Latest news with #QuickBooksOnline
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What a Real Back Office Looks Like for a Two-Truck Operation
Let's clear this up: your back office isn't an office. It's the system you build to make decisions, protect your money, and stay on the road legally. It doesn't need to be big—but it does need to be tight. The three main roles of your back office are: Financial Visibility – So you know what each truck is making (or losing). Compliance Control – So you don't get sidelined by fines or failed audits. Operational Clarity – So you can grow without chaos. If your current setup involves a legal pad, a shoe box of receipts, and a mental note that something's due 'sometime this month,' you're already behind. Your Financial System Is the First Line of Defense Every successful small carrier knows their breakeven rate down to the penny. And that starts with having a real financial system, not guesswork. What You Need: A basic digital accounting platform (QuickBooks Online, Wave, or Zoho Books) Weekly tracking of: Revenue per truck Load-specific expenses Fuel, maintenance, tolls, permits Pay, insurance, factoring fees What to Set Up: Load Profit Tracker (per truck) Monthly P&L snapshot Reconciliation checklist for checking vs. EFS/fuel cards : If you can't answer 'How much profit did I make per truck last month?' in 60 seconds, you need better visibility. Compliance Isn't Optional You don't get a pass on DOT compliance because you're small. The fines hit just as hard. And worse—your insurance rates and CSA score can spiral fast if you're not buttoned up. Minimum Compliance Setup: FMCSA registration log (MC, DOT, UCR, MCS-150) IFTA folder with quarterly checklists Centralized storage for: BOC-3 Proof of Insurance Annual inspections Driver qualification files (even if you're driving yourself) ELD data pulled weekly Use Google Drive or Dropbox to keep everything searchable and backed up. Use calendar alerts for expirations. Miss nothing. Set one recurring calendar block each Friday for a 'compliance sweep' so you never fall behind. Documentation and Admin That Doesn't Suck Up Time Paperwork is the silent killer of growth. The more time you spend chasing down BOLs and resending rate confirmations, the less time you spend doing what pays: running trucks. What to Systematize: BOL Upload Flow: Driver → scanner app → shared folder Rate Confirmation Tracker: Spreadsheet or TMS with rate, broker, and load info Invoice Sent Log: Track invoice date, payment terms, and due date Broker Email Templates: For follow-ups, disputes, and rate confirmations Free tools like Adobe Scan, Gmail templates, and a simple spreadsheet can replace hours of admin time. If you can't afford a TMS, build your own with Airtable or Google Sheets. Every hour saved on admin is one you can spend quoting higher-paying loads or onboarding better brokers. Broker Management Is a Back Office Function Too many small carriers treat broker relationships like one-night stands—book a load, hope it pays, move on. That's not a strategy. What to Track: Payment terms for every broker you work with Payment history (on-time, late, issues) Red flags (chargebacks, changed rate cons, poor communication) Volume history and seasonality Use a tracker (spreadsheet, Airtable, or CRM) to log every interaction. Use DAT or Truckstop's data tools to assess repeat volume before you call. Stop treating every broker the same. If a broker's rate is always low and their payment always late, you're not being flexible—you're being exploited. When to Outsource and What to Let Go If you're spending more than 6 hours a week doing admin tasks, you're ready to start outsourcing. Not everything needs to be done by you—and frankly, some of it shouldn't be. What You Can Offload First: IFTA prep Invoicing and collections Permit renewals and filings Maintenance reminders and DOT inspection scheduling You don't need a full VA—just someone who can log in a few hours a week and keep the wheels turning behind the scenes. The goal is simple—free up your time to work the business, not just in it. Use Load Boards for Freight, Not Back Office Load boards are a tool—not a business model. Use them to fill gaps, spot trends, and test lanes—but don't let them dictate your strategy. Use Load Boards To: See lane trends and compare RPMs Find new brokers (after vetting) Spot outbound strength before you deadhead Don't Use Load Boards To: Rely 100% for freight Skip broker tracking and vetting Assume all brokers are equal If you can't explain your load board strategy without saying 'I just look for what's available,' you don't have a strategy. Final Word Your back office isn't something you 'get to later.' It's the foundation. For a two-truck operation, you don't need expensive systems or a full-time admin. But you do need structure. If you want to grow beyond two trucks—or even keep both trucks profitable long-term—you've got to start treating the business like a business. That means tracking, organizing, and executing with intention. The ones who win in this game don't just out-drive the others. They out-manage them. The post What a Real Back Office Looks Like for a Two-Truck Operation appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Associated Press
