A Vendor by a Different Name

I cover for clients from time to time. Birth, death, injuries and illnesses necessitate a contingency plan for the accounting department. I am that contingency plan for some clients.

It is at these times that I see if good database housekeeping is occurring. Namely, names.

Did your customer change their company name and the change was not noted?

Does a vendor bill show a different name than their website?

Did you enter an employee by a name that is not their legal name or worse yet they got married in the last year and their legal last name does not match payroll records?

When GO! covers the data entry will the names we expect to be in the QuickBooks database?

Here are some GO! suggestions for list management.

Name Changes

Note the old name, the new name and the date you receive the notice of change in the notes area of the Vendor, Employee or Customer center.  Next change the name as it is listed on the notice.  Do not delay doing this task. Ensure it is completed as soon as you receive the notice.  Have a form that employee can fill out for name and address changes.  The employees legal name should be entered in QuickBooks.

Multiple Names

List both names as the active name in your list divided with a slash.  List the name not used by your company in the list as well with the words “do not use” included in the name.

 Example

Vendor names for monthly e-meeting subscription.  Join.Me is the name on the website and downloaded  software.  Log Me In appears on the credit card statements.

Active Name: Join.Me/Log Me In

Also include: Log Me In (do not use)

The goal is to ensure 1.  You have easily audited books which means not having to explain why names on documents do not match QuickBooks and 2. Make it easy for new employees or temp staff to do data entry while maintaining historical consistency.

Example:  When viewing financial details I should not see join.me paid 7 months out of the year and LogMeIn pay the other 5.  This will cause confusion or at least a need for explanation when someone is reviewing the details.

And someone should be reviewing the details a few times a year. It’s called “Having your bookkeeper’s back”.