Bockmon Tax Systems News and Reports

News and Reports

These guidelines for extracting data from QuickBooks apply to most accounting software packages.
Instructions for producing text files for extracting QB forms W-2 depend on the tax year. Significant changes were
made by Intuit Quickbooks for tax year 2007, limiting the methods for extracting W-2 data. You should be able to print forms 1099-M simply by selecting the FILE printer.
QB 1999-2005
QB 2006 QB 2007 Limited Options..

The FILE printer is available to all Windows software, including most accounting packages.
Instructions for setting up the FILE printer can be found here.

FORM CHANGES TY2007 (PDF format)
Form W-2
Form 1099-M                            Form 1099-B                            Form 1099-G                            Form 1099-I
Form 1099-R                             Form 1099-SA                          Form 1098
Form 1042-S

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

QuickBooks 1999-2005
NOTE: This 1-page instruction set was originally written for Windows 98 and QuickBooks 2002. It is relevant to all Quickbooks versions before version 2006 and tax year 2007. The procedure for QB 2006 is mostly related to its use in Windows XP. QB 2007 and later versions significantly change the ability to print W-2 forms to file.

Installing a Generic text printer from Windows

First, install a “generic text printer” from Windows:
Start->Settings->Printers->Double-Click on “Add Printer”
Click Next until you see the “Add Printer Wizard” screen with 2 columns (Manufacturers Printers)
Scroll down the Manufacturers to “Generic”. The only selection is “Generic/Text Only”.
Highlight the selection and click Next. At “ports available”, select FILE.

W-2 Forms
Now, launch your software program (Quickbooks or other) and print your W-2, other form or report. Before the actual print begins, you should be given the option of selecting your printer. Click on the arrow and select the “Generic Text Printer” before beginning to print. You will be asked for a filename. Use the browse.. button to place your file in a convenient location and give it a name. Your software should now print to the filename you’ve given. By default, it will have a .prn extension, i.e., fname.prn.

NOTES:
1) If your software does not allow you to select printers, you may need to temporarily set the
Generic Text Printer as your default printer.
2) If you aren’t given the “browse” option, your .prn file may be in your accounting program directory.
3) If you are on a networked system, you may need to work with your System Administrator, and
request permission to temporarily “Capture the Printer Port”.

Example step-by-step process for Quickbooks versions to and including 2005:
1) Employees->Process Payroll Forms->Select W-2, select OK
2) Next screen is titled "Process W-2s. If you've reviewed them, select "Mark All". Now select "Print W-2s".
3) Next screen, select "Pre-printed form" - OK
4) At printer name, scroll down to "Generic/Text Only on FILE:" Printer type: Continuous.     Select print.
5) Next screen allows you to determine where your file will go. Your folders are displayed on the right. Choose a
     location where you'll be able to locate the file. I use a folder called c:\temp. In the left corner, give it a file name.
    Press OK. Printing begins to file. There will be several pages to print, but it processes quickly. The prn file will be in
    "C:\temp" in this example. Note: You can also produce a W-3 file using this method and send it along, giving me a
    reference to reconcile totals.

The process for printing 1099-M forms is similar:
Go to the help index, select 1099s -> Printing 1099-MISC forms

To send your data to us – your prn file, send an email to gary.bockmon@bockmon.com and attach the prn text file to the email.

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QuickBooks 2006
QB 2006 can be set up and run on Windows 2000 or Windows XP. The procedure for XP is outlined here.
NOTE: As we discovered this year, when you update W-2 forms and data for 2007 and future years, you will
need to follow the instructions as outlined below for Quickbooks 2007.

Windows XP and QuickBooks 2006
XP has plug and play functionality for printers. The procedure for setting up a generic text printer is slightly different from previous Windows versions:

INSTRUCTIONS FROM MICROSOFT:
1. Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes (or Settings->Control Panel->Printers
    and Faxes).
2. Double-click "Add a Printer", and then choose the following options in the wizard:
            a. Click Local Printer.
            b. Click to clear the Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer check box.
            c. Click on the arrow at "Use the Following Port", and select FILE (Print to file).
            d. Next screen, select Generic in the Manufacturer box.
            e. Click Generic / Text Only in the Printers box.
            f. Name the printer, or use the default name, "Generic Text Printer".
                 At "Do you want to use this printer as the default printer", select "No".
            g. Click Do not share this printer.
            h. Click No when you are prompted to print a test page.
            i. Click on "Finish" and your text printer is installed and should now be displayed
                 along with any other installed printers at "Printers and Faxes".
3. The "Generic/Text Printer" is now available to any Windows program.
     Start your accounting program, prepare your forms W-2 for printing as you normally
     would if printing to an attached printer. Select the forms option, “preprinted forms”.
4. Scroll down and select your printer as "Generic/Text Only".
    NOTE: QB2006 will list your default printer. Unless you have selectected the Generic/Text printer as your
    default, you should click on “Printer Setup”. This allows you to select the Generic/Text Printer.

When you begin to print, Windows prompts you for a file name. Enter an appropriate
filename here, and, from the Directory window, select a folder to print to. This can be
your desktop, or any folder on your local hard disk. I keep a folder called "C:\Temp" for
this purpose. If you fail to select a folder, the text file will likely print to your default
directory. You can also use the "Find" or "Search" function available on the Start Menu
to locate your file.

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QuickBooks 2007 and future years

Beginning with the 2007 versions of Quickbooks, the print-to-file method is no longer an efficient process for extracting W-2 data from Quickbooks. The new QB software will allow you to print your W-2's, but when you select the generic/text printer on the FILE port, QB 2007 will loop through the print process, prompting for a filename for each individual W-2 form. The result is a multitude of text files which must be stitched together to form a convertible file for our purposes.

We can only assume that the new limitation to the print-to-file process was implemented by Quickbooks to encourage more widespread use of their payroll services. The staff at Intuit and Quickbooks have been helpful and supportive in past years, and we see no reason to fault them for this new practice.

If you are using Quickbooks for tax year 2007 or later years, you can:
1) Opt to subscribe to Quickbooks Enhanced Payroll, cost $299 plus any additional fees to submit your
     W-2's electronically.
2) Opt to use our services -
      a. If you wish to follow the process of printing each W-2 to a separate file (1,2,3..etc), you can zip these and
           send these files to us. This can be a fairly quick method (hint: there is a built-in buffer in this file-naming/
           file-writing process, so you can enter the next filename (number) while Quickbooks is writing the current
           form to file.
           We will stitch these files together, convert and process your files for $.95 per form.
      b. Print your forms to plain paper and mail these copies to us for manual data entry and electronic
          filing. Our current price for this service is $1.50 per form.

You should evaluate and compare your costs for each option before committing .