"Flying by the seat of your pants," is not a phrase that should refer to how one runs their business. Unfortunately, it seems to describe all too many companies.

The good news is that the 4.5 million QuickBooks users and their accountants can take steps to work more efficiently with QuickBooks to get a solid grasp of a business' financial health.

"With so many small businesses using QuickBooks, most CPAs are having to deal with inaccurate, incomplete or inconsistent data they get from their clients," said Doug Sleeter, founder of The Sleeter Group, a large QuickBooks consultant. "That presents all sorts of problems. Obviously, it's hard to prepare a tax return from bad data, so a lot of CPAs find themselves in the business of cleaning up the QuickBooks data files from their clients. The core of the problem is that the clients were never really properly trained on how to put data in [QuickBooks]."

There are several ways that CPAs and their clients can work better with QuickBooks, including a regular review of client data and utilizing remote access tools, but, as Sleeter indicated, having the correct set-up and training from the beginning ensures that users get off on the right foot.

There are many training options, whether it be finding a small classroom environment at a local college or signing up for a virtual training course. But Joe Woodard, president of The Woodard Consulting Group, is a big proponent of one-on-one training in a client's office. "The cost may be three times as high, but the value is 10 times as high," he said.

However, if a client does opt for training at a local college, Woodard advises selecting a hands-on course that uses a textbook and has homework and case studies.

"Invest in some professional guidance and get set up and going properly," said Scott Gregory, president of Ohio-based Bottom Line Accounting Solutions, who noted that hiring qualified staff to enter data into QuickBooks is also important.

Regularly reviewing a client's data is critical. You don't want to find out at the end of the year that a significant mistake has been made and it could have been resolved had it been caught earlier on. To help avoid such issues, experts recommend that an accounting professional be involved on a regular basis and review data files at least quarterly, if not monthly or weekly.

REMOTE AND HOSTED CONTROL

Perhaps the easiest and most efficient way to stay involved in the client's data and to resolve any QuickBooks questions or issues that may arise is to take advantage of remote access tools, such as GoToMyPC, QuickBooks Remote Access, or to use a QuickBooks hosting company to host the client's data in the "cloud." Taking advantage of remote access tools and logging into a client's desktop enables accounting professionals to review client data or resolve issues within QuickBooks, eliminating the time wasted driving to and from a client's office.

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