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Intuit Statement Writer: How I Improve My Bottom Line While Helping Clients

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Customization and Budgeting Capability Make the Difference

More than ever, clients understand the value of financial data and especially improved budgeting capability. Intuit Statement Writer helps you deliver for clients on both counts.

How I Use Intuit Statement Writer to Grow My Practice

I'm already using Intuit Statement Writer and here are just a few ways that I've found the tool creates value for my clients and grows my business:

1. Value Added Reports. Providing a client with a basic looking QuickBooks budget report isn't my goal. I want them to see the information that I think is valuable to them. I will highlight certain variances (good or bad) and add comments to the Excel spreadsheet. This provides talking points when I'm visiting with them as well as when the owners/managers may have further discussions with their team.
2. Levels of Reports. I now provide my clients with a variety of levels of reports. Often a client will need different reports for different end users. Intuit Statement Writer allows me to provide customized budget reports easily without having to run multiple reports.
3. Budgeting Added as a Business Line. I can expand my practice by announcing new levels of service. Some clients need extra help with budgeting issues and procedures. Expanded budgeting reports aren't available in regular versions of QuickBooks so I can look like a "miracle worker" in being able to cost effectively provide these solutions.

Important Note: More Than Just Looks. The ability to customize statements in Excel goes beyond just improving the looks of the finished report. As the accounting professional, you are able to roll up accounts or provide deeper levels of detail as required.

Saving Time

In the past, to create such services meant decoupling custom statements from QuickBooks data. Most accountants could create this custom work in Excel, but it was a time-consuming process to update.

What I love best in Intuit Statement Writer is the ability to have updated information right in Excel in real time, instead of having to go through the export function repeatedly.

What I love best is the ability to have updated information right in Excel, instead of having to go through the export function repeatedly.

How to Get Started

Some basic steps in using Intuit Statement Writer are outlined before we discuss budgeting options in more detail. You will find the option to access the Intuit Statement Writer under the Accountant drop down menu in your 2009 version. Simply click on the option and you will see the Welcome screen as in Figure A.

Figure A. Intuit Statement Writer Welcome Screen

If you select to do a new statement, then you'll see the list of options available to you as shown in Figure B.

Figure B. Templates Available in Intuit Statement Writer

Focus on Budgeting

As Figure B shows, you have a number of options for starting with several budgeting templates. In a separate article, I discuss budgeting in more detail.

See New Budgeting Options Only in Intuit Statement Writer.

Pam Newman is author of "Out of the Red" and "Boost Your Bottom Line," and frequently speaks before entrepreneurs and management groups. She is a Certified Management Accountant, Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (with additional certification in QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions and QuickBooks Point of Sale). President of RPPC, Inc., she may be contacted at pam@rppc.net or 816.304.4398.

Last Updated: 12/05/2008