Microcomputer Accounting ApplicationsLesson 1BQuick Tour of QuickBooks

Note: These comments do not replace the material in the chapter. They are intended to reinforce and highlight important data from the text as well as to review relevant accounting principles. You should always thoroughly read your text while completing the tutorial steps.

Lesson 1B Comments

Chapter 1 introduces you to QuickBooks and reviews some accounting basics.

Principals Review

While you will be learning specifically how to use QuickBooks throughout this course, you will also be reviewing and applying principles of accounting. Please note that the exams for this course will not only include QuickBooks data, but basic accounting principles as well.

In Chapter 1, you will review the purpose of an accounting information system. You will also review three basic financial statements. Recall the three basic financial statements:

  • Income Statement (or Profit and Loss Statement)
  • Balance Sheet
  • Statement of Owner’s Equity

The Cash Flow Statement is also a common financial statement.

While QuickBooks will automatically prepare the financial statements for you, it is important as an accounting professionalthat you know and understand the components of each statement. See the graphic on the next page for a review of the account types found on each financial statement and the relationship between them.



Using QuickBooks

The primary purpose of Chapter 1 is to simply introduce you to QuickBooks. You will learn what types of transactions are commonly processed in QuickBooks. You will also learn how to navigate through QuickBooks using the Home Page, the Menu, and the Icon Bar. It is important that you familiarize yourself with each of these navigation tools. Different navigation tools will be referenced throughout this text, and it will be helpful to you to be able to quickly find the item you are looking for.

This chapter introduces you to the main activities processed in QuickBooks. While the names of the activities may not match what you learned in Principles of Accounting, the focus is the same. The activities found in the Customerssection involve sales and accounts receivable activities. The Vendorssection involves purchase and accounts payable transactions. The Employeessection involves payroll activities and the Banking section is used for banking transactions. The Company section contains the chart of accounts and item and service information.

Once it is set up, QuickBooks will do much of the work for you in recording transactions. It is still important, however, for you to understand the activities “behind the scenes” in QuickBooks. Each business transaction you record using an onscreen form generates a traditional journal entry with debits and credits. You need to be able to analyze these transactions to determine whether these transactions have been properly recorded as well as to locate and correct any accounting errors.

Finally, this chapter will discuss making backups and portable filesand show you how to access QuickBooks Help.

NOTE: The first two lessons in this text are fairly simple. Enjoy this now; the workload will increase with later chapters!

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