QuickBooks Practice Set: QuickBooks Experience using Realistic Transactions for Accounting, Bookkeeping, CPAs, ProAdvisors, Small Business Owners or other users

I purchased this book to gain some practical experience using QuickBooks and more importantly to see how to properly set up a new company. This book doesn't disappoint! The authors walk you though the set-up process, then guide you through how to input transactions. Once you have the hang of what transactions go where and how to generate reports to check your work, the authors do what any good educator does, they ask you to do the same things again, this time without the notes and guidance. By the third month of transactions, you are not only comfortable with the program, but now developing your own workflow. You start to look for the short-cut keys and begin to find ways to work faster and more efficiently.If you need to learn the basics of QuickBooks in a hurry, this is a fantastic resource. No, it won't teach you every little thing the program can do, but if you complete this practice set, you will have a company file that you know is set up correctly. Once you have that foundation, you can easily explore the other options QuickBooks has available.Overall, this is a must have for anyone new to QuickBooks or anyone that wants to check to see if they are using the program in the most logical way.

You have to know the basics, have some knowledge of QuickBooks in order to complete the exercises provided. If you are new to QuickBooks, then this book is not for you! If you are seeking to get expert training with the software, it's capabilities, functions, then this book is also not for you! It is merely for practice with entering in transactions with purchase orders, A/R, A/P, reconciling, etc. The book begins with the assumption that you already know how to navigate through the software. Some bookkeeping and accounting knowledge is also helpful to understand the exercises, as well.Honestly, I do think this book is great for practicing. I'm an accountant, but unemployed that is. I haven't worked for 6 years as I took some time off to be with my children. Not having used QuickBooks for that period of time, I have felt really behind. This book was very useful in getting me back on my feet, and regaining the QB skills I once lost. I would highly recommend this book for those who need to a little more practice with the basics.

I have just started this practice set and find it to be pretty good experience. However, they don't include payroll or hiring employees. After the practice set is complete, I will probably continue the company and hire two or three people as a part of the practice set. I will make things up as I go for April through June, by expanding the business. A message to Michelle Long would be to make the practice set a little more complicated and include payroll experience. Other than that, this is a very good practice set for those who would like to learn QuickBooks.

I was really excited to get an actual practice set; however, I found that I didn't always post to the correct account. So I had to start over 3-4 times. I guess the struggle was worth it but very frustrating.

In spite of having no education in bookkeeping, I was chosen to be the treasurer for our start-up company. I studied some bookkeeping books and when I started with QuickBooks I realized that there was virtually no relationship between manual bookkeeping and QuickBooks. I didn’t know where to begin.Since “QuickBooks Practice Set” was the last book I had on hand I picked it up. When I first opened this book I was intimidated.I am used to computer how-to books that lead me, step by step, through every process. This book doesn’t do that. Since I didn’t know the first thing about how to do anything in QuickBooks I immediately thought I was in trouble. As it turns out, I wasn’t in as much trouble as I thought.While I also occasionally referred to “QuickBooks 2013 - The Missing Manual” (here: ) I plugged away with this practice set. I think I had to start over with a new company about three or four times. That was easier than trying to delete the several transactions I had messed up. But I was learning a lot while I worked.This book is set up to have you enter data for three months, beginning with January. After you enter the data for each month the book presents the reports you should be able to generate with the data shown correctly. You can carefully check your work against the “answer reports” and figure out what mistakes you made. (That’s about when I would erase the company and start over.)By the time I got through February I was actually beginning to think I could do this on my own.This books is daunting for someone like me who has no idea where to begin with QuickBooks, but if you persevere you will learn more from doing these practice exercises than you will from a book that leads you step-by-step. You will learn not only the correct way to do what you want, but you will also learn to think for yourself to determine how to do something that isn’t covered in this book.I very much recommend “QuickBooks 2013 - The Missing Manual” as a companion to this book, but by itself “QuickBooks 2013 - The Missing Manual” isn’t as good a learning tool. It’s a reference book.A QuickBooks coach would be a nice help, but If you want to jump into learning QuickBooks, even on your own, this book will really get you going.Highly recommended.– Loren

This book walks you through setting up a new company, modifying a chart of accounts, setting up items, customers and vendors. After the file is set up you then proceed to enter monthly transactions. The screen shots show you what your file will look like after entering the transactions.You will need a basic understanding of QuickBooks. Watching a webinar or reading a book may give you some knowledge of QuickBooks but the best way to learn it is to use it. And that's what you will do with this Practice Set , you will practice using QuickBooks. And that will increase your confidence whether you are looking for a job or looking for clients.I receive lots of emails asking me how someone can learn QuickBooks. Along with other suggestions I now recommend this book.