In this issue of our newsletter, we'll focus on the year-end tasks most US AccountEdge customers need to address. Because of some AccountEdge features and enhancements, the tasks are nearly as easy to execute as they are to list. In the How-to section of the newsletter, we'll review the setup for 2014 payroll, and the generation of the 941, W-2s and 1099s. The tasks of installing AccountEdge 2014 and upgrading your company files and forms is also mentioned. If you need help or have questions with federal payroll and tax forms, take a look at the Compliance area of the newsletter.

You can get a list of forms and instructions on the IRS Forms & Publications web site. Forms available are the 941, W-2, 1099, Publication 15, and more. You can probably find links to corresponding state forms on the state web sites. Regardless of who is completing the forms, you or your accountant, it's always better to be versed so you can ask important and necessary questions.

As an AccountEdge Best Practice and part of routine maintenance, don't neglect the importance of creating backups of your AccountEdge company file. If it's not already second-nature, this FAQ on Making AccountEdge Backups will provide some insight to the process. The frequency depends on your usage, and daily isn't overkill.

Along with creating company file backups, you should Verify and Optimize your company file on a regular basis. Verification (File > Verify Company File) checks your company file's integrity, looking for possible errors. How often you do this depends on your usage, but we recommend verifying the company file at least once a week. Check the Verify Company File FAQ for more details.

Optimizing your company file (File > Optimize Company File) will reindex the company file database. Again, how often you do this will depend on your usage, but it should be done at least once per month.

With previous versions of AccountEdge, you needed to maintain 2 copies of your company file during the year-end transition period. One copy was used for reporting and generating W-2s and 1099s from the prior payroll year, while the other file was used for current, new year payroll. This is no longer true. But first a reminder: it's always a good practice to make a backup of your company file. New features don't eliminate this requirement.

Once you've created a backup of your company file, you can load the new year Payroll Tax Tables and Start a New Payroll Year. You'll then be ready to run 2014 payroll. You'll still be able to access prior-year (2013) payroll information, so you can use the same company file for both current, 2014 payroll, and to generate 2013 payroll reports, 941, W-2s and 1099s. Because of this AccountEdge feature, you can delay the AccountEdge Pro and company file upgrades to a more convenient time (but not later than January 31st, 2014).

If you need to perform 2014 payroll before you generate your 2013 W-2s, W-3 and 1099s, you can load the tax tables, start a new Payroll Year, and create 2014 payroll checks. On the other hand, if you can generate your 2013 W-2s, W-3 and 1099s before loading the new 2014 tax tables, just skip the steps of loading the tax tables and starting the new Payroll Year. Generating W-2 and W-3 and 1099 forms is free in AccountEdge. You can print the W-2s on plain paper, so you don't need to purchase forms. You will need to provide the 1099 forms, however. When these critical tasks are complete, you can install AccountEdge Pro 2014, and upgrade your company file. Complete details are available in the Year-end Procedure Tasks FAQ.

Hopefully the information we provide in our AccountEdge Tips and Tricks Newsletter is helpful and useful to you. Each month we present articles that are timely, interesting and informative, to help you use AccountEdge more effectively. Be sure to check the FAQ links included in the newsletter to view more in-depth information about the topics covered. This newsletter will not be used as a sales tool. We invite you to send us your thoughts.

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