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Invoicing Software?

By Kimberly Wester

Home Stager

January 09, 2008 07:00 AM

Recently, my innocent little laptop had a run in with a mean spirited and merciless cup of coffee. It was ugly. I rushed it over to the laptop hospital (geek squad) to see if it would survive this unfair and unprovoked attack.

Though I was told that the coffee would undoubtedly win out in the end and I should say goobye to my best friend that has traveled with me and kept all of my business secrets for 2 1/2 years, my little dynamo surprised everyone and rallied to an almost full recovery. Save for a temperamental 'g' key, all seemed well with no information or programs lost. Unfortunately, it was a false recovery and slowly but surely, the Vaio is dying a long drawn out death. It has lost its ability to run two programs at once locks up when more than two internet pages are open. Sadly, I must put it (and me0 out of its mysery.

I have purchased a new laptop (against my will) and am methodically switching over all of my programs and information. To further complicate the process, I now have Windows Vista and my invoicing program is not compatible. So, I have to find a new one. Any suggestions?

I have been on the look out for a program, but would feel much better if I knew someone with Vista has used it without any issues and that is functional for our type of business.

Thanks in advance - I know you one of you guys have a solution for me!

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Jo Potvin

Design To Market LLC - Cincinnati, OH

Home Staging Cincinnati - Design To Market

I would highly recommend Quickbooks. I think it is the industry standard for small to medium size companies. I have used it for 4 years and am very pleased not only for the invoicing capabilities but I keep all of my financial records in it as well.

Jan 09, 2008 09:48 AM

Michelle Minch

Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA

Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Kim: I'm with Jo. QuickBooks is a great program, not only for invoicing, but for tracking your expenses and budgeting. I have been using it in some form or another since about 1993.

Jan 09, 2008 10:54 AM

Kimberly Wester

Valparaiso, IN

Rich - I don't know what I am more touched by - your moving tribute to my dying friend, or the fact that you actually read my blog. thanks so much for the sympathy.

Gary - 'Tis a sad day...I have (had) a program called Professional Invoices that kept track of my clients and billing as well as producing all of my invoices. It will even produce monthly reports, but I only use the yearly report for taxes. It was quite handy. It also has an inventory tracker, but did not have thumbnail capabilities, so I never used it.

Michelle - I was so excited about that answer that I ran upstairs and told my husband, who quickly told me we have no disc. Sony has the program preinstalled in a petitioned hard drive. I would have to buy it.
Either way, it looks as though I am buying software...:(

Kathy - You have no idea how encouraging your words are in regards to Vista. When I fired up the new one, the first thing my husband said was 'You're going to hate Vista.' -which he has. I am a tad bit fearful of it and this has not helped.

Jo- Do you have standard quickbooks or quickbooks pro? I kind of expected that answer, but I was not able to do much research on that particular program as of yet. I was really hoping to find an updated version of what I have (comfort thing, I guess) but I had never considered that it would keep track of everything.

Jan 09, 2008 10:59 AM

Kimberly Wester

Valparaiso, IN

Michelle - You and I must have been typing at the same time! I pose the same question to you - standard or pro?

Jan 09, 2008 11:00 AM

Gary Barnett

Home Matters - Indianapolis, IN

Home Matters Property Stylist Group, Indianapolis

Kim, I agree with Michelle, Quick books is easy to use and has a tone of accounting features.

Jan 09, 2008 11:08 AM

Jo Potvin

Design To Market LLC - Cincinnati, OH

Home Staging Cincinnati - Design To Market

I think both work well but I use Pro. I would recommend finding a bookeeper/trainer that knows quickbooks well to help you set your accounts up initially and then you should be able to run it on your own.

Jan 09, 2008 11:11 AM

Michelle Minch

Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA

Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Kim: Either will work fine. I use Pro (because I are one;-)). If you have an accountant, ask them which program they think will work best for you, or which one they use. It makes my taxes so simple at the end of the year. Also paying sales tax on items for resale. I just email my accountant a copy of my QuickBooks file and they extrapolate all the info they need. Since I write my checks in QB, it takes very little time each month to balance my checking accounts. Most major credit cards support QB and you can download your monthly statements into your QB account.

