Category: business

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QuickBooks 2022 Boasts Modernized Foundation

Every year, businesses around the world anxiously await the release of the new versions of QuickBooks desktop software. While that may sound a bit silly, the truth is that QuickBooks is widely used in numerous countries around the world and when Intuit makes big changes to QuickBooks it impacts a lot of businesses.

While the focus for Intuit, like most software companies, is online subscription service, the fact remains that the desktop products and the ecosystem around them continues to grow.

Over the past few years, the company has invested in artificial intelligence and platform solutions that extend and add value to the desktop and online products. Some of these investments are becoming clearer with the launch of QuickBooks desktop 2022 editions.

64-bit QuickBooks [1]

The “guts” of QuickBooks was elderly and wasn’t up to current processing standards. Now, QuickBooks has a 64-bit foundation and the full capability of 64-bit processors can be used. This typically means faster application and data load times, faster report generation and an ability to handle larger data sets more efficiently. Beware of QB 2022 until you verify that your computers are all 64-bit machines, because QB 2022 can’t be installed on 32-bit systems. If you’re working with a hosting platform, you’ll need to make sure your host has modern infrastructure and up-to-date operating systems.

E-commerce for QuickBooks with Webgility [2]

Need to track your revenue from different selling platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Shopify, and sync the data directly with QuickBooks? There are a lot of e-commerce integrations for QuickBooks desktop, but Webgility wins when it comes to working with QuickBooks. There’s now a bundle that makes it easier to get the Webgility e-commerce integration for QuickBooks. Customers still must sign up with Webgility to get the service but purchasing the bundle package makes that quite a bit easier. Webgility uses a database to keep track of orders, so you’ll want to make sure your system is able to handle the extra load. If you’re on a hosting platform (other than NOOBEH), be ready to pay additional fees to support running Webgility.

Bill payment approval process

Improve your accounts payable process by creating a structured approval process so that only the right bills get paid. AP workflows can help businesses manage cash flow and improve transparency. Working in conjunction with the user’s Intuit.com account, the company can set up rules for QuickBooks to check which bills need approval for entry and payment. Users are then prompted to send bills for approval

Pay and schedule bills faster with Melio payments

Some subscription holders of QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, or Enterprise are working with the new feature (from Melio Payments) that allows businesses to use QuickBooks to schedule and pay bills using a bank transfer, credit card or debit card. The vendor doesn’t have to have a Melio account; they can receive their payments either as ACH or paper check.

Bill entry automation and customized bill payment stubs

Save time and have QuickBooks automate bill entries from the QuickBooks Desktop mobile app (iOS or Android versions) or from bills sent via email. Review the bill data once it’s uploaded and match it to existing transactions in QB. Bill payment stubs are now on the list of customizable forms, so you can set up and email formal payment confirmations to vendors.

Upload documents [3]

Instead of scanning files on your PC to attach to QuickBooks transactions, you can now use the QuickBooks Desktop mobile app to attach documents to transactions. The attached documents feature of QuickBooks is awesome because it lets you use QB as kind of a document management solution where you can store original copies of bills, receipts, contracts, or other documents that associate with financial transactions or entities in your QB files. This new feature that allows documents to be uploaded via the QuickBooks Desktop mobile app is a great solution for businesses operating on some hosted platforms that can’t or won’t support scanning. One “gotcha” with attached documents is that many businesses forget that they have them, and when they go to migrate their QB data to another platform or computer, the file attachments either get forgotten or are so voluminous that it makes the migration difficult.

Choose from multiple customer contacts

Only available with Plus and Enterprise subscriptions is the ability to add multiple customer contacts to batch email runs. The program now lets you send emails more quickly by choosing batch mail recipients from a list of customer or vendor contacts, reducing the chances of email troubles caused by manual entry of addresses.

Instant deposit

When you use QuickBooks Payments (or any other payment service), it generally takes a few days for the money to wind up in your bank account. With a QuickBooks Payments account and for an additional fee, Intuit is now letting you get your money faster when customers pay. Instant Deposit is a service that works with a VISA or debit card to deposit the money into your checking account – any processing or other fees will continue to be debited from your regular payments bank account.

