QuickBooks for the Mac is not that much different than QuickBooks on the PC. I support all versions/editions of QuickBooks. But my background and expertise in with PC's. I've been using PC's for over 22 years. Now, as more and more clients are moving to Mac's, I decided to learn about Mac OS.
Mac training at the Apple Store is a great deal. Go to the Apple Store at your local mall to sign up. Pay them $99 for a year's worth of training. They offer all kinds of training but the one I'm using is the 1-on-1 private training by appointment. I can get a one hour session per week, 52 a year. I've found it easy to book a session at my convenience. I've had four sessions in 4 months and feel as if I've gotten my money's worth.
Today I took in my PC laptop with iTunes and my iPod to find out why they aren't working correctly. Being over 17 years old I never learned how to make them work correctly in the first place.
If you're even thinking of getting a Mac, you might want to sign up for training first, so you can make an informed purchasing decision. And then you can continue to take more training to learn how to become an expert with your new computer.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Why QuickBooks Online Edition is Slower than QuickBooks Desktop (All Versions)
I support all years/versions of QuickBooks. The only version I don't love is QuickBooks Online because it's so slow. Sometimes a business has a compelling reason to use QuickBooks Online, like the various financial people need to be able to dial in from a variety of remote locations, especially hotel rooms. But most businesses will do better using a desktop version of QuickBooks and Remote Desktop Connection. It's much faster for anyone entering or manipulating data, especially a power user like myself.
For the purpose of this article, "desktop" QuickBooks includes all other versions: QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier, QuickBooks Accountant, QuickBooks Enterprise, QuickBooks Mac, and all special Editions like contractor's edition, manufacturing edition, etc.
Here are some specific examples of differences in speed.
Function: Delete an Account
o). In online edition, you can delete accounts with balances in them. Before you delete an account you have to check and make sure it doesn't contain any transactions. The Quick Report comes up with "this month", so you have to select "all" to see if there are any transactions from the past.
d). In desktop edition, you can just say delete, and QB will protect you from deleting an account with a transaction.
Function: Select an Account to post the transaction to:
o). Online edition shows you EVERY account in the chart of accounts, with it's parent account. It's a long list so it's very time consuming to find the exact account you want. Usually you want an expense account, which is at the bottom of the list.
d). Desktop version shows you just the expense accounts, so you're looking at a much shorter list of accounts. And you can set Preferences to select, "see the lower account".
Function: Accept a Transactions
o). Online Edition makes you find the "okay" button to save a transaction.
d). Desktop version saves automatically.
Function: Editing a List
o). Online edition you have to find the "edit" or "new" button. Type ahead does work but not very well.
d). Desktop editions let you use keyboard shortcuts, like “ctrl-E” for "edit" or “ctrl-N” for "new". I can edit a list lightening fast with two hands. Type ahead works perfectly.
Other differences? Please submit things I'm missing, or changes, so I can build a comprehensive unbiased article. Are we having fun yet?
For the purpose of this article, "desktop" QuickBooks includes all other versions: QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier, QuickBooks Accountant, QuickBooks Enterprise, QuickBooks Mac, and all special Editions like contractor's edition, manufacturing edition, etc.
Here are some specific examples of differences in speed.
Function: Delete an Account
o). In online edition, you can delete accounts with balances in them. Before you delete an account you have to check and make sure it doesn't contain any transactions. The Quick Report comes up with "this month", so you have to select "all" to see if there are any transactions from the past.
d). In desktop edition, you can just say delete, and QB will protect you from deleting an account with a transaction.
Function: Select an Account to post the transaction to:
o). Online edition shows you EVERY account in the chart of accounts, with it's parent account. It's a long list so it's very time consuming to find the exact account you want. Usually you want an expense account, which is at the bottom of the list.
d). Desktop version shows you just the expense accounts, so you're looking at a much shorter list of accounts. And you can set Preferences to select, "see the lower account".
Function: Accept a Transactions
o). Online Edition makes you find the "okay" button to save a transaction.
d). Desktop version saves automatically.
