Liz Takes on QBO 1099s – and Air Hockey, Too

by

At first glance, you might think it’s hard. But don’t worry, it’s not too big to handle.

Have you ever been to a first birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's? When you walk in, you immediately want to leave because it’s just too overwhelming. The screaming. The lights. All those wild kids. It's just too much to process.

Now you know how I look at the start of 1099 prepping.

By nature, QBO companies have no, or very minimal, job costing, which means there's no need to remap or change “account types” to create 1099s. This results in faster and easier 1099 preparation.

My favorite 1099 detail and summary reports are still not available in QBO. And, honestly, that’s a pain. There are, however, a couple of handy reports you can use, including Expenses by Vendors, and Transactions by Vendors, even though there's not a customize reports option for 1099 vendors. I personally like to toggle between these.

Did you know that at the end of the 1099 Wizard there is a printable 1099 summary?

This summary is a great report to share with clients, because it displays missing details.

The flow is more natural in QBO. The 1099 Wizard starts with a review of the company details, Account mapping, Vendor selection, and lastly, Review again.    

The unknown is risky, especially if the task already has its own challenges, but try to stay focused on mastering the details you know.

Soon, you'll be basking in the rewards of your hard-earned work. It'll be like walking back into Chuck E Cheese's1 with your head held high and cleaning up on all the tickets from air hockey. 

1) Start 1099s – from Vendors, select Prepare 1099s:

2) Review Company Information – make sure your name, address and Tax ID are correct:

3) Map Accounts – choose accounts. Multiple accounts can be selected to capture all of the types of services provided for the company throughout the year:

4) Select Vendors – confirm your 1099 vendors. If vendors are missing details (like mine in this sample file), the details can be added now by selecting Edit:

If you're missing required vendors, add them by clicking into the Select 1099 vendors tab:

Throughout this process, you can save and return to continue editing later. We all get that those W-9s are not always at your fingertips. Before printing, there's one more chance to review your 1099 vendors.

5) Review 1099s for Readiness – The Print Information Worksheet confirms that all 1099 vendors have been selected, lists missing details allowing for new W-9 collection, lists total number of 1099s and verified company details.

6) Choose 1099 filing method – printing forms or E-filing:

QBO Navigation bar > All Reports > Review Expenses and Purchase > Transaction list by vendor

  1. Customize Report
  2. Change Date Range to Year view
  3. Add Splits

Disclosure:  1 - Chuck E Cheese's is a registered trademark of CEC Entertainment Inc. (aka: ShowBiz Pizza Place Inc.) of Irving, Texas, which is majority-owned and controlled by investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management LLC.