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1 "#$%&'((&)*+,-./ 0+1$234-+5#.-) 6(75()+1-,+,-.+289(2-:7$5;"#$%&'((&) JoeWoodard,President CreativeFinancialSoftware,Inc. AdvancedCertifiedQuickBooksProAdvisor Member"IntuitSolutionProviderProgram

2 Intuit scommitmenttotheenvironment WhileIntuithasbeenenvironmentallyconsciousforyears,weofficially wentgreenin2007.ourcorporatesustainabilityprogramfocuseson doingtherightthingfortheenvironmentinawaythateliminateswaste, drivesgrowthforthecompanyandhelpsourcustomersbegreen. Acrossthecompany,we retakingstepstoreduceourcarbonfootprint. We remakingourfacilitiesmoreenergyefficientandwe rereducing employeetravelthroughvideoconferencing.wealsorecognizethere areopportunitiestomakeasignificantimpactontheenvironment throughourproductsandthemillionsofcustomersthatweserve. Oneoftheareaswe veidentifiedasaplacewherewecanmakean impactispaperreduction.in2008,intuitsetagoaltoreducepaperuse byonebillionpiecesofpaperby2011.throughourenvironmental impactstudyin2007,weestimatedthatpaper"savingfeaturesin productsliketurbotax,quickbooks,quickbookspayroll,anddigital Insight sonlinestatementswerehelpingtosavemorethan400million piecesofpaper. Tohelpusreachourpaper"reductiongoalwe recreatingaseriesof publicationsfilledwithtipsthatwillhelpourcustomersreducepaper useandsavemoneywhentheyuseourproducts.andtostartoffonthe rightfoot,weencourageyoutoreadthesepublicationselectronically.

3 HowtosavepaperandmoneywithQuickBooks Tip1:SendandProcessDocumentsElectronically MosteditionsofQuickBooksincludenumeroustoolsthatallowyoutoshareandfileyourcompany s reportsandsalesformselectronically. ingFormstoYourVendorsandCustomers ThefollowingsalesandpurchaseformsallowyoutosendtheprintedformasanAdobeAcrobat document attachedtoan . Estimates SalesOrders Invoices CreditMemos Statements PurchaseOrders YoudonotneedtopurchaseAdobeAcrobattocreatethesedocuments,butyouandyour customers/vendorsmusthaveadobeacrobatreadertoopentheacrobatdocumentsthatquickbooks creates.performthefollowingstepstosendcopiesofformstovendorsandcustomers. YoucanalsosendPaystubsandReportsusingtheSendFormsoptionswithin QuickBooks.Seetheapplicablesectionsbelowformoreinformation. SettingUserandCompanyPreferencesforSendingForms Step1. SelecttheEditdropdownmenu,selectPreferencesandthenselectSendForms. Step2. OntheMyPreferencestab,chooseifyouwanttosendtheformusingMicrosoftOutlookor usingthequickbooks service. a. IfyouchoosetosendtheformsusingMicrosoftOutlookyouhavebettercontrolover theformatting,youcanattachadditionaldocumentstothe beforeyousendand youcanmaintainarecordofthe inyoursentitemsfolderwithinoutlook. However,ifyousendnumerousformselectronicallyonaregularbasisyouwillneedto regularlyarchiveyoursentitemsfoldertokeepthesizeofyouroutlookfile manageable.alternativelyyoucansetupcompanypreferencestoblindcopya designated address(e.g.aspecialbilling address)andusethat accounttostoretheformsyousentandthepeopletowhomyousentthem. b. IfyouchoosetosendtheformsusingtheQuickBooks serviceyouwillnotstorea copyonyourcomputer(e.g.intheoutlooksentitemsfolder).however,youcanstill setupcompany preferencestoautomaticallyblindcopyanadministrative

4 addressandstorethesentformsusingthat address asstatedabove.thisoption alsoallowsyoutosendformswithoutoutlookinstalledorconfiguredonthelocal computer"withonlyaninternetconnection.thereisnofeeforthisservice. Step3. ClicktheCompanyPreferencestabtosetthedefault messagethecustomer/vendorwill receivewhenyousendtheform.noticebelowthatyouusethesepreferencestosetthedefault messagefor edreportsandpaystubsaswell.seethesectionsbelowformore informationabout ingthesedocuments.whenyouaredone,clickoktosaveyour changesandtoclosethepreferenceswindow.

