If you’re keeping your financial records in QuickBooks, at any time, can you print financials and know they are complete and accurate? Or are some balances wrong, and you haven’t yet fixed them? Can’t figure out how to fix them? The same mistakes keep coming back? Here are some things to keep in mind to get you there.

There is more than one way to fix bad data. This is a strength of the software, not a weakness. QuickBooks is flexible enough to mirror your transactions. This means you can enter the transactions into the computer exactly as they actually occur.

The key to getting consistent information from your QuickBooks file is to use the software the way it was designed to be used. This doesn’t mean you have to change how you do business. But be prepared. You may decide to change some of your procedures . . . for the better. And it is your choice.

Almost every problem with bad transactions can be traced back to how they were originally entered. One word of caution, though: be sure to consider the possible ripple effects of any corrections you may make.

A good plan is to make corrections by changing the original transaction to how it should have been done the first time. Don’t make adjusting entries or more complicated corrections that will muddy the water. This do-it-right attitude will lead to correcting and strengthening your procedures, improve the quality of your database, and help you develop a more efficient office. You could say it’s . . . intuitive. Go figure.