1. Sit down, take a deep breath, and open your most recent bank statement. Great! You’ve started. I suggest that you work with real data from the get-go because that is the best way to learn in the real world. By entering transactions from the bank statement into QuickBooks, you will acquire skills with QuickBooks and be productive in getting your job done at the same time. The goal is to enter and reconcile in QuickBooks all transactions from the most recent bank statement. Here's how:
2. Create a company file by clicking File on the menu bar, and selecting New Company. Click Next 3 times and then Skip Interview. Enter your company information in the window that opens, and click Next. Click Next again to accept the General Business default for your business type. Enter a file name for your new company and Bingo! QuickBooks will create a new company file for you.
3.  When the QuickBooks desktop opens, select  Banking under Navigators on the left hand side of the screen. Click on the Checks icon at the top of the Banking Navigator. A window will open that says "Would you like to create a bank account now?" Click on Yes. A New Account window will open and enter the following information: In the Name field enter Checking; in the Opening Balance Field enter the beginning balance amount from your bank statement; and in the As Of field enter the beginning date of your bank statement period. Click OK and close the Write Checks window.
4. The next step is to start entering transactions from the bank statement, and as you look at each deposit ask “Where did this money come from and what was it for?” If the next deposit amount on the bank statement came from an invoice that you sent a customer, open the Customer Navigator and click on the Invoices icon. If necessary click on the How Do I button on the top right hand corner of the Create Invoices window and read about how to create invoices. As you work your way through the process of creating an invoice, you will learn how to create customers, items, accounts, and record the invoice. Enter all the invoices which received payments that were deposited on the bank statement.
5. Next, open the Receive Payments window by clicking the Receive Payments icon in the Customer Navigator. If necessary click on the How Do I button on the top right hand corner of the window and read how to receive payments and what Undeposited Funds are. Enter all the payments that were received and deposited on the bank statement, but do to enter the deposits yet. Make sure “Group with other undeposited funds” is checked at the bottom of the Receive Payments window
6. Open the Banking Navigator and click on the Deposit icon. In necessary click on the How Do I button on the top right hand corner of the window and read about how to make deposits. Select and record the total payments for each day so they match exactly the deposit amount that shows up on the bank statement for that day.
7. After you have entered all the deposits that are on the bank statement, look at the checks and withdrawals that are listed. Ask yourself “Where did the money go to and for what?” Open the Banking Navigator and click on the Checks icon. The Write Checks window will open. If necessary click on the How Do I button on the top right hand corner of the window. As you go through the process of entering checks you will learn how to create vendors, employees, and other names.
8. Remember your goal is to enter all the data from the bank statement into QuickBooks. Do not worry about everything being perfect. At this stage you are learning the process of entering data into QuickBooks and how to move around through the program.
9. After all the data has been entered from the bank statement, click on  the Reconcile icon in the Banking Navigator and complete the reconciliation. During this process you will be able to identify and fix mistakes or amounts that do not match the bank statement. After you have reconciled the bank statement, create a Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet report, and review the reports to see if they make sense.
10. If the reports look accurate continue entering data and things should fall into place from there.

 Note: It is strongly recommended that you use a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor to create or review your data file, and that an accountant reviews your financial reports before your taxes are filed. No liability is assumed for damages resulting from the use of information or instructions contained herein.