Bookkeeping: Robina Bookkeepers, Gold Coast0415 453 536 – MYOB,Quickbooks, Robina, Varsity Lakes, Reedy Creek and Mudgeeraba

We’ve upgraded one of our Laptops to Windows7 – more like Xp than Vista. You’ve heard the wise old adage “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”

Seems that IT techies haven’t heard that – or feel they have to make changes to justify their existence.

Back to the problem of how to print the screen image on the laptop.Using the “print Screen” key on the windows keyboard had no effect.

We then tried F13 function key – still no result. Why? Because Windows7 (and apparently Vista also) has a little application called a Snipping Tool to make capturing screen shots easier.

How to operate the Windows7 Snipping Tool
1. Find the tool by clicking on the Start Menu and typing “snipping” into the search box.
2. The Snipping Tool should be visible in the Programs list above the search box – so click on it.
3. A new window will appear on your screen , the Snipping Tool. You can move it to the edge of the screen out of your way.
4. The Snipping Tool assumes you want to create a new clipping as soon as you open it. Your screen will dim, and you can click and drag your cursor to select an area to copy. As you drag, the selected area will be darker, and surrounded by a red border if you’ve never changed the Snipping Tool options.
5. After releasing your mouse button, the captured area will open in the Snipping Tool window. If you’re not happy with the selection and need to try again, click the “New” button.
6. When you are happy with your clipping, press the second button to save the screen shot as an image file.
7. You can then paste the image into your Paint program or other graphics editing software

See, much easier than just pressing F13 …….. ????!!!!

Bookkeeping is a drudgery for many business owners in Robina, but do you realise the importance of bookkeeping in YOUR Robina business?

Recently the e-e-e-e-asy electrical store Clive peters collapsed following a $20million accounting scandal, but the demise of the company was of little surprise to many in the retail sector.

There’s some lessons that evry small business owner in Robina, Mudgeeraba, or Varsity Lakes, can learn from this episode:

Discounting
Many business owners believe that discounting their products or services is a healthy business strategy. However, whilst you may be able to survive for a short time, eventually your margins and profits become so small. Then all it takes is for a competitor to run a short campaign undercutting you and taking your clients way

How come some of the airlines manage to price cut? Well, they don’t offer everybody the cheap seats, it’s a first-come first served basis. You can be sitting beside someone who’s paid three or four times, or even ten times as much for the same flight!

Find Your Niche
Crazy as it sounds, the tighter your niche, the stronger your position, unless you’re a huge organization. Have a look at restaurants. They could most likely cook any dish that you asked them, so why do some only serve Italian, others Greek, Indian, etc? They focus on their niche and get very good at it

Debt – The Killer
Rapid expansion based on debt is very dangerous. Clive Peeters expanded their empire when times were good. Cash was freely available, and they gambled that their sales were going to continue to grow. Even when the global financial crisis hit, and our then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, gave everybody a handout to go and buy widescreen TVs, the writing was on the wall

Bookkeeping – watching your cashflow
How many businesses would not notice a few million dollars missing from their accounts? You’ll read about bookkeepers and accountants that manage to siphon off funds from right under the noses of business owners, and that’s just one why it’s important to have a handle on your finances.

The numbers are the lifeblood of your business. Without an efficient bookkeeping system in place, how can you know where your business stands? How can you make informed decisions about buying new equipment, running marketing campaigns, employing more staff and the like?

Your bookkeeper is a critical cog in the wheel of your small business, so you should ensure that they are well suited for the position, competent, and experienced to give you the necessary information regarding the financial status of your business. Contact us RIGHT NOW for more information

QuickBooks EasyStart Lite is ideal for start-up businesses and first-time users of accounting software. It uses easy-to-understand language so special accounting knowledge is not required.

Track GST and prepare for your BAS
QuickBooks EasyStart Lite automatically calculates GST collected or paid as you enter transactions. When it’s time to lodge a Business Activity Statement, simply run a Tax Liability Report and all the figures you need for the tax office are there.

QuickBooks EasyStart Lite 2010/11 QBi series is designed for start-up businesses needing a simple accounting solution, who don’t have a large customer and supplier base. [Read more .... ]

Whether you use MYOB or Quickbooks accounting software, you may need to get an update for the new financial year 2010/11

There’s been some changes to the packaging of the MYOB products as they continue to fine tune the software. As you’ll realise they are in the business of selling and promoting their software rather than in the bookkeeping business.

Quickbooks have also brought some upgrades and changes to improve their accounting software

For more details of the new software versions, and for ordering products visit our product pages