1. Before your first payday

Do these once. After that, payday takes a couple of minutes.

1. Apply for a federal EIN at irs.gov (free, about ten minutes online). You cannot pay anyone legally without one.
2. Register with your state for withholding and unemployment tax — search your state's name plus "employer registration".
3. Have each worker fill out Form W-4 (employees) or Form W-9 (contractors), plus Form I-9. All of them are on the Payroll page under the IRS forms tab.
4. Open Payroll and click New worker. Enter the name, how they are paid (hourly, salary, day rate or contract) and the rate.
5. On the same worker card, fill in the W-4 details: filing status, the dependants amount and any extra dollars they want held back. Those three change the federal tax figure on every paycheck.
6. Add the worker's state of work and, if you carry the insurance, their workers' comp class code — those feed your unemployment tax and your insurance audit.
7. Open the Tax rates tab and check the Social Security, Medicare, unemployment rates and wage bases. The defaults are the current federal figures; add your state rate.

Tip: Contractors are not employees. If you hire a contractor you do not withhold tax — you issue a 1099-NEC in January instead.

2. Setting up deductions and benefits (do this once per worker)

Anything that comes out of a paycheck every time — or that you pay on top — is saved on the worker so you never re-type it.

1. On the worker card, use Pay items to add health or dental insurance, retirement or 401(k), union dues, a garnishment, or anything else you take out.
2. For each one choose a set dollar amount or a percentage of pay, and whether it is pre-tax (lowers the wages that get taxed) or after-tax (comes out of take-home pay).
3. Mark employer-paid items as such — those cost you money but do not come out of the worker's check, and they show separately on your reports.
4. Give an item a start date, a stop date, or a yearly limit when it should not run forever.
5. Court-ordered garnishments have their own setup: the agency, the case number, the amount or percent, and where to mail it. The amount owed shows on the compliance list each period, with a mark-as-paid box.

Tip: The order is always the same: gross pay, minus pre-tax items, then tax is figured, then after-tax items come out, and what is left is the paycheck.

3. Running a payday

1. On Payroll click Run pay.
2. Pick the worker. Their pay type, rate, saved pay items and W-4 details fill in automatically.
3. Enter the pay period dates and the hours, days or units worked.
4. If you have a paper or written time card, use Read a time card — take a photo or use the scan button and it reads the worker, the dates and the hours for you. Nothing is saved until you look it over.
5. Hours entered day by day get split for you: regular, time-and-a-half past the daily limit, double time past the second limit, and weekly overtime past 40 — using the limits saved on that worker.
6. Add a bonus, a one-off extra payment or a one-off deduction in the boxes provided. A bonus is taxed like wages.
7. Approved paid time off for that period comes in automatically and is paid at the worker's rate.
8. Check the withholding boxes — federal, state, Social Security and Medicare are filled in for you. Change any of them if you need to.
9. Choose how you are paying: check, cash, direct deposit or transfer, then click Save.

4. Paying the worker

1. Paying by check: click the check icon on the pay record, then Print. The check number comes from your checkbook automatically.
2. Paying by direct deposit: enter the worker's bank details once using the bank icon on the Workers tab, then click Bank file to create the file your bank uploads. Nothing leaves your account until you approve and send it.
3. Paying cash: nothing more to do — the record is your proof.
4. Click the printer icon on any pay record to print that worker's pay stub. It shows every deduction by name, the employer-paid benefits, and time-off balances.

5. Paying the tax you withheld

The money you withheld is not yours — it belongs to the IRS and your state. Set it aside every payday.

1. Open the Tax due tab on Payroll. Every government payment you owe is listed with the exact amount, who it goes to and the real due date.
2. Click Pay now beside a line to open EFTPS.gov (federal) or your state's site, then pay the amount shown.
3. Come back and click Mark paid. The payment is logged so nothing is counted twice.
4. Anything due within the next seven days shows in red on At a Glance, and you can email yourself the list.
5. File Form 941 each quarter — the IRS forms tab lays your numbers out line by line, with a checklist you can print and tick off.
6. In January, file Form 940 and give every employee a W-2 — the W-2s tab has each one filled in, plus the W-3 summary, as a printable packet.