Jan 09, 2008 11:30 AM

Phyllis Pafumi

ReStyled to Sell Home Staging New Jersey - Old Bridge, NJ

ReStyled to Sell Staging Homes NJ

That reminds me to not eat or drink at my desk, thanks. I just have a basic invoice template in word and I tweak it, change the address and keep real simple. To date it works and it looks pretty also. Let me know via separate email and I can show you a copy. You know me, computer iliterate and I LOVE SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SIMPLE

Phyllis Pafumi

Jan 09, 2008 11:34 AM

Teresa J. Ramey

ReDecorating with Style - Florence, SC

I would have to chime in with everyone else. I also recommend Quickbooks. Makes life much easier and can also help you prepare for taxes.

Jan 09, 2008 11:49 AM

Kimberly Wester

Valparaiso, IN

Thanks Gary, Michelle, Jo and Theresa! Looks like Quickbooks it is.

Phyllis - I considered this option, but if I would not be able to produce a report that way. This program basically spit out a number for income and losses (for the deadbeats that stiff you) and I really liked it. I'm not mathmatically minded, so trying to keep up with that would be overwhelming for me. The old Vaio is still hanging on, so I'd better print that out quick! You know something funny? When I handed it to Mr. Geek Squad and just said 'Coffee.' His reply was 'Panera Bread?' It is right across the street - it must create a lot of business for them.

Jan 09, 2008 12:34 PM

Ginger Foust

Certified Staging Professional - Oakhurst, CA

Home Stager Oakhurst CA, Dream Interior Redesign & Staging

Kimberly...ouch. I had a similar problem, bought a new laptop with Vista and had nothing but problems! Spent a considerable amount of $$ to have the oldie repaired because Vista was just throwing too many obstacles in my way. So now I have a perfectly good, new HP , but I use the old repaired Gateway and I'm happy again.

I know that Melody Salazar was dealing with the same dilemma for inventory with Vista. You might e-mail her privately and see if she's come up with a solution.

I hoping that Microsoft will come up with something better than Vista to force us into, when they stop supporting XP. Even my computer guy dislikes Vista. NOW, I know that some people like Vista but I don't know why.

My 1st prof. goal for 2008 is to hire a local accountant to set-up quickbooks for me, so I'm really glad that you got the other responses. Thanks everybody!

Jan 09, 2008 02:15 PM

Fernando Rosado

West Palm Beach, FL

561-906-0050 or 561-840-8950

We are gathered here to pay respect to Kimberly's laptop.

Funeral of the pet

That laptop was lucky to have you....WAIT.....don't bury it, use it to stage !! They look great on kids rooms on the bed

Jan 10, 2008 07:55 AM

Marina Vazzana

CRE-A-TIVE Staging & Redesign - Durham Region - Oshawa, ON

CSP, Home Staging Oshawa and Durham Region

Your unfortunate story reminds me of the "Sex and the City" episode where Carrie's laptop did a nose dive...never a happy day.

Although I don't have vista (not a favourite with anyone I know), I have to agree that Quickbooks is an excellent program. The reports you can generate are awesome. As long as you take a little time in the beginning to set up specific and individual items i.e. accessories, consultations, hourly staging, rentals etc. you can customize reports in snap to see exactly where you are making your money, and it self generates soley by creating your invoices. I love it. I think that Quickbooks still has the offer running on "Quick Start" which is FREE, and the best part is it really does most everything you would need it to do, and even better yet, if you choose to upgrade to Pro, it transfers all your history.

Jan 10, 2008 08:47 AM

Kimberly Wester

Valparaiso, IN

Ginger - I'm so sorry to hear that Vista is such a pain for you (you have no idea how sorry). Thanks so much for the tip regarding Melody - I will certainly get in touch with her. My mother in law works in the accounting field and just took my depreciable item receipts to out into her quickbooks program. I think she and I will be having a powow.

Fernando - LOL!!! Thanks goodness I have you guys to make me laugh about this! You are right - when it finally breathes its last breath it will become a very epensive prop.

