakers and candlestick makers" (both themes have been used in their advertising) will lull you into a very false sense of security.To succeed with QuickBooks, you (or someone on your team) absolutely needs to have a solid grasp of bookkeeping. Otherwise, you may quickly offer up a comment such as this one I recently saw on Twitter - "QuickBooks is making me want to poke my eyes out!".Like any other tool, when used correctly, QuickBooks provides an incredibly robust accounting system for many small businesses. There is a tremendous amount of functionality bundled inside the software. However, when used incorrectly, bad things can happen to good businesses, and boy, can they happen quickly!BW/API can provide professional guidance to set up QuickBooks, teach you how to use it correctly, and to review your work on a monthly basis. Trust me - we have seen many businesses disintegrate due to poor or non-existent accounting information.    Unless you are a payroll genius, outsource it!Contrary to what you might think, you can't afford NOT to outsource your payroll.OK, we get it.  We hear people frequently say "gee, how hard is it to create paychecks for the employees?" That statement by itself as it relates to payroll is absolutely true. It isn't too terribly hard to create the checks.However, the payroll nightmares that haunt thousands of small businesses have NOTHING to do with the creation of the checks. The nightmares have EVERYTHING to do with the timely and correct filing of quarterly and annual payroll tax returns, the accurate and timely deposit of payroll taxes due, and reading and replying to payroll letters received from the IRS or EDD. Let's be honest - payroll is a completely NON-value added activity for ALL businesses. The minimum expectation going in is that it be 100% correct (the amount of the paychecks, the deposits and the tax filings). That's an enormous amount of pressure for someone that very likely doesn't have any background in payroll. Why even risk it?Why not transfer that NON-value added activity to BW/API who deal with payroll checks, tax deposits, payroll tax returns, and payroll correspondence every day.   Learn and experiment freely - in the sample company file,NOT in your "live" company fileTaking time to learn about the various features, shortcuts and tools within QuickBooks is an excellent goal, and we strongly encourage you to do that.However, our recommendation is that your learning be done in the sample data files that are provided with every edition of QuickBooks. That way, you can play around all day in these sample files and have absolutely ZERO worries about messing anything up in your "live" file.Once you get the hang of things in the sample data file and understand their impact, you can easily transport that knowledge into your "live" file. Not sure how to locate the sample files? Just click on Help and do a search or give us a call for assistance. Do NOT dive into online banking right awayWe know this concept seems completely counter-intuitive. Let me explain...As soon as you create a new bank account in your QuickBooks chart of accounts, you are asked if you want to connect to your online banking. Resist the temptation at first.Without the initial knowledge of how QuickBooks expects things to be done when it comes to recording bank and credit card transactions, you will be at a big disadvantage.In fact, if you connect to online banking right away, there is a very good chance that you'll just be downloading and entering a lot of garbage into your QuickBooks file - you'll just be doing it faster as a result of the electronic connection.   A better approach -- learn how things work manually first. It shouldn't take you too long to get the hang of it, assuming you have the proper setup and knowledgeable training on the inner workings of QuickBooks. Once you start walking, you can then break into a run and connect to your online banking. You  will be very glad you followed this plan of action. Download and install QuickBooks updates when notifiedWe know - the "QuickBooks has recently downloaded an update. Would you like to install it now?" messages can get annoying.But what you might not know is this - these updates are how the creators of QuickBooks push bug fixes and other updates out to you.It is essential that you take the time to install these updates when you are notified about them. If you are skittish about installing them because of worries about potential problems, check your favorite search engine for reports of any problems with these updates. If you find none, forge ahead with the installation.In most cases, these updates do far more good than harm and help fix problems within QuickBooks, both minor and major. If you have any questions or would be interested in our QuickBooks Consulting/Training Services, give us a call in our Brentwood Office - 925 240 3045; Concord Office - 925 827 2222 ...read more

BW/API is adding these valuable services to medical practices on January 1st.   BW/API is going to be a unique provider of these services.   We've found so many doctors are either doing their medical billing in house by staff members who have no time, have poor coding skills, and are not collecting on denied claims; Some medical practices are using billers who strictly perform the billing portion in their home which could be a security risk.   BW/API is a full service medical billing ‘and' collection provider.   Our staff has experience in medical billing so our coding will be correct to ensure the maximum revenue is being submitted and collected for our doctors.   We aggressively collect any unpaid insurance claim or amount due from patients to make sure a doctor receives all fees due.    We've licensed top rated, MediSoft software from McKesson, to provide electronic claims submittal to the insurance companies, track all insurance billings and collections, and advanced reporting of transaction processing. The medical billing/collection services roll seamlessly into BW/APIs traditional accounting, payroll, corporation, and tax services to ensure the doctor's practice has correctly stated financials for underwriting purposes and the practice is valued correctly; the doctor's practice is packaged correctly for tax purposes; and the doctor is packaged correctly for retirement and has a valued exit strategy.  Give us a call if you have any questions.    Brentwood:    925 240 3045; Concord:   925 827 2222  ...read more

