Episode 12
Episode 12: Why QuickBooks Training Pays for Itself
Episode 12: Why QuickBooks Training Pays for Itself
In this episode of QuickBooks Mastery for Small Business Success, father-daughter team Erica Northrup and Lee Davis explain why learning QuickBooks the right way can transform how you run your business. They share why self-teaching often leads to frustration and costly mistakes, and how hands-on, personalized training helps business owners gain confidence and control.
You’ll learn what quality training looks like, how to choose the right trainer, and why understanding your numbers is one of the most important investments you can make in your business.
Listeners will gain clarity, encouragement, and practical strategies they can begin using right away.
Key Takeaways
- Proper QuickBooks training saves time, money, and frustration
- Hands-on learning builds confidence in your financial reports
- Accurate data leads to better business decisions
- Training reduces dependence on outside help
- Good trainers focus on real-world application, not memorization
Questions to Reflect On
- Am I confident that my QuickBooks setup is correct?
- Do I understand where my numbers come from?
- What mistakes might I be making without realizing it?
Mentioned in This Episode
Free 3-Part Quick Start Guide to Getting Started with QuickBooks
Download at: www.leedavisandcompany.com
Send Us Your Questions:
support@leedavisandcompany.com
⏱️ Timestamps
00:02 - Introduction to QuickBooks Mastery01:57 - The Importance of QuickBooks Training
11:05 - Real World Benefits of QuickBooks Training
14:49 - Choosing the Right Training for QuickBooks
20:57 - The Importance of Training in QuickBooks
📣 Call to Action
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Download our free 3-Part Quick Start Guide to get started with QuickBooks the right way.
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Transcript
Welcome to QuickBooks mastery for small Business Success.
Speaker A:I'm Erica Northrup.
Speaker B:And I'm Lee Davis.
Speaker A:I handle the tech and he handles the numbers.
Speaker A:And together as a father daughter team, we bring decades of experience helping small to medium sized businesses thrive.
Speaker B:We know that as a business owner, your time is best spent mastering your craft and growing your business, not getting lost in QuickBooks.
Speaker B:Managing finances can be confusing and you don't have hours to waste sorting through spreadsheets or fixing bookkeeping mistakes.
Speaker B:That's where we come in, helping you streamline QuickBooks so you can focus on building your business.
Speaker A:Each week we break it all down into simple, actionable steps so you can focus on growing your business, not fixing your books.
Speaker B:Let's embark on this journey together.
Speaker A:Welcome back to QuickBooks mastery for small Business Success, the podcast where we help business owners get confident with their numbers and take control of their finances.
Speaker A:I'm Erica Northrup here with my papa and co host Lee Davis.
Speaker B:Today we're diving into something we see makes a huge difference for small business owners.
Speaker B:Getting trained in QuickBooks.
Speaker B:Whether you are just starting out or you've used QuickBooks for years and you've been self taught, you will find that this podcast will help you to be able to get back on track with or get yourself started in QuickBooks.
Speaker B:If you've ever felt overwhelmed by your bookkeeping or unsure whether you're using the program the right way, this episode's for you.
Speaker A:That's right, this is episode 12 and we're talking all benefits of getting trained in QuickBooks.
Speaker A:So let's just jump right into it.
Speaker A:Papa.
Speaker A:I feel like a topic that our business was made to give is really talking about the benefits of QuickBooks and why you should get trained in QuickBooks.
Speaker B:Yeah, I know from when we first started our company, I believed in the benefit of training and that there are some small businesses who may choose the training route and because they're just trying to start out and they're probably not able necessarily to afford a full time bookkeeper and quite frankly they could get trained on QuickBooks and for the first three years or whatever, they could effectively use the software and take care of their business needs.
Speaker B:So we always looked at alternative for people who wanted to do their own bookkeeping and so we offered a training company.
Speaker A:Yep, it's one of the main powerhouses of leading company is our training company for sure.
Speaker A:Let's talk about why we believe that QuickBooks training matters.
Speaker A:Like why does it matter to somebody to get trained in QuickBooks?
Speaker B:I think first and foremost, QuickBooks is not necessarily intuitive.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:You can't just jump into it without knowing the basics of how QuickBooks works, how to move around and how to manage the software.
