Newsletter

Sleeter Group Annual Conference Update

Register Now for the 2009 Next Generation Accounting Solutions Conference in Orlando, Florida!

The Sleeter Group’s 6th Annual Conference will be held at the Wyndham Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida, November 9-12, 2009. The conference is for accounting professionals, bookkeepers, CPAs, and small business technology consultants.

On Monday, November 9, we will offer our popular "pre-conference" full day, in-depth training sessions. The three-day main conference will be held Tuesday, November 10 through Thursday, November 12. The conference will provide at least 32 CPEs for those who need continuing education, as well as an informative exhibit hall of 50 accounting technology solution providers that want to introduce their solutions for you and your clients.

Pre-Conference Sessions:  Monday, November 9

• Taking Your Practice Online
• Train the QuickBooks Trainer
• Preparing for the QuickBooks Advanced Certification Exam

 Main Conference Tracks:  Tuesday, November 10 – Thursday, November 12

• Technologies, Consulting Tools, and Best Practices
• Taking Your Practice Online
• Developing, Managing, and Marketing Your Next Generation Practice
• Industry Solutions and Specializing your Practice
• Intuit Academy
• Exhibitor Sessions

Please see the article later in this newsletter for some of our course titles!

New This Year—Yoga Classes!
Namaste –  Rise and Shine with Sun Salutations to Begin Your Day!
Join Amy Vetter in a Yoga Flow practice to clear your mind and focus on the present before contemplating the next generation accounting solutions!

Low Pricing
We are pleased to announce that conference registration fees for 2009 are as low as $683 per person for the full conference (including pre-conference and main conference) through August 31, 2009! Visit www.sleeterconference.com for complete pricing information. The hotel room rate for the conference is only $118 per night plus resort fee.

Low Airfare
The airfare wars are going on now! It’s a good time to book travel to Orlando. Sample roundtrip fares we’ve found (as of 7/13/09) are:

• Chicago-O’Hare:  $203
• Dallas-Ft. Worth Int’l.:  $207
• Denver Int’l.:  $221
• Los Angeles Int’l.:  $332
• Minneapolis:  $188
• New York-JFK:  $215
• San Francisco Int’l.:  $360
• Washington Dulles:  $179

Conference Registration is Now Open
Be sure to register early to ensure availability and get the best pricing. Please click here for more information and to register. Registering now will give you 20% off your conference registration fees (even more if you are a Sleeter Group Consultants Network member), and you will be automatically entered into our raffle to win a $200 spa certificate for the Mandara Spa at Loews Portofino Bay Resort at Universal Orlando!

Congratulations to Vicki Dull of Quicksilver Business Solutions in Wilmington, NC for winning a seven-day pass to Universal Orlando, and to Sharon Ascensio of Office Automation Systems in Emeryville, CA for winning a seven-day pass to Walt Disney World. Registrants who did not win are moved forward to the next registration giveaway drawing.

Questions? Please give us a call at 888-484-5484 (+1-925-416-6300 outside the U.S.)

Interested in showcasing your small business accounting technology or service solution? Exhibitor registration is now open. Please click here for more information.

Our QuickBooks College Textbooks Updated for Version 2009

Announcing the 2009 update to our QuickBooks college textbooks. These textbooks are filled with in-depth step-by-step exercises that walk students through learning QuickBooks. Students with no previous accounting or QuickBooks experience can learn what they need to successfully get a job or use QuickBooks in their business. All three versions, Fundamentals, Intermediate and Complete are available now.

This popular textbook also make excellent self-study manuals for clients and their employees.

Instructors who use our textbooks have access to our companion PowerPoint slides, Test Banks and Instructors Manual to make preparing for class easy. Click here to request an exam copy.

QuickBooks Fundamentals Version 2009 covers accounting basics, tracking revenue and expenses, bank reconciliation, file setup and more. Click here to learn more or to order.

QuickBooks Intermediate Version 2009 covers inventory, sales tax, payroll, estimates, budgets and more. Click here to learn more or to order.

QuickBooks Complete Version 2009 covers the material in the Fundamentals and Intermediate book combined. Click here to learn more or to order.

The following table lays out the topics included in each textbook.

Mid-Year Setup

We are reprinting our classic article on Mid-Year Setup, which covers setting up a QuickBooks data file Mid-Year. 

This is an excerpt from The Sleeter Group’s QuickBooks Consultant Reference Guide – Version 2009.  The QuickBooks 2009 edition is updated with extensive coverage of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions, third party add-ons, and all the new features with the 2009 version. For more information on this resource, visit www.sleeterstore.com.

To read the full article, click the link below.

