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... The combination of Power Closer and QuickBooks can provide a significant boost in productivity and accuracy.
Reasons why we didn't start exporting checks
Many customers say they should have started this sooner. Here are
some preliminary concerns, and our responses. If you remain in doubt,
you may contact us to get clear.
"Our old trust account procedure was tried and true. Frankly, I was afraid to try something new.”
Hundreds of Power Closer customers export checks to QuickBooks without reported problems.
It can make good sense to keep using your existing trust accounting system for a transition period until you are confident in the new system, but let Power Closer and QuickBooks produce the closing checks and provide a parallel accounting method. You'll be better off than you were. You will be getting closing checks produced quickly and automatically, and have two independent ways to satisfy your trust accounting requirements.
In due course, at your convenience,
you may evaluate the new system, and decide when you are comfortable and ready
to let
go of the old system. We don't know of anyone who took more than a couple of
monthly cycles before completing the transition and letting go of the old
system.
"We thought we couldn't use QuickBooks because we had specialized bookkeeping software.”
Continue to use specialized
software to perform its specialized functions. Set up a separate trust bank
account exclusively for Power Closer and QuickBooks so that you can reconcile
it quickly and do its three-way trust accounting. If it is truly necessary, and if
your main system can import such data, export data ("print report to
file") from QuickBooks to your main bookkeeping system periodically.
"QuickBooks is a bit expensive.”
A current
version of QuickBooks Pro should run under $200. You might be very
happy with an older version that a friend no longer
uses and can pass along to you, or that might be purchased new in an un-opened
shrink wrapped box, perhaps on e-Bay, at a considerable savings. The old QuickBooks Basic 98 through 2005
work fine.
"I don't like QuickBooks.”
What is more important? Trust accounting is heavy on
detail, but it is very simple, even in QuickBooks. The result is reliable
record keeping and an important increase in productivity.
"We have a separate bookkeeping department.”
Here are three possible scenarios involving a bookkeeper with exclusive access to the bookkeeping software:
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The closing secretary allocates the checks, and the bookkeeper exports them from Power Closer. Both do a portion of what is needed in Power Closer:
The closing secretary allocates the checks and deposits in Power Closer, and alerts the bookkeeper to prepare the checks.
The bookkeeper, using Power Closer, imports the data into QuickBooks, then prints the checks and the trust ledger. Time: typically under a minute for each individual, plus printer time for the checks.
-
In this scenario, the bookkeeper does not use Power Closer:
The closing secretary does Power Closer's portion, exporting the data, and transmitting that with the Balance Sheet (schedule of receipts and disbursements) to the bookkeeper for completion outside Power Closer.
- The third alternative lets the bookkeeper do everything involving the checks, including Power Closer's portion:
The bookkeeper allocates the checks and deposits in Power Closer (largely automatic based on the template) and completes the work. Time: typically about a minute per closing, plus printer time.
It may take a new user ten or twenty minutes to become familiar with balancing the closing and allocating the checks.
It may take an hour to learn to produce closing checks, to make
manual corrections in QuickBooks, to produce QuickBooks detailed and summary reports and
to perform monthly
bank account reconciliation and three-way trust accounting in accordance with
your jurisdiction's ethical standards. See Checks and Three-Way Trust Accounting.