Getting started

The first activity in Peachtree process after the installation is the Company setup. This involves the creation of the Company in which entries will be posted into.
You use the Create a New Company wizard to establish basic information about your company and specific information about how you want your company to work. You can choose to copy your chart of accounts from our sample charts of accounts for various types of businesses or create your own.
Basic information includes the following:

Corporation
This is a business that is owned by a few persons or thousands of persons and is incorporated under the laws of one of the 50 states. It is a body formed and authorized to act as a single entity and is legally endowed with various rights and duties including the capacity of succession.
When you select the Corporation business type during New Company Setup, the following equity accounts are automatically set up:

In a corporation, you cannot touch equity except to pay dividends or sell stock. You may need to set up a Preferred Stock account if you differentiate between Common and Preferred. In addition, you may require a Paid-in Capital account for stocks sold at temporarily higher prices.
State Corporation
This is a type of corporation that, for federal tax purposes (in most states), may be taxed as a partnership provided certain requirements are met. There are certain limitations that restrict this election typically to small businesses. These are limits on the number of shareholders, the types of shareholders, the classes of stock issued, and other restrictions. Consult your tax accountant if you're considering a switch to this form of business.
When you select the S Corporation business type during New Company Setup, the following equity accounts are automatically set up:

Note that there is no account that gets set up for contributions. You usually do not contribute to an S Corporation.
Partnership
This is a business owned by two or more persons associated as partners. The partners have joint control over operations and the right to share in profits.
When you select the Partnership business type during New Company Setup, the following equity accounts are automatically set up:

Note that all equity gets rolled into Retained Earnings at year-end. Everything you add increases Partner's Contribution; withdrawals decrease Partner's Draw.
You could set up a separate account for Charitable Contributions.
Sole Proprietorship
This is a business owned by a single individual and often managed by that same individual. A person who does business for himself or herself is engaged in the operation of a sole proprietorship. Many small service businesses such as doctors, lawyers, barbers, electricians, and small retail establishments are sole proprietorships. This is the simplest form of business. The owner is the business.
When you select the Sole Proprietorship business type during New Company Setup, the following equity accounts are automatically set up:

Note that all equity gets rolled into Retained Earnings at year-end. Everything you add increases Owners Contribution; withdrawals decrease Owners Draw.
You could set up a separate account for Charitable Contributions. You could even have an account for Personal Income Tax Deposits, which would help when figuring your taxes.
Below are other considerations for sole proprietors:

Limited Liability Company (LLC)
This is an unincorporated association of two or more persons (partners, corporations, and other business entities) whose members have limited personal liability for obligations or debts of the company. Similar to corporations, a limited liability company shields the assets of owners and investors from liability claims. It is classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes. If the company has more corporate characteristics, it may be taxed as a corporation. And, state taxation varies state by state.
When you select the Limited Liability Company business type during New Company Setup, the following equity accounts are automatically set up:

Next Step

After you enter your basic information, you can set up specific information for:

• General Ledger: chart of accounts and beginning balances.
• Accounts Receivable: default settings, customer records, and customer beginning balances.
• Accounts Payable: default settings, vendor records, and vendor beginning balances.
• Payroll: default settings, employee records, and employee year-to-date earnings and withholdings.
• Inventory: inventory items, assemblies, and inventory beginning quantities.
• Jobs: job information and beginning balances.

COMPANY SETUP
The process of company setup is as follows

• In the main window the following page is prop up

 

Here is where you decide to open an existing company or create a new one.
Click on create a new one.

Click on Next to complete information in the space provided to complete the creation of the company


From the list in the Business Type field, select your business type.
The business type defines the kind of business you run and determines the makeup of the Equity section of your chart of accounts. You can change the business type at any time.

Next is to select the type of business of the company

Here you select the basis of account for the company


Posting Method Window
Here you choose the method of posting into Peachtree.
Choose either Real Time or Batch. For information about choosing the right posting methods


Next you choose the first month of posting in to Peachtree


Here you select the first month of the year for the company


After this process the new company is ready to be created


Completion
Once you’ve gone through the Create a New Company Wizard, you’re ready to set up the remainder of your company and start using Peachtree. We recommend that you follow the order laid out in this book for setting up your company, beginning with your chart of accounts. Generally, you should set up defaults for a section of your company before you enter records.
Ideally, you would enter all your records and their beginning balances prior to entering transactions but this is not practical, so Peachtree provides the Fast Add feature that helps you enter customer records at the same time as you enter transactions. It’s important to remember, though, that your statements and reports will not be complete or accurate until you have entered all records that have balances as of when you start using Peachtree.

