For Intuit's QuickBooks Sunset Policy, click here.

Fixed Asset Manager Update
The Fixed Asset Manager, a feature in QuickBooks: Premier Accountant Edition 2005, lets accountants calculate depreciation on fixed assets. Now a new patch (Version 2004.02) updates the software for the latest IRS changes to allowable depreciation limits, revised depreciation calculations related to the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, and the 2004 tax worksheets.

For more information on this update, click here.

PC Magazine Gives QuickBooks: Premier 2005 a Perfect Score
Last month PC Magazine editor Kathy Yakal reviewed QuickBooks: Premier Edition 2005 and awarded it five points on a five-point scale. Yakal says QuickBooks: Premier is "clearly superior" to other alternatives, calling it "the top-of-the-line small-business accounting product, both in style and substance."

To read the full article, click here.

QuickBooks 2005 and Enterprise 5.0 Update Release 3
The following summarizes changes and improvements made in Release 3 of all editions of QuickBooks 2005 for Windows. Release 3 includes all changes that have been made to your QuickBooks 2005 software since it was first released.

• Payroll - Direct Deposit
  QuickBooks will no longer display the Error Code 7377 when attempting to sign on to Direct Deposit.
• QuickBooks Error Reporting
  Several Error Codes that were reported by customers through the crash detection system were fixed. Thank you for providing us with data and helping us to improve QuickBooks. These Error Codes include 7168, 7377 and 7162.
• Users and Permissions
  Users without delete transactions rights are no longer able to delete invoices.
  
  QuickBooks will no longer allow users without proper permission rights to customize the columns shown on lists. List columns customized before R3 will not be affected and may display information for which the user does not have permission rights.
  
  Note: This issue does not affect users of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 5.0

Check The Current Release
Intuit occasionally creates a maintenance release for an existing version of QuickBooks. There are often several releases for a given version of QuickBooks.

To check the current release of your QuickBooks program:
With QuickBooks open, hold down the Control key and press the number 1 (CTRL+1). Use the number one key at the top of your keyboard rather than the one on the numbers pad to the right.
QuickBooks will display a Product Information window. The first line of the Product Information window gives the QuickBooks product followed by the release, for example, QuickBooks for Windows Version 2000 Release R4.

If the release number contains R3, then you already have the latest release.

Update QuickBooks 2005 and Enterprise 5.0
By default, QuickBooks 2005 and Enterprise 5.0 will download the latest update any time you are online. You will be prompted to install the update when opening the program. To start this process yourself within QuickBooks, use the following instructions:

QuickBooks Automatic Update Service

1. Choose Update QuickBooks from the QuickBooks File menu.
2. Click the Update Now button or select the Update Now tab.
3. Select the desired downloads in the Updates field.
4. Click Get Updates to download your selected updates.
5. When the download completes, choose Exit from the File menu to exit QuickBooks.
6. Start QuickBooks and click Yes to the message to install the update.
   
   Note: If you experience problems with the automatic update, a manual download is available.

Important: You must update QuickBooks each time the program is uninstalled and reinstalled.

QuickBooks Point of Sale 4.0 Update Release 3
The following summarizes changes and improvements made in Release 3 of all editions of QuickBooks Point of Sale Version 4.0.

Basic Level
Service items made available: Service items, typically used to charge for repairs, alterations, warranty work, or other non-merchandise sales, have been made available at the Basic level.

Voice Authorization button added to credit card dialog: (Applicable if you have an account with the QuickBooks POS Merchant Service). A voice authorization of a credit card charge can be initiated at any time by selecting this button after entering a valid credit card number and expiration date. This allows you to continue authorizing credit card transaction when your merchant service connection is down or, when necessary, to manually enter such transactions later.

Prompt to apply purchase order fees to receiving voucher: When a voucher references a purchase order with a fee amount entered, you are alerted and can transfer the fee to the receiving voucher at your discretion.

UPC entered on PO/Voucher transferred to inventory: A UPC entered on a PO or voucher is now populated to the inventory UPC field, provided that 1) the inventory UPC field is not already populated, and 2) the UPC does not duplicate another existing item's UPC.
Item discount percentage now retains user-entered value: An item discount percentage was being recalculated and displayed/printed as an exact percentage after rounding of the discount amount.

Example: An item priced at $5.76 discounted by 20% results in a discount of $1.152. The discount amount is correctly rounded to $1.15. The displayed/printed discount percentage was then recalculated to an exact 19.97%, based on the rounded discount amount. Now, the discount percentage that is displayed/printed retains the user-entered 20% value.

Security rights consistently enforced: Defined security rights were not always restricting user ability to perform certain actions from text menus or dialogs, even though they were correctly restricting the same actions via other means, e.g. toolbars or directly on lists/forms. This update ensures that security settings are enforced across all methods of initiating an action.

Pole Display messaging issues resolved: This update changes the way in which information is displayed and/or refreshed on a compatible pole display:

1. The pole display is cleared of the last sale total and payment information immediately upon completion of the receipt, and the default message shown.
2. Spacing between the price and quantity values has been adjusted to avoid truncation of the sold quantity.
3. Edits to an item price, by any method, are immediately refreshed on the display.

Sales tax rounding corrected: Calculated sales tax amounts ending with .xx5 cents were being rounded down instead of up. For example, a sales tax calculation of 1.275 was rounded down to 1.27. Now it is rounded up to 1.28.

Deleted tax code's effect on documents, history, and reporting corrected: If a tax code is deleted in company preferences, former documents that include it retain the original taxing instructions so that the documents, sales history, and sales tax summary reports all reflect the correct tax amount collected.

Error when renaming tax codes in the Setup Interview corrected: Editing (renaming) a tax code in the Setup Interview sometimes resulted in an access violation error. This update fixes this problem.

Pre/post-dated documents now print correctly: When pre/post-dating receipts or vouchers, the printed output contained information different than what was added and saved to the document. This has been resolved.

Cash field hotkey <Shift + F1> on Receipt Payment window now available: This hotkey moves the cursor to the Cash field.

Corrected error when taking receipt off hold from payment screen: If the payment screen was opened before taking the receipt off hold, an access violation error could occur. This has been resolved.

Improved description of customer account information on receipts: When a customer was listed on a receipt, the labels for the customer account information displayed on the side bar was Credit Balance and Credit Limit. These labels have been revised to read Account Balance and Account Limit to match the same field names in the customer record.

Log-out/log-in associate field error corrected: When logging out one user and logging in a second after creating a receipt, the Cashier field was being updated with the new user's name, but the Associate field was not. This update fixes this problem.