Speaker B:A little bit of training will help you get started off on the right foot.
Speaker B:I've often seen people who haven't gotten trained who thought they could just start out with it and they wind up coming to me sometimes a year later because they're so discouraged.
Speaker B:They've got a real mess and they don't know what to do.
Speaker B:That would be hard.
Speaker B:But I see that if they get started with training, get things set up.
Speaker A:The right way the first time.
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because it will save them loads of time.
Speaker A:It will save you listener loads of time and money.
Speaker A:If you invest in a little bit of training upfront so you know what you're doing and that you set your QuickBooks up correctly, it will save you from having to hire someone when maybe you're not ready to hire someone because now you're in a complete mess.
Speaker A:It's tax season, everything's a mess.
Speaker A:You gotta somehow get it all worked out so you can somehow make sure that the IRS is not going to come knocking at your door.
Speaker A:Is that really what it boils down to?
Speaker B:It does.
Speaker B:I think there are two scenarios where somebody is starting out and they need to make sure they get all the right information into QuickBooks.
Speaker B:And that's probably the first scenario that there are tricks of the trade, if you will, that I've helped people with to just take that off their plate and get them to a good starting point.
Speaker B:The second scenario is that when people are hired onto a company and they don't have any training in QuickBooks and yet they're thrust into how do I work in QuickBooks?
Speaker B:I have no experience.
Speaker B:The previous person was self taught and help.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And in fact flows right into having confidence.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:When you know when you've been trained and you have a good handle on what's going on, you have that financial confidence that you're looking for and you can then understand your own report reports instead of relying on others to understand what you're even looking at.
Speaker A:If you understand QuickBooks, it's a powerful tool.
Speaker A:But when you understand it, it is going to help you grow your business exponentially because you have everything at your fingertips.
Speaker A:But if everything is just a mess and you don't understand what you're looking at, it's a waste of money at that point.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And your business doesn't just stop because you're trying to learn some financial software.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So your inbox piles up.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you're not sure if you've done this correctly and so it can bring your business to a halt.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:If you're unsure how you should move forward correctly and quick.
Speaker A:I think you brought up a good point.
Speaker A:It basically reduces frustration because you're totally right.
Speaker A:Your business is not going to stop spinning and moving just because I need to now learn QuickBooks and everything has to halt or else I can't move on.
Speaker A:That's not the way it works.
Speaker A:So yeah, being able to train with someone that has a really well grounded version versatility and QuickBooks and knows what they're talking about is going to help you whether you're the business owner or you're the person that's been tasked with taking care of the books at this business.
Speaker B:That's correct.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Love, Love it.
Speaker A:I have heard it said that training pays for itself the first time you avoid a costly error or you can make a decision based on accurate numbers.
Speaker A:Do you think that's pretty true?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think just being able to understand how you got a number is really important.
Speaker B:And there are some tools in QuickBooks that can help you feel comfortable you have the correct information that you've entered correctly and that you're on the right track.
Speaker A:Love that.
Speaker A:Let's talk about what actually training looks like.
Speaker A:So what are some of the ways that you have seen training work well in the QuickBooks world?
Speaker B:I think when I first started and I got my training, it was in the classroom.
Speaker B:And to be honest, when you're looking at a booklet and you're trying to figure out from a screen and they're lecturing that kind of training is not effective at all.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:You know what the training that most people will benefit from is hands on.
Speaker A:Real world experiences, like real true life experiences.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:Over the years we've used Craig's design and Landscape services with Intuit, that's their training company.
Speaker B:And I've oftentimes when I have tried to figure out a issue that required me to give some depth to a problem, I've used that software.
Speaker B:And so to train people on that gives them an opportunity to test out the software, how to write a check, to pay a bill, just some of the basics that will help you.
Speaker B:So a hands on approach has been my experience and also the people I've trained over the years that they like to be able to touch it to make sure they kick the wheels.
Speaker B:And so I think that would be the first piece Hands on training.
Speaker A:I want to speak on that ever so briefly.
Speaker B:I think making sure that when you walk away that you've got something tangible, that whether you've got a real life issue, a Real QuickBooks issue that you're wrestling with, that you need solved.