5 SettingthePreferredSendMethodforCustomers Tosetthepreferredsendmethodforacustomer,opentheEditCustomerwindowandselectE"mailin the PreferredSendMethod fieldasshownbelow.whenyouselecte"mailasthepreferredsend method,quickbookswillautomaticallycheckthe Tobee"mailed boxwhenyouusethiscustomer s nameonestimates,salesordersorinvoices. SendingaSingleFormtoaSingleCustomerorVendor Step1. Openthesalesorpurchaseformyouwishtosendelectronicallyandcompletetheform normally.whentheformisreadyforyourcustomer/vendor,proceedtostep2.forthis examplewewilluseaninvoiceform,butyoucanperformthesestepsusinganyoftheformsin thebulletedlistabove. Step2. Atthetopoftheform,clickSend.QuickBookswillautomaticallyopenMicrosoftOutlook(orwill launchthequickbooks service,dependingonthepreferencesyouselectedabove).

6 Step3. YoumayseethewindowshownbelowaboutusingMicrosoftOutlooktosendQuickBooks forms.ifso,readthecontentandthenclickclosetoproceed. Step4. QuickBooksopensMicrosoftOutlookandcreatesthe shownbelow.Youcanmodifyanyof thefieldsinthe andyoucanattachadditionalfilesifyouwishtodoso.

7 SendingFormstoNumerousCustomersorVendorsasaBatch Step1. Tosendnumerousformsasasinglebatch,completetheinputontheformandwhenitisready foryourcustomer/vendorclick Tobee"mailed. Then,savetheform.Thisexampleusesan Invoiceform. Step2. Tosendthebatchofformsyouhavetwooptions.YoucanselecttheSendbuttondropdown menuandthenselectsendbatch.

8 QuickBookswillopenthe SelectFormstoSend windowshownbelow.alternativelyyoucan selectthefiledropdownmenuandselectsendforms.quickbookswilldisplaythesame window shownbelow. Step3. Selecttheformsyouwishtosendasabatchandthenclick SendNow. UsingQuickBooksOnlineBillingServicetoSendSalesFormstoCustomersandReceive PaymentsElectronically ThisoptionisavailabletoQuickBooksuserswhohaveaQuickBooksMerchantAccount only.additionalfeesmayapply.youcan invoicesthroughmicrosoftoutlookifyou useonlinebilling,butyouneedquickbooks2008orlatertodoso. Youcanbepaidonlineviacreditcardfromany edinvoicewhenyousignupforaQuickBooks MerchantServiceaccount.E"mailedcustomersclickonalinkinthee"mailtogoonlineandpay you.yourcustomerscanalsopayusingacustomerportal an addressthatisuniquetoyour company.onlinepaymentcanbefundedfasterandwithamuchsmallerenvironmentalfootprint becausethereisnomailingorcheckfloattime.considerthattheelectronicpaymentmethodreduces theuseofpaperandmailtransitfornotonlyyourinvoicetothecustomerbutalsothecustomer s paymenttoyou.youcanthendownloadthepaymentintoquickbooksandmatchittotheappropriate invoice.youcangivecustomersaccesstotheirownpersonalizedandpassword"protectedwebpage (i.e.customerportal)wheretheycanpayinvoices,viewbillinghistory,submitinquiries,etc.your customerscansaveacreditcardnumbertomakerecurringpaymentsorpaymentsonfutureinvoices fasterandeasier.

