QuickBooks Setup, Training and Support in San Jose, CA

QuickBooks is the right tool for most small businesses in San Jose, and it is also the tool most often set up wrong. Tower Accounting has installed, configured, cleaned up and taught QuickBooks to local business owners since 2000. We do not just install the software and leave. We make sure it is set up for your industry, that you know how to use it, and that someone checks the file so it stays reliable.

Whether you need a brand-new company file, a cleanup of one that stopped balancing, hands-on training for you or your office manager, or a monthly review of the work you do yourself, we handle it from our office on Blue Mountain Drive or on site at your business.

QuickBooks services we provide

• Setup and installation. QuickBooks Online or Desktop, single-user or multi-user, on a standalone computer or a network. Company file, preferences, chart of accounts, lists, banking and reports configured for the way your business actually works.
• Cleanup and file repair. Unreconciled accounts, duplicate customers and vendors, miscategorized transactions, undeposited funds, negative inventory and bloated charts of accounts brought back to a file you can trust.
• One-on-one and group training. At your location in the San Jose area or by screen share, on your own data. Invoicing, bills, bank feeds, sales tax, job costing and the reports that matter for your business.
• Monthly or periodic review. You enter the transactions, we review and reconcile. The most cost-effective option for owners who like to stay close to the numbers.
• Ongoing support. A phone number that gets answered when the bank feed breaks or a report does not make sense.

How a QuickBooks engagement works

1. Assessment. We look at what you have, whether that is nothing, a spreadsheet, or a QuickBooks file from 2017 that has not been reconciled since. We recommend Online or Desktop and tell you what the setup or cleanup will cost.
2. Setup or cleanup. We build or repair the file. For cleanups we work year by year, reconcile every account, and document what was changed.
3. Training. A session with whoever will be doing the daily work, on your file, covering the tasks you actually do. Short written notes are left behind.
4. Ongoing. Choose a monthly review, full bookkeeping, or just a number to call when something goes wrong.

Why setup and training matter

A bad chart of accounts makes every report wrong

QuickBooks ships with a generic chart of accounts. A contractor needs job costing and subcontractor tracking. A restaurant needs food cost, labor and sales tax separated. A trucking operator needs fuel, maintenance and per-mile reporting. When the accounts are set up for the business, the profit and loss statement tells you something. When they are not, it is just a list of numbers.

Bank feeds are a gift and a trap

Connected bank feeds save hours of data entry. They also let an untrained user "accept" a year of transactions into the wrong accounts with one click each. Most of the cleanups we do started with a bank feed and good intentions. Training on how to review a feed, match deposits to invoices, and handle transfers between accounts prevents it.

Unreconciled books are not books

If the bank balance in QuickBooks does not match the bank, nothing downstream can be trusted: not the profit and loss, not the sales tax return, not the tax return. Reconciliation is the step most self-taught users skip, and it is the first thing we check in any file.

Pricing

Setup and cleanup are quoted as a one-time project fee after we see the file. Training is billed by the session. Monthly review and full bookkeeping follow our rate sheet based on monthly transaction count. All quotes are free and given before work starts.

Next steps

If you are starting a business and need the system built from scratch, see new business setup. If the file is beyond saving and you would rather hand the whole thing over, see bookkeeping. Otherwise, call or email and tell us what QuickBooks is doing to you.