QuickBooks and Marketing Part 1

When you see the word QuickBooks you usually don't think of the word marketing.  Did you know that Quickbooks is a great tool that helps when it comes to marketing.

Here are just a few tools within Quickbooks 2012 and some you will find in Quickbooks 2011  that can help business owners when it comes to Marketing with your small business.

1) The Lead Center- A great place to go to put information on your lead, look at status of the lead, the lead can be converted to a customer within QuickBooks, also the capability to make notes and have a to do list.

2)  The Calendar - Nice Addition that keeps track of meetings, to do list, bills to be paid , leads to follow up on and so much more

3)  Track a Marketing Campaign- See how much sales a specific marketing campaign brought to your business and it can even be tracked over a specific time period. Great feature to learn about if you are Quickbooks user.

4)  Customer Snapshot-  See what service or product that has been the most popular with a specific customer.  Also important information like sales history and how long  they have been a client.

These are just few of many features that can help you with your marketing efforts.  Have you tried any of these features?

These features work great for small business we currently use all of these features in our firm and really appreciate the results we see from having Quickbooks 2012 with some of these current features.  We also have been sharing how to use these features with our Quickbooks clients.  Learning how to use them effectively and as part of your daily routine can help you greatly and see results that will help you grow your business.

Going for the Gold with a Quickbooks Coach

The Olympics makes me think about going for the gold and how having a coach is one part of helping them in achieving that Gold.  We normally don't think that we need a coach for success when it comes to Quickbooks.  Here are some key reasons that those that are currently using Quickbooks or those who are new to Quickbooks can benefit from a Quickbooks Coach.  Some may sound very similar to why athletes have coaches to help them:

1) Zero in on how to do things better.  Take a look at what you are currently doing if you are not a Quickbooks user or if you are Quickbooks user there are things that can be done with improvement. There may be things that can be done easier or more efficiently.  Features that you may not be using that can help you improve your Quickbooks Experience and Results.  

2)  Look at where there are problems.   There are times  we are doing things that are not correct and we need to learn the correct way.  If things are not done correctly in Quickbooks just like in a sport it will throw off the results.  Having a Quickbooks Coach analyze your Quickbooks can help you with better results.  

3)Accountability is very important, practice , regular communication and brainstorming to help you stay on track.  This can be key to Quickbooks Success.  Having someone there to see how things are going and talk about what is going well and what is going not so well.  This is a Quickbooks  Partner that is there to cheer you on to move you forward in Quickbooks knowledge.

4)  See clear results when you have a Quickbooks Coach they will help you determine what you want your results to be.  Olympic Athletes have the goal of to have the result of a Gold medal. The coach will set a plan to help guide them to get there to the goal of gold.   When you get the results within Quickbooks it can help you plan your business and set goals for your business to reach the success so you can see the numbers like you may have never looked at them before.  

Maria Smith and David Smith, CPA are Certified Quickbooks ProAdvisors that have coached small business owners to helping them toward their gold.  They offer Quickbooks Starter Packages, monthly Quickbooks Coaching, Quickbooks Analysis & Tune Ups,  Training for Small business owners and their employees.   

What is a Daily Money Manager ?

Joe is living independently in a Senior Apartment and has no immediate family just a relative that was helping him who now lives in a nursing home.  Joe has trouble with his vision and writing is a bit difficult for him. Joe needs help with his budgeting, bill paying and mail sorting since this is very difficult for him.  His daily money manager visits Joe monthly and discusses his finances, helps pay bills, go over mail received, reminds him  not to  disclose any information when it comes to finances over the phone or if someone comes to his door, also she helps him maintain his budget for daily needs like grocery shopping and personal care items.  His daily money manager also works behind the scenes to monitor his finances and answer any mail requests for him.  Working with a daily money manager gives Joe the ability to know his finances and also make sure that his bills are paid promptly so he can remain in his apartment and to keep up his supplemental insurance and keep his utilities on.  Also his daily money manager makes sure he has enough money for his weekly prescriptions that change weekly and is monitored weekly by a visiting RN.

This is just one example where a daily money manager can be vital in keeping an individual living independently and safely. Maria Smith is Joe's daily money manager at dcs Accounting & Tax  she finds her extensive  experience in Geriatric Social Work  so important when she is working with her clients like Joe.

Daily Money managers also help busy professionals, professionals that may be away for extended period of time, military families, by helping with  bill paying, budgeting, record-keeping, bookkeeping and mail sorting. Also she helps newlyweds set up a budget  and a plan to help them get started with financial direction.

If you wish to learn more about our daily money management Service contact Maria Smith at dcs Accounting & Tax (610)838-1903.