QuickBooks is an easy-to-use accounting software developed by Intuit. It allows individuals and small businesses to streamline how they track and monitor expenses, transactions, and customers, send invoices, accept payments, manage payroll, and prepare taxes. Have you ever explored all of the things QuickBooks can do? QuickBooks is used in a variety of industries and can especially aid one to manage their finances, prepare to start a small business or pursue a career in finance, accounting, or business management. Here, you’ll learn more about the types of careers that benefit from QuickBooks and how it can enhance your professional life. Regardless of your overall goals, learning QuickBooks is a valuable and impressive skill to add to your resume.
What is QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is a widely used accounting and bookkeeping software package from Intuit. Primarily used by small and medium businesses, QuickBooks helps businesses to track and manage everything to do with their finances. Using QuickBooks, businesses can monitor their cash flow and profits and losses by tracking sales, expenses, customers, and payments. QuickBooks is also often used to create and send invoices, manage the business’s inventory, and manage employee payroll. It also has budgeting, time tracking, and daily task features to keep businesses running efficiently.
QuickBooks helps businesses ensure the accuracy of their records by directly connecting sales channels to QuickBooks and reconciling bank transactions with the information one inputs. The software also has features to help with tax preparation and can be used as a way to collaborate and share documents with an accountant. QuickBooks is a subscription-based service with varied payment tiers that provide access to different features. The different versions of QuickBooks cater to different storage and employment needs as Intuit offers basic to premium plans of its cloud-based QuickBooks Online, a computer-installed QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise version for larger companies, and a version for freelancers and independent contractors called QuickBooks Solopreneur.
Read more about what QuickBooks is and why you should learn it.
What Can You Do with QuickBooks?
QuickBooks software has many different applications and uses across a wide variety of industries. Many small and medium-sized businesses use QuickBooks for its record-keeping features as it was originally designed for businesses without a dedicated accounting department. QuickBooks allows someone to track and categorize many things such as expenses, sales, transactions, and customer, vendor, and inventory lists. This makes QuickBooks a great option for those needing to keep all of their business records in one place.
Additionally, many people use QuickBooks to create and send invoices, manage employee payroll, help prepare their taxes, maintain a budget, and automate tasks. QuickBooks includes features to automate accounts payable and receivable. Many use QuickBooks to automate sending customer invoices or payment reminders or even keeping employees updated on crucial tasks and sending deadline reminders. These features of QuickBooks allow you to increase productivity and maintain efficient workflows so that you do not constantly need to task employees with work that can be done by the QuickBooks software itself.
Not only do businesses use QuickBooks, but QuickBooks is often used by self-employed people like freelancers and independent contractors. QuickBooks offers a specific version of the software called QuickBooks Solopreneur (formerly QuickBooks Self-Employed or SE). Many people find that once they link their accounts, it is easy to import their transactions and the QuickBooks software will automatically work to tag one’s income. Self-employed users will likely need to do a bit of extra work to categorize their transactions more effectively for their own needs, but QuickBooks can do much of the bookkeeping work automatically and make tracking finances easier for individuals.
Common Professional Uses for QuickBooks
QuickBooks is used in many industries for bookkeeping and accounting purposes. Those using QuickBooks for industries such as construction, retail, and the restaurant industry will likely use more of the features that allow businesses to track their expenses, record sales and order receipts, manage inventory, or even set up point-of-service systems. Legal industries using QuickBooks, by contrast, may use QuickBooks to keep track of active cases, current or prospective clients, and any pro bono work that they are engaged in. Different industries will find certain features of QuickBooks more relevant and there are also third-party applications users can integrate to enhance QuickBooks’ functionality for their own business’s needs.
