Sherra

Most probably don't know about it. Another reason is that IPN transactions come directly from the client's bank account & many clients prefer to pay with credit card. I offer IPN, Visa, MasterCard, Discover & AmEx as payment options for my clients (they can also mail me a check, but only 1 of my clients mails me checks...he's a local QB client). I've only had 2 IPN payments in the past year. For the VA's with several clients who do pay with checks, it's definitely an option they should look into.

Although PayPal is not technically a bank it SHOULD be set up as a bank account in QuickBooks. You "can" even import PayPal transactions into QuickBooks like you do a regular bank - BUT I would suggest you practice importing into a sample company file several times first. Importing PP can be very tricky because when the file exports it often includes transactions that don't affect the balance and can throw of the balance in QB unless you know what to look for and what to "clean up" from the downloaded transactions.

For anyone who's considering replying to Candy...I don't work with her personally, but I've interacted with her in different venues (and yes, I've met her in person). I wouldn't call her bunch weird - I'd say eclectic. She's blunt (one ofthe things I love about her), funny, VERY knowledgeable in bookkeeping (you can learn a lot from her), and I know she treats her subs VERY well if they do right by her & OffAssit's clients. If you're looking to niche in bookkeeping & think you could survive Lanel's bite (LOL just kidding...???), definitely shoot her an e-mail & make it a point to spend at least a few minutes with her at Summit.

You never know who you're going to meet that may be looking for JUST the skills you have! One of the sessions is for "If you’re thinking about moving your business into a multi VA design – or you’re there and not sure what you need to do now", so there will probably be at least a handful of VAs who are looking to start outsourcing their overflow, building a team or adding new members to their existing team. Again, don't "push" yourself on people, but just be sure you stand out somehow. And I HIGHLY suggest following up with people you meet after the Summit!

No, it's not a simple process. The .iif file that QuickBooks uses has a specific format. You CAN change the spreadsheet yourself if you know what you're doing, but it's NOT simple and is pretty time consuming. There are also 3rd party applications that will convert files for you, but they're not cheap.

I'll be there with bells on! Here's something I posted to the IVAA group a couple of days ago that those here on VAnetworking who aren't on the IVAAnet may find helpful (or not...whatever). Here goes my “do not forget” list (this is only my 2nd Summit): Do not forget: That you probably will NOT remember everyone you meet, so don’t be super hard on yourself. TRY to take notes if you can during the intro session when we all tell a little about ourselves. Your laptop! Blackberry/iPhone/iPod Touch is great for Tweeting/Facebooking updates during sessions & after hours! (You just never know when you’re going to need to tweet about French strippers and pizza). ;-P Business cards!!! Suitable PJs for the pajama party. If you’ve got “burning questions” about something, be sure to write them down so you don’t forget to ask them in all the excitement! Trust me, if this is your first Summit, you WILL be excited. I was quite literally on such an adrenaline high during the Montreal Summit that I found myself physically shaking from “coming down off the high” at the airport the afternoon I was leaving! It will all pass so quickly that you’ll wonder where the time went, then on your way home you’ll remember a hundred things you wanted to talk about or ask! Don’t necessarily think you “know” someone’s personality just from the postings on-line or voice chats. Personalities REALLY only come through when you’ve met “in person”. I already knew I liked Dana and Sandi, but meeting them in person just totally cemented those relationship for me. AND I met Terri (O.) and Doreen in person and got to spend some QUALITY time with both of them. I “knew” them from IVAAnet & VAnetworking, but didn’t REALLY know them until Montreal. They made such an impression on me that I’m sharing a room with Terri this year (and we talk/Skype/email several times a week about all sorts of crap), and I drove 3 hours ONE WAY for a day trip with my kids to see Doreen this past summer, and I’d totally do it again! If you don’t know the person sitting next to you, well, why not?! Start talking! That’s how I got suckered into being on the 2010 Planning Committee - um, I mean, that’s how I met Nancy and she asked me to be on the Planning Committee for the 2010 Summit. (Well, actually 3 different people asked me, but I already “knew” 2 of them – none of them knew the others had approached me about the Committee - ah, to be in such high demand does wonders for a girl’s self esteem! LOL) Most importantly – BE YOURSELF & HAVE FUN! Don’t get me wrong, we will be doing a lot of networking & learning (the “in person” aspect magnifies all that exponentially)! I’m just saying to be sure to relax and have fun with it because I can almost GUARANTEE that with all the great things you learn at Summit, the best thing you bring back will be the relationships you form while you’re there! I’m sure there’s more, but I’ll stop now! :-) I’m getting too excited and don’t want to wet myself! LOL! (Sorry, dog reference.) I can’t freakin’ wait!!!! (Breathe - in through the nose - out through the mouth.)

Totally bummed that I missed the party this year. I made it last year and it was a blast, so I'm sure this year's was too. (We need a crying "smiley".)

What's a VES? (Nevermind - virtual event specialist - duh ) I'm just the other side of Columbia. P.S. You need to check the links you have set up for your LinkedIn, Twitter, Skype & Facebook. I think your Skype might be alright, but the others you need to put in the full URL to your profiles for the links to work right.

Congrats Karen! I keep forgetting how close to me you are!

I do not, and many of my clients do not use the "stub" checks. They (and I) either pay on-line, direct debit, debit card or hand write the few checks that ARE written. The others use the "3 to a page" checks that don't have stubs anyway.

If I have questions I usually just post them on the QuickBooks ProAdvisor site if I can't find the answer by googling the question.

Yes, and they've even agreed to waive the daily parking fees! YIPEE!!

Are you sure you got the right sidekick in that story? 'Cause I don't know what the heck you're talking about. I don't think I've ever uttered the words "kettle of fish"...

Yep, I'm attending both! I consider them to be both an investment in my business and a nice break!

I'm looking forward to meeting you in person Brent (hair or not)! And there's plenty of time to grow more between now and April.