Company Preferences in QuickBooks

Company Preferences in QuickBooks are settings that allow you to customize how QuickBooks behaves and operates based on the specific needs and preferences of your business. These preferences help you tailor QuickBooks to better suit your workflow, industry, and accounting requirements. Here’s an overview of how to access and configure Company Preferences in QuickBooks, focusing on QuickBooks Desktop:

1. Accessing Company Preferences:
   • Open QuickBooks Desktop.
   • Go to the “Edit” menu (or “QuickBooks” menu on a Mac).
   • Select “Preferences” from the dropdown menu.
2. Navigating Company Preferences:
   • In the Preferences window, you’ll see a list of categories on the left sidebar. These categories represent different aspects of your company’s operations and settings.
   • Click on a category to view and customize preferences within that category.
3. Common Company Preferences Categories:
   • Accounting: Contains preferences related to your accounting methods, such as using accrual or cash basis accounting, specifying the fiscal year, and enabling account numbers.
   • Finance Charge: This section allows you to set preferences for finance charges on overdue customer invoices.
   • Sales Tax: Configure settings related to sales tax collection, including specifying your sales tax agency, sales tax codes, and default sales tax rates.
   • Payments: Manage preferences for online payments, including credit card processing and e-check payments.
   • Purchases & Vendors: Set preferences related to purchasing, such as the default purchase order format, currency settings, and payment terms.
   • Items & Inventory: Customize how QuickBooks handles inventory, including inventory tracking methods, reorder points, and inventory and purchase order preferences.
   • Payroll & Employees: If you use QuickBooks for payroll, you can configure payroll preferences in this section.
   • Reminders: Set up reminders for various tasks, such as creating invoices, paying bills, and reconciling accounts.
   • Reports & Graphs: Customize report preferences, such as date ranges and display options for reports.
   • Desktop View: Modify settings related to the appearance and display of your QuickBooks Desktop interface.
4. Modifying Preferences:
   • To modify a preference, click on the category, then navigate through the options within that category.
   • Make changes to individual preferences by selecting the appropriate options or values.
   • Be sure to click “OK” or “Apply” to save your changes.
5. Reset Preferences:
   • If you want to reset a preference to its default setting, you can typically do so by clicking the “Default” or “Reset” button within the preference window.
6. Multiple Preferences Categories:
   • Repeat these steps for each category of preferences you want to customize based on your business needs.
7. Backup and Documentation:
   • Before making significant changes to preferences, it’s a good practice to back up your QuickBooks data, especially if you are uncertain about the effects of your changes.
   • Keep documentation of your preference settings for reference.

The responsibilities of a bookkeeper for small business may include tracking expenses, managing invoices, and reconciling bank statements.

Customizing Company Preferences in QuickBooks allows you to tailor the software to your specific accounting and operational requirements, making it more efficient and useful for your business. Remember that the location and availability of preferences may vary slightly between different versions of QuickBooks Desktop, so refer to the user guide or help resources specific to your version for detailed instructions.