Not only will different industries use QuickBooks in different ways, but so will those using QuickBooks within different professions. A Bookkeeper using QuickBooks is likely to be involved in more of the day-to-day record keeping by tracking expenses, transactions, and budgets, making sure the books are balanced, and reconciling accounts with one’s bank. Even for those without bookkeeping training, QuickBooks can help do a lot of this work for individuals or small business owners. An Accountant, by contrast, is more likely to monitor a business’s expenses and transactions, fix any mistakes that they may see, and be able to offer actionable financial advice. Financial Managers, likewise, will also be more focused on offering advice and helping their clients to continue to grow their business than doing much of the record keeping.
Manage Your Finances
QuickBooks is easy-to-use financial management software meaning that anyone who wants to manage their finances should consider learning how to use it. This includes both small and medium-sized business owners as well as those who are self-employed as freelancers or independent contractors. QuickBooks has different software versions for each of these groups. Their QuickBooks Enterprise version is targeted at larger small or medium-sized companies who need industry-specific customization, QuickBooks Solopreneur (formerly QuickBooks Self-Employed or SE) is for freelancers and independent contractors, and QuickBooks Online which offers a suite of features and services is geared towards small business owners from a variety of industries.
QuickBooks can help individuals and small business owners track expenses, receive payments, send invoices, categorize transactions, manage client lists, and prepare taxes. QuickBooks Solopreneur is a more cost-effective and scaled-back version of QuickBooks, whereas small businesses will likely be using a version of QuickBooks Online that has additional features to send batch invoices, pay bills, manage inventory, contractors, and payroll, and integrate sales channels. Noble Desktop’s QuickBooks Bootcamp is a comprehensive, two-day class that teaches both basic and advanced features of the software and it is great for those handling their own accounts or those who want to learn how the software functions to do accounting and record-keeping for other businesses.
Prepare to Start a Small Business
QuickBooks can be useful for those preparing to start their own small business. There is a lot of preparatory work that goes into starting a small business, from defining your goals and vision as a business to registering the name of your business. Much of the prep work will be financial and can include opening a small business bank account and putting systems in place for accounting and payments. This is where using QuickBooks can be useful as a prospective small business owner.
Getting started with QuickBooks before opening one’s business can help someone save time and energy from the very beginning. QuickBooks can help small business owners get started by linking bank accounts or sales channels, setting up cash flow and balance sheet reports, or even starting to understand how payroll works. The more preparatory work one can do to automate the bookkeeping processes for one’s business, the more one’s business will run smoothly and efficiently as soon as it becomes operational.
Build a Career in Finance, Accounting, or Business Management
QuickBooks is a common tool used in a variety of finance and finance-related careers, making it a great program to learn as you pursue certain career paths. Learning how to use QuickBooks can help someone to become familiar with the financial needs of their future clients. While QuickBooks tries to automate the processes of accounting and bookkeeping, learning QuickBooks and related software can be a great way to start to understand how to track, manage, and monitor a business’s finances. Accountants, Bookkeepers, Financial Managers, and Business Managers might find themselves needing to review, edit, input data into, or read through a business’s QuickBooks account as part of their job.
Bookkeepers can end up using QuickBooks to do record keeping for a business, so they will need familiarity with how it functions and what it can do. It is also common for a business to employ an Accountant to look over their books and fix any errors and QuickBooks even has a special interface for Accountants. Additionally, Financial and Business Managers might need to look over a business’s QuickBooks account to offer advice and make predictions about future growth. Consider learning more about your career options in accounting and finance by reading Noble Desktop’s comprehensive guide to accounting or Noble Desktop’s guide to finance, both of which are free. A good first step for prospective Accountants is taking a class like Noble Desktop’s Intro to Financial Accounting & Financial Statements which teaches students the fundamentals of understanding financial statements and reports.
Improve Your Resume
For those already working in finance, learning QuickBooks can be a useful way to upskill and add to your resume. QuickBooks is the most widely used accounting software, making it useful to learn familiarity with how it functions and what you can do with it. Learning QuickBooks not only adds to one's marketable skills, but it can also be a way to understand certain processes that you may be less familiar with, like how to manage payroll or track inventory for a certain type of company. Knowing these processes before using QuickBooks professionally can help those in finance do their jobs better and more efficiently.