Read Full Article

BigTime by Edison's Attic

A Note from our Community Manager

SESSIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THIS YEAR’S CONFERENCE

We’re so excited to be able to announce some of the session names for this year’s Next Generation Accounting Solutions Conference! There are many more to come, but take a look at these excellent offerings for this year’s breakout sessions.

Technologies, Consulting Tools, and Best Practices

• Accounting Software Market Overview – What You Need to Know
• Financial Reporting, Analysis, and Business Intelligence
• How to Select the Right IT Consultant for Your Firm and Your Clients

Taking Your Practice Online

• Improving Client Service With Portals
• Successful Remote Consulting Services – Tools and Best Practices
• The Future of Computing in the Clouds: I’ve Seen the Clouds from Both Sides Now

Developing, Managing, and Marketing Your Next Generation Practice

• Increasing Your Online Presence
• Online Payroll – A Profitable Service for Your Firm
• The Importance of Security and Encryption

Industry Solutions and Specializing Your Practice

• Five Best Practices for Working with Contractors Using QuickBooks
• QuickBooks in a Global Market – Using Multi-Currency and More
• Tracking Government Grants and Contracts Using QuickBooks

Intuit Academy and Exhibitor Sessions

• COMING SOON!

VAR PROGRAMS FOR SCGN MEMBERS – NEW PROGRAM ADDED

As you may know, we offer members of the Sleeter Group Consultants Network the opportunity to resell partner software through our VAR Programs. We launched our program with Bill.com last month, which gets added to our list that includes BillQuick, Fishbowl Inventory, Intuit Payment Solutions, MISys SBM, and Results Software, in addition to our affiliate offering with EiPrinting. These programs give you tremendous opportunities to add value to your existing and new client relationships by offering proven solutions to improve their business processes, while simultaneously earning you incremental revenue. Check out our VAR Program Web page when you get the chance, and let us know if you have any questions or ideas!

Happy summering,
David Horwitz

August Webinar Schedule

We have new and exciting webinars in August. Our popular webinars have become the "Graduate School" for QuickBooks and small business accounting technology. Our webinar presenters are among the country’s leading experts in accounting software.

All two hour webinars are $69. Member of The Sleeter Group Consultants Network receive a 20% discount. (Members must log in to our site before registering to receive the discount).We’ve partnered with CPE Link to offer these upcoming webinars.

Managing Your Business to Greater Heights
Bonnie J Nagayama
August 19, 2009, 9:00 – 11:00 AM Pacific
This webcast will provide a basic introduction into the areas of accounting software and personnel decisions; profitability and financial health topics; and wraps up with some cash flow tips and tricks.

Building a Remote Consulting Practice
Bonnie J Nagayama
August 19, 2009, 12:00 – 2:00 PM Pacific
This is a webcast that is packed with many tips and tricks on how I work 97% remotely, both with clients and our employees. Learn the tools we use to make it all a seamless experience for our national client base to work with our employees in three states.

Consulting with Mid-Sized Businesses
Mario Nowogrodzki
August 20, 2009, 8:00 – 10:00 AM Pacific
All accounting software consultants eventually face clients who need a mid-market software solution. Consulting with such mid-sized businesses brings about a new set of challenges. In this webinar, we will discuss several factors that affect consulting with such businesses. We will highlight the advantages of dealing with larger-type clients and how to be successful at it. We will discover issues that arise not only because of the software, but because of the nature and size of this market.

QuickBooks Troubleshooting and Data File Analysis
Bonnie J Nagayama
August 27, 2009, 9:00 – 11:00 AM Pacific
This training will cover why data file analysis is so important and take a look at common data file set up errors, data entry errors, and file errors. This 2-hour webcast covers the analysis tips and tools you need to ensure you have “healthy” data files.

Also Coming Soon:

Working With Your Clients Online Sep 2, 2009, 9:00 – 11:00 AM Pacific

Understanding Your Network Options Sep 3, 2009, 8:00 – 10:00 AM Pacific

Optimizing and Troubleshooting QuickBooks on the Network Sep 3, 2009, 11:00 – 1:00 PM Pacific

Internal Control and Fraud Reduction Using QuickBooks Sep 30, 2009, 9:00 – 11:00 AM Pacific

QuickBooks File Set Up and Conversion Sep 30, 2009, 12:00 – 2:00 PM Pacific

Managing Inventory with QuickBooks Oct 1, 2009, 10:00 – 12:00 PM Pacific

New Webinar Available On-Demand

Originally broadcast live May 21, 2009 and now available on-demand, Internal Controls and Fraud Reduction Using QuickBooks covers how to implement Internal Controls. Bonnie Nagayama teaches the best practices for using QuickBooks to avoid the most common fraud schemes. You can view the on-demand webcast at your own pace (using fast forward and rewind controls). In addition, supporting materials are available for download. You can view the program at any time and as often as you like. You have access to the recording for one year from date of purchase.

