Books about Quickbooks Pro 2004?

[josella]

Hi everyone,

I am new to Quickbooks and have 2004 Pro. At this point the whole thing is pretty mind boggling and I thought some of you may be able to pass on some advice as to where I can find reference material about Quickbooks 2004. I ahve been to the bookshop and found stuff on 2002 and 2003 but no 2004 and I am not sure they will be relevant. What I am really after is a making the most of QB 2004 type of book.

Is the easy training guide any good? Are there any great online references (a quick search hasn;t showed up much for me but hopefully someone here knows of a gem or two.

My goal is to become really proficient at QB and make it works to its utmost for our business.

Cheers, J.

[Kendor]

People speak well of Kathy Ivens' book. Some like Dummies. Once you become an advanced user, Sleeter's Consultant's Complete Reference Guide is good. I seem to recall seeing that there is an Australian book, which would have the advantage of corresponding directly to the Australian QB. This is important in the area of VAT/GST or whatever tax you have on sales. I don't like QB's own manual.

These user groups are a wonderful source of online help. A number of real power users participate and are very willing to give of their time to help others.

Ken

Ken

[gibbo]

Any book that is based on 2003 should be more than adequate. There were some changes between 2202 and 2003 - including the inclusion of the Payroll module. 2004 really just got the programme working better, rather than a quantitative leap in features. Find a book that you can relate to, would be my advice. I think I have seen an Australian book in the bookshops, but have not looked at it.
My advice would be to firstly get to thoroughly understand the industry you are in and how the GST relates to it. Have you ever heard of the guy who had his head in an oven and his feet in a fridge? On average, he was warm. That is how the GST is - on average not too bad, but for some it is simple and for others an absolute nightmare. When you know what you need to do, you can seek the answers.
You also need to have a bit better than basic understanding of accounting if you are setting up the system. Most people who end up in a mess do so because the original setup and the way they were doing things was wrong. If you do not have this expeience, seek assistance in setting up. It can save manny late nights and headaches later.
I always work on a "Needs to know basis" - ie if i needs to know - I finds out. Don't try to learn everything at once. Work on first on knowing well those things you must do. As you are confronted with new issues, also learn them well. That is how you become proficient.
Use this forum. You will be amazed at the expertise of people around the world - and their willingness to share their knowledge.

[josella]

Thanks for the info. I am not too bad with the accounting sid eof things. Have been an MYOB user for a few years now and am just struggling to work out the differences and wanting to make sure I am usng QB to m advantage. Unfortunately I installed 2003 when I got it over a year ago but continued using MYOB in this time cos I couldn't transfer my data across. Good reason to read the papers that come with your software.... I had no idea I had the Advantage support until 3 days before it expired which happened to be a long weekend so now I am starting with no support! EEK!

Will go find a 2003 book I like.
Cheers, Joanna.