Ability to order items flagged as unorderable: When an item flagged as unorderable in inventory was added to a purchase order or voucher, the Add Item button in the warning dialog was not listing the item on the document. This update fixes this problem.

Streamlined functionality for non-inventory and service items: Reorder points were editable for service and non-inventory items in inventory. This could cause confusion since these item types have no on-hand quantities; reorder points should not be editable. This update fixes this problem.

Markup (Mup%) now restricted by cost security settings: The Markup field was visible to users that did not have the security right to view costs (Associate group, for example), allowing the cost to be calculated. Display of the value in this field is now restricted by the See cost fields security right.

Item numbering problem fixed: Conducting Financial Exchanges between new item additions was sometimes causing the item number to increment incorrectly, skipping inventory row numbers. This update fixes this problem.

Faster Financial Exchanges of customer/vendor lists: Internal program changes result in as much as three times faster synchronization of customer/vendor lists between QuickBooks POS and QuickBooks Financial Software. Performance gains will vary depending on the size of these lists, as well as hardware and network configuration, with the biggest gains seen by users with very large lists.

Non-inventory and service item COGS account mappings enabled: Formerly, non-inventory and service items could not be mapped to a COGS financial account. The COGS account mapping selection has been enabled in company preferences and on the item form in inventory to accommodate mapping the item cost to an account in QB financial. Defaults account mappings are to Service Expense and Non-Inventory Expense accounts.

Default Paid Out expense account added to Financial Exchange mapping preferences: When creating a paid out receipt, the QuickBooks account to be affected is suggested as the account specified in account mapping preferences. The default account is Paid Out Expense but can be changed at user's discretion as can the actual account affected when the paid out is created. If earlier paid outs were created before using QuickBooks Financial Exchange, they will be updated to the default account on the first financial exchange once integration is enabled. (This prevents errors resulting from no account being specified in the earlier paid out receipts.)

Service item import from QuickBooks now correctly identified as service item in POS: Imported service items were being assigned the Non-inventory type in POS. This update fixes this problem.

New item quantities/value are correctly exported to QuickBooks Financial Software: When adding a new item to inventory and manually entering the on-hand quantity and cost, the inventory adjustment memo(s) created and sent to QuickBooks Financial Software was twice the true adjustment. This update fixes this problem.

Improved Financial Exchange error message: The error QBXMLRP2.RequestProcessor.1 Unexpected error during Financial Exchange was encountered when the QuickBooks Financial Software customer limit was reached. When the customer limit is exceeded now, user is presented with an error message detailing the real reason for the error (customer limit exceeded).

Imported items when inventory empty now start on Row # 1: With a new POS data file and a Blank Item list, using the Data Import Tool was causing the imported items to populate inventory rows, starting at some row greater than 1. This update fixes this problem.

The ability to import city/state names containing spaces is now available: When a two-word city name and state ("San Francisco, CA" for example) was included in a customer or vendor entry on the Data Import template, the import did not populate the QuickBooks POS fields correctly. This update fixes this problem, by placing all words before the comma in the POS City field.

Data converter change renames duplicate tax codes to avoid financial exchange error: Duplicate tax code names are not permitted in Version 4.0, though they were allowed in earlier versions. If converting data from a previous version after the Release 3 patch is applied, the data converter will detect and rename one of the duplicate tax codes (by changing the last character) and preserve the taxing instructions. Duplicate tax codes converted earlier resulted in one of the codes being orphaned, with no taxing instructions. These orphaned tax codes are removed when this patch is applied.

Printing of purchase orders is now fully functional: User could not select between printing Selected Record or All Records when printing purchase orders and the ability to print purchase orders with all items or just due items was lost between Versions 3.0 and 4.0. This update fixes both problems.

Size/Attribute spacing corrected on jewelry tags: When the Size had 6 characters, the two printed values would run together on the tag. Space has been increased between the two values to prevent this problem.

Win 2003 Server printing problem for multiple labels has been corrected: When selecting to print multiple customer labels and using WIN 2003 Server, only a single label would print. This update fixes this problem.

Prices on 'Itemized Inventory On Hand' report corrected: The prices at each price level shown on this report were being reduced by the sales tax amount, making them inconsistent with the price levels shown in inventory (which were correct). This update fixes this reporting problem.

Item Type filter on Itemized Inventory On Hand report corrected: The Item Type filter choices have been corrected to include all item types applicable to the level of QuickBooks POS being used.

Note: You must select Revert on each of these reports to view/use the revised default filter settings.

Rounding discrepancy between receipts and X/Z-Out reports fixed: Report calculations now always use the full five stored decimal places for price values, eliminating occasional rounding differences between receipts and corresponding reports.

Pro filter options removed from Basic-level reports: Sales Summary reports in Basic Level contained filter options for Pro features. These Pro filter options have been removed from the Modify Report dialog for Basic Llevel reports.

Note: You must select Revert on each of these reports to view/use the revised default filter settings.

Tax category and tax code descriptions on Sales Tax Summary report filters corrected: These labels were previously being displayed as Tax area name and Tax name in the Modify Report dialog. These labels have been corrected

Note: You must select Revert on each of these reports to view/use the revised default filter settings.

Duplicate discount types in sales report filters removed: Discounts types were appearing on the sales report filter list twice. This update fixes this problem.

You can now settle a Merchant Service batch containing only voice authorizations: Previously, a settlement batch with only voice authorizations would fail and display the No Open Batch message. This update fixes this problem.

Customized layouts are now preserved during updates: If revised layout files are included in an update patch, they are automatically applied to user's system. Only the changed layouts are copied, thus preserving user customizations to all other layouts. This feature avoids the user having to reset all of their layouts to the defaults in order to get the latest fixes.

Program updates using shared folders: When using a shared download folder for program updates and the folder specified was deleted or renamed, a You must use shared update folder message was displayed and you not be allowed to exit the program. The message has been clarified to explain the problem and solution, and you are now allowed to exit the program.

Help & Support option on Help menu and web link fixed: Selecting Help & Support from the Help menu only worked on the home page. In addition, the link from the Help & Support page to the Web site was non-functional. This update makes the Help & Support option active from any screen and fixes the Web page link.

Improved error messaging and help when Windows user rights affect access: Windows user rights can affect the ability to create a new POS company data file, as well as the ability to exit QuickBooks POS. The program now offers clear error messaging and help when this occurs.

Expanded database connection help topics: In-program help topics related to database connection issues have been updated with additional firewall information and other possible causes/solutions.

