Encrypted password using the Accountant’s copy feature

Here is a question from the forum: When I try to open a client's accountant copy and upload to my computer, a message comes up on the screen stating that when the accountant's copy was created it was encrypted with a password for security and requires you to enter that password.  My client did not assign any password when creating the accountant's copy.   How can I find out what this password should be? Well, you have to use an encrypted password to create an accountant's copy.  It is part of the procedure.  See below: So, how do you proceed?  Here are the steps I provide my client's when sending me an accountant's file: Log in as Admin in the file and go to company>users and passwords>and create a new "external accountant" type user for me.  I give them a password that I want to use. Then go to file>accountant's copy>send file to accountant.  Use this password:  "Xxxxxx12345", which is a password that I provide to the client for me to open the accountant's file.  Remember, it has to be a strong password with one capital letter and numbers in it. This way I will know both of my passwords.  The one to unlock the file from Intuit's server and the user name and password to open the client's file.  Creating your own user is an important step as it will show on the audit trail any changes you created as the ProAdvisor or accountant.

How do I get QuickBooks to stop adding icons to my desktop?

I saw this question on the forum and I had to think, "QuickBooks doesn't add icons to your desktop"  But then, look at this screenshot: So why does this happen?  Well the user has their data file saved to the desktop.  The extra files occur when you backup that data file.  The desktop is NOT the place to save your company file.   It is better to either create a file folder called "data files" or "company files' and move these files to that folder or save it to the default location Quickbooks selects which for the newer programs is in the Company files folder in the Intuit Folder which is in the Public Documents folder. This would be the path:  C/users/Public/Public Documents/Intuit/Company files/ABC Company.qbw  

Error: “Failed” when creating or converting an accountant’s transfer file to an accountant’s copy in QuickBooks

This actually happened to a client I have who sends me an accountant's copy each month for me to audit her records.   I logged in when she told me there was no error code, just the word failed and sure enough, this is what I saw when I tried to make an accountant's file: Well, that is really helpful!  So I tried to find a solution on the help search engine for QuickBooks.  This is what their support page told me to do: How to fix it Troubleshoot the client's company file: Make sure the latest release for QuickBooks version is installed. Verify that there are no special characters in the company file name, or in the file path where the original file is saved. (If you find any, remove any apostrophe's, ampersands (&), greater than (>), less than (<), etc. and that should resolve the issue.) Create a Portable Company file. From the File Menu, select Save Copy or Backup. Click the radio button next to Create a Portable Company. Click Next. Select the Folder where you want to save the Portable Company file. Click Save. If you get the message You may not have sufficient permissions to create a portable company file from this computer, copy the company file locally and create the Portable Company file. Once this step is successful, create another Accountant's Transfer file and convert Troubleshoot company file for data damage If you receive this error when trying to create an Accountant's Transfer file, ensure that the QBDataServiceUser(XX) user for your version of QuickBooks has full access to the folder where the company file is stored. To Modify Permissions: In Microsoft® Windows, right-click the Start button, and then select Explore. Right-click on the company file folder, and then select Sharing and Security. If Sharing and Security is not displayed, right-click on the company file folder and then select Properties and  the click on the Security tab. If running Microsoft® Windows XP Home: a. Click on the Sharing tab. b. Since Microsoft® Windows XP Home does not allow you to add users, select the Allow users to change my files button. If running Microsoft® Windows Vista: Right-click on the company file folder, and then select Share and then Add the users. For a domain or peer-to-peer: a. Click on the Security tab. b. Select  the service related to your version of QuickBooks: Quickbooks 2006 or Enterprise 6.0: QBDataServiceUser QuickBooks 2007 or Enterprise 7.0: QBDataServiceUser17 QuickBooks 2008 or Enterprise 8.0: QBDataServiceUser18 QuickBooks 2009 or Enterprise 9.0: QBDataServiceUser19 QuickBooks 2010 or Enterprise 10.0: QBDataServiceUser20 QuickBooks 2011 or Enterprise 11.0: QBDataServiceUser21 QuickBooks 2012 or Enterprise 12.0: QBDataServiceUser22 Verify that the Full Control checkbox is selected.  Click the OK button. For my client, making the portable file corrected the issue.   Hopefully, if you are reading this post, one of the above solutions from Intuit's support page above will work for you.  

How to use your webmail account with QuickBooks

Some users really struggle with email and QuickBooks.  Recently (I think it was in 2011) Intuit offered a way for a user to use their own personal email account for their email settings in QuickBooks.  Intuit also started to charge a fee for users to use their email servers.  So, in order to avoid that fee (there is no fee for ProAdvisors with a current membership), you have to set up your email settings to use your web mail account. Intuit did make it very easy to set up.  Especially if you use a gmail or yahoo email account.  If you do not, you need to know your mail server addresses or just sign up for a gmail or yahoo account for this purpose. Here is how you set this up in QuickBooks: That is really all you have to do to use your web mail account in QuickBooks.  Remember to set up the bcc to be your email as well since you will not have any way to know when the email was sent when you use your own web mail account.  Unfortunately, the history button that shows an email was sent only works with Intuit's mail servers.  So in order to keep a record of what you sent and when you sent it, you need to bcc your own email.  That is done by simply clicking edit>preferences>send forms and add your email to the bcc line. Have a wonderful week!

Searching for deposits in QuickBooks

I personally use the find feature in write checks when trying to troubleshoot for clients for when they used bill/bill payment instead of vendor/pay sales tax and other times when someone has perhaps used write checks to pay a payroll liability instead of using the payroll functionality.  I also use find when searching for an invoice or a bill (if I get a duplicate warning).  It is a very powerful function in QuickBooks. But what if you are searching for a deposit?  There is no "find" button at the top of the make deposit's screen, like there is at the "write checks" level or at the invoice level. Here is how you can search for other types of transactions:   That is really all you have to do to search.  There are other things you can search for under the advanced tab.  You can really filter it down, as well, to define the search.  Of course, if you are using the newer version of QuickBooks, it has a really wonderful search key right on the icon bar that is akin to the old "google" search feature of the older version of QuickBooks.  I will demonstrate that feature in an upcoming post.  

How do I enter a bank fee in QuickBooks that was refunded back to me from my bank?

Sounds like a simple enough question.   You are charged a bank service charge, you call the bank to complain and they remove the fee the next month.  So how is it entered into QuickBooks?  Here are the steps:       That is really all there is to it.  As you can see from the report, the bank service charge has been reversed and the account balance is zero.   I really hope you all have a fabulous, happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012!