17-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Best Bookkeeping Software (2025): QuickBooks Online Awarded Top Solution by Expert Consumers
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Expert Consumers, a trusted source for software and business tool reviews, has named QuickBooks Online the top solution in its newly released report on the best bookkeeping software for 2025. The recognition highlights the platform's advanced automation, accessibility, and consistent reliability for small business owners, freelancers, and growing enterprises. Best Bookkeeping Software As businesses continue to navigate changing market conditions and increased demands on efficiency, bookkeeping remains a vital function. Accurate, up-to-date financial records are essential for making informed decisions, maintaining compliance, and planning for growth. However, many small business owners still struggle with manual processes or legacy systems that create bottlenecks and increase the risk of error. The Expert Consumers review cites QuickBooks Online's ability to eliminate many of these challenges through automation. The software allows users to link their bank and credit card accounts, enabling automatic transaction imports, smart categorization of expenses, and real-time cash flow visibility. These features reduce manual data entry and help ensure books remain accurate throughout the fiscal year. QuickBooks Online supports over 24,000 financial institutions, allowing seamless integration with existing banking services and financial tools. In addition to core bookkeeping functions, the platform includes features for invoicing, payroll, mileage tracking, and sales tax automation. The ability to manage books via mobile device ensures flexibility for remote teams, traveling entrepreneurs, and those managing operations outside traditional office settings. [ This image cannot be displayed. Please visit the source: ] QuickBooks Online processes over 550 million categorized transactions each year, with 85 percent of users reporting improved confidence in their bookkeeping accuracy after using the platform. These capabilities are especially beneficial for businesses with limited staff or those seeking to streamline workflows without hiring additional accounting support. In line with emerging trends in AI-powered productivity, QuickBooks Online is also evolving beyond traditional automation. The platform is actively developing cutting-edge AI agents designed to offer 'done for you' solutions - intelligent tools that can not only streamline data entry and categorization but also assist users in completing more complex tasks. These forthcoming AI capabilities signal QuickBooks' commitment to pushing the boundaries of smart bookkeeping and making advanced financial management more accessible to everyday users. QuickBooks Online is available in three plans - Simple Start, Plus, and Advanced. Each plan includes core accounting tools and automation features, while higher tiers offer multi-user access, advanced reporting, inventory tracking, and ecommerce integrations. The tiered structure ensures that businesses can select a solution that fits their needs and scale as operations grow more complex. The increasing reliance on digital systems for financial management reflects a broader shift toward automation in small business operations. Bookkeeping, once considered a back-office task, has become central to operational visibility and strategic decision-making. Platforms like QuickBooks Online are enabling businesses to move beyond basic recordkeeping and adopt tools that offer real-time financial intelligence. By automating daily bookkeeping tasks, QuickBooks Online reduces the likelihood of costly errors and enables proactive financial planning. The software's mobile functionality, compliance-ready reporting, and customizable workflows make it a versatile solution for a wide range of industries, from retail to professional services. QuickBooks users also benefit from GoPayments, a free mobile point-of-sale app that enables secure, contactless payments in person or on the go. The app integrates with QuickBooks Online, syncing