QuickBooks 2024 All-in-One For Dummies
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Keeping track of your accounting with QuickBooks Simple Start means organizing your debits and credits, applying user interface tips, using calculating and editing tricks, working efficiently with keyboard shortcuts, and right-clicking on your mouse to perform basic tasks in QuickBooks Simple Start.

Keeping track of your debits and credits

To keep track of your debits and credits in QuickBooks Simple Start, remember that the left (debit) is the natural balance for asset accounts, and the right (credit) is the natural balance for liability and owner’s equity accounts.

Assets = Liabilities  + Owner’s Equity. (The exceptions are contra accounts and expense accounts that add or deduct from other accounts to form a net amount.)

Account Type Debits Credits
Assets Increase asset accounts Decrease asset accounts
Liabilities Decrease liability accounts Increase liability accounts
Owner’s equity Decrease owner’s equity accounts Increase owner’s equity accounts
Income Decrease income accounts Increase income accounts
Expenses Increase expense accounts Decrease expense accounts

Keyboard shortcuts

When you’re working in QuickBooks Simple Start, take advantage of keyboard shortcuts for efficiency. Although they may take a while to internalize, keyboard shortcuts can save you a lot of time. This guide represents the PC keys to press and the action that occurs:

Press This PC Shortcut And QuickBooks Does This
Alt Activates the menu bar so you can select command names by
pressing the underlined letter in the menu or command name
Alt+F4 Exits the QuickBooks program
Ctrl+A Displays the Chart of Accounts window
Ctrl+C Copies your selection to the clipboard
Ctrl+D Within a register window, deletes the selected transaction
Ctrl+E Within a register window, opens the selected transaction so you
can edit it
Ctrl+F Displays the Find window
Ctrl+G Goes to the other side of a transfer transaction
Ctrl+I Displays the Create Invoice window
Ctrl+J Displays the Customer list window
Ctrl+ N When you’re working with a window—such as the
Create Invoices window or the Write Checks window—displays an
empty, fresh window so you can add a new transaction
Ctrl+V Pastes the contents of the clipboard
Ctrl+X Moves your selection to the clipboard
Ctrl+Z Undoes your last action — usually
Ctrl+Ins Inserts a line into a list of items or expenses
Ctrl+Del Deletes the selected line from a list of items or expenses

Right-click to perform common tasks

To perform a common task related to a window, transaction, or item in QuickBooks Simple Start, you can use the right mouse button to display a shortcut menu. For example, right-clicking often displays commands for deleting or voiding the transaction, or creating a QuickReport on the transaction. The commands vary depending on the type of transaction you select or the window you’ve right-clicked:

  • In a register, select and right-click a specific transaction

  • In a list, right-click an item

  • In a form, display a transaction and right-click a blank area of the form.

  • In a list window, right-click somewhere inside the window.

Some user interface tricks

Working your way through QuickBooks Simple Start is easier when you use these tricks to navigate through the QuickBooks Simple Start program and interact with the system’s displays. Here are a few user interface tips:

  • To get help, press the F1 function key. QuickBooks starts the Help program and shows you information about the part of the QuickBooks program you’re working in.

  • To move quickly to a specific list box entry, press the letter.

  • To select a list box entry and choose a dialog box’s suggested command button, double-click the entry.

  • To move the insertion point to the beginning of a field, press Home.

  • To move the insertion point to the end of a field, press End.

  • To move to another program, click the other program’s button on the Windows task bar. To move back to the QuickBooks program, click the QuickBooks task bar button.

  • To minimize the QuickBooks program window (so you can see or work with whatever is underneath the QuickBooks program window), click the Minimize button in the upper-right corner of the Quickbooks program window. The minimize window shows a picture of a task bar button.

Some calculation and editing tricks

These Quickbooks Simple Start tips can help you work easily through math calculations if you’re in the amount field, and editing the day if you’re in the date field. Here’s a guide for help:

If the selection cursor is on amount field, you can use these symbol keys to make calculations:

Press What Happens
+ To add the number you just typed to the next number you
type
To subtract the next number you type from the number you just
typed
* To multiply the number you just typed by the next number you
type
/ To divide the number you just typed by the next number you
type

If the selection cursor is on a date field, you can use these tricks to edit the date:

Press What Happens
+ Adds one day to the date shown
t Replaces the date shown with today’s date
Subtracts one day from the date shown
y Changes the date to the first day in the year
r Changes the date to the last day in the year
m Changes the date to the first day in the month
h Changes the date to the last day in the month

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