QuickBooks is a popular software for business, so it’s no surprise that QuickBooks advice is abundant online. It’s challenging to determine if the advice is helpful, and the consequences of following bad advice can ruin a business.
Learn how to detect good advice from bad and the importance of investing in a QuickBooks professional.
What Happens When You Follow Unreliable QuickBooks Advice
Why is following bad QuickBooks advice so disastrous for businesses?
Financial Errors
The most obvious consequence of listening to dubious QuickBooks advice is that your business will experience financial errors.
A great example is cash-flow problems. If you input numbers incorrectly, you may think you have more money than you do—leading to being short on cash when bills come due.
Conversely, if the financial data underrepresents your profits, you’ll lose opportunities to scale the business.
Wasted Time
Time is a valuable business resource. With the wrong QuickBooks advice, you’ll spend time correcting mistakes and waste time searching for reporting errors.
Compliance Issues
Misusing QuickBooks due to bad advice could lead to more significant problems like compliance issues. Compliance is essential when dealing with financials because compliance standards can change, and not following them can lead to fines and harsh penalties.
Frustration and Stress
Following bad QuickBooks advice will create much stress and frustration for you and your employees. Negative feelings can generate issues within your team, leading to conflicts instead of solutions.
Damaged Business Reputation
Bad Quickbooks advice can damage your company’s reputation and stunt its growth. No one will want to work for or with a company that can’t keep track of its finances correctly. Your business could be seen as unprofessional at best and, at worst, a fraud.
Identifying Trustworthy Sources
With so much at stake, how can you ensure you follow proper QuickBooks advice?
Explore Reputable QuickBooks Websites and Forums
Start at the source: QuickBooks’ official website. The site offers various help pages and forums to discuss technical issues.
Sometimes, the instructions don’t make sense to users unfamiliar with the program, and you may need to use another source. That’s when you can go to trusted financial, business, and accounting sites such as:
- Fourlane
- NerdWallet
- Investopedia
- Forbes
These sites can translate what QuickBooks tries to teach into more understandable instructions. Ensure the site is reputable—they should have certified experts on their team.
Investigate the Credentials and Qualifications of the Source
Anyone can claim they’re an expert, but what specific qualifications should a person offering QuickBooks advice have? Luckily, QuickBooks offers various courses for people to earn certificates proving their knowledge of the software.
These certifications include:
- Online Certified ProAdvisor
- Advanced Online Certified ProAdviser
- Payroll Certified ProAdviser
- Desktop Certified ProAdviser
Cross-Reference with Official Sources
The last step to ensure you’re getting proper QuickBooks advice is to compare the advice you’re reading to the QuickBooks site. If it appears they’re talking about the same thing, just in different words, you’re probably on the right track.
Seeking Professional Guidance
To be 100% sure you’re getting the correct information, consult a QuickBooks professional.
The Benefits of Consulting with Certified QuickBooks Experts
There are many benefits to working with a QuickBooks expert. These include:
- Assurance of getting the correct information
- The ability to use QuickBooks to its fullest potential
- Working on other tasks while your QB expert fixes your software
- Training for your employees
- Getting QuickBooks customized to your needs
Finding and Hiring Certified QuickBooks Consultants
It’s easy to find a QuickBooks consultant. QuickBooks’ official site has a directory to find one in your area. Choose a ProAdvisor to ensure you have someone with foundational software knowledge and the ability to customize it to your needs.
If you want to find a consultant outside the Quickbooks site, look for your potential expert’s ProAdvisor certification on their site.
Working with a QuickBooks Expert Is a Worthy Investment
It’s understandable if you want to try to tackle QuickBooks on your own to save money, but it could cost you in the future. Instead, the more money-saving move is to invest in a partnership with a QuickBooks expert.
Contact Fourlane for expert QuickBooks advice.