Speaker B:And so, yeah, I think that's probably the second aspect I would consider for the training is understand what you need.
Speaker B:But I oftentimes tell people when they're going to come to me for training.
Speaker B:Give me a list of your questions and so that we can make sure that we take care of what your main concerns are.
Speaker B:So if you're going to get training, make sure that you know exactly or you have a good feel for what you need and make a list, write out an example, whatever works for you.
Speaker B:So I think that's the second aspect of something that when you think about QuickBooks training, that's important.
Speaker B:I think the other aspect is everybody learns differently.
Speaker B:Everybody learns differently how you need to grasp something.
Speaker A:How do you learn?
Speaker B:How do you learn?
Speaker A:How do you learn?
Speaker A:How do you absorb information the best way.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because at the end of the day, if you know those simple things about yourself, you're not going to waste a lot of money.
Speaker A:You experience them in the ways it's not going to help you actually learn something.
Speaker B:And I think in the whole training world, it's helpful.
Speaker B:And early on, we designed a tool that would help people get some basics.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Get some basic accounting.
Speaker B:However you get it, just make sure you have some basic accounting skills and that will help you as you tackle QuickBooks.
Speaker B:I had somebody the other day, an established client has a new office manager, and she was going online to try and help figure out a particular solution in QuickBooks.
Speaker B:And so she said to me, she outlined her solution and I said, no.
Speaker B:So online is not necessarily going to be a friend of yours in solving a complex QuickBooks issue, because you'll take 10 steps.
Speaker B:When I give her the answer, it was a matter of two steps.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:When you get a complex problem, don't try and think you can go online and solve it.
Speaker A:YouTube is great for some things, but that's the complex again.
Speaker A:You're going to waste a lot of time and money trying to do it yourself instead of tapping into somebody like yourself that has the knowledge at their fingertips.
Speaker A:And what you might spend on an hour's worth of training or a couple of hours worth of training.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker A:You will make that up in spades in the product that you sell, because you're then spending 20 hours having to do research to figure out how to do a two step problem.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because in this particular case there were some things that were hidden.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:That you wouldn't know if you didn't understand how the software worked.
Speaker B:And you really require sitting down with them and saying, okay, let's walk through this, show me what you did and then let's undo this first and let's solve the problem.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So it takes some expertise.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:It takes expertise.
Speaker A:And this isn't just about learning the buttons.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:It's about building confidence in what those numbers actually mean.
Speaker A:It's about understanding QuickBooks at the heart.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:So let's talk about some real world benefits.
Speaker A:What are the real world benefits of getting training in QuickBooks?
Speaker B:I think the real world benefit, the biggest benefit I can tell you, it's just getting off with the right set of information because people don't necessarily know how to get started.
Speaker B:That is oftentimes what people struggle with the most.
Speaker B:How do I get started?
Speaker B:And that's one of the biggest benefits of training.
Speaker B:We have a checklist that we say, all right, bring all this information and then we'll get you up and running.
Speaker B:So have that list of information that would be helpful and get you going.
Speaker B:Okay, so that's a real world example because if you don't get the right data, set the right transactional information in produce the correct trial balance or the correct general leisure.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Or the right cash balance, how do I get to the right cash balance?
Speaker B:You find that you're going to struggle.
Speaker B:The first benefit of training is do it right the first time.
Speaker A:Do it right the first time, do.
Speaker B:It right the first time and then decide what you want to focus on on the training.
Speaker B:So here's what I want to learn how to get my invoicing.
Speaker B:Okay, so what do I need to focus on my invoicing come up with in terms of training?
Speaker B:The real world benefit of what do I need to get done today.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:All right, absolutely.
Speaker B:But as you talk about accurate data will help you get off to the right start and also down the road will help you make better decisions.
Speaker A:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker A:If you have the right information, first and foremost, you're going to make better informed decisions about your business.
Speaker A:Because this is all about growing your business.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:This is why you use software like QuickBooks, because you need a better idea of what's going on in your business.
Speaker A:But if you have inaccurate data, if you don't have the right data to begin with, you're Going to make the wrong decisions based off that data?
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Let's say you're going for a loan and somebody and they want your financial statement.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I've seen a number of people come to me and say, you know what, need help with cleaning up my books so that, first of all, that my accountant can have better information.