9 ToenrollinOnlineBillingSolutions(andQuickBooksMerchantServices)opentheCreateInvoice window,selectthesendbuttondropdownmenuandthenselectbillingsolutionsoptions.then,follow thepromptsonthewindowstoopenaquickbooksmerchantservicesaccountandtoenrollinonline BillingSolutions. UsingElectronicDataInterchange(EDI)toSendandReceiveElectronicDocumentswith CustomersandVendors IntuitpartneredwithTrueCommerceEDI.AdditionalfeestouseEDIarealwaysinvolved. Variouspricingpackagesareavailabledependingonhowmanydocumentsyousend eachmonth.ifyouusequickbooksenterprisesolutions9.0thereisnocostforthe TrueCommerceTransactionManager.Ifyouuseanyotherversionoreditionof QuickBookstheTransactionManagercosts$795.ContactTrueCommerceEDIformore informationaboutusingediwithquickbooks. ElectronicDataInterchange(EDI)isasetofstandardsthatcollectivelyprovideacommonprotocolor syntaxfortransactingbusinessdocumentselectronically.inessence,ediistoelectroniccommerceas grammaristoverbalcommunication.itisasetofrulesandguidelinesthatareappliedwhendeveloping andimplementingsoftwareandservicesdesignedtotransmitbusinessdocumentselectronically.justas agroupofindividualswithdiversebackgroundscanuseacommonlanguage(suchasenglish)to conversewitheachother,ediprovidesacommon"language"thatenablesbusinesseswithdissimilar computer"basedbusinesssystemstocommunicatewitheachother. CompaniesthatareEDIenabledcansendandreceivebusinessdocuments,suchaspurchaseordersand invoiceselectronicallywiththeirtradingpartners(customersorvendors).insimpleterms,edienables thecomputersystemofonecompanyto"talk"tothecomputersystemofanothercompanyand digitallyexchangedata.becausethisdigitalexchangeofdataisfacilitatedusingcomputers,mostifnot alloftheassociatedbusinessprocesses(suchasdatapopulationandverification)canbeautomatedso thattheyoccurwithlittleornomanualintervention. EDIisnotthesameasaWebsiteorusedtotransferfunds.AlthoughEDIcanbeconsideredaformof electroniccommerce,itshouldn tbeconfusedwithaweb"basedstorefront,norisitanelectronicfunds transfer(eft)solution.however,acompanythathasanonlinestorecanuseeditoexchangeorders andinvoiceswiththeirsuppliers,andfinancialinstitutionswillsometimesuseeditoexchange documentsthatrequestorconfirmfundtransferswiththeirclients.

10 AlthoughdeployingEDIcanbeveryadvantageous,theimpetusformostcompaniestoimplementEDI typicallycomesfromalargetradingpartnerwhomandatestheuseofediasarequirementofdoing businesswiththem.that'sbecauseedicanonlybeappliedtobusinessrelationshipswhereboththe sellerandthebuyerareedienabled.mostsmalltomid"tiercompaniesarenotabletomandatetheuse ofediamongtheirtradingpartners,butoftentheirlargercustomersorsuppliersarealreadyusingedi. However,aslongasyouhaveatradingpartnerwhoisEDIenabled,youcanreaptheadvantagesthat EDIprovides. DownloadingBankStatementsintoQuickBooks MostfinancialinstitutionsallowyoutodownloadstatementinformationforimportintoQuickBooks. Youcanthenmatchthedownloadedinformationtoanydirectinputyouhaveentered.Thisprocessis similartostatementreconciliation,butunlikethetraditionalreconciliationyoudonotreceiveamailed, paperstatement.withthisserviceyoulogontoyourfinancialinstitution sonlinebankingsite,access youraccountinformation,downloadafiletoyourharddriveandthenimportthefileintoquickbooks. Thisoption calledwebconnect isusuallyfreeandallowsyoutoimportinformationintoquickbooks butnotsendquickbooksinformationtoyourfinancialinstitution. Manybankinginstitutionsalsoallowyoutouse DirectConnect. Thisoptionallowsyoutobothsend andreceivedata.alsotheprocessofimportingstatementinformationintoquickbooksismucheasierto manageanddoesnotrequireyoutologintoyouronlineaccounteachtime.youcanusethisservice withmanyfinancialinstitutionstotransferfundsbetweenaccounts,sendpayment inquiries/cancellationstoprocessbillpaymentsandmore.however,manybankinginstitutionscharge feesforthismethod.ifyouwanttousethisoptioncontactyourfinancialinstitutiondirectlytoseewhat fees,ifany,mayapply. Tosetupeitherofthetwoconnectionsabove,accessyourcompanyfileinQuickBooksandselectthe Bankingdropdownmenu,selectOnlineBankingandselectSetUpAccountforOnlineServices.Follow thepromptsinthesetupwizardshownabelow.

