Give everyone a chance to clear their accounts before December 31 by sending statements. Click Statements on the Home page (or Customers | Create Statements) to open the window pictured above.
You have multiple options here that are fairly self-explanatory. The screen above is set up to create statements for all customers who have an open balance as of the date you select, but not for inactive customers or those with a zero balance or no account activity. That way, no one who’s paid in full to date will receive a statement. Of course, if you didn’t want statements created for anyone who’s less than 30 days past due, you’d click in the box in front of Include only transactions over and enter a “30” in the following field. Questions about all of this? Give us a call at 256-337-5200.
Tip: You can also find out who’s overdue by clicking on the Customers tab in the left vertical pane to open the Customer Information screen. Click on the down arrow to the right of the field just below Customers & Jobs. QuickBooks provides several filters for your list.
Reduce your inventory.
Want to discount all or selected items in your inventory by the same percentage or amount? Open the Customers menu and click Change Item Prices. We can work with you on the whole item pricing process.
The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day might be a good time to sell excess inventory by having a sale. If you only sell a few products, you probably know what hasn’t sold well in 2016. If your stable of products is larger, you can run QuickBooks reports like Inventory Stock Status by Item and Sales by Item Detail to identify your slow-sellers and discount them. You may need to filter your reports to see the right data. Call us for customization options if you’re unsure of how to do this.
Clean up your contact lists.
Run advanced reports.
Here’s where we come in. If we’re not already helping you create and analyze QuickBooks’ advanced financial reports (found in the Accountant & Taxes sub-menu of Reports) monthly or quarterly, let’s talk. It’s important, and they give you insight that you can’t get on your own. This is another activity that can spill into January.
QB health check.
We suggest monthly to quarterly checks. If you haven’t had a health check in a while, January is a great time to schedule a visit with us – call 256-337-5200.