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Intuit announced the release date for its latest QuickBooks software, QuickBooks 2011, which includes several new features that help small business owners find data when they need it, perform everyday tasks and access business information remotely. According to Intuit, the software goes on sale September 27. QuickBooks Pro and Premier 2011 build on prior versions by streamlining accounting tasks, such as invoicing and collecting payments. The new Customer Snapshot and Customer and Vendor History features provide at-a-glance views of customer and vendor details. Users can also take advantage of the power of QuickBooks Connect, a new service that lets small businesses access QuickBooks data remotely via the Internet or a mobile device. Additionally, as with previous versions, QuickBooks 2011 helps small business owners stay organized by allowing them to have their business information in one place. Upgraded features give customers access to business information: -Customer Snapshot offers a consolidated view of an individual customer's purchase history, average days to pay, and outstanding balance. This helps small businesses make timely decisions on customer requests. -QuickBooks Search lets users locate any customer, account, report or invoice details within their QuickBooks repository with a simple keyword search. -Customer and Vendor History provides at-a-glance views of customer and vendor details, such as history, estimates and past orders, on a single screen. -Balance Sheet by Class provides a way for QuickBooks Premier users to separately track multiple funds, departments or locations in a single report. Millions of small business owners now work away from the office at least part time. QuickBooks 2011 provides these remote workers access to essential data anywhere, from the airplane to the jobsite, giving them the flexibility they need to meet business demands. Offered as an add-on service to QuickBooks 2011 and sold separately, QuickBooks Connect provides access to QuickBooks customer and transaction data online or on a mobile phone. Users can create and manage invoices, pull customer information, check the status of a payment, and get real-time answers to questions on the go. Secure data automatically syncs with QuickBooks, so users will always have the most up-to-date information at their fingertips. Intuit is a provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, financial institutions including banks and credit unions, consumers and accounting professionals. ...read more

Income tax extension deadlines are fast approaching!    A corporation, with a calendar fiscal year, has an extension deadline date of September 15th.     The Income tax extension deadline date for a personal tax return is October 15th.      If you have not filed your income tax return, don't worry about it!   BW Business Solutions/API Accounting Practices are here to help you, and we will file your tax return in time to meet the approaching deadlines!     If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call.     Brentwood Office - 925 240 3045 Concord Office - 925 827 2222   ...read more

QuickBooks is the #1 selling bookkeeping software for small businesses in the US.     It's very easy to acquire the software at your local Best Buy, Costco, Office Depot, etc.    But, once a user gets that software to their office or home and get the software installed on a PC, trouble could be right around the corner! We find that QuickBooks users who attempt to set up the software themselves run into big trouble.    Setting up a correct chart of accounts and using the chart of accounts is not as easy as it seems - or as Intuit makes it out to be.  Because of all of the set up mistakes we see, we recommend users consult with skilled professionals, like BW/API, with bookkeeping/accounting experience.    Mistakes in the chart of accounts can create many mistakes on the company financial statements, which in turn can result in mistakes on business' tax returns.     Other sections of QuickBooks that small business owners can easily make set up mistakes are within the Items and Services screens, Sales Tax screens, and reading the reports within Company&Financials.;    These sections in QuickBooks are very tricky and must be set up correctly to ensure user financial statements and reports are correct!     Correct financial statements are essential for business decision making by owners, requirements of lending institutions for business loans, and correct tax returns for the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board. BW Business Solutions/API Accounting Practices have been setting up accounting software for over 10 years.   We are very skillful and very experienced with QuickBooks Set Up and Training Services.     We can provide training at your location, our location in Brentwood or Concord, or even over the internet!!  Call us with questions -- and be very careful if you opt to set up the QuickBooks software by yourself!  BW Business Solutions / API Accounting Practices Brentwood Office:   925 240 3045 Concord Office:   925 827 2222 ...read more

