Time-Saving Tips: How to Bypass the Standard Drop-Down Menu in QuickBooks

A desired line at Melbourne Zoo (2016)

What is a desire line? It is a path made by walkers, as opposed to one that is officially planned, and represents the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and a destination. 

Dr Chong Keng Hua, an architecture academic at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, shares his opinion on this phenomenon in public areas:

​Leave the desire lines to grow organically. They are a little messy but such untidiness is a reflection of how we overcome constraints in life. It's a living example of social resilience.

(Source: Well-trodden paths unearth what pedestrians desire, The Straits Times, 19 Jan 2017.)

Consider the following picture I took at Beauty World MRT. In the context of your work, how resilient are you? ​

Desired lines outside Beauty World MRT Station, near Beauty World Plaza (2016, Singapore)

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To apply to QuickBooks, let's create some "desire lines" alongside the menu bar to reduce cursor movements and mouse ​clicks: ​

1. Dress up the Favorites menu. 
   
2. Employ the right-click of the mouse.
   
3. Be a keyboard warrior, use keyboard shortcuts.

How to Become a Semi-Expert in QuickBooks

1. Dress up the Favorites menu 

QuickBooks' menu bar organises its functions in a logical manner according to the programmer. But what is logical to the programmer may not be practical to you. 

Suppose your daily workflow revolves around the following:

In the morning:
- Prepare invoices for sales confirmed by the salespersons yesterday [Customers menu: Create Invoices]
- Send out purchase orders to replenish stocks [Vendors menu: Create Purchase Orders]
In the afternoon:
- Record customer receipts [Customers menu: Receive Payments]
- Pay contract workers [Banking menu: Write Cheques]

Instead of using the different drop-down menus, you can put all these daily activities under one "Favourites" menu:

- Create Invoices
- Create Purchase Orders
- Receive Payments
- Write Cheques 

Yes, you can create a "Favourites" menu in QuickBooks.

How? 

As usual, go to QuickBooks internal help (F1), at the search tab, type "favourites" in the search box:

2. Employ the right-click of the mouse

When using Quickooks, don't just stick to the conventional left-click, right-click the mouse to get a contextual menu from which you can start a related task. 

The right-click contextual menu is dynamic: it changes depending on what screen you're at, and, sometimes, on where you position the mouse. 

Go try it.


3. Be a keyboard warrior, use keyboard shortcuts 

QuickBooks has various keyboard shortcuts to access common functions. Examples:
Ctrl + I       create Invoice
Ctrl + W     Write cheque
Ctrl + A      open the chart of Accounts

Then, when you're on a transaction screen, get the keyboard to help you key information faster. Some useful and easy-to-remember keyboard shortcuts are as follows:

Date shortcuts:

+ Next day
-  Previous day

WeeK
W First day of the Week
K Last day of the weeK

MontH
M First day of the Month
H Last day of the montH

YeaR
Y First day of the Year
R Last day of the yeaR

Faster data entries:

+ Increase a number in a form, such as a cheque or invoice number
-  Decrease a number in a form, such as a cheque or invoice number
Ctrl + X       Cut
Ctrl + C       Copy
Ctrl + V       Paste
Ctrl + Del    Delete a line on a form
Ctrl + Ins    Insert a line on a form