11 GeneralTip:EvenifyoudonotdownloadstatementinformationintoQuickBooks, almosteveryfinancialinstitutionallowsyoutoviewstatementinformationonlineand topaybillsonline.withonlinebankingaccessyoucanoftenchoosetostopreceiving paperstatementsandcanreducetheamountofpaperchecksyouprint. PayingVendorsUsingOnlineBillPay TheeasiestwaytopaybillselectronicallyisthroughIntuit squickbooksbillpayservice.thisservice allowsyouto: MakepaymentstoanycompanyorindividualintheU.S. Establishinternalbusinesscontrolsforcreating,reviewingandsendingpayments Includeinvoiceandcreditmemodetailswithpaymentstoobtainpropercreditfromvendors Aggregatemultipleoutstandinginvoicesorbillsfromavendorintoasinglebillpayment Tousethisfeature,youwritechecksasyounormallywoulddoinQuickBooks.Then,insteadofselecting TobePrinted, select OnlineBankPayment andchoosethedateonwhichyouwouldlikethe paymentdelivered.(youneedtoallowuptofourdaysforprocessing.)thefeatureworkswithbill paymentsinmuchthesameway.then,yousendthepaymentsfromtheonlinebankingcenterwithin QuickBooksandtheservicewillpaythebillsbythedeliverydate. Therearefeesassociatedwithusingthisfeature.Theservicecurrentlycosts$15.95permonthforupto 20paymentsand$6.95foreachadditionalsetof10payments.OnlineBillPaywillprobablysave you moneywhenyouconsiderthecostofcheckstock,toner/ink,stampsandadministrativeprocessing time.thebenefittotheenvironmentissimplyonefactorforyouwhenconsideringthisservice. Formoreinformationandfora30dayfreetrial(currentlyavailable),openyourcompanyfilein QuickBooks.Then,selecttheBankingdropdownmenu,selectOnlineBankingandselectLearnAbout OnlineBillPayment. Tip2:UseaPaperlessFilingSystem Everybusinessneedstofileaccountingreportsandcopiesofsalesandpurchaseforms.Keeping accurate,thoroughfilesisessentialtorunningyourbusinesseffectively.afewexamplesinclude: FilingmonthlyaccountingreportsliketheBalanceSheet,Profit&LossandGeneralLedger Filingcopiesofcustomerinvoiceswithassociatedpaymentinformation Filingcopiesofvendorbillswithassociatedpaymentinformation Copiesofsalestaxreturns,payrolltaxreturns/formsandincometaxreturns AboutthePaperlessOfficeConcept Tosavepaper(andofficespace)itisbesttoshifttoanelectronicstoragemethodforasmuchofyour filingaspossible.therearenumerouspaperlessfilingguidesyoucanfindonline.youcanstartyour searchforonlinematerialwiththearticleonthe PaperlessOffice atwww.wikipedia.org.thearticle definesthepaperlessofficeconceptasa philosophytoworkwithminimalpaperandconvertallforms

12 ofdocumentationtoadigitalform.theidealisdrivenbyanumberofmotivatorsincludingproductivity gains,costsavings,theneedtoquicklyshareinformationandthepositiveimpactontheenvironment. Allofthesebenefitsarepowerfulmotivators,butwithinthecontextofthisarticle,thepaperlessoffice hasatremendouslypowerfulbenefitontheenvironment especiallyasmoreandmorebusinesses adoptthephilosophy. Considertheenvironmentalimpactofnotonlythepaperyouuseandthepaperthatyourcustomers andvendors/suppliersusebutalsothecarbon"emittingresourcesandfossilfuelconsumptioninvolved inmovingbusinessdocumentsfromonepartytoanother orbetweenmultiplelocationsownedby yourcompany. GeneralPaper"SavingTip ElectronicFaxing:Thebusinesswordisgrowingmoreand moreindependentoffaxingtechnology.however,therearetimeswhenfaxingis advantageousorevenessentialwhentransferringcopiesofdocumentsandreports.use Toreducepaperuseforboththesenderandreceiver,useanelectronicfaxingservice. Anelectronicfaxingserviceroutesincomingfaxestooneormore addressesso thereisnouseofpaperorink/toneronyourpart.youcanalsouseelectronicfaxing servicestosendfaxesdirectlyfromyourdesktop(e.g.aprintedquickbooksinvoiceora MicrosoftWordlettertoacustomerorvendor). ThereareseveraltoolsthatallowyoutoeasilyadaptQuickBooksinformationtoapaperless environment. FileReportsasExcelFiles Withthereportdisplayed,clicktheExportbuttonandexportthereporttoaMicrosoftExcelworkbook. Then,youcansavetheworkbooktoanyharddriveonyourlocalnetwork.Ifyouprefer,youcaneven exportreportstoexistingexcelworkbooks.forexample,youcanhaveasingleexcelworkbookcalled Profit&LossandthencreatenewsheetseachtimeyouexportamonthlyProfit&LossreporttoExcel.

