We have scheduled our Quickbooks class for February 22nd - March 15th. Classes will be Monday evenings, 5-7 pm, at BetaLoft in downtown Salt Lake City.
 
To register, please fill out the registration form (links below) and submit it with payment to alex@backyardbookkeeper.com. If you are unable to email, please call (801) 583-0272 for other options.

A few weeks ago, one of our clients told us she wished Quickbooks classes were offered somewherelocally and we are happy to oblige! We would like to start holding classes as early as February or March. If you or someone you know could benefit from a class about using and customizing Quickbooks for your business, please send Alex an email with your contact information, and we will let you know when classes begin.

*The email is only to let us know you are interested. We will send you information about how to enroll as soon as the classes are scheduled.

One of the first things I do when I sit down at someone's computer to review their Quickbooks file is open up the Preferences window and turn off the Live Community feature. (Edit Menu --> Desktop View --> My Prefs) Otherwise, that window pops up automatically every time you open the program, slowing down your computer and cluttering your desktop.

This post is dedicated to @angiedelong and other professionals who dabble in Twitter but need some clarification.

We have a few announcements to make.
 
First, thank you to all who applied for the bookkeeping position. We enjoyed the interviews immensely, and look forward to next time.
 
Second, welcome to our new bookkeeper, Shantel! You can read about her on our About Page. She joined us a week ago, and so far her work has been excellent.
 
Third, our free Quickbooks setup/audit program has been a success so far. We didn't make any money (that wasn't our intent), but we formed some great new relationships, and I scored some really wonderful soap. 

You might already have an in-house bookkeeper, but doesn’t it complicate things when they have to go out of town or want to take some vacation and you fall behind? Or maybe you are usually fine doing all the accounting yourself, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a backup plan for when you are overwhelmed with work or have to deal with personal crises?

Yesterday we went to one of a free workshop put on by Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Education company. I enjoyed Rich Dad, Poor Dad; it makes a great point about how we are preconditioned to think in certain ways about money and financial success, so I was hoping to learn something new and liberating. I was sadly disappointed.

I had a fun conversation with my sister on Skype this morning:
Lisa: Have you unpacked the boxes in your office yet?
Julie: Yes, the file cabinet is done
Lisa: *pat* on your back
Julie: Some stuff ended up in a laundry basket, though :-/
Lisa: I think the laundry basket thing is a disease
Julie: then it’s a GENETIC disease [our mom always used laundry baskets to organize projects]
Lisa: I know I think I’ve conquered it though
Although I just looked over and realized I have a laundry basket with junk in it
Alas
Julie: :D Not cured, then

I found a post on twitter today (via @robicser) about a free download that may interest you--the Quickbooks 2009 For Dummies guide by Stephen Nelson. I didn't find anything online to suggest the download is unauthorized, so I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity. I intend to read it myself, in case there are some shortcuts I haven't discovered yet. The book applies to all versions of 2009 Quickbooks (Simple Start, Pro, Premier, etc.). See links below.

These days, everyone is talking about how to cut costs: lay off employees, decrease operating expenses, and pay off debts. It's the primary strategy businesses are using to survive the recession, but it has the unfortunate effect of filtering through to all sectors of the economy. For example, as a manufacturer's financial situation worsens, they have to lay off employees. Since the employees have less money, they spend less at the store. The store buys less product from the manufacturer because revenues are down, so the manufacturer continues to lose money and has to cut costs again, i.e.