Tip: EZMunny never moves money out of your bank for taxes — you pay it yourself, so nobody but you can touch the account.

1. Getting to the union page

1. Open Payroll and click the light blue PAYROLL FOR UNION EMPLOYEES tab beside New worker.
2. Union pay runs are saved in the same books as everyone else's — the taxes, W-2s and reports all include them. Only the setup and the overtime rules are different.

Tip: Use this page for anyone covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Everybody else stays on the regular Payroll page.

2. Setting up a union worker

1. Pick the worker at the top of the page. If they are new, add them on the Payroll page first.
2. Fill in the union name and local, the work classification (the trade and level on the agreement), the job and the cost code.
3. Enter the base rate for that classification.
4. Set the overtime rules for this worker: time-and-a-half after so many hours in a day, double time after so many hours in a day, and overtime after so many hours in a week. Your agreement tells you the numbers — EZMunny does not guess them.
5. Add the worker's recurring union items — dues as a percent or a set amount, plus anything else the agreement takes out.

Tip: Two workers on different agreements can have completely different limits. The rules are saved per worker, and you can still change them for a single pay run.

3. Entering the week and paying

1. Enter the hours a day at a time. Each day gets its own line with the date and the hours worked.
2. Have a paper time card? Use Read a time card — photograph or scan it and the worker, the dates and the hours are read for you to check.
3. As you type, the cards at the top show regular, time-and-a-half and double-time hours, and the gross pay, worked out from that worker's own limits.
4. Add a bonus, an extra payment or a one-off deduction if the week calls for it.
5. Check the figures and click to record the pay. The job, cost code, classification and local are saved with the record.

4. Benefit funds and remittances

1. Add each fund the agreement requires — pension, health and welfare, apprenticeship, vacation fund — with a rate per hour worked or a percent of gross.
2. Mark each fund as employer-paid or taken out of the worker's pay.
3. Pick any two dates and print the remittance report: what is owed to each fund, per union and local, with the hours it was figured from.

5. Certified payroll

1. On a prevailing-wage or public job, open the certified payroll report and choose the week-ending date.
2. It lays out each worker's seven days, regular, overtime and double-time hours, rate, gross, what was withheld and net pay, in the same order as the federal WH-347 form, with a signature line.
3. Print it, sign it and give it to whoever is collecting them on the job.

Tip: EZMunny prepares the figures. You are still the one certifying that the wages match the agreement and the prevailing-wage determination — check them before you sign.

1. Setting up your leave types

Open Time Off from the menu, or from the Time Off button on the Payroll page. Fourteen common types are already there.

1. Look down the list: vacation, sick, personal, comp time, holiday, bereavement, jury duty, military leave, family leave, medical leave, workers' comp injury days, light duty, unpaid leave and unexcused absence.
2. Add your own type any time — give it a name and the rules below.
3. For each type say whether it is paid, and at what share of the worker's normal rate (light duty is often paid at a reduced rate).
4. Say whether it draws from a balance, how it builds up (so many hours per hour worked, per pay run, or a flat grant once a year), the most they can earn in a year, how much carries into next year, and whether unused hours get paid out.
5. Tick whether a doctor's note or other document is required, and whether the type counts toward the 12-week family and medical leave total.

Tip: Workers' comp days and light duty are kept separate on purpose — those feed your insurance audit and injury records.

2. Getting a day off into the system

Four ways in, all landing in the same list for you to approve.

1. The employee link: send it once by text or email. The worker picks the dates and the type, adds a note or a photo of a doctor's note, and submits. No login, no account.
2. The printable form: print it with your business name on it, have them fill it in, and type it in yourself.
3. A photo: snap or scan a handwritten request and it is read for you.
4. Straight in: you enter it yourself — fastest when they just phone you.

3. Approving requests

1. New requests arrive as Pending: who, which type, which dates, how many hours, their current balance, and a warning if it would put them below zero.
2. Click Approve or Decline. You can add a reason, and the worker gets an email back if they left an address.
3. Approved paid leave inside a pay period comes into the next pay run by itself — no double entry, and the balance comes down only when the pay is saved.

