QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting software used by companies of various types and sizes to handle various accounting and reporting components of their business. The software is used by companies in different industries for managing transactions, income, expenses, and reporting.
QuickBooks is versatile in its usage and Plumbing contractors can also find it quite useful in organizing the various aspects of running their business. However, as an accounting software, field service business owners don’t always find it easy to set up QuickBooks. Setting up can be a bit complicated at first, but can also be intuitive and you should get a hang of it after a while. To assist you in setting up QuickBooks for your plumbing company here are some tips you can follow. Once you are QuickBooks ready you can also integrate this part of your business into our plumbing software 🙂
QuickBooks Packages
You can set up your plumbing business on QuickBooks both offline and on your desktop computer. To set up the software on your computer you need to download the software package online or get a QuickBooks CD for installation.
On the other hand, you can set it up and use it completely online. For both offline and online, QuickBooks comes in three different packages you can choose from based on the size of your plumbing business and what you would like to do with the software.
QuickBooks Simple Start: this package is ideal for plumbers running a sole trading business or any other type of small business. The package does not include inventories and cannot be used to handle multiple currencies. You can, however, use it to track your company income as well as your expenses and profits. You can also use a simple start to send invoices and quotes to your customer. This package will also work for handling payroll for a maximum of 10 workers and for completing your BAS form and managing your GST.
QuickBooks Plus: With QuickBooks Plus, you get all of these offers and more features such as being able to bill customers by hours and inventory control.
QuickBooks Essentials: This package offers you all the functions of the other two packages in addition to being able to handle multiple currencies and also basic analytics that allows you to compare your sales and the profitability of your plumbing company with industry trends.
You can sign up for 30-days free trial of QuickBooks during which you get access to all of these features. After your one-month trial, you can then pick any of these three packages you would like to pay for.
Setting up QuickBooks
The very first step and perhaps the most important when setting up your plumbing company on QuickBooks is completing your company information. This is because all the information you provide here will be what will appear on your sales receipts, invoice, estimates and every other document you send to your customers.
Gather Your Info: QuickBooks Setup Checklist
Before you start setting up your company on QuickBooks, you need to have some basic information about your plumbing company available. This will enable you to answer the questions you will be required to answer correctly. Here is a list of information you will need to set up your company on QuickBooks
- Business name
- Address
- Website
- Company logo
- Tax ID
- Business structure (e.g., sole proprietor, partnership)
- Accounting method (cash or accrual)
In addition to these, you will also be required to answer important questions such as:
- What industry does your business fall into? (select from a list)
- What payment terms do you want to assign your customers? (e.g., net 30)
- Do you need to create estimates for your customers?
- What payment terms do you have with suppliers? (e.g., net 30, 60)
- Do you need to create purchase orders?
- What is your accounting year?
- Do you need to track income and expenses for multiple locations?
- Do you need to track income and expenses for multiple departments?
QuickBooks doesn’t make it compulsory that you provide all the information required or answer all the questions immediately. you can always come back later and complete any missing information. However, you should try as much as possible to complete all the fields before you begin business with QuickBooks.
Setting up your plumbing company information
If you have signed up for a free 30-day trial, proceed to sign into your QuickBooks account to start with setting up your company info. Click on the gear icon on the left of your company name to begin editing your detail. Select Account and Settings right below the company menu column on the far left corner of your screen. Six tabs will be displayed. The first tab on the list is the company tab. Here is where you will input your company information. Here are some of the info that you will need for this:
- Company Name/Legal Name
This is where you input your company name. if your legal name is different from your company name, be sure to include the distinction. Next, you have to upload your company Logo, this logo will be what will appear on your sent invoices, purchase, orders, estimates, sales receipt and every other document you send from QuickBooks to your customers. You can always skip this part if you don’t have a logo.
You will also be asked for your federal tax ID otherwise known as the Employer Identification Number (XX-XXXXXXX). It is a 9-digit figure from the IRS. You can also use your social security number in place of this if you don’t have it.
- Company Type
A drop-down menu will be displayed, from which you will choose the type of your business structure whether a sole proprietorship, partnership, S corp., Nonprofit or limited liability company. You will also be required to select the industry which your business falls into. You can select from the drop-down menu of the industries provided, or manually input the industry if yours isn’t on the list.
- Contact Information
The next field you have to fill in your contact information this includes the following:
Email address of your plumbing company: it is strongly recommended that this should be a valid email address specifically for your business. this is because your customers will correspond with you through this email and it would be terrible if their mail ends up 
getting mixed up in your inbox.
Customer-facing email: this can be the same as the company email address you entered earlier or another one entirely. This is the email address that will appear on every document sent from QuickBooks to your clients.
Plumbing Company phone number: this is the phone number of your plumbing company and will also appear on every document you send to your client.
Website: this will contain our company website if you have one (which you should). However, even if you don’t have one, you can always leave it blank and come back to fill it up anytime you get your website.
- Address
The physical address of your plumbing company comes here. However, a legal address different from your company address can be entered here if that is what you would like to use.
With this, you are done with setting up your plumbing company on QuickBooks. With this done, you can then proceed to customize the appearance and style of your invoice, receipts and other documents that will be sent to your customers according to your preferences. You can also set up products and services, messages, bank statements as well as your expenses on QuickBooks.
However, as an alternative to QuickBooks, you can make use of FieldSurf to handle all the basic parts of your business that you need QuickBooks to handle for You. FieldSurf is a field service management software that is built specifically for businesses in the field service industry including plumbing companies like yours.
A major advantage FieldSurf has over other software including QuickBooks is how fast you get your report with FieldSurf. It automatically computes and gives you the detail of your accounts at every point in time without any need for paperwork at all. Which is a good thing especially if you don’t have a head for balancing the books. Your business reporting for FieldSurf is live and instant and you also get access to an analytics tool that allows you to make important comparisons that are important in planning your business.
FieldSurf is easy to set up and completely easy to use. It requires no programming at all and delivers all that you need in an instant without any delay. It definitely gives you an edge over your competitors in the industry. You can sign up for a demo to find out more about how this software works.