13 SavetheReportasanAdobeAcrobatFile WiththereportdisplayedselecttheFiledropdownmenuandthenselectSaveasPDF.Youcanthen browsetoafolderwhereyouwanttostoretheadobeacrobat(pdf)fileforfuturereference. GeneralPaperlessTip:Whenyouworkwithelectronicallystoreddocumentsand reports,itisbesttousetwomonitorsatyourworkstation.ononemonitorshow QuickBooks(orwhateverapplicationyouwouldnormallydisplayonthescreen)andon thesecondmonitordisplaytheelectronicallystoreddocument(sourcedocument). Tip:EnhanceDocumentStoragewithaThirdPartyApplication:Thereareseveral applicationsdesignedtoworkwithquickbooksthatenhanceyourabilitytoefficiently storepaperlesssourcedocumentsandreports.gotowww.marketplace.intuit.comfor moreinformation.

14 Tip3:GoPaperlesswithPayroll Payrollprocessing,filingandformpreparationcancauseextremelyhighpaperuseandcancauseother environmentalfootprintslikeusingmaildeliveryforpaychecks,employeew2sandforpayrollforms. QuickBookshasseveralinproducttoolsthatcanreducetheentirepayrollprocesstoapaperlessfiling andelectronicdeliverysystem. UsingElectronicTimecardsandTimesheets Thebeginningofthepayrollprocessisthesubmissionofanemployee stime forhourlyemployees.if youneedtotrackspecifichourstospecificjobsortoprovidetheaccountabilityofatimecardsystem youhavetwooptions: TimeTracker TimeTrackerisanonlinetimesheetapplication designedbyintuit thatallowsyouremployeesto enterthetimeworkedforeachdayoftheweek,toenteranoteaboutwhattimetheyworked,toselect theserviceitemassociatedwiththeworkperformedandtoallocateeachtimeentrytoacustomeror job.thistoolisespeciallyhelpfulforaprofessionalservicecompanyorcontractedlaborservicethat needstobillthetimeworkedtospecificclients/customers.however,evenifyoudonotneedtobilla customerforthespecifichoursworked,youcanstilldownloadthetimeintoquickbookstocreate paychecksforeachemployee.formoreinformationselecttheemployeesmenu,selecttimeactivities andthenselectletyouremployeesentertime.additionalfeesapply,buta30dayfreetrialiscurrently available. CorrigoTimeCardforIntuitPayroll ThisproductisdesignedbyCorrigoinpartnershipwithIntuit.Thistoolhasallofthesametimetracking abilitiesastimetracker,butaddstheaccountabilityofatraditionaltimecardmachine.thisisaperfect paperlessoptionifyouneedemployeestologstartandstoptimesusingemployeeidcards.goto PayingEmployeeswithDirectDeposit YoucansetupdirectdepositforselectedemployeesusinganyeditionofQuickBooks(SimpleStartand above)withanypayrollservice(basicpayrollandabove).opentheeditemployeewindow,select PayrollandCompensationInfo andthenclickdirectdeposit.enterinformationforuptotwobank accountsonthewindowshownbelow.pertransactionfeesapply(currently.99perpaycheck).formore informationgotowww.quickbooks.com/payrollorcall866"820"6382.

