Quickbooks reports that you use to prepare taxes

[Pacun]

Imagine a perfect world... you have the most organized client and you got his 12 months bank statements and you entered all the information on QuickBooks yourself and there are no "ask my accountant" entries. You are now ready to prepare his schedule C, besides a trial balance and profit or loss, what reports do you print for a client without depreciation items?

[ILLMAS]

For a Sch C you will only need a P&L.

[Lion EA]

I just printed some reports tonight for an S-corp:  P&L, BS, detail of equipment, detail of shareholder distributions.  I'll also get detail of salaries to split out officers from other employees.  I did a lot of drilling down, because I am not their bookkeeper.  She put things in equipment that didn't belong there and had some expenses as negative income, things like that.

 

As Ill said, for a Sch C you will only need a P&L.

[jshtax]

you will need a balance sheet also and ideally the general ledger. Quickbooks is way too easy for people to get their hands on and even easier to screw up. I have seen many a cash basis balance sheet that contained - A/R because payments were not applied to invoices.

[rfassett]

I print the general ledger for the year, a trial balance for the year, a trial balance for the prior year so I can see if the client made any of those pesky prior period entries or adjustments by comparing it to the trial balance in last year's file, and if I am feeling particularly lazy at the time, I print a comparative balance sheet. All of this information will tell me if I need additional info which I can print on a selective basis. I do this for all of my QuickBooks clients, irrespective of entity form. Now - I do not print all of that to paper. The only thing I print to paper is the trial balance - the rest of it goes to the paperless file cabinet.

[ILLMAS]

I wanted to share this step that I was thought at the CPA firm I worked for; check retained earnings for clients 

that do their own books, I know everyone here has a horror story when it comes to deleted items.

[Abby Normal]

For a Sch C you will only need a P&L.

Not if they have inventory... or need a personal property return that includes a balance sheet.

[michaelmars]

if you use the accountants version you have a "working trial balance" I demand that from every preparer here, that way I can see if any item was created by the transactions or by journal entries.  Also I print out the adjusting entries, just makes it easier for next year reversals. Comparative BS and PL.  You don't really need to compare trial balances if your opening RE matches you prior ending.

 

On the Working TB there is a place for notes so for example, accrued expenses, you can list what is in that account right there.  Us old timers prepared worksheets like this for every client, people just used to computer programs don't really see what they tell you but they tell yu more than anything else.

[Abby Normal]

For all business clients, we print:

 

BS for prior year end to check beginning balances.

P&L

BS

General Ledger to scan for "issues" and equity transactions

 

I've never printed a trial balance from QuickBooks. Not sure what I would need it for because BS & P&L has exact same info.

[rfassett]

For all business clients, we print:

 

BS for prior year end to check beginning balances.

P&L

BS

General Ledger to scan for "issues" and equity transactions

 

I've never printed a trial balance from QuickBooks. Not sure what I would need it for because BS & P&L has exact same info.

It's just me. I find it MUCH easier to read a trial balance than a P&L and/or BS. I guess I am just old school and was brought up in this business creating the TB by hand before the IS and BS could be prepared.

[Catherine]

you will need a balance sheet also and ideally the general ledger. Quickbooks is way too easy for people to get their hands on and even easier to screw up. I have seen many a cash basis balance sheet that contained - A/R because payments were not applied to invoices.

It will also contain negative A/R if recurring invoices post automatically on, say, January 1st -- but payments pre-dated that (for example, business space rent).

[RitaB]

Imagine a perfect world... you have the most organized client and you got his 12 months bank statements and you entered all the information on QuickBooks yourself and there are no "ask my accountant" entries. You are now ready to prepare his schedule C, besides a trial balance and profit or loss, what reports do you print for a client without depreciation items?

 

If there are no depreciable assets, I think you got it, my friend.

 

If there ARE assets, I enter assets individually with date of purchase so it's easier on me come time to do the return.  For example, I might have Account # 177 - HP Computer 4/16/14.  I also enter things like owner health insurance on the Balance Sheet for my own sake. 

 

Isn't a perfect world great and you have total control because you did it all, and there are no creative, horrific entries to unwind?