sales data automatically without granting access to sensitive financial information. With Tap to Pay on iPhone, users can accept all types of in-person payments directly on their device - no card reader required. This feature is particularly useful for field teams, pop-up stores, and mobile businesses seeking seamless sales tracking and immediate payment capture. In addition, businesses using QuickBooks can apply for funding through QuickBooks Capital, which offers term loans and lines of credit directly within the platform. These financing options are designed to help companies manage large expenses or pursue growth initiatives without incurring origination fees, late fees, or prepayment penalties. Approved loans are typically funded within one to two business days. Businesses can draw from a credit line as needed and only pay interest on the amount borrowed. This built-in access to capital gives small and mid-sized companies added financial flexibility within a system they already trust. Expert Consumers recognizes QuickBooks Online for consistently delivering value to users seeking reliable, accessible, and efficient bookkeeping tools. The full review offers a comprehensive overview of the software's features and pricing structure. To learn more, read the complete review at Expert Consumers. About Intuit: Intuit is the global financial technology platform that powers prosperity for the people and communities we serve. With approximately 100 million customers worldwide using products such as TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks and Mailchimp, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to prosper. We never stop working to find new, innovative ways to make that possible. Please visit us at and find us on social for the latest information about Intuit and our products and services. About Expert Consumers: Expert Consumers provides news and reviews of consumer products and services. As an affiliate, Expert Consumers may earn commissions from sales generated using links provided. Contact: Drew Thomas ( [email protected] ) To view the source version of this press release, please visit
Digital Trends
16-07-2025
- Business
- Digital Trends
Grow your small business with Intuit QuickBooks Online — 90% off all plans!
For those who own a small business, and for those who are planning to launch one, you're going to need all the help that you can get to make sure that everything is always running smoothly. Intuit QuickBooks Online is a software solution that you can trust for this, and now's an excellent time to sign up for it because all plans are 90% off for three months, starting from $3.50 per month instead of $35 per month for the Simple Start plan, all the way up to $23.50 per month instead of $235 per month for the Advanced plan. You should hurry if you're interested, as the limited-time offer may expire at any moment! Why you should sign up for Intuit QuickBooks Online Intuit QuickBooks Online is cloud-based software that you can access from anywhere using your laptop or smartphone, as long as there's an internet connection. There are four plans available — Simple Start at $3.50 per month instead of $35 per month for one user, Essentials at $6.50 per month instead of $65 per month for three users, Plus at $9.90 per month instead of $99 per month for five users, and Advanced at $23.50 per month instead of $235 per month for 25 users. All plans have access to an automated bookkeeping system, automated bank feeds, a bill management system, auto-generated invoices, a customer management system, and a business performance feed, among many other helpful features for your small business. You'll also be able to get setup help and bookkeeping assistance from Live experts for 30 days. Some features of Intuit QuickBooks Online are powered by Intuit Assist, which uses artificial intelligence-powered automations for speed and efficiency. The Essential plan gives you access to the Accounting Agent for smarter bookkeeping and the Payments Agent for automated cashflow, the Plus plan adds the Customer Agent that turns leads into sales, and the Advanced plan throws in the Finance Agent that makes data-backed decisions for the future and the Project Management agent that creates and tracks projects. Plenty of small businesses have benefitted from the features of Intuit QuickBooks Online, and yours could be the next one. Sign up now while all plans are 90% off for three months, starting from as low as $3.50 per month to only $23.50 per month for the most comprehensive plan. There's no time to waste if you're interested in taking advantage of this limited-time deal — sign up now to start using Intuit QuickBooks Online as soon as possible!