Improved client workstation practice mode options: This update fixes two practice mode issues: When accessing practice mode on a client workstation, 1) user was not given the opportunity to practice at a higher level, and 2) the actual licensed level was not being reflected in the practice mode feature set/screens/menus, etc.

Pro Level
Note: Pro Level updates include all updates listed for Basic.

Missing 'On-Order' field added to the Suggest PO screen: The On-Order field, which displays item quantities already on order but not received, has been added to the Suggest PO window, making it easier to determine and enter new order quantities.

Error message and inability to update on receipt referencing a customer order fixed: When taking payment to sell customer order items and applying a deposit for the full amount, the Print/Update button was grayed out, not allowing the receipt to be updated. Also, upon a very specific sequence of steps that included restoring data, logging in/out, and then selling customer order items was resulting in an error message. This update fixes both problems.

Shipping charges no longer show up as balance due after payment taken: After taking full receipt payment for a sales order that included shipping charges, the amount of the shipping charge was populating the Balance Due field and printing on the receipt. This update fixes this problem.

Shipping information printout corrected: Shipping information now prints correctly on letter-sized sales documents.

Customer order tax categories carried to the receipt: When a tax category other than the default was assigned to a customer order (either manually or via customer tax category), that tax category was not being carried to a receipt created to sell the ordered items; instead the receipt tax category reverted to the default tax category. This update fixes this problem.

Global discount issue on customer orders has been resolved: If a global discount was added to a customer order and then the items sold, the customer order balance was being updated to equal the negative value of the global discount (it should be zero). This update fixes this problem.

Auto-logoff no longer occurs when canceling/discarding/holding order deposit or another open sales receipt: With the Automatically logoff after each sale preference enabled, users would be logged off if they canceled a deposit receipt or when holding/discarding another receipt in progress to complete the sale of customer order items. This no longer occurs with this update.

Errors when editing/deleting assembly and group items have been resolved: When the included quantity of a group component item was edited, a List Index Out of Bounds error occasionally resulted. Also, the program was occasionally locking up or causing an access violation error when breaking assemblies and then deleting the assembly item. This update fixes both problems.

Duplicate style attributes are no longer allowed: Adding a duplicate attribute to a style grid or grid scale was allowed and caused intermittent access violations in inventory. Duplicate attributes are no longer allowed in style grids or scales.

Improved functionality for Style item delete/re-add: When a style item was deleted from the grid and later re-added by entering a quantity in the grid, neither the item or quantity was appearing in the item list. This update fixes this problem.

Special order items with non-zero quantity can now be changed to Inventory items: Changing a special order item with a non-zero quantity to an inventory item was being blocked. This update fixes this problem.

Group items can now be imported from QuickBooks Financial Software: Group items defined in the financial software were not being included in the one-time item import. This update fixes this problem.

The default filter setting for Customer Order Item and Journal reports now includes all non-closed orders: By default, these reports were being filtered by the status of Pending, a status not available on the documents. The result was a Nothing to Print message until the filer was cleared. The default filter has been revised to include all non-closed orders (filter setting: Exclude Closed).

Note: You must select Revert on each of these reports to view/use the revised default filter settings.

The Item Information window Help button position has been corrected: When non-touchscreen users accessed the Item Information window to edit an item listed on a receipt, the Help button was positioned part-way off the screen. This update fixes the button positioning.

Pro Multi-Store Level
Note: Pro Multi-Store Level updates include all updates listed for Basic and Pro.

Duplicate inventory items at remote after conversion to Version 4.0 corrected: After converting from Version 3.x to Version 4.0 at a remote store, the first mailbag from Headquarters processed in at the remote sometimes resulted in duplicate items in the remote's item list. This update fixes this problem through additional synchronization checks during processing in of mailbags.

Misreported Duplicate ALU Reminder fixed: Unique ALUs were being reported as duplicates on the Reminders window when the first five characters were the same in more than one ALU. This update fixes this problem.

New Qty field now displays in Item Information window: When creating a quantity adjustment memo and selecting Edit Item, the New Qty field was missing from the Item Information window. This update fixes this problem.

Remote receipt time-stamp is now preserved when transferred to Headquarters: When Headquarters processed in receipts from remotes, the receipt time was being updated to the current Headquarters time. This would cause receipts to show up or not show up on X/Z-Out and other sales reports, depending on the time filter.

Class tracking for check payments now transfers to QuickBooks Financial Software: Checks on the Make Deposit window in QuickBooks Financial Software were not being identified by store class assignment when class tracking was enabled. Now, each check transaction is identified by class and the class assignment is displayed on the Make Deposit window.

Purchase orders re-sent to remote stores when Store Exchange error prevents receiving the originals: In some cases, related to the synchronization errors described above, remote stores were not receiving purchase orders from Headquarters. An additional synchronization check has been added to ensure that purchase orders are re-sent if confirmation of receipt is not received back from the remote.

A voucher from remote correctly updates purchase orders at Headquarters: Vouchers sent from remote to Headquarters that fulfilled purchase orders were not updating the purchase order items or status at Headquarters. This update fixes this problem.

Store Exchange synchronization errors corrected: Store Exchange errors related to the processing of synchronization files sometimes resulted in a timeout error, resulting in the process not being completed, or, in some cases, causing a temporary loss of inventory or documents. Typically, these errors were self correcting on the next Store Exchange. Changes in the data included in the synchronization file, as well as to the processing routine, have corrected these issues.

Access Violation error at remote on first process-in has been resolved: When a remote store was processing in its first mailbag from Headquarters and inventory was empty (at the remote), an error occasionally resulted. This update fixes this problem.

Error mailbags purged after a successful exchange: Mailbag files in the Error folder are purged upon successful processing of a new mailbag to prevent repeated error messages as the program tries to process-in the older mailbags in the error folder each time Store Exchange is run. This update fixes this problem so that older files are purged from the Error folder correctly.

Erroneous version error when processing a mailbag has been corrected: When running QBPOS Version 4.0 Release 2 at both Headquarters and remote, the remote store was receiving a Mailbag has arrived from a store with a newer version error when double-clicking the Headquarters mailbag to process in. This has been corrected with this update.

Patch-file version numbering error has been corrected: The Release 2 patch's internal file version was incorrectly populated as 4.0 R2 when it should have been 15.0.2.0. The file version for the Release 3 patch will be corrected. To successfully run Store Exchanges with Release 3, both Headquarters and remote stores will need to install the patch. Store Exchange will fail if only one location updates to Release 3.