15 WhenyousubmitpaychecksusingDirectDeposityouwillstillneedtoprovidecheckstubinformationto eachemployee foreachpaycheck.youcansendpaystubstoeachemployeeelectronicallyasadobe AcrobatfilesandyoucandosodirectlywithinQuickBooks.SelecttheFiledropdownmenu,selectSend FormsandthenchoosePaystubsontheSendFormswindow.Toincreasesecurity,yousendelectronic paystubsusingintuit ssecure service.asaresult,thereisnoacrobatcopyofthepaystubsstored intheuser soutlookdatafileoronanyharddriveonyournetwork. BroaderEnvironmentalPerspective:Usingdirectdepositreducesthecheckstockyou purchase(lesspaper),theshippingprocesstodeliverthecheckstocktoyou(lesscarbon emissions),theneedforyouremployeestotraveltotheirbankstodepositthechecks (lesscarbonemissions)andtheneedforthebanktoprovideprintedreceiptsforeach depositmade(lesspaper). FilingandSubmittingPayrollFormsElectronically QuickBooksallowsyoutoelectronicallyfilepayrollformslikethequarterlyForm941andtheannual Form940.YoucanfilealmostallstatepayrollformsdirectlyfromQuickBooksaswell.Tousethis featureyoumusthavequickbooksenhancedpayrollorenhancedpayrollforaccountants.youcanalso savecopiesoftheseformsinadobeacrobatordisplaytheformsatanytimeforfuturereference.this featurereducesthepaperyouusetoprintthegovernmentandtofilecopiesofeachform.youalso reducethenegativeenvironmentalfootprintinvolvedinmailingtheformstoeachgovernmentagency. PayingPayrollLiabilitiesElectronically QuickBooksallowsyoutosubmitpaymentstotheIRSandalmostallstaterevenueagencies electronically directlyfromquickbooks.tousethisfeatureyoumusthavequickbooksenhanced PayrollorEnhancedPayrollforAccountants.Aswithdirectdeposit,thereductionintheuseofprinted checkshasamulti"facedpositiveimpactontheenvironment.seethenoteaboveforallpossible environmentalfootprintsinvolvedintheuseofprintedcheckstock. Note:AllofthepaperlessoptionsabovearealsoavailableusingAssistedPayroll.With AssistedPayrollyouprocesspayrollusingQuickBooks,withthecompleteabilitytoedit paycheckdetailasyouwouldnormallydousingbasicorenhancedpayrollservices.

16 However,afteryoupreparethepaychecks,youclickasinglebuttontosendthepayroll datatointuit,andintuitmanagesthedirectdeposits,payrolltaxpayments,and quarterly/annualpayrollforms Federalandall50states. Tip4:UseQuickBooksRemoteAccess QuickBooksRemoteAccess poweredbywebex allowsyou(oranyonewiththeproperlogin information)toconnecttoyourquickbooksdatafromanyweb"enabledpc.youcanusethistechnology toreducetraveltimefortimeyou,youremployeesandyourbusinessconsultants.forexample,you can: Accesskeymanagementreportsthatyouneedinordertoworkfromhomeintheevenings, weekendsandholidayswhenyouwouldn tnormallytraveltotheoffice. Allowyouraccountingprofessional(e.g.CPA,ProAdvisor,bookkeeper,etc.)toaccessyour QuickBooksdatatoanalyzetheconditionofyouraccountinginformation,toprocesskey reports,toperformbookkeepingresponsibilitieslikebankreconciliationsoreventopreparethe company spayrollformselectronically.note:theperformanceofquickbooksremoteaccessis comparabletoothernotableremotedesktopapplications.however,duetotheslightlylonger responsetimeofthesetypesofutilitiesitmaynotbethebestoptionforprocessingnumerous transactionsinquickbooks(e.g.enteringdetailedinvoicesorbills).tip:whenyouneedtoenter largeamountsofdatafromaremotelocation,considerusingwindowsremotedesktopor WindowsTerminalServices.ContactyourITprofessionalformoreinformationaboutthese options. Transferlargefiles(e.g.QuickBooksBackupsorPortableCompanyFiles)toandfromremote locations.sinceverylargefilesaredifficultto ,youcanusethiselectronictransferoption asanalternativetoshippingaflashdriveorotherremovablemediastoragedevice. FormoreinformationaboutQuickBooksRemoteAccessgotowww.QuickBooks.comandsearchfor OtherProducts&Services.