CNBC
27-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
A step-by-step guide to setting up your QuickBooks account
As a small business owner, managing your company's finances, including tracking income and expenses and creating profit and loss reports, is a critical part of the job. Without an accountant on staff, one of the most efficient ways to handle these responsibilities is by using accounting software. One of the more popular options, Intuit QuickBooks, offers a full suite of accounting support, allowing businesses to organize financial information in one location and stay on top of essential accounting tasks. Setting up your QuickBooks account correctly, however, can seem daunting. To make the process easier, here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started. Costs may vary depending on the plan selected but take advantage of Summer Savings, offering 90% off for 3 months, for a limited time Tracks your business expenses as they happen, as well as your income. Users can use app to do invoicing, accept payments, manage their cash flow, maximize tax deductions, track travel miles, run reports, send estimates, manage bills and 1099 contractors, plus pay employees Yes Yes, bank and credit cards, plus third-party apps like PayPal and Square Accessible from any web browser and also offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android) Verisign scanning, password-protected login, firewall protected servers and the same encryption technology (128 bit SSL) used by the world's top banks. QuickBooks also offers multiple permission levels that you can set for additional users' access Terms apply. QuickBooks is available as desktop and online software. QuickBooks Online can be accessed from any web browser or through a mobile app on a tablet and smartphone, making it a good choice for business owners who are frequently on the go. The plan options for QuickBooks Online include Simple Start, Plus, and Advanced, which range in price from $3.50 per month to $23.50 per month. The tiers also differ in complexity, making it important to review the features carefully in order to select the best plan for your business's needs. Simple Start, for instance, offers basic bookkeeping tools, while Plus offers more expansive support, including tracking project profitability, tracking inventory and managing multi-currency transactions. Advanced provides the most comprehensive accounting and financial support including financial planning, business analytics, managing employee expenses and 24/7 support and training. The desktop version of QuickBooks, known as QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, is downloaded and installed on a computer. It offers more sophisticated accounting features for advanced users including inventory management, multi-company management and more. Once you've selected a QuickBooks plan and format, it's time to begin adding basic information about your company. This is where you enter your business name, business structure (such as LLC or sole proprietorship), industry, and contact. Information entered as part of this step will be the information your customers or vendors see on invoices, sales forms and other communications. Some of the additional details about your business that you'll provide as part of this step include: Linking your business bank and credit card accounts to your QuickBooks account is another important step in the set-up process. This integration allows QuickBooks to automatically import transactions, which streamlines your bookkeeping. Having your bank and credit card information imported saves time and reduces the potential for any human errors associated with manual data entry. It also helps ensure no income or expenses slip through the cracks, establishing a complete, accurate picture of your finances. This will come in handy while you're making spending decisions, applying for loans, or prepping for tax season. Once your financial accounts are connected, QuickBooks will automatically categorize your expenses. But you can also review, confirm and edit these categorizations — or even create custom categories. If you have recurring monthly expenses — like an Adobe or Canva subscription — you can create a new category in the QuickBooks system that will "bookmark" the charge, so it will know how to recognize and categorize it moving forward. Customizing your expense categories will be especially helpful when it comes to budgeting or forecasting. Establishing your chart of accounts is a critical set-up step that some experts suggest is best done with the assistance of a professional. The chart of accounts is a list of all the accounts that are part of your business's daily operations. Creating this correctly is essential for accurate bookkeeping. "Your chart of accounts determines how your income, expenses, assets, and liabilities are organized and reported," says Maria Anderson, co-founder of the business consulting firm Marico Consulting. "This step impacts everything: tax preparation, budgeting, forecasting, and your ability to read financials with clarity." The chart of accounts should be customized to reflect your business's unique needs and operations, rather than relying on generic categories. For example, if you have three income streams, you may want three income accounts so you can see what's most profitable. When establishing your QuickBooks account, you may also want to customize your sales settings. QuickBooks provides various options related to the type of information it collects and tracks