Generic department/vendor SYS is now sent to remote: Remote stores were unable to use the default SYS department or vendor because it was not being included in mailbag from Headquarters. This update fixes this problem.

Change Store Type message clarified: The message and help link on the Change Store Type page in multi-store preferences has been corrected and clarified.

Allowed Card Type preference can be set by remote stores - Previously, this preference setting was sent from Headquarters to remote stores and could not be set differently at the remote. This preference is no longer included in mailbags sent from Headquarters to remote stores and remotes can each set the preference independently.

When you're working in QuickBooks, you'll spend most of your time using a form, a list, or a register.

Using Forms
You record most of your daily business transactions on a QuickBooks form, which looks just like a paper form.

Forms are intuitive-you already know how to fill out a form. But after you provide the information on a QuickBooks form, QuickBooks does the accounting for you in the background. For example, when you record a bill and then write a check (using the Pay Bills window) to pay for the business expense, QuickBooks enters transactions in your accounts payable register to show the expense you incurred and the payment you made (Accounts payable is the money owed by your business to vendors.) It also records the check in your checking account, keeping your records up to date, and providing a running balance of what you owe at any time.

Using Lists
Lists are another basic QuickBooks feature. You fill out most QuickBooks forms by selecting entries from a list.

QuickBooks has lists where you can store information about customers, vendors, employees, items or services you sell, and so on. Lists save you time and help you enter information consistently and correctly.

When you're filling out an invoice form and you select a customer name from the Customer:Job list, QuickBooks not only fills in the name but also fills in the address, the payment terms, and the customer's sales tax, based on the information previously entered about that customer.

QuickBooks lets you complete a variety of activities from lists, using the menu buttons located at the bottom of each list. For example, to fill out an invoice for a customer, first select the customer from the Customer:Job list, and then choose Create Invoices from the Activities menu button.

Using Registers
In addition to forms and lists, you'll also work with registers in QuickBooks. Just as you use your paper checkbook register to see a record of all the transactions in your checking account-checks you've written, other withdrawals you'e made from your account, and deposits-a QuickBooks register contains a record of all the activity in one account. Almost every QuickBooks account has its own register.

The register shows information about invoices written to customers-the date of the invoice, the date it's due, the name of the customer, and the amount. It also shows payments you've received against your invoices. The right column of the register gives you a running balance of all your accounts receivable, so you always know how much you're owed.

Using QuickBooks Lists
QuickBooks lists organize a wide variety of information, including data on customers, vendors, inventory items, and more. Lists save you time by helping you enter information consistently and correctly. When you store information on a list, you enter it once and never need to retype it. Think about how much information you use more than once in your business:

• Names, addresses, and other information about customers who purchase from you on a regular basis
• Contact information for vendors from whom you purchase your supplies
• Descriptions and prices for products or services you sell again and again

Simply enter repetitive information into a list once, and then use it over and over on checks, on invoice forms, and other daily transactions. You don' have to enter all the information for your company lists before you begin working with QuickBooks. You can add information to lists as you go along.

Editing The Chart Of Accounts
The chart of accounts is your most important list because it shows how much your business has, how much it owes, how much money you have coming in, and how much you're spending. When you set up your own company in QuickBooks, the EasyStep Interview lets you choose a chart of accounts designed especially for your type of business. However, not every business has the same needs; you'll want to make a few changes to the list.

To display the chart of accounts:

1. From the Lists menu, choose Chart of Accounts.
   QuickBooks displays the chart of accounts for Rock Castle Construction.
   
   
   
2. Scroll through the list. The chart of accounts displays balance sheet accounts first, followed by income and expense accounts.

Editing An Account
If any of the accounts don't suit your needs, you can edit or delete them. In the next exercise, you'll edit a Checking account to provide the account number.

To edit an account:

1. In the chart of accounts, select Checking.
2. Click the Account menu button (at the bottom of the window), and then select Edit.
   QuickBooks displays the Edit Account window.
3. Type in the Description field (example: Great Statewide Bank).
4. Enter the Bank Account number in the Bank Acct. field.
   
   Your window should look like this.
   
   
   
5. Click OK.

Adding Subaccounts
In this exercise you will add a subaccount for an account in the chart of accounts.

To add a subaccount:

1. In the chart of accounts, click the Account menu button and then choose New. QuickBooks displays the New Account window.
2. In the Type field, select from the drop-down list.
3. In the Name field, type the name of the subaccount you would like to create.
4. Select the "Subaccount of" checkbox, and then select from the drop-down list.
5. Type a description of the account in the Description field.
   
   
   
6. Click OK.
   QuickBooks displays the new subaccount in the chart of accounts list.
   
   
   
7. Close the chart of accounts.

Working With The Customer:Job List
The Customer:Job list stores names, addresses, and other information about your customers. It also holds information about the jobs or projects you may want to track for each customer.

Adding New Customers
In this exercise, you'll add a new customer to the Customer:Job list.

To add a new customer:

1. From the Customers menu, choose Customer:Job List.
   
   QuickBooks displays the Customer:Job list.
   
   
   
   The Customer:Job list lets you add, edit, and get reports on your customers. Each customer in the list can have multiple jobs (you may call them projects or accounts). Notice that this Customer:Job list already has quite a few entries.
2. Click the Customer:Job menu button (at the bottom of the list window), and select New.
   
   QuickBooks displays the New Customer window.
   
   
   
   The New Customer window is where you enter all the information about a new customer, including billing and shipping addresses, contacts, credit limit, and payment terms. QuickBooks uses the information you enter to complete invoices, bills, and receipts. When you're setting up your company file, you use this window to record customers' opening balances.
   
3. Type in the Name field in the Company section, and then press Tab.
   
   Notice that QuickBooks fills in the Customer Name field and the first line of the Bill To field with the information you typed in the Company Name field.
   QuickBooks displays the name listed in the Customer Name field in the Customer:Job list. By default, QuickBooks sorts the list alphabetically.
   
   Tip: If you are entering individual names, you may want to use last name, first name in the Customer Name field so that your Customer:Job list displays the names with the last name first.
   
4. In the Bill To field, click the line below the company name. Type the address, and then press Enter.
   Notice that you press Tab to move between fields, but you press Enter to move from one line to the next within a field.
5. On the next line of the Bill To field, type the city, state, and zip code.
6. Click Copy to have QuickBooks copy the billing address to the Ship To field.
7. Continue filling out the customer information by providing the following information:
   • Contact
   • Phone
   • Fax
   • Alt Contact
     
     
   
   Note: If you use plan to e-mail invoices or statements to customers using the Send Forms feature, use this window to enter your customers' e-mail addresses.

