•   QuickBooks has dozens of different versions and each year the program changes - it will help your advisor to know ahead of time the year and version of your program        

  Let your advisor know if you are running QuickBooks on more than one computer and if they are networked.

•  When you run your accounting files on more than one computer you can sometimes end up with multiple copies of the file. This can potentially cause a variety of problems so it’s important to know if this issue needs to be addressed.     

• If you are new to the program your advisor will know to work more slowly and explain every move. If you are a longtime user you can skip over the basics and get right to the problem at hand, saving both of you time, and saving you money.

How knowledgeable are you about the bookkeeping and accounting pieces of your business - do you understand the jargon?

• It helps if you know some basic bookkeeping terms and using the program will be much easier with this knowledge. Let your advisor know if you don’t understand the words being used or the terms that appear in QuickBooks. A quick bookkeeping lesson will go a long way in helping you better understand what you are doing and why.

Have a list of specific questions to ask, and be prepared to explain any problems you need to resolve.

• As you discover problems in your QuickBooks work file, or as questions come up during the course of your business day, jot them down in a Word file or on a note pad. The more prepared you are the faster your problems can be solved.

Let your advisor know how much you want done for you vs. how much you want to do yourself.

• If you have a big cleanup let her know if you want to learn how to find and fix the problems yourself; if you want her to find the problems but you’ll fix them; if you want her to find and fix the problems but with you watching; or if you just want to give her the whole file and return it to you when it’s clean and accurate.

Do you have a budget and do you need to work out a schedule to make the training or clean-up fit into your budget?

• See the previous entry - the more work you do yourself and the more you are willing to learn, the less it will cost you in the long run. Scheduling two-hour blocks of time for intense training, and doing so on a regular basis every 2-4 weeks, is the best way to learn the program and to discover ways to effectively use it to manage and grow your business.

Working with a QuickBooks ProAdvisor can not only save you time, money, and aggravation, but it can also significantly increase your overall knowledge of this powerful and effective business tool.