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How to Invoice for Time and Materials in QuickBooks for Professional Services
Published 01/27/2010 | 
1) Should I be using QuickBooks or is this overkill for a brand new, one man business? I do have aspirations to grow but is this going to be a distraction in the short term? Or, should I put in the time to learn it because it will pay off in the form of increased productivity?
2) If I do stay with QucikBooks – what can/should I do with it and what should I not do with it? I think that part of my trouble is that I am hoping that it will do things for me that it is not made to do. Specifically, I am trying to get it to keep time by client and by sub-tasks. But, I can’t figure out how to do that the way I want to. Maybe I just need to track time using an Excel spreadsheet and import that information to QB. Still, if I do that, how do I create invoices in QB that show the time charged to sub-tasks?
3) If I do stay with QuickBooks – would it be to my advantage to work with you to just get me set up and running and then let me take it from there? Obviously, as a new business I am running all on borrowed money now so I am trying to keep expenses to a minimum. But, I do have to track my time for clients accurately and fairly and I am putting this task off and using Post-It notes for the time being so that I can stay productive. The QuickBooks thing is not happening for me except now, at 9:15 at night. This is not going to work.
So, given that background, if I sound like I have the kinds of issues that you can address and if I am potentially your kind of client, I would like to talk to you.
- Begin by creating service items for your sub-tasks. Go to Lists > Items List, click the Item button and select New.
- Use timesheets to keep track of your time by customer and sub-task. First, turn it on by clicking Yes under Do you track time at Edit > Preferences > Time & Expenses > Company Preferences. If you are using QuickBooks Premier, also check the box next to Create invoices from a list of time and expenses. Then enter your time at Customers > Enter Time > Use Weekly Timesheet.
- If you are using QuickBooks Premier, you can add your time to invoices by going to Customers > Invoice for Time & Expenses. You can also add time to an invoice in any version of QuickBooks by clicking the Add Time/Costs button on the invoice.
Written by +Ruth Perryman, CMA, CFE, CFM, MBA
Ruth is the president of The QB Specialists, Inc. and has provided QuickBooks help to thousands of businesses around the world since 1996. She is an Intuit Solutions Provider, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and a member of the Intuit Trainer/Writer Network. She is also certified in QuickBooks Point of Sale and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions.
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