Function: Editing a List
o). Online edition you have to find the "edit" or "new" button. Type ahead does work but not very well.
d). Desktop editions let you use keyboard shortcuts, like “ctrl-E” for "edit" or “ctrl-N” for "new". I can edit a list lightening fast with two hands. Type ahead works perfectly.
Other differences? Please submit things I'm missing, or changes, so I can build a comprehensive unbiased article. Are we having fun yet?
Monday, February 23, 2009
Success Stories
At some point along my path, I realized I had a gift for helping people make their dreams come true. Here are a couple of my more unusual success stories with friends and clients:
- A plumber with hurt knees remembers he was attracted to computers in the army but never had a chance to pursue it. He follows my recommendations for what computer to buy first, uses it, asks my advice on different ideas so he doesn't waste his time, and then tries his hand at becoming a software developer. A few years later he is earning a high hourly rate and being flown all over the country for his expertise.
- A welfare mother cries on my shoulder that she can't get off welfare because she has no time to work at a job. I look around her apartment and suggest she start off just focusing on clearing out her place so she'll become more efficient time-wise. This ignites her spirit. She sells off as much as she can: clothes, books, movies, as well as eliminating junk and clearing out projects. As her place starts looking cleaner, her ex-husband pitches in by buying new bookshelves. Finally her life is efficient enough whereby she finds time to work at a part-time job while her children are at public school. This eventually pays well enough to get the family off of welfare.
- A successful 56 year old functionally-illiterate blue-collar business owner hires me to help him with current bookkeeping and to pay back taxes. Everyone else had frauded him which is how he got into this mess. I help him as asked, and then get his accounting into perfect order. It takes a few years but when all in said and done he has financial security. So I ask him what he wants to do next? He decides to retire and pursue a hobby. I help him collect money owed, and create a list of assets he can liquidate as he needs money. A year later he dies suddenly. He received the precious gift of a year in retirement because his finances were in order.
The broader picture is that we don’t always need more; sometimes we need to manage existing resources in a manner that helps us to accomplish our true goals in life.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Please donate your stuff to charity
Goodwill, or any thrift store, does a huge amount of good for the community.
This is the time to donate. You're going to get new stuff for Christmas, and thrift stores have their highest demand for stuff. So clean out now.
Of course thrift stores throw a huge amount of stuff out. People use them as a dumpster. They wouldn't have a business unless they only put out the good stuff for sale.
People are polluting our landfills and water with good stuff, that poor people really need. How easy can Goodwill make it? You drive up. They take your stuff out. Give you a tax deduction receipt. (If you're serious about the tax deduction, take photo's first.)
Donating your used stuff couldn't possibly be an easier way to do charity, and create good will in your community.
Personally, I can't give them enough stuff. There's even a thrift store at the ritzy Bellevue Mall that does great work. That's pretty cool. Take a shopping bag and drop it off. Come home with a new shopping bag.
Talk about frugal? My life is so much simpler because I'm a minimalist. I have all my needs met, some of my wants, all technology systems are redundant, and my/our place always looks spacious and receives compliments, even though it's simple. First of all, the clutter is gone. Second, when you get rid of your junk, you accent the nice stuff (and find it!). Third, people with large homes can afford space. so it's a perceptional illusion that space = wealth.
I see too many people who are getting buried by their stuff. They're clinging to poverty consciousness, which is emotionally destructive. If they accidentally throw out something they need a few years from now, they will be able to buy it again. Meanwhile the other truckloads they've removed free them from the bondage of stuff. Too much stuff repels people. If I take on the job of clearing up their space, guess what replaces the stuff? Human beings. New relationships.
Please take your good quality used items to a charity near you! Thanks!
This is the time to donate. You're going to get new stuff for Christmas, and thrift stores have their highest demand for stuff. So clean out now.
Of course thrift stores throw a huge amount of stuff out. People use them as a dumpster. They wouldn't have a business unless they only put out the good stuff for sale.
People are polluting our landfills and water with good stuff, that poor people really need. How easy can Goodwill make it? You drive up. They take your stuff out. Give you a tax deduction receipt. (If you're serious about the tax deduction, take photo's first.)
Donating your used stuff couldn't possibly be an easier way to do charity, and create good will in your community.