Providing Additional Customer Information
You've just completed the Address Info tab for a new customer. The Additional Info tab is where you can provide other important information, such as customer type (if you want to categorize your customers in some way), payment terms, and sales tax information.

To add additional information to a customer record:

1. Click the Additional Info tab.
   QuickBooks displays the Additional Info tab of the New Customer window.
   
   
   
2. In the Type field, enter what type of customer this is.
   The Type field lets you track customers in any way that is meaningful for your business. For example, if you run ads on television, radio, and in print, and you want to know which advertising method brings you the most customers, you can assign customers a "type" (TV, Radio, or Print) and run reports that tell you which referral source is most effective. Rock Castle Construction uses the Type field to categorize customers by the type of service provided.
3. Press Tab.
   QuickBooks may tell you that the type is not currently on the Customer Type list and ask if you wish to add it.
4. Click the Quick Add button to add the customer type to the list.
   Quick Add lets you set up the item with a minimum amount of data. If you click Set Up, you can enter more detailed information, but that interrupts the process of creating a new customer.
5. In the Terms field, type the terms negotiated with this customer (example: Net 30).
6. In the Tax Code field, select from the drop-down list.
   Your screen should resemble the following.
   
   

Providing Customer Payment Information
The Payment Info tab is where you enter customer account numbers and credit limits. QuickBooks remembers each customer's credit limit and warns you when a customer is about to exceed it. You can also record information about each customer's preferred payment method. For customers who pay by credit card, you can enter credit card numbers and expiration dates.

To add payment and credit information to a customer record:

1. Click Payment Info.
2. Type the customer's credit limit in the Credit Limit field.
3. In the Preferred Payment Method drop-down list, choose from the menu.
   When you finish, your window should look like this.
   
   
   
4. Click OK to add the customer and close the New Customer window.
   QuickBooks displays the Customer:Job list with new customer added.
5. Close the Customer:Job list.

Working With The Employee List
The Employee list stores information about your employees such as name, address, and social security number. It also stores information QuickBooks needs to calculate your employee paychecks (if you are using QuickBooks for payroll). For now, enter only the basic employee information.

QuickBooks uses the information you enter in the Employee list to track sales and fill in information on checks and other forms.

Adding New Employees
Suppose that you have hired a new employee and you want to add her information to the Employee list.

1. From the Employees menu, choose Employee List.
   QuickBooks displays the Employee list.
   
   
   
   The Employee list is where you add a new employee, edit information for an existing employee, or delete an employee name (as long as you have not used the employee name in any transactions).
   
2. Click the Employee menu button and choose New. QuickBooks displays the New Employee window.
   
   
   
   The Personal tab is where you enter basic information about the employee, such as name, Social Security Number, and date of birth.
   
3. In the First Name field, type the name of the new employee.
4. Type in the Last Name field, type.
   Notice that QuickBooks fills in the Print on Check as field with the information you entered in the name fields. You can enter a different name if you wish.
5. Enter the employee's social security number in the Social SS No. field.
6. In the Gender field, select from the drop-down list.
7. Type in the Date of Birth field. The Personal tab should look like this.
   
   
   
8. Click the Address and Contact tab.
9. In the Address field, type the employee's address.
10. Type the City, State, and Zip in the appropriate fields.
11. In the Phone field, type the employee's phone number.
    When you finish, the window should look like this.
    
    
    
12. In the Change tabs field, select Employment Info from the drop-down list.
13. Fill in the Hire Date.
14. Click OK.
15. When QuickBooks asks if you want to set up payroll information, click Leave As Is.
16. QuickBooks updates and displays the Employee list with the new employee's name added.
    
    
    
17. Close the Employee list.

Working With The Vendor List
The Vendor list is where you record information about the companies or people from whom you buy goods or services. QuickBooks uses the data in the Vendor list to fill in purchase orders, receipts, bills, and checks as you receive and pay for goods and services.

Adding New Vendors
In this exercise, you'll add a new vendor to the Vendor list.

1. From the Vendors menu, choose Vendor List.
   QuickBooks displays the Vendor list.
   
   
   
2. Click the Vendor menu button, and then choose New. QuickBooks displays the New Vendor window.
   The New Vendor window is where you enter all of the information regarding a new vendor, such as name, phone, contact, address, and opening balance. Just as when you add a new customer, you start by providing basic information on the Address Info tab.
3. In the Vendor Name field, type the name of the new vendor.
   This is the name QuickBooks displays for this vendor in the Vendor list. If the vendor is an individual, you may wish to enter the last name first, then the first name.
4. In the Company Name field, type the name of the company.
5. Click in the Address field, below the company name displayed on the first line. Notice that QuickBooks displays the company name on the first line of the Address field.
6. Type on the second line of the Address field.
7. Press Enter to move to the next line.
8. Type the city, state, and zip code of the new vendor.
9. In the Contact field, type the name of your main contact with the vendor.
10. Enter the phone number in the Phone field.
11. Enter the fax number in the FAX field.
    When you finish, your window should look like this.
    
    

Providing Additional Vendor Information
The Additional Info tab in the New Vendor window is where you can enter a vendor type (if you want to categorize your vendors), payment terms, your credit limit, the vendor's tax identification number, whether this vendor is eligible for a 1099 form, and your opening balance. You'll add this information now for your new vendor.

To add information to a vendor record:

1. Click the Additional Info tab.
   QuickBooks displays the Additional Info tab of the New Vendor window.
   
   
   
2. In the Account No. field, type the account number the vendor has issued to you.
3. Enter the vendor type in the Type field.
4. In the Terms field, choose from the drop-down list.
5. In the Credit Limit field, type your credit limit with this vendor and press Tab.
   Your New Vendor window should resemble the figure below.
   
   
   
6. Click OK.
   QuickBooks adds the vendor and displays the updated Vendor list.
   
   
   
   Notice that the new vendor has been added to the list.
   
7. Close the Vendor list.

Adding Custom Fields
QuickBooks lets you add custom fields to your Customer:Job, Vendor, Employee, and Item lists. Custom fields give you a way to track additional information specific to your business. For example, you can add a field for pager numbers to your Vendor and Employee lists, a field for customers' birthdays to your Customer:Job list, and fields for units of measurement, color, and size to your Item list.

