How to Track Contracts With QuickBooks

By Luke Arthur

Using QuickBooks provides small businesses with a convenient way to track expenses, income and other financial matters. QuickBooks makes it possible for businesses to track contracts with customers and with other entities. By using this functionality, you can stay on top of the financial aspects of your business and the deals that you have with other businesses. QuickBooks also makes it possible to keep track of contract estimates so that you can see what jobs you have on the horizon.

Step 1

Utilize the customer type setting in QuickBooks to see the types of contracts that you have with customers. When setting up a profit and loss report with QuickBooks, you have the option of seeing what types of customers you are dealing with. Any customers that you are currently working with will show up as a "Current Contract." Once you complete the jobs, they will show up on profit and loss reports as a "Completed Contract."

Step 2

Use QuickBooks add-ons that are specially designed to help you keep track of government or business contracts. To access these add-on programs, you simply go to the Intuit Marketplace and look through the available programs. You will have to pay separately for one of these programs as they are developed by third-party companies instead of by Intuit. For example, the GovCalc add-on makes it easy to adhere to government accounting standards and track your contracts with government agencies.

Step 3

Create invoices from the "Sales Orders" section of QuickBooks when you enter into a contract with a customer. Use this process even if you have created estimates for the same customer in QuickBooks. By doing this, you will be able to keep track of the jobs that are in progress and the money on the invoice will be reported to the appropriate section of QuickBooks. This way, when you run reports, the information will be included correctly.

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