Personally, I can't give them enough stuff. There's even a thrift store at the ritzy Bellevue Mall that does great work. That's pretty cool. Take a shopping bag and drop it off. Come home with a new shopping bag.
Talk about frugal? My life is so much simpler because I'm a minimalist. I have all my needs met, some of my wants, all technology systems are redundant, and my/our place always looks spacious and receives compliments, even though it's simple. First of all, the clutter is gone. Second, when you get rid of your junk, you accent the nice stuff (and find it!). Third, people with large homes can afford space. so it's a perceptional illusion that space = wealth.
I see too many people who are getting buried by their stuff. They're clinging to poverty consciousness, which is emotionally destructive. If they accidentally throw out something they need a few years from now, they will be able to buy it again. Meanwhile the other truckloads they've removed free them from the bondage of stuff. Too much stuff repels people. If I take on the job of clearing up their space, guess what replaces the stuff? Human beings. New relationships.
Please take your good quality used items to a charity near you! Thanks!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
How to leverage a loan
A woman walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. She tells the loan officer that she is going to China on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000.
The bank officer tells her that the bank will need some form of security for the loan, so the woman hands over the keys to a new Ferrari parked on the street in front of the bank. She produces the title and everything checks out.
The Loan officer agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the woman for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drives the Ferrari into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.
Two weeks later, the woman returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41.
The loan officer says, 'Madame, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multi-millionaire. What puzzles us is why you would bother to borrow $5,000?
The woman replies: 'Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there safely when I return?
This was submitted by Lawrence Gu, my PC hardware/OS tech. Please email him for help at: gulawrence@yahoo.com
The bank officer tells her that the bank will need some form of security for the loan, so the woman hands over the keys to a new Ferrari parked on the street in front of the bank. She produces the title and everything checks out.
The Loan officer agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the woman for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drives the Ferrari into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.
Two weeks later, the woman returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41.
The loan officer says, 'Madame, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multi-millionaire. What puzzles us is why you would bother to borrow $5,000?
The woman replies: 'Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there safely when I return?
This was submitted by Lawrence Gu, my PC hardware/OS tech. Please email him for help at: gulawrence@yahoo.com
Monday, August 18, 2008
Gift books
If you've done me a favor; I'd like to give you a book. Please chose one:
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Funky Business, Talent Makes Capital Dance, By Jonas Ridderstale & Kjell Nordstrom, 2000
This is a beautiful book, not only in appearance, but in content.
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More, not listed right now. Stay tuned...!
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Monday, July 28, 2008
Filing Systems -- Find Any Piece of Paper in Minutes
I love organizing data, and offices (and all of my friends closets). Real work is messy; so it's nice to start and end with a clear palette. In this way, one creates a balanced office.
In my own filing system, I can find any piece of paper, from any year, within minutes. In the book, I explain how to create a filing system, even if you're starting with an office disaster. From that core system, you'll modify your filing system according to how you do business, so that you too can find any piece of paper in minutes. This is absolutely doable; I've done it for many clients. Here's one tip: it's rarely necessary to file a singe piece of paper. Put it in a "To Be Filed" folder. When you find yourself with a spare 10 minutes do all the filing.
As Alan Weiss, expert consultant, said in his newsletter "Balancing Act", "In many cases, I love my ducks in a row. But there are times when I just run through the bushes, because it seems like fun. And, interestingly enough, the ducks on my pond have yet to line themselves up in a row." To subscribe: http://summitconsulting.com/newsletter.html
In my own filing system, I can find any piece of paper, from any year, within minutes. In the book, I explain how to create a filing system, even if you're starting with an office disaster. From that core system, you'll modify your filing system according to how you do business, so that you too can find any piece of paper in minutes. This is absolutely doable; I've done it for many clients. Here's one tip: it's rarely necessary to file a singe piece of paper. Put it in a "To Be Filed" folder. When you find yourself with a spare 10 minutes do all the filing.
As Alan Weiss, expert consultant, said in his newsletter "Balancing Act", "In many cases, I love my ducks in a row. But there are times when I just run through the bushes, because it seems like fun. And, interestingly enough, the ducks on my pond have yet to line themselves up in a row." To subscribe: http://summitconsulting.com/newsletter.html
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