Learn bookkeeping basics

Set up a new company file in QuickBooks with appropriate business and accounting settings.

Customize the Chart of Accounts to fit a specific business type.

Add customer profiles with contact and sales information.

Add vendor profiles with contact and payment details.

Set up products and services, distinguishing between inventory and non-inventory items.

Record a credit sale by creating and sending a customer invoice.

Record a cash sale using a sales receipt.

Record customer payments and apply them to open invoices.

Process sales returns and allowances using credit memos.

Account for sales discounts for early payment.

Manage and record bank deposits from undeposited funds.

Record a credit purchase by entering a vendor bill.

Record an immediate purchase using an expense or check transaction.

Record bill payments made to vendors.

Apply vendor credits for purchase returns and allowances.

Differentiate between and record capital expenditures vs. operating expenses.

Set up and manage recurring transactions for regular expenses like rent.

Connect bank and credit card accounts to QuickBooks using bank feeds.

Categorize and match downloaded transactions from the bank feed.

Perform a bank reconciliation in QuickBooks to match bank and book balances.

Record adjusting journal entries for items discovered during reconciliation (e.g., bank fees).

Record transfers of funds between different company accounts.

Explain the process for managing and recording petty cash transactions.

Generate and interpret an Accounts Receivable (A/R) aging report to monitor customer balances.

Send payment reminders for overdue invoices from within QuickBooks.

Generate and interpret an Accounts Payable (A/P) aging report to manage cash outflow.

Record the write-off of an uncollectible customer account (bad debt).

Explain the components of payroll: gross pay, employee deductions, and employer taxes.

Set up employees for payroll in QuickBooks with their tax and deduction information.

Process a pay run for hourly and salaried employees.

Review the payroll journal entries automatically generated by QuickBooks.

Generate payroll summary reports to review total payroll costs.

Explain the process for paying payroll tax liabilities through QuickBooks.

Explain the purpose of adjusting entries under accrual accounting.

Record an adjusting journal entry for prepaid expenses (e.g., insurance).

Record an adjusting journal entry for accrued expenses (e.g., wages payable).

Record an adjusting journal entry for unearned revenue.

Record an adjusting journal entry for accrued revenue.

Record monthly depreciation expense for fixed assets using the straight-line method.

Generate and customize a Profit & Loss (Income Statement) report.

Analyze a Profit & Loss statement to assess a company's profitability.

Generate and customize a Balance Sheet report.

Analyze a Balance Sheet to assess a company's financial position (liquidity and solvency).

Generate and explain the purpose of the Statement of Cash Flows.

Export financial reports to Excel or PDF for external use.

Explain the purpose and process of closing the books at year-end.

Set a closing date in QuickBooks to prevent prior period changes.

Explain how the year-end close impacts the Retained Earnings account.

Create and store a backup of the company file.

Apply learned skills in a capstone project: set up a new company, record a full month of varied transactions, reconcile accounts, and generate final reports.