When you add the custom fields to your sales forms or purchase orders, the fields are prefilled with the information for that specific customer, employee, vendor, or item (if you specified a value for the custom field when you added the customer, for example). You don't have to add the custom fields to your forms, however; you can also use custom fields as a way to record information just for your use, such as a credit rating for each customer. QuickBooks remembers the information you entered in the custom fields when you import and export data and when you memorize transactions.

For each customer, vendor, and employee, you can add up to seven custom fields, including fields that overlap. For example, if you add a custom birthday field for customers, vendors, and employees, QuickBooks counts it as one field used for each. You can add up to five custom fields for each item your company sells.

After you add custom fields, you can use them on invoices, credit memos, sales receipts, estimates (QuickBooks Pro and Premier only), and purchase orders.

Adding Custom Fields for Customers, Vendors, and Employees
You can enter information in the custom fields only through the New or Edit windows (for example, the New Customer or Edit Customer windows). You can display information from the custom fields on form as well as add custom fields to reports.

To add custom fields:

1. From the Customers menu, choose Customer:Job List. QuickBooks displays the Customer:Job list.
2. In the Customer:Job list, select a customer.
3. Click the Customer:Job menu button, and then choose Edit.
   QuickBooks displays the Edit Customer window.
   
   
   
4. Click the Additional Info tab.
   QuickBooks displays the Additional Info tab in the Edit Customer window.
   
   
   
5. Click Define Fields.
   QuickBooks displays the Define Fields window.
   
   
   
   Now, you'll add a custom field for pager numbers to the Customer:Job and Vendor lists. You'll also add a custom field to the Employee list that tracks the date of each employee's last review.
6. In the first blank Label field, type Pager Number.
7. Click the Customers:Jobs checkbox to select it.
8. Click the Vendors checkbox to select it.
9. In the next blank Label field, type Date of last review.
10. Click the Employees checkbox to select it.
    Your Define Fields window should now look like this.
    
    
    
11. Click OK.
12. If you see an informational message about using the custom fields in transactions by turning them on in your custom templates, click OK.
    
    
    
    QuickBooks has added the Pager Number field to the Edit Customer window.
13. In the Pager Number field, type the employee's pager number.
    If you customize your sales forms to display the Pager Number field, this number displays whenever you create a form for this customer. It also displays on reports modified to display the Pager Number column.
14. Click OK to close the Edit Customer window.
15. Close the Customer:Job list.

Adding Custom Fields for Items
Now suppose that your company wants to add another custom field to its Item list. The company purchases several types of locking doorknobs. The Item list already has custom fields for Color and Material, but now Rock Castle wants to add an additional field to track Style.

To add custom fields for items:

1. From the Lists menu, choose Item List.
   QuickBooks displays the Item list, as shown below.
   
   
   
2. In the Item list, select an item.
3. Click the Item menu button, and then choose Edit.
   QuickBooks displays the Edit Item window.
   
   
   
4. Click Custom Fields.
   QuickBooks displays the custom fields already defined for this item.
5. Click Define Fields.
   QuickBooks displays the Define Custom Fields for Items window.
6. Under Use, click the first blank checkbox to select it. Then type the name of the new field in the Label field.
7. Click OK to close the window.
   
   
   
8. If you see an informational message about using the custom fields in transactions by turning them on in your custom templates, click OK.
9. Click OK to close the Custom Fields for the item window, and then click OK to close the Edit Item window.
10. Close the Item list.

Managing Lists
Lists are easy to manage in QuickBooks. You can sort lists, combine (merge) list items, rename list items, delete list items, make list items inactive, and print lists.

Sorting Lists
You can sort many QuickBooks lists manually or alphabetically. To sort a list manually, simply use the mouse to drag a list item to its new location. Lists that you can sort this way are the Chart of Accounts, Customer:Job, Class, Customer Type, Vendor Type, Job Type, and Memorized Transaction lists.

If you have changed the order of a list by dragging items and then decide you'd rather have an alphabetically sorted list, QuickBooks has a Re-sort List command. In the chart of accounts, the Re-sort List command sorts alphabetically within account type; in the Item list, the Re-sort List command sorts alphabetically within item type.

Sorting Lists Manually
In this exercise, you'll sort a list manually, and then re-sort it to put it back in alphabetical order.

To sort a list manually:

1. From the Lists menu, choose Chart of Accounts.
   QuickBooks displays the chart of accounts for your company.
   
   
   
2. Click the diamond to the left of an account. The mouse pointer becomes a four-directional arrow.
3. Click and hold the mouse button, and drag the pointer upward until you see a dotted line directly below another account.
4. Release the mouse button to drop the account in the new position.
   Now you can use the Re-sort List command to return the list to alphabetical order.
   
   
   
5. To re-sort the list alphabetically, click the Account menu button, and select Re-sort List.
   QuickBooks asks you to confirm that you want to return the list to its original order.
6. Click OK.
   QuickBooks re-sorts the chart of accounts alphabetically by account type.
7. Close the chart of accounts.

Sorting Lists In Ascending Or Descending Order
Depending on the type of business you have, you may want to order your list entries in a certain way. For example, perhaps you'd like to see people who owe you money at the top of your Customer:Job list. In this exercise, you'll learn how to sort the Customer:Job list in descending order by customer balance.

To sort a list in descending order:

1. From the Lists menu, choose Customer:Job List.
   
   
   
2. Click the Balance column heading.
   Notice that an arrow pointing up appears on the heading and the list is sorted in ascending order by customer balance.
3. Click the column heading again.
   Notice that the arrow now points down and the list is sorted in descending order with the customers with the highest balances at the top of the list.
   
   
   
4. To return to the order you started with, click the large diamond to the left of the Name column heading.
5. Close the Customer: Job list.

Merging List Items
In most lists, you can combine two list items into one. For example, you may find that you've been using two customers (because of different spellings) when you really need only one on your Customer:Job list. You can merge list items in the Chart of Accounts, Item, Customer:Job, Vendor, Employee, and Other Names lists.

Important: After you merge list items, you cannot separate them. When working in your own company file, we recommend that you back up your data before merging list items.

To merge items on a list:

1. From the Vendors menu, choose Vendor List. QuickBooks displays the Vendor list.
2. Select the vendor you would like to merge.
   
   
   
3. Click the Vendor menu button, and then choose Edit. QuickBooks displays the Edit Vendor window.
   
   
   
4. In the Vendor Name field, type the vendor name you want to merge with.
5. Click OK.
   QuickBooks asks if you would like to merge the names.
6. Click Yes.
   QuickBooks merges the two names.
7. Close the Vendor list.
   