when your business makes and records a sale. These details can be tailored to your business's needs during the set-up process, as well. Sales forms can be customized to include information related to shipping, discounts, service dates, tips, payment terms, late fees and more. Starting in July 2025, QuickBooks will also launch Agentic AI features into the platform, such as an accounting agent to automatically reconcile books and detect anomalies, a payments agent to manage invoicing, a customer agent to spot leads and draft emails, and a finance agenct to help provide insights and assist in financial decision-making. Your books are the foundation of every business decision, from hiring and pricing to taxes and fundraising. Mismanaged books can lead to missed deductions, late filings, and poor cash flow management. So as a small business owner, taking the time to set up your QuickBooks account correctly is an important effort, one that will help you manage your business more effectively, allow you to have an accurate picture of your financial standing, and save time. Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here. At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every checking account review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Anchor Unlocks Industry-First Auto-Billing for Any Time Tracking Software
The company's QBO Time Activities integration lets accountants get paid for any service—using any pricing model—expanding its flexible, first-to-market payment tools. New York, NY, June 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anchor, the free-to-use autonomous billing and collection platform for accounting and professional-service businesses, today introduced a first-to-market deep integration to QuickBooks Online (QBO) that turns tracked hours from any time-tracking tool connected to QBO into payments, pre-approved by the used with Anchor's Pre-approved hourly services, every hourly engagement carries a cap the client has already approved. In one click, time entries from QuickBooks Time, Big Time, Toggl, Harvest, or any other tracker that syncs with QBO flow into a matching invoice in Anchor, where they can be reviewed and adjusted before the invoice is issued and the payment is processed automatically. "Our customers wanted a faster path from time tracking to payment, and this industry-first release delivers it," said Rom Lakritz, Co-founder and CEO of Anchor. "No other solution offers this capability within one unified billing hub, giving accountants unmatched speed and certainty for their cash flow in the most simple and automatic way." Key benefits Automatic sync - Instantly pulls every billable entry from any time tracker connected through QBO Time Activities straight into the correct invoice in Anchor. Works with any tracker - if it syncs to QBO, it syncs to Anchor; support for non-QBO trackers is coming soon. One-click billing - Tracked time from any QBO-synced tracker is checked against the pre-approved hourly cap, appears on the invoice with its notes, duration, and service name, can be edited in Anchor for last-minute tweaks, then is sent and paid in seconds with no back-and-forth. Zero manual entry - Streamlines billable hours directly into invoices, eliminating copy-paste workflows and spreadsheet rework while cutting time spent and error risk. Map once, bill forever - Anchor links each client and service to its QBO counterpart so every hour lands in the right place. Data integrity maintained - Edits in Anchor never touch the original record in QBO, and invoiced entries are auto-marked as converted to prevent double billing. Each QBO entry keeps its notes, duration, and service name. 'Firms can keep tracking time in whatever tool they love, open Anchor, and watch the invoice write itself,' added Tal Ben Bassat, COO of Anchor. 'Firms no longer need to juggle spreadsheets or copy-paste timesheets, it's true hands-free billing, from proposal to payment, with zero extra clicks. This launch is part of a much larger effort to let them get paid in any way they can imagine.' Availability and pricing The new feature is live for all Anchor customers today, joining the Pre-approved Hourly Cap and hundreds of other features. Anchor remains free to use, with no subscription or credit card fees, and the same flat $5 fee per transaction we've maintained for the past four years. Users can activate the integration in seconds under Integration Settings. Ready to get paid faster - no matter how you track time? Sign up at to start billing automatically. Follow Anchor on Facebook or LinkedIn for product updates. QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online, and QuickBooks Time are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. Any other brand names or product names are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective holders. About Anchor Anchor is reinventing financial workflows for accounting and professional service businesses by simplifying proposals, agreements, invoicing, and payments. By replacing rigid document-based workflows with interactive agreements, Anchor helps firms eliminate revenue loss, improve cash flow, and grow profits. Trusted by thousands of firms, Anchor collects its five-dollar flat fee only when customers are paid. Learn more at ContactCompany Name: AnchorContact Person: Elad ShmilovichEmail: United StatesWebsite: CONTACT: Media Contact Company Name: Anchor Contact Person: Elad Shmilovich Email: Country: United States Website: in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
