Where to start

Index

Introduction > Where to start

Where to start

When you start your AccountEdge software, a welcome window displays the following options:

Option

Select this option to...

Open your company file

Open a company file that was opened last.

Browse for your company file

Browse to access the Open window.

Create a new company

Create a new company file for your business. See Create a company file.

Explore a sample company

Experiment with a sample company’s data and learn how to use your software.

Experiment with a sample company’s data

Before you create a new company file, we recommend that you experiment with a sample company’s data. We have provided a sample company file, called Widgets & Co. This file contains sample data for you to experiment with. You can add, change, and remove data, as well as view and print reports.

To explore the Widgets company file

v

Start your AccountEdge software and, in the welcome window that appears, click Explore the sample company. A command centre window appears.

A command centre window always appears when a company file is open. Notice that the name of the sample company, Widgets & Co., appears at the top of the window.

Now that the Widgets & Co. company file is open, you can browse through the software, explore the transactions that have already been entered, and enter some transactions yourself.

Related topics

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Explore your AccountEdge software

Top of page

Snow Leopard Compatible Web Store Setup and Details Web Store Selling Details Web Store Sync Options Tax Codes on Web Orders Brands Tags Weight Multiple Product Images Additional Price Level Reconcile Account Improvements Profitability on a Sale Track Shipping Details Process Credit Card payments Print Bank Deposit Slip

Gross Wages and Gross Wages YTD on paystubs

Customize the Paycheck Stub Customize the Pay Stub

Updated Sales Tax report

Total Hours on Payroll Activity Detail report Backup now supports ZIP file format Set Company File to Read Only

Learn about your AccountEdge software

Manuals Online help Other resources

Where to start

Explore your AccountEdge software

Command centres Task Drawer Action menu Calendar (date entry) Business calendar Calculator Zoom arrows Search icons Select columns Mouse shortcuts Shortcut keys

Setting up your company file

Overview Create a company file Set up accounts Enter account opening balances Set up preferences Set a password for the Administrator user ID

Overview Set up sales Set up purchases Set up payroll

Do an initial bank reconciliation

Task 1: Identify uncleared withdrawals and deposits Task 2: Record uncleared withdrawals and deposits Task 3: Reconcile

Create item records Enter your inventory opening balances

Set up Business Services

Activating Business Services

Set up a web store

Receiving money Bank deposits Spending money Entering transactions in the Bank Register window Transferring money between accounts Tracking petty cash expenses Recording miscellaneous transactions Credit card transactions

Credit card payments using Merchant Account Service

Processing credit card payments using Merchant Account Service Declined authorization Timed-out authorization Voiding Merchant Account Service credit card payments

Reconciling your bank accounts

Undoing an account reconciliation

Importing statements Analyzing your cash flow

Creating a customer card

Task 1: Enter information about the customer Task 2: Choose the type of sale Task 3: Enter the items or services you are selling Task 4: Enter additional information about the sale Task 5: Complete the sale Adding and deleting transaction lines, subtotals, and headers in sales transactions

Recording sales with insufficient on-hand item quantities

Build, buy, or backorder items Allow negative on-hand item quantities

Changing the status of a sale Reviewing your sales information Receiving payments Printing payment receipts

Credit limits Credit holds Finance charges paid by customers

Customer credits

Settling credits

Dealing with a vendor who is also a customer Accounting for bad debts

Creating a vendor card

Entering purchases

Entering a purchase transaction Task 1: Enter information about the vendor Task 2: Choose the type of purchase Task 3: Enter the items or services you are purchasing Task 4: Enter additional information about the purchase Task 5: Complete the purchase Adding and deleting lines, subtotals, and headers to purchases

Receiving items without a bill

Set up an accrual account for items received without a vendor bill Record items received without a bill

Creating a purchase order from a sale Changing the status of a purchase Reviewing your purchases information Paying bills Preparing electronic payments

Recording and settling vendor debits

Settling vendor debits

Adding finance charges paid to vendors

Paying your employees

Creating payroll categories

Wages Information window Deduction Information window Employer Expense Information window Editing payroll categories

Creating employee cards Entering employee payroll information

Delete timesheet entries View timesheet reports

Processing your payroll

Task 1: Select the pay period Task 2: [Optional] Include employee timesheets Task 3: Select and edit paycheques Task 4: Record employee pays Task 5: Process payments Task 6: Print/email pay stubs