   Note: If you use assembly items in QuickBooks Premier Edition products, you cannot merge them with other assembly items or with any other type of item.

Renaming List Items
You can rename any list item. When you make the change, QuickBooks automatically modifies all existing transactions containing the item.

Note: If you don't want to change existing transactions, add a new name or item instead.

To rename a list item in the chart of accounts:

1. From the Lists menu, choose Chart of Accounts to display the chart of accounts for your company.
   
   
   
2. In the chart of accounts, select the account you would like to rename.
3. Click the Account menu button, and choose Edit.
   QuickBooks displays the Edit Account window.
   
   
   
4. In the Name field, type the new name of the account.
5. Click OK.
   QuickBooks changes the account name in the chart of accounts.
   
   
   
6. Close the chart of accounts.

Deleting Items And Making List Items Inactive
You can delete list items only if you have not used them in any transactions. If you try to delete a list item that is used in a transaction, QuickBooks displays a warning that the item can't be deleted. If you don't want to use a list item but you can't delete it, you can make it inactive.

To make a list item inactive:

1. From the Customers menu, choose Customer:Job List. QuickBooks displays the Customer:Job list.
2. Select a customer in the list. (Select his name, not the job.)
3. Click the Customer:Job menu button, and choose Make Inactive.
   Notice that the customer (and the jobs for this customer) no longer appears on the Customer:Job list. (The customer:job item is only removed from the list-transactions associated with this customer:job will still show in reports.)
   
   
   
4. To see inactive list items, select the Show All checkbox in the list window.
   QuickBooks displays all the list items again, but the Xs signify that this customer is still inactive. (You make the customer active again by choosing Make Active from the Customer:Job menu button.)
   
   
   
5. Leave the Customer:Job list open, you'll print it in the next exercise.

Printing A List
You can print a QuickBooks list for reference, or you may print a list to a file to use in your word processor or spreadsheet.

To print a list of customers:

1. Click the Customer:Job menu button, and then choose Print List.
   QuickBooks displays a message telling you that you can also print list information from the Reports menu.
2. Click OK to bypass the List Reports message.
   QuickBooks displays the Print Lists window, which displays the name of your printer and printer port.
   You can select to print to a printer or to a file.
3. Click Print.
   Note: This is a fairly long list, so if you don't want to print it now, click Cancel.
4. Close the Customer:Job list.

• You may have to collect and pay more than one tax (for example, one rate for local taxes and one rate for state taxes).
• You may have some items that are taxable and some that aren't.
• You may tax some customers while others are non-taxable.

QuickBooks reduces some of the complication, because it lets you automatically apply sales tax on particular sales and keep track of how much you collect and from whom. Then, when you're ready to pay your taxes, QuickBooks can write a check for the correct amount.

To use QuickBooks to track and pay your sales tax:

1. Set up your tax rates and agencies.
   In the QuickBooks Item list, set up the separate tax rates you need to charge. In the Vendor list, set up the agencies to whom you submit the taxes you've collected.
   You can also set up sales tax codes, which can help you classify why a transaction (or part of one) is either taxable or non-taxable.
2. Indicate who and what gets taxed.
   Not all of the items you sell are taxable, and not all of your customers pay tax. In your Item and Customer:Job lists, you can indicate which items or customers are taxable.
3. Apply tax to each sale.
   When you fill out an invoice or sales receipt form, and choose a taxable item from your Item list, QuickBooks applies the appropriate sales tax.
4. Find out what you owe.
   As you record taxable sales, QuickBooks keeps track of the tax you've collected in your Sales Tax Payable account. When you're ready to pay your sales tax agency, you can open the Sales Tax Payable register to see how much you owe, or you can create a sales tax liability report.
5. Pay your tax agencies.
   When you go to the Pay Sales Tax window, QuickBooks shows the amount you owe and writes a check to the tax agency for that amount.

This section walks you through each of these steps.

Setting Up your Tax Rates and Agencies
The first step is to enter your sales tax rates, and then provide information about the tax agencies to which you pay the taxes.

Creating a Tax Item for Each Single Tax You Apply
Some businesses need to apply more than one sales tax to their sales; for example, they may collect a state sales tax as well as several county sales taxes. You need to create a separate sales tax item for each tax whose amount you must report (not necessarily for each tax you collect-some states want you to report state sales tax and county sales tax as separate items, while others let you report them as one item).

Even if you're paying more than one type of tax, you usually want your customers to see one overall tax amount, not separate taxes for the state and county. You'll learn how to do that in this section.

To add a sales tax item:

1. From the Lists menu, choose Item List.
   QuickBooks displays the Item list.
   
   
   
2. Click the Item menu button, and then choose New. QuickBooks displays the New Item window.
3. In the Type field, choose Sales Tax Item from the drop-down list.
4. Type the Tax Name in the correct field.
5. In the Description field, type the description.
6. Type in the Tax Rate (%).
7. In the Tax Agency field, type the name of the tax agency collecting on this tax.
   Your New Item window should now resemble the following figure.
   
   
   
8. Click OK.
9. Click OK.
   Your Item list should resemble the following figure.
   
   

Grouping Single Taxes Together
Even if you collect a combination of sales taxes (for example, city tax and county tax) that you report separately, you probably don't want to confuse customers by showing separate taxes on your invoices or sales forms. QuickBooks lets you group some or all of your tax items so that customers see a single tax amount on your invoices and sales receipts. Instead of a sales tax item, you'll be creating a sales tax group.

To create a sales tax group:

1. With the Item list displayed, click the Item menu button, and then choose New.
2. In the Type field, choose Sales Tax Group.
   The New Item window on your screen should resemble the figure below.
   
   
   
3. Type in the Group Name/Number in the correct field.
4. In the Description field, type a description of the tax group.
5. Click in the Tax Item column, and then choose from the drop-down list.
6. Click on the second line in the Tax Item column, and then choose another tax item from the drop-down list. Your New Item window should resemble the following figure.
   Notice that the total group rate is changed to reflect the sum of the tax item tax rates.
   
   
   
7. Click OK.
   QuickBooks adds the Group to the Item list.

Identifying Your Most Common Tax
If you want QuickBooks to apply sales tax to your invoices and sales receipts, you have to tell it which sales tax item or group is the one you use most often. Once you do that, QuickBooks applies that sales tax when you fill out an invoice or a sales receipt. (You can choose a different sales tax from the sales form if you don't want the default tax.)

To set up a default sales tax:

1. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences. QuickBooks displays the Preferences window.
2. In the Preferences window, click the Sales Tax icon in the left scroll box, and then click the Company Preferences tab.
   
