| The EasyStep Interview establishes your company file in QuickBooks and sets up basic lists, which you can populate with your company information. Although you can start using QuickBooks as soon as you complete the brief interview, you will need to set aside time if you want to enter any historical information that needs to be included on your company financial statements. This historical information can include information from the first day of this year to the current date, as well as last year's data for purposes of creating comparative reports. You can save yourself a lot of time and frustration when setting up your company in QuickBooks by using this checklist to organize your data before you begin the setup process. Gather the company information that you want to enter in QuickBooks, and you're ready to start the QuickBooks EasyStep Interview. Keep in mind the fact that you don't have to go back to the beginning of time to enter in QuickBooks every transaction since the day your company started business. See the information following this section, titled "Choosing a Start Date" for some pointers on how to decide how much information you're going to put in your QuickBooks file. Complete company name Including d/b/a name, address, and type of business. Note also the type of tax return your company files (partnership, C corporation, S corporation, proprietorship, and so on). Federal Identification Number. Start date Determine the date on which you want your first company information to be tracked in QuickBooks. Complete company information, including all balance sheet amounts, should be entered as of the start date. Bank statements and cancelled checks from the start date to the present. Chart of accounts If it's available; otherwise, use a listing of the categories into which you group your company's income and expense transactions. Customer list This includes all the people and companies with whom you regularly do business and whom you want to track in QuickBooks. Include as much of the following information as possible: name, address, telephone number, fax number, personal contact, ship-to address, sales tax status, payment terms you typically apply to each customer, and current jobs on which you are working for each customer. Inventory list This includes all the items you sell, including a description of each inventory item, your cost of each item, the standard sales price of each item, the preferred supplier for each item, the quantity of each item currently on hand, and the number of each item at which a reorder request needs to be issued. Details of all amounts you owe as of the start date This includes the name of the person or company to whom the money is owed and the amount owed. Details of all amounts owed to you as of the start date This includes the name of the person or company who owes you money and the amount owed. Sales tax information Include the rate at which you charge sales tax, the name and address of the taxing agency, and the amount of sales tax owed as of the start date. Vendor list This includes all your regular suppliers and creditors, including the name, the address, the telephone and fax numbers, the personal contact, your account number with each vendor, and whether the vendors require a 1099 form. You will need the federal identification numbers of any vendors for whom you are required to file a 1099. Any existing budget information for your company. Employees list You'll need this if you plan to use QuickBooks for your payroll. Include names and addresses, Social Security numbers, rates of pay, withholding allowances and other deductions, and year-to-date information if your start date is later than January 1 or the first day on which your company does business. Payroll tax information This includes your state unemployment compensation rate, local tax rates, and amounts of payroll taxes due as of the start date. Information about all assets owned by the company This includes the original cost and date each item was purchased. If possible, you should also note the methods used for calculating depreciation on your assets and the accumulated depreciation to date. Credit card statements you have received since the start date. Details of all financial transactions since the start date This includes checks written, amounts deposited, credit card transactions, and so on.
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