Payment links

Now you can do in QuickBooks what you can do with PayPal, Zelle and other money transfer apps. Businesses can use simple Payment links to collect payments before work is performed and even before an invoice is created. As with all other payments features, you need a QuickBooks Payments account to use this one.

Changes to software purchasing options

QuickBooks Desktop 2022 is only available as a subscription purchase. There is no outright purchase option for QuickBooks desktop any longer. For businesses that need only the most basic features of QB, Intuit is hoping the QBO platform will work, and changing the software from purchase to subscription is just one more step in moving users to adopt the web application. QuickBooks Pro and Premier are still widely used so they will be available for some time to come, but Intuit is clearly making moves to try to push smaller edition desktop users to the web.

[1] NOOBEH deploys only modern architecture, 64-bit systems for QB on Azure and other hosted solutions

[2] NOOBEH doesn’t charge extra to have Webgility or any other applications installed in your QB on Azure service

[3] NOOBEH QB on Azure  and other cloud hosting solutions support scanning directly from your local PC to QuickBooks, using specialty 3rd party tools. Whether you use QuickBooks mobile or scan directly to QB using the Attached Documents feature, NOOBEH supports it.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Considering Cybersecurity as Cloud Work Expands

When the pandemic forced many business users to move to remote work, it also forced the network security “boundary” to expand greatly and with great speed. Companies quickly adapted their tools and work so that it could be done somewhat effectively even as the employee working environment changed.  But new security models to match with new working models have not as quickly been adopted.

Business cloud workloads grew, by some estimates, as much as 20% just in the first 6 months of 2020. Yet many of those businesses electing to bring cloud working models to their business also made of the mistake of not expanding their security as they expanded the cloud network. This leaves systems and information vulnerable. Phishing, ransomware, credential theft and web app attacks have increased, catching businesses in their vulnerable states.

“In April to June of 2020 alone, security incidents increased by 188%.”

Even more than on-premises systems, it was the external cloud-based data and applications that were under attack because so many companies expanded their use of cloud services without enhanced security as part of the plan. Any expansion to include the cloud as network also significantly increases security risks. One report found that 35% of businesses made their cloud storage openly accessible to the public, allowing anyone to access it via the internet.

Don’t let your critical information be exposed or put at risk. When you begin using a cloud service, make sure to also address security for the new working mode or it could lead to lost or leaked information or a system breach.

Mendelson Consulting and NOOBEH cloud services take security very seriously. We help our clients keep their applications and data working properly and have a focus on methods to keep information safe regardless of what cloud you work on.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

1 ( https://duo.com/blog/growing-security-safely-in-canada )

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Finance Department Participation in Supply Chain Management

When most businesses approach Supply Chain Management, the focus is on the item or product – the physical thing that ultimately gets delivered somewhere, somehow. What many businesses do not consider is that the orchestration and timing of “supply chain” activities can have significant impacts on financial performance, reporting and cash flow. The current processes could just be working just “okay”, and not delivering the financial benefit that might be obtained through modernization of technologies and transformations in approaches. The key is to get the right people involved.

One big aspect of seeking to integrate electronic commerce and collaboration with customers, suppliers and payment services is the recognition that supply chain activities involving orders, invoices, payments, and remittances are directly related to finances, revenue recognition and cash management.

For any project to be successful, it should include execs from both the supply chain and finance areas so that all concerns relating to event timing may be addressed to allow proper treatment in the financial statements. After all, the same things that trigger supply chain activities (orders etc) are the same documents which drive finance. When the information is accurate and timely, and when the inefficient manual processes can be replaced with electronic workflows, the business is best positioned to improve cash flow and overall financial performance as well as business value.

Unfortunately, few business owners have a real understanding of the costs associated with manual entry activities and how the direct financial impacts they have. The speed and accuracy of processing orders and invoicing customers means faster cash in, and leveraging the speed of electronic data interchange with suppliers so that “just in time” orders may be placed and logistics processes more fully enabled means cash out when necessary and not ahead of time.

