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Thursday, April 23, 2009 Hello,
We also highlight Vistage - a great resource for small business CEOs to get a little help at the top. As always, we have a calendar full of professional development opportunities. So take a well deserved break with the GrowthForce E-News. BUDGET TRACKINGQuickBooks now has the ability to track budget, versus actual spending in a separate forecast. This is particularly valuable in these turbulent times when the best laid plans, and budgets, often go awry. Instead of changing the budget, we recommend adding a short-term forecast and compare actual results against both the original plan and the revised forecast. To create budgets and forecasts, simply select Planning & Budgeting from the Company menu. If you don’t currently have a budget the start of the second quarter is a great time to make one. Check out our 5 ½ steps to create your first budget. Most small businesses do not have a budget becuase they fear it will not be accurate. By definition a budget is wrong – you can’t predict the future. So don’t get hung up on perfection, just get something in Quickbooks so you can compare against your best guess. It will also help flag fraudulent spending and improve your internal controls! QUICKBOOKS FOR NON-PROFITSAt GrowthForce, we have a separate department just for non- Read our QuickBooks for Non-Profits White Paper.. OFFSITE BACKUPAt GrowthForce, we recommend backing up your files as often as you can to avoid loss of important data. Most businesses assume they are okay if their server is backed up, but that is not sufficient. You need to run a backup in QuickBooks in order to complete the “Data Verify” step. That process helps fix potential data corruption problems. Some businesses backup their data on the same computer that generates the data. That is not a best practice, either. If the computer is stolen or the hard disk crashes that data is lost forever. Intuit has a daily QuickBooks back up service that is really inexpensive – it only cost $49.95 per year for up to one gigabyte and $149.95 for 10 gigabytes! Plus the file is backed up to Iron Mountain. This is the cheapest insurance you’ll ever find. For more information click here. VISTAGEGrowthForce CEO Stephen King is a member, and raving fan, of Vistage – the world’s largest CEO peer group. Vistage is an organization of CEOs who help each another make better decisions, achieve better results for their businesses and enhance their lives. They collaborate over the Web, receive one-on-one coaching, attend peer group monthly meetings, tap into a vast online resource library and learn from expert speakers.
According to Vistage, its members are more successful than their competitors and, on average, grow their revenues at twice the percentage rate after joining Vistage. King confers, “Vistage forces me once a month to work on my business, not in my business. It’s like having my own board of directors to hold my feet to the fire to achieve my goals.” In these times of uncertainty, imagine having a results-driven CEO peer group with one mission in mind: to protect and grow your business. Call Robin Stanaland at 281-352-6044. For more information or a free consultation click here. This month we introduce helpful tips from Vistage. This month’s topic is how to: Accelerate The Quality of Every Meeting -The Easy Way. Click here for the article. KING NAMED TO HOUSTON CPA SOCIETY BOARD
King has been a member of the organization since 2004. He has served as Continuing Professional Education chairman of the Northeast Satellite of the Houston CPA Society. Under his tenure, the satellite created a scholarship for high school accounting students and forged a partnership with Lone Star College-Kingwood. “Through Steve’s service as Chair of the Northeast Satellite group, he has demonstrated his enthusiasm and commitment not only to the Society but to the profession, thus making him a great candidate to serve as a member of the Board of Directors,” said Nancy A. Rutledge, Houston CPA Society executive director.
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GrowthForce is not a CPA firm.
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During this busy time of year we could all use a little more time in our day or a few extra hands on deck. This edition of the GrowthForce E-News shows you how QuickBooks can save a lot of time and effort with budgeting, backups and accounting for non-profits.
profit clients. That is because non-profit organizations have unique bookkeeping needs and terminology. While QuickBooks has a non-profit edition, the standard QuickBooks Professional edition will work just fine - if designed correctly. Follow the link below to read our White Paper on how non-profits can tailor QuickBooks to their unique needs. 
In March, GrowthForce CEO Stephen King was named to the Board of Directors of the Houston CPA Society for a two-year term. The Houston CPA Society, a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, provides continuing education as well as a professional network for CPAs. The organization has 8,000 member CPAs from a 13-county area in the Houston market. 
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Open Opportunities GrowthForce is growing its work force. Please forward this newsletter to spread the word or click below to learn about this job opportunity. QuickBooks Tip: Upgrade to 2009 We have battle tested the new release of QuickBooks 2009 and we are happy to report that it is now safe to upgrade to QuickBooks 2009. There are many good reasons to take the plunge. Some of the best new features in QuickBooks are:
Click here if you would like more information about upgrading. Upcoming Events: QuickBooks Training Class Taught by GrowthForce Senior Manager of Accounting Systems Thurs., May 14, 2009 This introduction to the QuickBooks system offers everything a novice user of QuickBooks needs to know to get started. You’ll learn about creating Lists – Chart of Account, Items, Centers; bank account and balance sheet activities; selling and paying for goods and services; reporting results, tracking time, designing forms and letters. The cost is just $299 per person. Discounts are available for multiple attendees from one company. Each attendee will receive a comprehensive QB training procedure guide.
Advanced QuickBooks Training Clinic Taught by GrowthForce Senior Manager of Accounting Systems Margaret F. Gow, CPA* Thurs., June 18, 2009 This course picks up where the last course left off, giving you a more indepth look into working in QuickBooks. In the 4 hour course each attendee will 15 minutes to learn how to tackle their biggest problems when working with QuickBooks. The cost is just $150 per person. Register soon, there is a 6 person limit. Houston CPA Society Tues., April 28, 2009 HTC Service Provider Network Best Practices Brown Bag Series: Landing the Big Fish and signing a Master Services Agreement Speaker: Alicia L. Goodrow, Esq., Partner Association for Accounting Marketing Houston Chapter Tues., May 5 Business Resource Round Table Friday, May 8th, 10am – 6pm Wouldn’t you love to have free access to lawyers, investment bankers, sales trainers and the other business professionals you need to grow your business? For one day you can! On Friday, May 8th you will have the opportunity to consult one-on-one with experts in every discipline – finance, sales & marketing, strategy, operations, etc. – and get fresh innovative ways to improve and grow your business. Click here for more information. Due to space and time limitations – open to business owners only Houston CPA Society Wed. -Thurs., May 27-28
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