Tip: Whether a worker is allowed to go below zero is your choice — there is a setting for it.

4. Seeing where everyone stands

1. The balances board shows every worker, every type, what they have now, what is waiting on your approval, and what they have already taken this year.
2. The month view shows who is off and when, so you can spot a week with nobody on the crew.
3. Each worker has their own history — every day taken, every adjustment, with dates and notes.
4. Reports run for any two dates, by type or by worker, with workers' comp days and light duty broken out for your insurance audit.
5. Once a year, run the rollover: carry balances over, cap them, or pay them out — with your confirmation before anything changes.

Tip: EZMunny flags what needs a decision. It will not decide leave law — state sick-leave rules, family leave eligibility and workers' comp are still yours (or your attorney's) to judge.

1. Hiring someone

1. Form W-4 — the employee tells you how much federal tax to withhold. Collect it before the first payday, keep it in your files.
2. Form I-9 — proves the person can legally work in the US. Keep it for three years after hiring.
3. Form W-9 — for contractors instead of a W-4. It gives you their tax ID for the 1099 in January.

2. Every quarter

1. Form 941 — reports wages, income tax withheld, and Social Security and Medicare. Due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31.
2. The Payroll page's IRS forms tab prints your figures already arranged in 941 line order.

3. Every January

1. Form W-2 for each employee, plus Form W-3 to summarise them — due to workers and to the Social Security Administration by January 31.
2. Form 1099-NEC for each contractor you paid $600 or more — also due January 31.
3. Form 940 — federal unemployment tax for the whole year. Due January 31.

Tip: Open the Payroll page and click IRS forms to download any of these blank from irs.gov, with your own numbers shown beside them.

1. Get the file from your bank

1. Sign in to your bank's website and find Download, Export or Download transactions.
2. Choose the statement month and pick the format: QFX, OFX, QBO or CSV all work. Quicken users can export QIF instead.
3. Save the file somewhere you can find it, like your Downloads folder.

2. Run the reconcile

1. Open Bank Accounts and find the account card you want to reconcile.
2. Click Auto reconcile.
3. Choose the file you downloaded, and type the ending balance printed on your paper or online statement.
4. EZMunny ticks off every line that matches something already in your books.

3. Deal with what is left over

Anything that did not match falls into two short lists.

1. At the bank but not in your books — usually bank fees, interest or an automatic withdrawal you forgot. Click Add on each one and it is recorded.
2. In your books but not at the bank — outstanding checks and deposits still in transit. Leave these alone; they carry over to next month.
3. Check the difference at the bottom. Zero means you are balanced.
4. If it is not zero, the difference is nearly always one transposed figure — compare the amounts on screen to your statement and fix the one that is wrong.

Tip: Reconcile once a month, right after the statement arrives. It is the only way to catch a duplicate charge or a missing deposit.

1. Choosing a scanner

1. Buy any USB or Bluetooth scanner described as a keyboard-wedge or HID scanner. Most are $20 to $60.
2. A corded USB scanner is the simplest and never needs charging. A Bluetooth one is better if you walk the shelves.
3. You do not need a special brand, a licence or a driver. If it types the barcode like a keyboard, it works with EZMunny.
4. No scanner yet? Your phone camera works for the odd item — type the number in by hand.

2. Plugging it in

1. USB: plug it into the computer. Your machine recognises it as a keyboard within a few seconds.
2. Bluetooth: hold the pairing button, then pair it from your computer's Bluetooth settings.
3. Open a blank note or any text box and scan a barcode. The digits should appear followed by the cursor jumping to the next line. That is all EZMunny needs.
4. If nothing appears, scan the USB-keyboard setup barcode printed in the scanner's leaflet. That single scan fixes nearly every scanner.

3. Putting barcodes on your products

1. Open Products & Inventory and edit an item.
2. Click into the barcode or SKU box and scan the item's existing barcode — the number types itself in. Save.
3. For items with no barcode, make one up (a short number is fine) and print a label.
4. Repeat for each product. From then on the scanner finds that item instantly anywhere in EZMunny.

Tip: Do your busiest twenty products first. They cover most of your scanning within a day.