This will be especially important if you’re an Accountant who works with small businesses or people who are self-employed. It is common for QuickBooks users to employ an Accountant to monitor their finances, fix errors, and offer feedback on how to grow one’s business. QuickBooks even has a particular version that Accountants can download and use. Because QuickBooks is such a common software, knowing QuickBooks can be seen as a marketable skill by one’s prospective clients or employers.
How to Start Learning QuickBooks
One of the best ways to learn QuickBooks is by taking an in-person or live online class. These types of classes are led by expert instructors who will teach students everything they need to know about the topic. Live, instructor-led classes provide students with a structure to learn the most important QuickBooks skills and guidance on the best strategies and techniques for those wanting to do their own financial record keeping or who want to do bookkeeping and accounting for their clients. Taking an instructor-led class ensures that you receive up-to-date examples and practice using the latest version of QuickBooks. Use Noble Desktop’s free Classes Near Me tool to find the QuickBooks classes in your area or to find only live online QuickBooks classes near you.
Another great training option is taking an on-demand class. These are asynchronous online or self-paced classes where students are given access to course material, often video lectures or tutorials, practices, and skills quizzes, and can move through it at their own speed. This option is useful for those with busy schedules or who cannot commit to attending an instructor-led class either in person or live online. While on-demand classes are often low-cost, and some are even free, students will not receive the same level of guidance or practice in an on-demand class that they will in an instructor-led class. Find on-demand QuickBooks classes that will for your needs and schedule.
QuickBooks learners can also find myriad free resources online. For those unfamiliar with QuickBooks, Intuit does offer a free interactive demo of the software along with several other tutorials for new learners. Additionally, prospective learners can readily find other online guides, YouTube tutorials, blog posts, eBooks, and maybe even QuickBooks or accounting classes through their local library. Noble Desktop’s comprehensive guide to accounting is one such free resource that covers essential information about a related topic, accounting, and how to learn the skills necessary to make this one’s career.
Read the full guide on how to learn QuickBooks.
Learn QuickBooks with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop
Noble Desktop offers expert in-person and live online training for those interested in learning QuickBooks. Noble Desktop’s classes all include expert, hands-on guidance, small class sizes, and free retake options and many classes offer both part-time and full-time options so that one can find the QuickBooks or finance class that works best for their schedule. For fast and comprehensive training in QuickBooks, consider enrolling in Noble Deskop’s QuickBooks Bootcamp which teaches students everything they need to know about how to use QuickBooks to track and manage a business’s finances. This bootcamp uses hands-on training to teach students the basics of QuickBooks like configuring a company profile, working with customer, vendor, and inventory lists, and invoicing and processing payments as well as the more advanced management and customization features. Noble Desktop offers this bootcamp live online from any location and it can be taken in person at Noble Desktop’s training facility in New York City.
Noble Desktop also has accounting classes and bootcamps which are a great option for anyone interested in developing their skills or learning more about finance and accounting. The Intro to Financial Accounting & Financial Statements class uses hands-on exercises to teach students the fundamentals of analyzing financial statements and reports. After completing this introductory class, students can progress to the Intermediate Financial Accounting class which teaches more complex topics like earnings per share and deferred taxes. For those who want a comprehensive, accelerated class that tackles both beginner and intermediate topics of accounting, consider the Financial Accounting Bootcamp which teaches everything students need to know in two class sessions.
Noble’s finance and accounting classes are great for those who want to grow their financial literacy beyond learning about QuickBooks. These classes are also useful for those interested in turning their knowledge of QuickBooks into the first step to becoming a Bookkeeper or Accountant. If this is something that interests you, you can learn more about the career path of an Accountant by reading Noble Desktop’s comprehensive guide to accounting, a free resource that covers essential information about accounting and how to learn the skills necessary to make this one’s career. For those who want to work in finance in some capacity but are not entirely sure which direction they want to go in yet, Noble Desktop’s guide to finance is a useful way to read about different career options.