Marina - Thanks so much for the excellent advice! I charge for my consults by square footage now. Would it be wise to set up seperate item listings for those? Since monthly rentals are different hwo do you set those up? Can you change the amount with each charge? I was able to do that with pro invoices, which I liked alot.

'elderberry' - reminds me that I need to get in touch with James. :)

Jan 10, 2008 09:24 AM

Marina Vazzana

CRE-A-TIVE Staging & Redesign - Durham Region - Oshawa, ON

CSP, Home Staging Oshawa and Durham Region

Kimberly: You can set up your "items" in multiple ways. You must remember that once an "item" is set up in the list, it can never be removed. You don't have to use it again, but you cannot remove it. I suggest naming them and categorizing them but leave the dollar amount blank (you can then add a value manually) that way you don't end up having 100's of one time only "items" especially for the charges that fluctuate (ie. rentals) Things like rate per sq. ft. and hourly rates you can fill in completely. Like I said it takes a little time to first set up...and no you really don't need anyone to set it up for you, just set them up as you need them...but once you do you will love it and it will be really quick. I guess that's why they call it Quickbooks.

One other tip...if you have a Realtor or Builder that you use over and over, make them your "customer" and have the actual client fall under there name. That way you just use the drop down each time and fill in the other pertinent info. Also handy for the report that later shows you where most of your business is coming from.

Jan 10, 2008 10:48 AM

Kimberly Wester

Valparaiso, IN

Marina - I could kiss you!! These little bits of information will save me hours of frustration, I am sure. Great advice to set it up as I use it - that is what I am doing with the new laptop. Just moving files from the back up disks and programs over as I need them That way I do not end up with all the clutter I needed to get rid of off of the old one.

Jan 10, 2008 10:54 AM

Marina Vazzana

CRE-A-TIVE Staging & Redesign - Durham Region - Oshawa, ON

CSP, Home Staging Oshawa and Durham Region

Glad it helps...I could have used some advice when I first set up. Be sure to start with the FREE Quick Start. Go to quickbooks and download from there. Good Luck!

Jan 10, 2008 11:17 AM

Michelle Minch

Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA

Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Kimberly: When you first install QuickBooks, it will take you through an interview process to help you set up the program so it fits your business. It will tell you if the question you are answering is written in stone or if you can go back and change your answer later. The good news is that you can set up a "company", and if you screw up the set up, you can delete that company and start over. However, you have to re-enter any data, checks, etc. that you entered into the first company. You can also choose to do the interview at a later time. Give yourself a good hour to go through it.

I have 3 companies set up with my QB - I business, 1 for rental property, and 1 for personal. For liability reasons and tax reasons, it is important to keep your business and personal accounts separate.

Jan 10, 2008 11:51 AM

Maureen Maureen

Orangeburg, NY

I purchased a computer with Vista for my kids. It was a huge pain in the butt - Vista is so slow and is not compatible with tons of stuff. You should check to make sure your printer is working, many are not compatible with Vista. I ended up returning the computer and going back to XP. It is much better. (Better yet - now is a good time to switch to Mac)

I use QB for my business - I had my accountant come over and set it up - it was the best $100 I ever spent. QB is huge and there are so many features I would never have figured out on my own. (and you know I'm a total computer geek)

Jan 11, 2008 02:03 PM

Kimberly Wester

Valparaiso, IN

Michelle - Thanks so much for such valuable information! I do not handle our family's finances - that is my husbands job, so there is no chance the two will co-mingle. I think I will schedule a date with the MIL to get it set up.

Maureen - You are scaring me! I have not been using Vista for long, but I haven't had any problems with it yet. My printer has been fine - I only bought it 2 months ago, so it is brand new (I haven't even changed the ink in it yet). The new Vaio has a dual core processor and is much faster than the last.

I did seriously consider a Mac, but we have no local Apple stores. I could have purchased one from BB, but they have not been carrying them long so I was leary of their knowledge of them. My husband's IT guy does not work with them because they are not widely used in this area (again, no apple store) so he would be no help either.

I will certainly contact one of you if I need some help!

Jan 12, 2008 01:51 AM

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