“… using a digital transaction for payments allowed [businesses] to hold on to cash longer and better control the timing of the release of funds, something more difficult to control when mailing a physical check. Check fraud remains rampant across many industries. According to an AFP payment fraud and control survey, 70% of U.S. organizations reported check fraud in 2019, responsible for more than $18 billion in losses.” –

source: What Every CFO Needs to Know About Supply Chains; Study published by DiCentral and Lehigh University; 2012

For example, there are many studies which show that purchase orders that are not sent digitally are most often manually processed, and that this manual processing may be done by any number of departments in the company – but most often the job falls to finance. Rather than looking to eliminate the manual entry of data and the errors and delays that come along with it, businesses execs first looked to where the lowest labor cost rests and had them handle the extra data input.

A digital strategy that transforms inefficient manual process into efficient electronic workflows is the better solution. While many companies have approached streamlining of activities by exchanging manual entry operations for data file formatting and imports, they still have not solved the problem as would be with an integration that takes even less human time and effort.

The real goal of any business improvement effort is to improve overall business value. By bringing in finance along with supply chain execs to the “digital transformation” discussion, the business is much better positioned to make real progress in areas that directly impact cash performance as well as long-term business value. It comes down to having all the information and being able to weigh the risks against the potential rewards to be gained from the contemplated changes.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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It’s Not Easy Being Small – Thoughts on the Disruption and Rethinking Business Priorities

The global pandemic has been the source of disruption to business and personal lives for over a year now and businesses have found that, regardless of the challenges they face, business must continue.

With operations and supply chains strained and positive cash flow at a premium, companies everywhere are focusing on the fundamentals while enabling work-from-home and distancing mandates. COVID-19 has, in many ways, become the event that is forcing many businesses (and entire industries!) to rethink how they operate, and to look to transform their global supply chain models.

A fact that can’t be argued with is that the pandemic has exposed where many businesses are vulnerable, being heavily dependent on supplies of raw materials or finished products that are no longer readily available.

What’s also been exposed is the lack of agility in business I.T. infrastructure, as operations struggle to find ways of continuing operations with reduced personnel or users working from various locations and finding that their systems aren’t really helping in those efforts.

“Supporting small manufacturers has probably never been more important that it is now”, said a panelist at the “National Conversation with Manufacturers” session hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP). While larger companies are certainly impacted by what’s happened this year, small manufacturers face the challenge of running a company with a smaller available base of resources, technology and supporting tools.

“The conversation’s participants represented very small manufacturing companies with fewer than 20 workers. They all recounted a mad scramble over the past six months. First, they had to figure out whether their operations were essential enough to stay open under their state-mandated shutdown orders.

Then began the efforts to keep their workers safe, implement cleaning regimens, source protective materials, respond to public health protocols that evolved during the pandemic, determine what emergency support they qualified for, and go through the steps to access funds. All of this was being done with a small staff that needed also to continue getting product out and deal with obstacles to normal operations. Hurdles included delays and disarray in the supply chain, disruption in cash flow, with both account receivable extensions and overnight changes in credit terms, shipping impediments and customers still expecting on-time deliveries.”

https://www.nist.gov/blogs/manufacturing-innovation-blog/sometimes-its-not-easy-being-small-manufacturer?utm_medium=email&utm_source=marketingcloud&utm_campaign=

To add to the troubles, disruptions in global trade with China have created significant impact in supply chains worldwide. Companies who rely on direct and secondary suppliers in China are currently experiencing significant disruption, and this is likely to continue. But it isn’t just China… countries around the globe are experiencing challenges with having enough personnel, materials and technology to deliver their goods.

For so many years, businesses have focused on optimizing their supply chains to minimize costs, reduce inventories, and increase asset utilization. This streamlining has also removed the buffers and the flexibility to absorb disruption. COVID-19 has shown that many companies aren’t aware of their vulnerability when supply chains suffer from a global shock of some type.

So, how can organizations respond to the immediate challenge?

There are steps that businesses can take to help address the changing conditions facing businesses today, and a major item that should be addressed is the alignment of IT systems and support to evolving work requirements. Further, enhancements in operational systems should be made to illuminate the extended supply network and enhance inbound materials visibility, and a new focus on production scheduling agility as well as evaluating alternative outbound logistics options should be approached.

NOOBEH’s cloud solutions have been the foundation for business continuity and operational support throughout these difficult times.