   
   
3. In the "Most common sales tax" field, make sure the correct item is selected.
4. Click OK.

If you're using sales tax codes, you can use the Preferences window to tell QuickBooks which sales tax codes to use as the default taxable and non-taxable codes. You can use the codes that come preset with QuickBooks, or define your own. You can also manage sales tax codes using the Sales Tax Code list, which is available on the Lists menu when the sales tax feature is turned on in a company data file.

Indicating Who and What Gets Taxed
The next step in setting up sales tax is to indicate who and what gets taxed. You have to tell QuickBooks whether or not a customer is taxable and assign a default tax item or tax group to that customer.

You must also distinguish between taxable and non-taxable items on the Item list. When you add an item to the Item list, there's a place in the window where you can indicate whether you charge tax for the item. QuickBooks remembers this information, and shows whether or not an item is taxable when you enter the item on a sales form.

In the next exercise, you'll take a look at an item on the Item list to see how to indicate that an item is taxable.

To indicate a taxable item:

1. In the Item list, select an item.
2. Click the Item menu button, and then choose Edit. QuickBooks displays the Edit Item window.
   
   
   
   The code in the Tax Code field is a taxable code, which tells you that this item is taxable. When you choose the item to be included on a sales form, QuickBooks knows that the item is taxable and automatically applies the default sales tax.
   To indicate that an item is non-taxable, select a non-taxable code from the drop-down list.
3. Click OK to close the Edit Item window.
4. Close the Item list.
   In the same way that you can specify that an item in the Item list is taxable, you can indicate whether or not a particular customer is taxable or non-taxable in that customer's record.

To see an existing customer record:

1. From the Lists menu, choose Customer:Job List. QuickBooks displays the Customer:Job list.
2. Select a customer.
3. Click the Customer:Job menu button, and then choose Edit.
   QuickBooks displays the Edit Customer window.
   
   
   
4. Click the Additional Info tab.
   The tax code selected indicates that transactions with this customer are subject to sales tax.
   
   
   
5. In the Tax Item field, choose from the drop-down list.
6. Click OK.
7. Close the Customer:Job list.

Applying Tax to Each Sale
If you've set up a default sales tax, assigned taxes to your customers, and marked taxable items you sell as taxable, QuickBooks automatically calculates and applies the tax when you make a sale.

To apply tax to a sale:

1. From the Customers menu, choose Create Invoices. QuickBooks displays the Create Invoices window.
2. In the Customer:Job field, choose from the drop-down list. (Select both the customer and the job.)
3. Click in the Item column and select from the drop-down list. The Create Invoices window should resemble the figure below.
   
   
   
   When you enter a taxable item, QuickBooks displays the tax code associated with that item in the Tax column (which appears to the right of the Amount column). If the customer is taxable, QuickBooks includes all items associated with a taxable tax code in its tax calculation.
   Note: You can select a different tax code from the list to turn taxable status on and off for unique situations. You can also change the customer's taxable status by selecting a non-taxable code from the Customer Tax Code drop-down list.
4. In the Quantity column, type, and then press Tab.
   The Create Invoices window should resemble the following figure.
   
   
   
5. Click Save & Close.

Determining What You Owe
If you're required to collect sales tax from customers, you also have to make periodic payments of the sales tax you've collected. QuickBooks gives you three ways to determine the amount of your sales tax liability: the sales tax liability report, the Sales Tax Payable register, and the Pay Sales Tax window.

Creating a Sales Tax Liability Report
The sales tax liability report provides complete information about the sales tax your company owes for a particular period of time.

To create the sales tax liability report:

1. From the Reports menu, choose Vendors & Payables, and then choose Sales Tax Liability.
   Your report should resemble the following figure.
   
   
   
2. In the Dates field, choose This Month-to-date from the drop-down list. Your report should resemble the following figure.
   
   
   
   The sales tax liability report shows the total taxable sales as of a date you choose, total non-taxable sales, and the amount of sales tax you owe each tax agency.
   QuickBooks displays the sales tax liability report on an accrual basis (unless you changed the default setting in the Sales Tax Preferences window). The report shows exactly how much sales tax you collected.
3. Close the sales tax liability report.
4. If QuickBooks asks if you want to memorize the report, click No.

Determining the Source of Sales Tax Revenue
If you'd like to see where your sales tax revenue is coming from, you can run the sales tax revenue summary report, which shows you the sources of all taxable and non-taxable sales transactions, broken down by individual sales tax codes.

To run the sales tax revenue summary report:

1. From the Reports menu, choose Vendors & Payables, and then choose Sales Tax Revenue Summary from the submenu.
   
   
   
   You can QuickZoom on the numbers in the report to get more information about specific sales transactions.
2. Close the report.

Using the Sales Tax Payable Register
Each time you write an invoice or sales receipt that includes sales tax, QuickBooks enters the information in the sales tax payable register. QuickBooks keeps track of transactions for all tax vendors in the same Sales Tax Payable account.

To see the sales tax payable register:

1. From the Company menu, choose Chart of Accounts. QuickBooks displays the chart of accounts.
2. Click Sales Tax Payable once to select it.
3. Click the Activities menu button and select Use Register.
   QuickBooks displays the Sales Tax Payable register.
   
   
   
   Each entry in the register is a single tax transaction. Taxes you record on invoices and sales receipts appear as increases, and payments you make to tax agencies appear as decreases. The ending balance of the register is your current tax liability.
   When you record two tax rates on the same invoice or cash sale, the register shows a separate transaction for each tax agency. (This is because you have to make separate payments to individual tax agencies.)
4. Close the register.
5. Close the chart of accounts.

Paying Your Tax Agencies
When it's time to pay sales tax, you use the Pay Sales Tax window to write a check to your tax agency or agencies. Suppose Rock Castle Construction is ready to make a sales tax payment.

To make a sales tax payment:

1. From the Vendors menu, choose Sales Tax, then choose Pay Sales Tax from the submenu.
   QuickBooks displays the Pay Sales Tax window.
   
   
   
2. Select the "To be printed" checkbox.
3. In the "Show sales tax due through" field, type the date, and then press Tab. QuickBooks displays tax agencies and the amounts you owe. To mark them for payment, click the Pay All Tax button.
   The Pay Sales Tax window should resemble the figure below.
   
   
   
4. Click OK.
   QuickBooks writes and records checks to the tax agencies you indicated. All you need to do is print the checks. QuickBooks updates your the tax report and sales tax payable register to show that you've paid the tax agencies.