Speaker B:But I need a loan.
Speaker A:I need to borrow some money from the bank.
Speaker A:And they're not going to lend you money if your books are a mess.
Speaker B:They can't figure out if they're not accurate.
Speaker B:I think the other real world benefit, and we've talked about this, you can save time and money by just doing it once instead of five times.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Instead of keep going over it.
Speaker B:And then you're so frustrated.
Speaker B:So it keeps your level of frustration down to a minimum if you are considering the real world benefit of training.
Speaker B:And you know what?
Speaker B:Nobody knows your numbers like you do.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:You are the business owner, after all.
Speaker B:So you need to take some responsibility.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And it will reduce your dependency on somebody else.
Speaker A:Instead of having to wait for someone to tell you what's going on in your business, you will know and have a clear picture of what your business is actually doing at any given moment, any given month.
Speaker A:You can look back and compare numbers.
Speaker A:And it's just smart.
Speaker A:When you understand how QuickBooks works and you use it to its fullest capacity and it just makes such a big difference for your business.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And if you understand the basics in QuickBooks and you're off to the right start, you know whether you should be using the basic tools.
Speaker B:So just like you do, if you are using the tools correctly, then you're going to get the desired result.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So let's pivot a little bit.
Speaker A:Those are all really good reasons why you definitely need to invest in training.
Speaker A:So people hear us invest in training.
Speaker A:It is worth it for your business.
Speaker A:But let's talk about how to choose the right trainer, how to choose the right kind of training for you.
Speaker A:And we've already touched on some of the fringe benefits of choosing that right training.
Speaker A:But how do you go about choosing that right training, when I first tell.
Speaker B:People is seek your training from your best friend or your cousin or whoever, okay?
Speaker B:Because chances are they're going to train you with bad habits.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And you're going to be frustrated.
Speaker B:So look for a trainer that has experience in not only training in QuickBooks, but understands training.
Speaker B:All right?
Speaker B:Because some people, they can know how to work in QuickBooks, but they can't.
Speaker A:Explain it and don't you think, Papa?
Speaker A:It would be also beneficial for someone to have not just experience in QuickBooks, understand how the software works, but also comes from an accounting background that can meld the two together.
Speaker B:Absolutely, yeah.
Speaker B:Having a good accounting background is helpful.
Speaker B:After all, it's accounting software.
Speaker B:But understanding people and how they learn, I think we talked a little bit about.
Speaker B:Everybody learns differently.
Speaker A:So understanding how you best, whether it's one on one or in a group setting, knowing those things, I think is massive.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:And then choosing the right training, don't overwhelm people.
Speaker B:Because when people walk away from your session and they're overwhelmed, they're not coming back.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Don't overwhelm them.
Speaker B:And if you get a sense that you know that they're just pushing through it, stop and say, okay, we're going to backtrack a bit.
Speaker B:And you know what, maybe that's all you can work on in this session.
Speaker A:If you're at max capacity, it's probably a good time to stop and let what you just learned sink in.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you can then take in more but make it applicable to you.
Speaker A:When I first started working at Apple, I just decided every day I was going to learn one new shortcut a day.
Speaker A:There's probably, I don't know, 200 plus shortcuts on the Mac computer.
Speaker A:Do you know what happened on day seven?
Speaker A:I couldn't remember the first one that I learned because I wasn't actually applying it to any real world experiences that I was actually doing.
Speaker A:So instead what I decided is as I use these applications, I had a need for using a shortcut.
Speaker A:If there's a shortcut for this that would help me do this thing better.
Speaker A:And so then I would look for the shortcut and I would remember it because I was actually doing that thing instead of just trying to remember command A means select all.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's a really good call out.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I think if you just go back and take a look at something that you can apply it and get that down and really feel good about that, then you're ready to tackle the next application or the next challenge.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker A:And something to look for in training is to make sure that company has a good follow up system.
Speaker A:Do they support you after the fact?
Speaker A:If you have a question about something, is there a way for you to get in touch and get help with that particular question that you have from that session?
Speaker B:Yeah, I think in some cases you want to be able to work with somebody when you don't want to just take a Course, for example, get the book and throw it on the shelf.