We’ve helped companies around the country implement Microsoft Azure cloud servers where they are able to run their entire operations. From order entry, manufacturing, inventory management, pack and ship, and through to accounting and finance – businesses run their applications, integrations and services that allow them to keep the business operating even with reduced personnel or as their users are forced to work from home. OneDrive and SharePoint file storage, and TEAMS for closer collaboration and simplified access to information, helps hybrid working models and distributed workgroups stay in step with projects and business goals.

As a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider, Mendelson Consulting and NOOBEH provide and administer Microsoft 365 and Azure services, enabling us to more closely manage the licensing and computing platform to make sure it works in the best possible way for your business. With NOOBEH managing your services, you get predictable performance at predictable costs, allowing your business to operate without interruption or subscription overages.

As the past year has proven, life is unpredictable. Let Mendelson Consulting and NOOBEH help your business implement the cloud services and technologies that will give your organization the ability to adjust to changing conditions because you’ll have the most agile IT platform available.

jm bunny feet

Make Sense?

J

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Where in The World is Your Data?

Where in the World is Your Data? Even better.. where would you like it to be? In a datacenter near you? In a datacenter far away from you? Maybe you’d like your production system nearby, but backups stored on the other side of the country. Or perhaps you want redundant systems on each coast as well as something somewhere in the middle.
With Microsoft Azure as your platform, you have all the choices in the world, literally.

Microsoft Azure is the platform of choice for businesses of all sizes, offering virtualized infrastructure and services that can be tailored and tuned to meet the unique needs of any organization. No longer tied to on-premises infrastructure, companies find that they can implement better and more comprehensive solutions because they have the agility to adapt systems to immediate needs while retaining the ability to adjust as conditions change.

With Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 Services, NOOBEH enables businesses to focus on transformation and improving efficiency, not the IT that supports it.

NOOBEH cloud services, part of the Mendelson Consulting team, sets up Azure infrastructure and manages it for their clients. Business users focus on getting their work done, not on the IT supporting it. NOOBEH QuickBooks on Azure services give small and medium size businesses the most flexible and resilient infrastructure available to run all their desktop and network applications.

Because QuickBooks is rarely a standalone solution, NOOBEH QuickBooks on Azure services have no limitations on what add-ons, extensions, integrations or other applications the business may need to use. All the software a business needs can be deployed on the platform, allowing the company to keep its information systems and assets secure, fully-managed and available when and where they are needed.

While NOOBEH uses Azure platform and Microsoft 365 services to continue to deliver new capability for private sector users, Microsoft is advancing innovation in the delivery of connected services and computing power for private and government sector users wherever it is needed. Azure Modular Datacenters represent a partnership that delivers computing and communications capacity anywhere in the world… and beyond.

Microsoft Azure Modular Datacenters and SpaceX

The Azure modular datacenter is basically a “data center in a box”. It comes with everything needed to deliver computing capacity anywhere in the world.

“We designed the Azure Modular Datacenter (MDC) for customers who need cloud computing capabilities in hybrid or challenging environments, including remote areas. This announcement is complemented by our Azure Space offerings and partnerships that can extend satellite connectivity anywhere in the world. Scenarios range from mobile command centers, humanitarian assistance, military mission needs, mineral exploration, and other use cases requiring high intensity, secure computing on Azure.”

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-the-microsoft-azure-modular-datacenter/

It has power and everything else it needs, and now it also has the connectivity needed, even when there is no (zip, zero) infrastructure. Microsoft has partnered with SpaceX, using SES satellites to bring Internet connectivity to remote areas.

“We can connect via satellite links any element on the Earth to another point on the Earth..”

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/10/microsofts-new-data-center-in-a-box-will-use-spacex-starlink-broadband/

They’re calling it part of “a multi-orbit, multi-band, multi-vendor” approach to connectivity. That’s pretty cool, if you ask me.

It takes the whole bookkeeping in bunny slippers philosophy of “work when and where it works for you” to an entirely new level.

Make Sense?

jm bunny feet

J

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QuickBooks Desktop 2021: Getting Paid Faster, Being More Efficient, and Improving Data Security

The new QuickBooks Desktop 2021 editions have new and improved features that help businesses get paid faster and secure data more effectively, making the software work even better for your company.

Many of the improvements center on automation and workflow, enabling users to get more done with fewer keystrokes and setting up automatic activities so that items don’t have to be handled manually.