[jklcpa]

I'm with rfassett and michaelsmars. I print the comparative BS and IS, TB, AJES, RJEs, and GL.  I always check that the retained earnings still ties in.

[RitaB]

 

Isn't a perfect world great and you have total control because you did it all, and there are no creative, horrific entries to unwind?

 

And it's a sole proprietor.  Schedule C.   And you did all the bookkeeping.  You, the accountant.  And it's a Schedule C. 

Edited March 7, 2015 by RitaB

[Abby Normal]

It's just me. I find it MUCH easier to read a trial balance than a P&L and/or BS. I guess I am just old school and was brought up in this business creating the TB by hand before the IS and BS could be prepared.

The P&L gives me a net income to prove to. Usually on Sch C's we have to run a tape reconciling net income to the Sch C due to meals, mileage, etc.

[jklcpa]

And it's a sole proprietor.  Schedule C.   And you did all the bookkeeping.  You, the accountant.  And it's a Schedule C. 

 

 

I got that, but I'm still old school here and would print a complete set of books.  When entering the transactions after the fact, it's easy to enter the wrong date, especially if working in early Jan or Feb. Yeah the QB will give the warnings about the dates, but it's still easy to do when entering fast, or entering a transaction with the current day's date.  I've done both on occassion, hit the enter key to fast and then had to go back to fix. At least I catch those at the time and know the transaction I had just entered.

[Lion EA]

Ah, inventory, good catch Mr. Davis.  I have managed to avoid clients with inventory.  Well, except for the optician with some contacts for sale, but I know he found his ending inventory on his own ceiling, and he's gone now.  He was the only one willing to pay for my time to adjust his QB file after preparing his returns (or even to LET me adjust), though, and did his own payroll beautifully.  So, I miss him.

 

As for property tax, I can't seem to get them to believe equipment isn't an expense.  So, for the most part, I gave up.  I print their Equipment detail and prepare the income tax returns and property tax returns.  But, if I adjust their QB file and explain why, leave them written instructions on where to put what, they don't continue.  (QB prefills the transactions for them, so it's always SALY.)  The DIY owners/wives or PT bookkeepers use QB for money in/money out to record checks/charge cards and not for accounting.  (Had one call me to ask where to put large check the shareholders/H/W wrote to themselves at tax time.  I'd set up an account labeled with their names and 95/5% for distributions so bookkeeper didn't have to do the math or even understand QB terminology.  I explained, as I do about twice/year, to put it in 95/5 and I would break it up into their names at tax time.  I found it under Marketing expenses!)

 

CT property tax forms ask about the amounts paid to ICs/Forms 1099-MISC, consumable office supplies, etc.  So, my biggest issue with property tax forms has been to get Postage/Shipping in it's own account and out of Office Supplies to not inflate the expenses we have to report.

 

Yeah, I've given up.  I get a Backup.  Do my own thing with it for my tax prep purpose.  I pick one issue each year per client and work on that.  Since late 2013, have been working with one on the $500 threshold for Equipment.  Just worked on that firm yesterday to start their returns, and moved all the little amounts out of Equipment.  And, Repairs was actually Office Cleaning, so I think I'll insist on a name change on that account.

 

And, don't get me started on the ones who bring me a Quicken file. 

[RitaB]

I got that, but I'm still old school here and would print a complete set of books. 

 

I think your clients are on a different level than mine.  I can't even get mine to realize that when your November Income Statement says you have a net profit of $100,000 it's a really bad idea to sign up for SS at age 62.

[michaelmars]

look at the trial balance worksheet under the Accountants tab on top, its not the same at TB under reports.

[Terry D EA]

I too print the BS, P&L, adj entries & TB for Sch C clients. As for S-Corps I do the same and make sure the RE is aligned. Some of my S-Corps are accrual so they get treated a bit differently with the review of the adjusting entries. I have one S-Corp right now that for the life of me I don't understand why they have two accounts with the same name ex: travel expense under auto expenses and another stand alone travel expense account. Same client gave me the report on some assets that were sold with no amounts or date of disposition. I guess they don't understand that the light in my crystal ball has gone out. This one will be extended.