Chasing Clients for Info

Since the beginning of my career as an accountant & bookkeeper one of the biggest challenges I have faced has been getting answers from clients about mystery expense transactions. This has become even more difficult with the adoption of online shopping from retailers such as Amazon and Costco.

For most of us, assigning these transactions to an Uncategorized or Ask Client expense account has been the answer. At month end we run the report and send to the client via email. If the list is long enough we may attach an excel spreadsheet and request the client to provide info and return to us so we can update the accounting system.

So this seems pretty simple, right? Actually if you think about it this process is extremely inefficient and chaotic.  

• Time lapse makes it more likely that client doesn’t remember what they purchased
• Client may not provide answers to all transactions, making it necessary to send repeated requests
• Client may attach and return the incomplete or incorrect spreadsheet
• Accounting staff must manually make the changes increasing the potential for data entry errors

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This is a Better Way

The Game Changing Solution for Uncategorized Expenses

Client Hub is a modern all-in-one client portal that features a complete workspace for each client where they can perform their client tasks.  Now, Client Hub accountant users can now their clients’ QuickBooks Online account to their Client Hub workspace and map a selected expense account to be monitored.

Each time a check or expense transaction is posted to the selected account, a Client Task will be automatically created in the client workspace. The client task includes a message asking the client to classify the expense along with the transaction details. A pull down displays the COGS, Expenses and Other Expense accounts from the clients QuickBooks Chart of Accounts.

This allows the client to select the appropriate account for the listed transactions. If the client is unsure, or the transaction needs to be posted to a balance sheet account (not displayed in the client view), the client can simply add a comment to provide additional details.

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Automated QuickBooks Updates - After Your Review

Like all other Client Tasks, the accountant can review the response and once it is accepted, Client Hub sends the reclassification back to QuickBooks Online, automatically editing the original transaction and eliminating the need for manual reclassification.

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Save Hours each month

This new feature simplifies the process of getting answers about unknown transactions, eliminating workflow roadblocks for the accounting team helping to provide accurate and timely financials to clients. The QuickBooks integration is available to all new Client Hub subscribers during their 14-day free trial. Existing subscribers can enable this feature by upgrading to their subscription to the Pro version.

To learn more about this game changing new feature, visit us here. Existing users can also access our full library of articles on the topic here.