QuickBooks Online – Orange County
I was honored last week with an article on the QuickBooks Blog about my practice. I am a big fan of QuickBooks Online and working in the cloud. In fact, my practice is primarily run from the cloud. This setup gives me the ability to focus on my clients instead of a heavy infrastructure. I can and do work from most anywhere, anytime. So, even though I am based in Orange County, I am serving clients in different states and different countries. I love to visit my local clients and help with the growth of their business.
This month, the spotlight shines on David Harmon!
David’s favorite QuickBooks feature
My favorite QuickBooks Online feature is anytime, anywhere access. This makes me a valuable team member of my clients rather than a historian. I am able to provide Controllership services at a fraction of the cost to start-up clients. QuickBooks Online becomes very valuable when teamed up with a few third-party apps.
Here is a partial list of the different locations I have used QuickBooks Online:
Starbucks, Coffee Bean (So Cal), Panera, etc
On the train traveling to a client project
On a plane heading to a conference
In bed with my iPad
Reconciled an account while my wife drove us through wine country
In our church parking lot (sorry Pastor Rick)
Used my QuickBooks iPhone app to answer client questions from a family function
Sent invoices during a civic meeting I found boring
In my backyard with iced tea and my goldendoodle, Pierre
During my cool down session at physical therapy
Hospital waiting room when my daughter was sick
My entire operation can be run from my briefcase. I prefer my MacBook Pro, and QuickBooks Online runs flawlessly on it. I have no accounts receivable and an awesome clientele that is more international than I could have ever dreamed. Bernard, I may have to come visit you in London.
Most of my clients are tech start-ups or professional services firms who embrace technology and are willing to try new tools. I am a big fan of TSheets, Bill.com, Expensify, Asana, Box.com, and SOS Inventory. This year I also migrated to Intuit Tax Online and am learning to appreciate the convenience of running everything from my laptop.
David’s top tip for new QuickBooks users
I think every new user of QuickBooks Online would benefit from a few hours of in-person training. It’s easy to watch a video or read an instruction, but a true pro can show a new user how to streamline processes and get more out of the reporting. Having live help also prevents many of the common mistakes that are made when using QuickBooks Online for the first time. There are great pros available that can help new users make the most of their cloud accounting software.
By the way, I did this in shorts and flip-flops with Pierre napping by my feet. QuickBooks Online lets me get away with this.
