Despite the surge of cloud based accounting software, I know many of you are still using offline desktop applications.
For me, my weapon of choice is QuickBooks. One of the major reasons I still like using QuickBooks is speed. No matter how many bells and whistles an online service adds, it still can’t replicate the speed of a local app, especially when that app has some keyboard shortcuts.
One of my philosophies on software is this:
The more I have to leave the keyboard and use the mouse, the less productive I’m going to be, and the less likely I am to use that app for work.
Say what you will about MS Office, but you can get an awful lot done in a Word doc or an Excel spreadsheet without lifting your hands off the keys.
QuickBooks doesn’t have nearly the same range of options, but I wanted to point out a few that have really sped up my daily data entry.
Ctrl W - Write cheque
Ctrl I - New invoice
Ctrl J - Customer Manager
Ctrl A - Chart of Accounts
Ctrl Del - Delete a line
Ctrl Tab - Switch between open windows
Ctrl Enter - Save and New
For anyone who uses QuickBooks, I think these are pretty self-explanatory. The last one on the list has been an absolute game changer for me. I know…that sounds a bit hyperbolic…but I mean it.
Bookkeepers…if you’re not using Ctrl + Enter yet…give it a shot. If you’ve got a big stack of invoices or bills to enter, that extra second or two it takes you to move your hand from the keyboard to the mouse and then find a click the “Save & New” on each bill really adds up over time. If you don’t believe me, just try to plough through 100 receipts in an afternoon in any online app. The constant movement between mouse and keyboard will drive you crazy by the 15th receipt.
I hope this is news to some of you, and that it helps speed up your bookkeeping.
Do you have some QuickBooks tips of your own? Keyboard shortcuts you use all the time that I didn’t mention? Please let me know in the comments or contact me. I always love to find new ways to speed up my work.