The moment the company is created the Peachtree home page opens as in the diagram below.
                                                                                                                                                               


Menu Bar

Navigation Bars

                                                         

 

 

Peachtree includes the following menus within its main window:

• File: The File menu is used to set up and open companies within Peachtree. It is the corridor for interfacing with printers, previewing a form before it prints, backing up and restoring, and importing or exporting information. You also use it to archive your company data (Peachtree Premium Accounting and higher only), as well as verify company data and update payroll tax tables.
• Edit: Use the Edit menu to work with information in records, transactions, reports, or forms.

Note: Peachtree displays different Edit menu options depending on the version of Peachtree you are using, the current window displayed, and the state at which data fields or objects have focus.

• List: Use the Lists menu to call up lists of records or transactions. From the List window, you can view balances, do searches, and open records or transactions.
• Maintain: Use the Maintain menu to set up and change information about your customers, vendors, employees, chart of accounts, inventory items, item prices, jobs, company, Peachtree operational defaults, memorized transactions, sales taxes, and user security.
• Tasks: Use the Tasks menu to enter invoices, pay vendors, receive payments from customers, enter bank deposits, pay employees, and make adjustments to your general journal. You can use this menu to arrange for shipments of orders, record time and expense tickets (Peachtree Complete and higher only), adjust inventory, and make assemblies. In addition, you can make entries to the account register, reconcile your bank account, and void checks. You can also change the accounting period, manage action items, and launch the Peachtree Year-End wizard. If your company is signed up for the Peachtree Bill Pay service (Peachtree Complete and higher only), the Tasks menu lets you select and transmit electronic payments as well.
• Analysis: Use the Analysis menu to examine different aspects of your business using the Peachtree Managers: Cash Manager, Collection Manager, Payment Manager, and Financial Manager.
• Options: Use the Options menu to set up how you want smart data entry to work, how you want decimal points inserted in numbers, and how you want the lookup lists displayed in task windows. You can also define an Internet connection within Peachtree and choose to display the navigation aids or status bar.
• Reports & Forms: Use the Reports & Forms menu to print reports, forms, and financial statements, as well as designing them. You can also create report groups and customize report styles.
• Services: Use the Services menu to access and synchronize with various Peachtree Web resources and manage or process downloaded Web transactions. You can also set up online credit card authorization, check for Peachtree product updates, set up your company Web site, and sign up for the Peachtree Direct Deposit and Online Backup services.
• Window: Use the Windows menu to decide how you want your desktop to look.
• Help: Use the Help menu to answer questions you may have on Peachtree and to get information about Peachtree products and services. You can also use the Help menu to
• see online versions of Peachtree user manuals
• run the Peachtree tutorial
• see brief demos that walk you through basic tasks in Peachtree
• visit areas of the Peachtree Software Web site
• register your software or tax service

 

The navigation bars gives access to seven navigation pages.

Navigation Bar
The Navigation Bar is on the left side of the Peachtree Desktop. It has a series of icons that represent individual Navigation Centers, such as Customers & Sales. Click an icon, and you will see the Navigation Center corresponding to it.

The Navigation Bar also displays a number of Shortcuts, which are links to Peachtree functions that you use on a regular basis. When you first set up your company, Peachtree will offer default Shortcuts, but you can customize them so you have quick access to the functions you want.

Navigation Centers
There are several Navigation Centers; they resemble pages of information about the following areas of Peachtree and also provide access to functions that pertain to those areas:

❖ Customers & Sales


❖ Vendors & Purchases


❖ Inventory & Services


❖ Employees & Payroll


❖ Banking


 

 

❖ Company

For example, Customers & Sales Navigation Center displays the following information about your company’s customers: Customer List, Recently User Customer Reports, and Aged Receivables.

Each Navigation Center also provides a graphic representation of the flow of tasks related to that area of Peachtree. The Customer & Sales Navigation Center, for example, has a “flow chart” of customer-related tasks and offers access to those tasks. At the bottom of each Center is a section called Peachtree Solutions. It will take you to information about value-added features, such as Peachtree Checks & Forms.

 

 

Prepared By Alh. Y. O. Olajide
Managing Partner
Olajide And Associates Nigeria (Chartered Accountants)
www.olajideassociates.com

(c) 2009