Yes, summer is almost over . .  Autumn, Halloween, and the Holidays are fast approaching.      If you're doing your bookkeeping yourself, will your QuickBooks be ready for tax season?     Will your tax preparer reject your in house work?    We find that so many small businesses have great intentions of doing their bookkeeping in house, but those Books are NOT in shape for the tax preparer.     We at BW are ready to review your QuickBooks file and get you ready for tax season.   Call us at 925 207 0497 to help you.    Don't delay - let's get ready before Christmas and New Years!      ...read more

Yes, summer is almost over . .  Autumn, Halloween, and the Holidays are fast approaching.      If you're doing your bookkeeping yourself, will your QuickBooks be ready for tax season?     Will your tax preparer reject your in house work?    We find that so many small businesses have great intentions of doing their bookkeeping in house, but those Books are NOT in shape for the tax preparer.     We at BW are ready to review your QuickBooks file and get you ready for tax season.   Call us at 925 207 0497 to help you.    Don't delay - let's get ready before Christmas and New Years!         Keywords: bookkeeping tax payroll accounting0 comments ...read more

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Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks, has released its new version, 2009.     QuickBooks continues to be the #1 selling accounting software for small businesses.    We at BW Business Solutions specialize only in QuickBooks as a bookkeeping solution and are Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors.     Give us a call if you'd like more information regarding version 2009 and the new features within this release.    Below is a small listing of some of the new features.      Contact us at 925 207 0497 or info@bwbsinc.com. What's New in QuickBooks 2009 QuickBooks 2009 helps youwork smarter, not harder. New tools help you get deeper business insights than ever before, so you can make better business decisions — and faster. Stay on top of your businesswith the new Company Snapshot — get a real-time overview of your business in one place. Save time and reduce manual data entrywith improved Online Banking. Download bank and credit card transactions directly into QuickBooks. Attract new customers— build a free, customized and professional-looking website using drag and drop tools. Track your business internationally— buy & sell easily around the world with support for multiple currencies in QuickBooks 2009. And much more! ...read more

Yes, summer is almost over . .  Autumn, Halloween, and the Holidays are fast approaching.      If you're doing your bookkeeping yourself, will your QuickBooks be ready for tax season?     Will your tax preparer reject your in house work?    We find that so many small businesses have great intentions of doing their bookkeeping in house, but those Books are NOT in shape for the tax preparer.     We at BW are ready to review your QuickBooks file and get you ready for tax season.   Call us at 925 207 0497 to help you.    Don't delay - let's get ready before Christmas and New Years!        ...read more

Bay Area Drug Test Consultants (925) 207-1210 has a Certified Hair Specimen Collector ready to perform a simple specimen collection.  This collection gives highly accurate results.  Our Collector gets results back quickly.  Negative results are reported within 24 hours of receipt at the laboratory, and positive results are reported within 48 to 72 hours of receipt at the laboratory.  When compared with urine specimen testing, hair testing provides up to 2.5 times the number of positives and a longer detection window.  Hair testing can test for the following classes of drugs:  Amphetamines (including Ecstasy), Cocaine, Marijuana, Opiates and Phencyclidine (PCP).   ...read more

BAY AREA DRUG TEST CONSULTANTS OFFERS GREAT PRICES. 10-PANEL INTEGRATED URINE CUP TESTS FOR ONLY $15.00 each.  10-PANEL will Detect the following:  Cocaine, Amphetamines, Methamphetamines, Marijuana, Opiates, PCP, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines, Methadone & MDMA(Ecstasy).  99% accurate Results in 5 minutes No urine exposure Ready for immediate transport to any laboratory Built-in temperature strip on the side Results remain hidden until sticker is removed Ideal for low-volume donations ALCO-SCREEN 2 MINUTE SALIVA ALCOHOL TEST FOR ONLY $2.25 each or Box of 24 Tests $54.00.  Find out in 2 minutes whether a driver is disobeying the Law with this simple Saliva Alcohol Test.  Highly effective as an objective determinant for Alcohol ingestion.  In a clinical study Alco-Screen demonstrates an accuracy of greater than 95% in correctly identifying the presence or absence of measurable alcohol in blood. Convenient- Can be used any time, any place.  Individually wrapped & disposable. Economical- Greatly reduces the time & cost associated with other single & multiple use alcohol testing methods Sensitive- Saliva is a more sensitive testing medium than breath. Versatile- In addition to testing alcohol in saliva, Alco-Screen can detect the presence of alcohol in other fluids. Safety- Alco-Screen promotes safety by helping to eliminate alcohol related accidents. Ideal for Parents worrying about whether their Teen Drivers are disobeying the Law and the Rules of their Household.  Testing in the privacy of your Home.  As a Parent be confident about your Child's Safety! ...read more