In case you haven't seen it, QuickBooks 2005 (all editions) now provides a built-in learning center. This is a terrific new feature that helps you understand how to use QuickBooks software even better.

Designed to run when you start QuickBooks, the new Learning Center is the first screen you'll see (you can turn it off if you prefer and access it through the menu bar too). The learning center is broken down into several easy-to-access sections:

• Welcome to QuickBooks
• Understanding the Basics (accounts, items and reports)
• Customers and Sales (billing, receiving payments and more)
• Vendors and Expenses (writing checks and paying bills, sales tax, etc.)
• Working with Inventory
• What's New (an overview of all the new features in 2005)

The learning center is a snap to use - simply choose the topic of interest by clicking on it, and a rich multimedia presentation follows to provide the insight you're looking for.

Before the creation of the learning center, folks who diligently worked through the Easy Step Interview to create their QuickBooks company file were commonly asking - "now what do I do?". The guesswork is now gone - simply visit the learning center and gain some additional insight and knowledge about how to use QuickBooks even more effectively. Even if you've been using QuickBooks for a while, chances are good you'll pick up a few new tips from the learning center as well.

Next Month: I'll share with you how QuickBooks 2005 helps you manage your customer payments much faster and improvements in selecting items from a list.

When I teach my QuickBooks classes, I always tell the students that they have a great opportunity to "ruin" their QuickBooks files, yet not have to answer to the boss for destroying critical data. What I'm really talking about is the use of the sample company data files QuickBooks software provides for you to practice.

Let's say that you've learned something new in the learning center and would like to try it out. However, you're reluctant to try it in your "live" file, just in case something gets messed up. That's the beauty of the sample company files - you can try things out without causing any problems.

Accessing the sample files is easy - click on File in the menu bar, then Open Company. In the "Open a Company" window that appears, you'll have the choice of at least a sample product-based business or a sample service-based business (users of any of the Premier or Enterprise Editions of QuickBooks have a choice of even more sample files). Simply double- click the sample file of your choice, and you can then experiment with new features or approaches to working with QuickBooks.

To return to your "live" company file, simply click on File, then Close Company. You'll then see a box in the center of your screen that says "No Company Open". Choose your "live" file from the list, and resume your normal work.

Try the sample files when you have a moment - you'll really appreciate their value once you do.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 22, 2005 and join me for the next meeting of the QuickBooks Connection - our QuickBooks users group!

This session will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Eastlake from 8:00am until 10:00am. Continental breakfast served starting at 7:45am.

This action-packed session will include the following topics:

• QuickBooks 2005 - learn about the new features and some old ones you may have missed
• QuickBooks Customer Manager - a terrific tool for your tool kit
• Time tracking in QuickBooks
• Tech tips to help minimize computer headaches

To register or for more details, please call Lynda at (440) 255-4654 or e-mail her.

Cost for this session is $29 if registered before March 8; $39 if registered after. Hope to see you there!

Question #1: How do I add more than one company account to a category box for 1099-MISC reporting purposes?

A: As a quick refresher, QuickBooks has the ability to print 1099-MISC forms, those wonderful things you have to send out each year to certain subcontractors, individuals and other entities. To activate this preference in QuickBooks, click on Edit, then Preferences. Scroll down the list of icons and click on the Tax:1099 icon.

On the Company Preferences tab, put a "dot" in response to the "Do You File 1099-MISC Forms" question. If your business is like most, you'll be focusing on Box 7 - Non-Employee Compensation. In the "Account" column for Box 7, click on the "drop down arrow" and you'll see a listing of your chart of accounts. To select multiple accounts, scroll to the TOP of this list, find the "Selected Accounts" option and click it. Once there, click on each account that you'd like to use for 1099-MISC purposes and click OK twice. Any amounts recorded to the accounts you just selected will become eligible for 1099-MISC reporting purposes at the end of 2005.

Question #2: When using memorized transactions, why doesn't the date automatically change when I'm using it?

A: If you have set your memorized transactions up with no reminders (i.e. you chose "Don't Remind Me" when memorizing the transaction), QuickBooks retains the original date of the transaction when you memorized it. You'll have to manually change the date for this transaction so that it doesn't reflect an older date on it.

However, if you choose to be reminded about a particular memorized transaction (choose "Remind Me " when memorizing), once you double-click on it, QuickBooks will automatically use the current date on the transaction. This avoids the need to manually update the date field when using a memorized transaction (i.e. invoice, check, etc.)

WHAT IF?... Your computer broke, and you could not access it for 1-2 days (or more) - do you have a backup plan in place?

I got a call from a small business the other day, and they reported that one of their 2 office computers was "down" and the parts wouldn't be replaced until the next day (which is absolutely normal when working with the big computer vendors). They reported that this broken computer housed their main customer database, and now they couldn't access it until the computer was fixed.

It just so happened that this database held many appointments for their clients. So they didn't know who needed attention when - not a good thing for sure.

My point is this - computers can and will break (most likely at the most inopportune time). What contingency plans does your business have in place to deal with an outage like this? Will your response be "I'm sorry I can't help you today, our computers are down", or one that indicates you have planned for this day, and have an alternative approach to keeping things moving within your business?

Do you sell on EBay? If so, would you be interested in participating in a research project I'm doing?

My project relates to learning more about how you track your business finances for your EBay store. If you'd like to learn more about this project, please e- mail me and I'll be in touch.

I've heard the following used to describe GoToMyPC - "Awesome!", "This is really slick!", "It has saved me so much time!" and more. How will you describe this must-see computing tool?

The "QuickBooks: News You Can Use" newsletter is written and distributed monthly by Scott Gregory. Scott is a Certified QuickBooks Advisor, CPA and Microsoft Certified Professional.

Scott is also the president of Bond Technology, a firm that specializes in helping small businesses use QuickBooks effectively and profitably. Feel free to drop Scott an e-mail if you'd like to learn more about the services his company can provide.

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