Other improvements center on data and information access, allowing admins to get granular with setting user permissions and access to certain types of information, even down to the record.

Intuit has also delivered several enhancements to existing functionality in QuickBooks desktop, especially in the Enterprise edition and where inventory is involved.

Here is a brief summary of the main changes or additions introduced with QuickBooks 2021 editions.

Improved Bank Feeds
Review bank transactions and match them to existing ones in your books or quickly add new transactions using the advanced bank feeds capability. You can automatically categorize or batch-edit bank transactions by payees, accounts and classes. This can dramatically reduce the time and complexity of reconciling entered transactions with the items the bank processes.

Automated Payment Reminders and Statements
Now you can send statements automatically to customers, with each statement tailored to the customer’s needs or preferences. Set automatic reminders for customers when their invoices are due and schedule statements for your customers to let them know when they have invoices they still need to pay you for. Timely communications with customers regarding their invoices and activity is more likely to keep a customer coming back for more. It also reduces the time required to communicate individually with customers, making AR management and collection activities more efficient.

Customized Payment Receipts
Want to send certain customers a customized message on their receipts? You can use custom templates for forms like invoices, sales receipts, estimates, statements, and purchase orders so each form has the right look and information. Then use the new customer groups capability to get the right form for the right customer every time.

PDF preview
It is always a good idea to preview a document before you send it via email, but that wasn’t always a convenient thing to do in QuickBooks. Now QuickBooks lets you automatically preview attachments before emailing them to customers. You can even preview multiple attachments at once without having to manually open each one outside of QuickBooks, saving huge time and effort and smoothing out a previously-clunky workflow.

Receipt Management
Receipt management in QuickBooks desktop is a new feature that makes entering expense receipts easier and faster. You can give users access to upload expense receipts to QuickBooks using the mobile app or directly from your computer. Automate creating categorized receipt expense entries using the QuickBooks Desktop Mobile App, an option available only with the Plus subscriptions (not the one-time purchase option).

Create Customer Groups
Improve customer communication with rule-based customer groups based on fields like customer type, location, or balance. Creating customer groups allows you to find all customers that match certain criteria. Then you can create automated statements, send payment reminders or create mailing lists for specific groups of customers.
In QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, you can even use customer groups to define permissions and access at customer and vendor group level.

Data Level Permission
Data level permissions is a new feature in QuickBooks Enterprise 21.0 that gives you more control regarding restricting access for users and roles. This makes it so the admin can create users and roles with access permissions all the way down to the record level for customers and vendors.

With data level permissions you can improve security and confidentiality of information by assigning users access only to the specific data, transactions and reports that they are responsible for. Users will only be able view, edit, or delete specific customers, vendors, or data with the permissions you delegate to them.

NOTE: Data level permissions don’t appear to be available in QuickBooks Enterprise Accountant, nor are they available with a Silver or Gold subscription. To get this feature, you have to go Platinum or Diamond, so it’ll cost you.

Add prices to barcode labels
Wouldn’t it be great if you could print barcode labels with pricing information as well as the item name and description? Now you can! Barcode labels help you accurately identify and manage inventory, providing the information most often needed by employees and customers.

Landed cost
Gain more control and flexibility over how you calculate and share landed inventory costs. Set up landed cost accounts as “COGS” (Cost of Goods sold) or “Other current assets”, and accurately calculate landed cost for old item bills from closed accounting periods. You can also print bills with or without landed cost, allowing you to better control the information you present.

Alternate vendor reports
Key inventory reports can now include alternate vendor information, improving visibility into vendor information on inventory stock status by item, inventory valuation summary and other reports. Linking to alternate vendors via these reports simplifies and streamlines the process of reordering from alternate vendors.

QuickBooks desktop software continues to be the cornerstone of small business accounting. From very small business to the growing enterprise, QuickBooks delivers the functionality that every company needs to manage their income and outgo, customers and vendors, and all their banking activities.

Starting with the early 1999 version to the current 2021 release, Intuit has continued to add capability and enhance features and usability to keep QuickBooks as the most popular small business accounting product on the market. Remember the motto “if you can write a check, you can do your own books“? That’s QuickBooks.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J