Sample Company File in QuickBooks - Valuable Tool For Self-Study

Have you ever wondered what would happen in your QuickBooks file if you performed certain operations, but were too afraid to try? Did you know that you can experiment with your ideas, and not make a mess in your QuickBooks file?

When you installed your QuickBooks file, you also installed Sample Company files. Intuit designed these so that you could experiment with any idea or concept you have, and not take a chance messing up your own file.

Best Way to Experiment in a Sample QuickBooks File

Open a sample company file, and perform the operation you want to try. Then, to check its effect, run reports.

For example, if you are unsure what will happen if you establish a new item, establish it in the sample file. Go to the Items list of the sample file, press Control-N, and set it up however you think it should be. Then, go to the Write Checks, Enter Bills, or Invoice screen and use it in a transaction.

Next, run reports. If you assigned the item to an Income, Cost, or Expense account, run a Profit & Loss report to find the transaction there.

If you assigned a Bank, Asset, Liability, or Equity account to the Item when establishing it, run a Balance Sheet report to find it.

You can also run a report on the Item itself. From the Items list, highlight the item. Right click. Scroll down to run a QuickReport. You will see all of the transactions where that Item was used.

Be sure to verify the date range on the reports. The date you assigned to the transaction needs to fall within the date range of the report you run.

How to Locate a Sample Company File in QuickBooks - Two Ways

First Way

1. Open QuickBooks. If the screen asks for you password, click Cancel. If the screen does not ask for your password (simply opening your QB file instead), go to File > Close Company/Logoff. Either way, you should now be at the No Company Open screen.

2. From the No Company Open screen, click the button on the far right. It should say, "Open a Sample File." This will allow you to open a sample company.

Second Way

1. Follow this path to find where the sample files are located:

Start > My Computer > C drive (or where ever your data files are located) > Program Files > Intuit

The sample company files are probably located in the Intuit folder, rather than in the QuickBooks folder containing your real company's file. If they are not in the Intuit folder, check the folder that has your real company's file (usually looks like QuickBooks 2007, or whichever year you use). Once you find a sample file, make a note of where it is located. Do not open it from this window.

2. Open QuickBooks. From the File menu, select Open or Restore Company.

3. The specific instructions vary slightly, depending on the year of QuickBooks you are running. The general idea is to navigate to the folder of the sample company file you found in step one. Once you do that, double click the sample file to open it. It should open and be ready to use.

Final Thoughts

Teaching yourself how to use your QuickBooks file is a money-saving way to find out what you need to know. You no longer need to be afraid of what a certain transaction will do, because you can find out right now by experimenting in a sample QuickBooks file. Try it today and see if you don't learn a lot about QuickBooks.

Visit http://www.GetMoreFromQuickBooks.com today and download the free eBook, "7 Time Slashing Strategies for QuickBooks!"

Jennifer A. Thieme is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who is the author of several eBooks about QuickBooks, called the "Get More From QuickBooks" series:

Get More From QuickBooks - Conquer 27 Frustrating Mistakes that Steal Your Time, Sanity & MoneyGet More From QuickBooks - Crack the COGS CodeGet More From QuickBooks - Insider Secrets to Customer Prepayments

QuickBooks Tip - Fixing Corrupted Data Files

We've been seeing a surge in corrupted QuickBooks data files lately. Here are some of the signs that you've got a problem:
- Error messages, such as "Company file in use, please wait", invalid protection faults, fatal or unrecoverable errors
- Transactions can't be saved or QuickBooks suddenly shuts down when saving a transaction
- Incorrect data on reports, such as missing transactions, negative amounts in accounts that should be positive, unbalanced balance sheets, etc.
- Missing accounts on your chart of accounts or missing names on your lists
Not experiencing any of these problems yet? Press F2 to open the Product Information screen and check the number to the right of DB File Fragments - if it's higher than 10 it's just a matter of time.
It's extremely important not to ignore the signs because once a file is corrupted your company file may suddenly freeze up and won't open. In this case, you usually have no choice but to either restore a backup (you are backing up your QuickBooks file often, right?) or send the file to Intuit's data recovery team which offers no guarantee and often had a 2 week backlog. If you're in a hurry (and, really, who can afford to be without their file for 2 weeks?) they do offer to expedited service for $750.
Sound unappealing? You may want to start proactively working on keeping your QuickBooks data file healthy. One of the easiest ways is to frequently verify your data. You can do this manually at File > Utilities > Verify Data but it's even better if you run it as part of a regular QuickBooks backup. QuickBooks makes it easy by automatically reminding you to back up your file after a certain number of company file closes. For instance, if you want to verify once a week and you open your file once per day, you can set QuickBooks to backup with complete verification (this is important) when you close your company file 5 times. You can set your options at File > Save Copy or Backup, select Backup copy and click on Options.
But, you say, you regularly backup all your computer files every single night - why do you need to backup through QuickBooks too? While this a wonderful practice, and if you ever need to restore a backup you'll be glad you do, it's doing nothing at all to help keep your QuickBooks file healthy. Though you can manually verify your data, why not schedule a backup reminder from right within QuickBooks? Not to mention you can never have too many backups.
Already experiencing data corruption problems? Here is a list of things you can do to try to fix it yourself, but you may need professional help. If you want to attempt this on your own, I recommend working on a test file that you save to your desktop. If it works, you can copy it to your regular QuickBooks file directory. If not, you'll still have your original file available to send to someone with more experience workingwith corrupted files.
1. Click F2 to open the Product Information screen and check that you're using the most recent release - shown on the top line. If you aren't, go to Help > Update QuickBooks to download it.
2. Backup your data file by going to File > Save Copy or Backup and selecting Backup copy. Click on the Options button and make sure Complete Verification is selected. After QuickBooks verifies your data you may get a message that you you need to rebuild your data. If so, proceed with the rebuild. Once done, close your file by going to File > Close Company/Logoff, re-open it, and check to see if the problems are fixed. If they are, congratulations! Now just remember to verify your data often. If not, move on to step #3.
3. Re-sort your lists. The easiest way to do this is to use CTRL-W to open the Write Checks screen, make sure your cursor is in Pay to the Order of, and then use CRTL-L to open the Names List. Click the Name button and select Re-Sort Lists. Once done, close your file, re-open it, and check to see if the problems are fixed. If not, move on to step #4.
4. Verify your data again by going to File > Utilities > Verify Data. Regardless of whether you receive an error message this time, go ahead and rebuild you data at File > Utilities > Rebuild Data. If you did get an error message, verify data a second time and rebuild again if needed. Once done, close your file, re-open it and check to see if the problem are fixed. If not, move on to step #5.
5. Create a portable file by going to File > Save Copy or Backup and selecting Portable company file. Save it somewhere easy to locate like your desktop. Then restore the portable file by going to File > Open or Restore Company and selecting Restore a portable file. Check to see if the problem is fixed. You may want to do this 2-3 times.







Ruth Perryman is the president of The QB Specialists. She is a Certified Advanced Quickbooks ProAdvisor and an Intuit Solutions Provider, with over 19 years of industry experience including 5 years as a Chief Financial Officer. She has been working with Quickbooks since 1996, and specializes in QuickBooks Enterprise and POS installations and troubleshooting. She also provides virtual controller and CFO services.
If you need additional assistance, please call our QuickBooks technical support line at 888-351-5285. The first ten minutes are absolutely free! Plus receive additional free minutes with every purchase - visit our website for more details.