Payroll liabilities

Reviewing payroll information

Viewing pay history Viewing prior year payroll reports Viewing an employee’s accrual balances Analyzing payroll Reviewing payroll liabilities

Payroll tax forms

Billing for time

About the time billing feature Setting time billing preferences Setting billing rates Creating activities

Creating activity slips

Creating multiple activity slips

Reviewing and changing activity slips Creating time billing invoices Work in progress

Average Cost, Last Cost, and Standard Cost

Making inventory adjustments

Inventory locations

Recording inventory movements between locations

Auto-building items

Counting inventory Reviewing your inventory information Setting item prices

Customizing inventory

Creating custom price levels Creating custom lists Custom lists and inventory reports Creating brands list Brands list and inventory reports Weight Creating custom fields Creating tags list Tag list and inventory reports

Adding a record

Adding records using Easy-Add

Setting up tax codes Finding a record Changing a record Inactivating or reactivating a record Deleting a record

Combining records

Combining cards Combining accounts

Finding a transaction

Changing or deleting a transaction

Changing a transaction Deleting a transaction

Reversing a transaction

Recurring transactions

Setting up recurring transactions Recording recurring transactions Reminders

Publishing to iCal

Publishing an invoice or purchase to iCal Publishing a recurring transaction to iCal Publishing a reminder log to iCal

International transactions

About the multiple-currency feature

Setting up multiple currencies

Task 1: Select the multiple currency option Task 2: Set up records for foreign currencies Task 3: Create accounts to track foreign-currency transactions Task 4: Assign accounts to foreign currencies Task 5: Assign currencies to foreign customers and vendors

Exchange rates

Tracking currency gains and losses

Tracking realized currency gains and losses Unrealized currency gains and losses

Miscellaneous transactions

Producing reports Printing report batches

Customizing reports

Task 1: Select the data to be printed Task 2: Select the required fields Task 3: Select finishing options Task 4: Change the report format Task 5: Print the report Task 6: Save the report Changing the default fonts on reports Frequently used reports Overview of report details

Finding forms

Sending forms when you record a transaction Sending forms in a batch Advanced filters

Customizing forms

Task 1: Display the form Task 2: Set up form properties Task 3: Add and edit elements Task 4: Preview the customized form Task 5: Save the customized form Task 6: Print the customized form Changing the default fonts on forms

Adding and editing elements

Adding and editing data and label elements Adding and editing graphic elements Editing all elements with common commands

Contact management

Creating a card

Keeping in touch with your contacts

Personalized letters Mailing labels Reminder log Other ways to keep in touch

Grouping your contacts

Identifiers Custom lists

Synchronizing AccountEdge cards with Mac Address Book cards

Deleting cards Resetting the synchronization

Customizing cards

Card identification codes Card pictures

Reviewing your contact information

Financial control

Tracking financial information

Accounts Categories Jobs

Tracking reimbursable expenses

Task 1: Set up a job Task 2: Assign expenses to the job Task 3: Bill the customer Changing the status of a reimbursable expense

Entering budget amounts Budget Shortcuts window

Auditing your records Reviewing financial information

End-of-period procedures

Month-end procedures

Task 1: Run the Company Data Auditor Task 2: Reconcile your bank accounts Task 3: Review reports Task 4: Send customer statements Task 5: Record depreciation Task 6: Pay payroll taxes Task 7: Lock periods

Starting a new fiscal year

Task 1: Complete month-end tasks Task 2: Perform an inventory count Task 3: Provide information to your accountant Task 4: Enter end-of-year adjustments Task 5: Back up your company file Task 6: Start a new fiscal year Task 7: Optimize and verify your company file

Starting a new payroll year

Task 1: Process the last paycheques for the year Task 2: Print year-end payroll forms Task 3: Print payroll reports Task 4: Back up your company file Task 5: Start a new payroll year Task 6: Check that you have the latest tax tables Task 7: Optimize and verify your company file

Managing user accounts and company files

Managing user accounts Backing up and restoring company files

Servicing your company file

Checking your company file for errors Optimizing your company file Purging information that is no longer needed Troubleshooting file-locking problems

Special considerations for networked company files

Preferences in a network environment Preventing data entry while generating reports Storing custom reports on a network Displaying up-to-date information Improving performance

Troubleshooting your company file

Alert messages—company file Alert messages—transactions

Importing and exporting data

Exporting data Exporting to and importing from AccountantLink

Importing Quicken (QIF) files

Managing import and export records AppleScripts

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