QuickBooks 2011: The Missing Manual

Verifying Your QuickBooks Data

QuickBooks files hiccup now and then. Perhaps you worked through a spectacular thunderstorm and a power spike zapped a bit of your company file, say. Fortunately, QuickBooks’ has a feature that can scan your company files and tell you whether the file has suffered any damage: the Verify Data utility. It’s a good idea to run the utility every so often, just to make sure that your company file is OK. How often you run this utility depends on how hard you work your company file, but monthly verifications are in order for most companies. The utility is indispensable, though, if you notice any of the following symptoms:

• Invalid protection faults or fatal errors. If these types of errors appear in message boxes when you run QuickBooks, you almost certainly have a damaged data file.

• Discrepancies on reports. Your Balance Sheet doesn’t show all your accounts, or transactions show negative values instead of positive ones.

  Tip

  If the totals in your reports don’t seem right, first check that the report dates are correct and that you’re using the right cash or accrual accounting setting (see Preferences That Apply to Every Company Report).

• Missing transactions and names. Transactions or names that you’re sure you entered don’t appear in reports or lists.

Running the Verify Data Utility

Whether you’re just giving your company file a checkup or you see signs of problems, the Verify Data utility is easy to use. To run it, choose File→Utilities→Verify Data. (If any windows ...