This webinar includes 3 hours of CPE (Accounting &Auditing hours). The cost is $49. Member of The Sleeter Group Consultants Network receive a 20% discount. (Members must log in to our site before registering to receive the discount).

Chuck's Reporting Corner

In this month’s column, entitled Understanding Business Intelligence and Related Terminology, Chuck Vigeant creates a glossary of terms and clarifies the subtle – but distinct – differences among the various nomenclature used to describe data extraction and reporting. For example, what is the difference between the terms Business Analysis, Business Intelligence, Business Metrics, Management Reporting, Custom Reporting and Data Analytics.

Read Full Article

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Magnificent Member Awards - Michael Crosa

We asked members of The Sleeter Group Consultants Network (SGCN) to nominate recipients for the Magnificent Member Awards. There are five categories for these awards. We announced the winners at our 2008 conference. The winners in each category were:

• Best Business Coach Award – Michael Crosa of Ocala, Florida
• Solution Sharer Award – Michelle Long of Lee’s Summit, Missouri
• Sleeter Group BillQuick VAR Top Seller Award – Bonnie Nagayama of Moraga, California
• Sleeter Group Fishbowl Inventory VAR Top Seller Award – Scott Taylor of Spring, Texas
• Sleeter Group MISys SBM VAR Top Seller Award – Mary Brettman of Tustin, California
• Prolific Poster Award – Jeanne Tarazevits of Costa Mesa, California
• Top Techie Award – Mario Nowogrodzki of Pembroke Pines, Florida

In each of the next few newsletters we’ll bring you an interview with one of these award winners. This month, we interviewed Michael Crosa, winner of the Sleeter Group Best Business Coach Award .

How would you describe your practice?
About 80% of my practice is QuickBooks training support and installation, including QuickBooks Point of Sale installations and training, 15 % is business coaching and  5 % is  tax . I focus on QuickBooks because it has 85% of the market, and I particularly enjoy Business Coaching as I love the goal setting and seeing my clients’ success in achieving their objectives.

How has the SGCN group benefitted your practice?
I get a lot out of the camaraderie between the members. It’s interesting to see the problems that crop up on the email list and the solutions that are offered. I try to answer questions as well, as a way to help out. It gives me a chance to communicate with my peers about the common problems we have and the solutions that are coming up.

You won the Best Business Coach award. Do you have any business coaching advice for our readers?
When people get into business, they get so involved in “doing” it that they forget they are running a business. It is important to keep their businessman hat on, even in a one man or one woman practice. They have to remember that they are not just technicians but they are owners of a business.

What would you like to share with?
I recommend anyone looking at becoming a QuickBooks Consultant become more proficient in the use of QuickBooks by becoming a ProAdvisor and a member of The Sleeter Group, which I consider the top of the profession. Sleeter Group members are people who are genuinely interested in developing a QuickBooks practice or as an adjunct to their accounting practice.

Tricks of the Trade

Every day, members of The Sleeter Group Consultants Network tackle the day-to-day problems of their clients in the real world. The following is an example problem and solution that surfaced this month on our Sleeter Group Consultants Network E-Mail Group.

Question: Does anyone know of an easy way to correct a payment that was applied to the wrong customer. The deposit has already been reconciled. The client can have as many as 100 checks in a deposit so I don’t want to have to delete the deposit, correct payment and then redeposit.

Caren Schwartz replied : Here’s a trick I use that works very well. Create the new payment for the correct customer. Now go to the deposit and add in the new payment and delete the line for the incorrect payment. You can now save the deposit without having changed the amount and the "bad" payment is removed. Now you can go back to the incorrect payment and delete it. Hope this helps.

Final Response: Thanks so much. This is much easier than deleting the deposit.

The Sleeter Group Consultants Network

The Sleeter Group Consultants Network is the nation’s premier accounting software consultants’ network. With over 600 members located throughout the US, Canada, and abroad, our members serve over 150,000 small businesses. They provide expert QuickBooks consulting, add-on integration services, business process workflow consulting, outsourced bookkeeping services, and financial statement preparation.

In addition to client consulting, many of our consultants provide consulting services to software developers who seek advice on the best practices for integrating their applications with QuickBooks and other accounting software products.

To locate one of our certified consultants, visit our Find a Consultant page. To learn more about becoming a consultant, visit our Become a Consultant page or call our office at 888-484-5484 (+1-925-416-6300 outside the U.S.). Members of the network receive a substantial discount on our resource products as well as our annual Next Generation Accounting Solutions Conference.  Membership also includes a copy of our Consultant’s Reference Guide.