Multiple Bank Accounts in QuickBooks

If you use multiple bank accounts for your business, QuickBooks lets you preselect which bank account to use to write checks, pay bills, pay sales tax, or to make deposits. Setting this up in advance makes it unlikely that you will use the wrong account for the wrong task. To choose which default accounts to use:

1. Choose Edit | Preferences from the QuickBooks menu bar.
2. Click the Checking icon on the left pane to open the QuickBooks Checking preferences, and click the My Preferences tab.
3. Check each QuickBooks activity (Write Checks, Pay Bills, Pay Sales Tax, Make Deposits) for which you want to preselect a bank account.
4. To the right of each QuickBooks activity that you have checked, use the pull-down menu to select which bank account to use.

How to Change the Color of QuickBooks Account Registers

In our last newsletter we explained how to change the bank account that was used when a check was inadvertently created in the wrong account. A QuickBooks consultant wrote to tell us that she has clients change the display of the color of the bank registers so they match the color of the physical checks.

To change the color displayed in the bank register, open the register from the Chart of Accounts window. Then choose Edit, Change Account Color from the QuickBooks menu bar. Select a color that matches or comes close to the color of the physical checks. When you open the Write Checks window, the color of the check changes to match the color assigned to the register. Thanks to QuickBooks consultant Liz Fleming for this tip.

How to Fix QuickBooks Bank Balance and Balance Sheet Mismatches

A reader wrote with the following problem: "When I ran this month's balance sheet, the bank balance differed from the amount displayed in the QuickBooks Chart of Accounts window. I ran the report on the last day of the month, so it's not a date difference. I ran the Verify feature and the file is fine. What could cause this problem?"

When this occurs, it almost always means that the bank balance displayed in the COA window includes transactions dated beyond the current date. Open the bank register and look for post-dated transactions (QuickBooks displays a blue line in the register above transactions dated in the future). The bank balance above the blue line should match your balance sheet amount. One common cause is post-dated paychecks, because many bookkeepers prepare payroll at the end of the payroll period and the paycheck date is later than the last date of the payroll period.

How to Remove a Deposit in QuickBooks

A reader wrote that he'd used the Make Deposits window to deposit 11 checks. When he went to the bank he remembered that one of the checks was supposed to be held for a few days before depositing it. He deposited the other 10 checks, and wants to know how to correct the deposit total in QuickBooks.

Use the Previous button on the Make Deposits window to find the deposit (or right-click the deposit listing in the account register and select Edit Deposit). Select the line with the check you didn't deposit and press Ctrl+Del (hold down the Ctrl key while you press the Delete key). That check is removed from the deposit (and will be waiting for you the next time you open the Make Deposits window), and QuickBooks will re-calculate the amount of the deposit so you can reconcile the account at the end of the month.

How to Apply an Undeposited Customer Cash Payment in QuickBooks

A reader wrote to ask how to handle a cash customer payment that her boss kept. She tried to enter a transaction applied to Owner Draw, but the customer's QuickBooks record didn't reflect the payment.

Receive the payment in QuickBooks and make sure the payment is sent to Undeposited Funds. Then, in the Make Deposits window enter a line below the payment, using the Draw account. Enter a minus amount equal to the amount of the customer's payment. Your bank deposit net is zero, the customer is credited with the payment, and the draw is recorded.