Speaker A:What good does that do?
Speaker B:Okay, how was that helpful to you?
Speaker A:It wasn't.
Speaker B:So you want to have somebody that you know you can get trained with and that periodically, if you need to check in with them, something that keeps you connected to the person, to your.
Speaker A:Yeah, love that, Love that.
Speaker A:It's great advice.
Speaker A:Good training isn't about memorizing steps.
Speaker A:It's about understanding how QuickBooks fits your business.
Speaker A:That's the key that unlocks The Mystery of QuickBooks.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:One of the mistakes that's most common is people don't understand the difference between a bill and a check.
Speaker B:And, and if you can quickly solve that for them and say, oh, your light bulb.
Speaker B:Yeah, because they both write a check and pay a bill and they've got duplicate expenses.
Speaker B:That's right, yeah.
Speaker B:And what you've done is you've built the foundation for.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:That they can begin to start to solve their own QuickBooks issues.
Speaker A:Because now they have a vocabulary to understand fully, really understand how QuickBooks works and where maybe they might have gone wrong.
Speaker A:And now they're like, oh, I can see it, but I can't quite get from A to B.
Speaker A:So you help them get from A to B.
Speaker B:And I think that a good training program is going to allow a hands on approach to learning.
Speaker B:So if you've gone through and you've actually solved some of your questions along the way, you'll be well equipped to tackle some of the bigger problems you might have.
Speaker A:Love that.
Speaker A:Love that.
Speaker A:So just really touching, just briefly on the bigger picture of QuickBooks training.
Speaker A:Training empowers you to partner better with your accountant and your bookkeeper training.
Speaker A:You gain ongoing clarity, which reduces stress, empowers decision making, and it's an investment in your business foundation and it pays off every single month.
Speaker A:This is why you train in books.
Speaker B:And I think probably added to that, you train in QuickBooks to keep yourself current.
Speaker B:Like any software, there are always updates.
Speaker A:True.
Speaker B:They're always changing things and changes once you've done your initial training.
Speaker B:I have some clients who contact me when they have problems.
Speaker B:You just need to get updated periodically of some changes and so getting your list of questions is helpful that way.
Speaker A:Love that.
Speaker A:Love that.
Speaker B:So one other thing I'd say is when you think about a trainer, make sure you get somebody who works in QuickBooks because the big picture is you have to understand how to efficiently solve your problem.
Speaker A:And that only comes with hiring someone that actually understands how QuickBooks works.
Speaker A:Finding that trainer that actually understands QuickBooks.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:And the tools.
Speaker A:Yeah, and the tools.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:That was awesome, Papa.
Speaker A:I feel like that honed in on why training is important and why you listener why you need to get training.
Speaker A:And that really gets to the heart of why training matters.
Speaker A:After decades of working with business owners, we have seen the same QuickBooks issues come up again and again and again.
Speaker A:And the good news is they're fixable, but they have to be taught in the right order.
Speaker A:Over the next few weeks, we're going to keep breaking that down for you step by step so you can finally get clarity instead of feeling stuck.
Speaker A:So if this episode resonated, make sure you're sticking with us.
Speaker A:We've got more coming.
Speaker A:We look forward to next week.
Speaker A:Remember, don't forget to reach out to us if you have any questions.
Speaker A:And don't forget to subscribe.
Speaker A:Subscribe.
Speaker A:We'll see you next week.
Speaker A:Bye for now.
Speaker A:Thanks for tuning in to QuickBooks mastery for small Business Success.
Speaker B:If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe and stay connected with us@leedavisandcompany.com we know.
Speaker A:QuickBooks can be overwhelming, so we've put together a free resource to help you get started right away.
Speaker A:Grab your copy@leedaviscompany.com and when you do, you'll also get access to access to our VIP email list where we share exclusive QuickBooks tips, business strategies and support.
Speaker B:And we'd love to hear from you.
Speaker B:If you have a QuickBooks question or a business challenge, send it our way@supporteadavidsoncompany.com we might feature it in a future episode.
Speaker A:We're here to help you simplify QuickBooks and grow your business one step at a time.
Speaker A:See you next time.
Speaker B:Sam.