1. Before you start

1. Make sure your scanner is plugged in and tested — see the scanner setup guide.
2. Make sure your products have barcodes saved on them in the Products & Inventory section.

2. Ringing up a sale

1. Open Point of Sale. The cursor starts in the Customer box — type or pick the customer, or leave it blank for a walk-in.
2. Click once in the search or scan box so the cursor is blinking there.
3. Scan the item. It drops into the sale with its price, and the box clears ready for the next one. You can also type part of an item name and press Enter.
4. Scan the same item twice for two of them, or type the quantity.
5. Choose how they are paying: cash, check, card, bank transfer, direct deposit, Cash App, Zelle, gift card, store credit, or Other with your own wording.
6. Choosing Card opens a secure card form right on the sale — key the card and the charge reference saves with the payment.
7. Press Record sale, then print or email the receipt. Started the ticket wrong? Press Clear and begin again.
8. Give a discount on the whole sale with the Discount box — pick Percent or Flat $ and type the amount, and it shows as its own line on the receipt.

Tip: If a scan does nothing, the cursor has usually jumped out of the box. Click the box again and re-scan.

3. What happens behind the scenes

1. Stock for each scanned item drops by the quantity sold.
2. The money lands in your bank account register and in your income reports — untick "Put this money in the bank account" to keep cash in the till instead.
3. Tick "Email the receipt automatically" once and every sale emails the customer their receipt with no extra clicks.
4. Sales tax is calculated at your rate and added to what you owe on the Sales Tax page.
5. Every ticket is kept under the Previous Point of Sale transactions tab, where you can search, print, save or email the list — or delete a sale and put the items back in stock.

1. Receiving a delivery

1. Open Products & Inventory.
2. Click in the scan box and scan the first item off the pallet.
3. Type how many arrived and record it. Stock goes up by that amount.
4. Work through the delivery item by item, then compare the total against the supplier's packing slip.

2. Counting the shelves

1. Walk the shelves with the scanner (a Bluetooth one earns its money here).
2. Scan each item and enter the number actually on the shelf.
3. EZMunny shows the difference between what it expected and what you counted.
4. Save the count. Every correction is kept under the Stock movements tab so you can see shrinkage over time.

Tip: Count your high-value items monthly and everything else once or twice a year.

3. Finding an item fast

1. Scan any barcode into the search box on the Products & Inventory page to jump straight to that item.
2. You see the cost, the price, how many are left and when you last sold one.

1. Setting up

1. Open Products & Inventory — products and stock are one page now, not two.
2. Click New item and add each thing you sell: name, what you pay for it, what you sell it for, and its barcode if it has one.
3. Tick Track stock on anything you keep on the shelf, and enter how many you have on hand right now — that is your starting count.
4. Set a reorder point on each tracked item: the number at which you want to be warned.

2. Keeping it accurate day to day

1. Every sale you ring up on the Point of Sale page takes stock down automatically.
2. Click the stock button beside an item to receive a delivery, record a count or write off breakage — every change is kept under the Stock movements tab.
3. Items at or below their reorder point are flagged at the top of the page.

3. Sorting, hiding cost and sharing the list

1. Use Sort to order the list alphabetically, by best seller, most or least expensive, least or most stock, or highest value on the shelf.
2. Tick Hide cost before you show the screen or hand out a printout — your supplier cost, margin and stock value disappear from the copy.
3. Print the list, download it as a PDF, email it, or save it to your reports folder. Saved lists also appear on the Saved reports page.
4. The stat cards show the total value of everything on your shelves — that figure goes on your year-end accounts.
5. Ask the AI Accountant "what is sitting on my shelves not selling?" for a plain answer.

Tip: Accurate stock counts are what make your profit figure real. Guessed counts make every report wrong.

1. The basics

1. Open Reports.
2. Pick the report you want: profit and loss, income by source, expenses by category, customer balances, sales by product, payroll or sales tax.
3. Set the date range — this month, this quarter, this year, or any two dates you choose.
4. The figures rebuild instantly as you change the range.

2. Building your own lists

1. Sales Tax has its own builder: pick any two dates and it shows taxable sales, tax exempt sales, gross sales and tax collected.
2. Invoices has an Invoice lists button — unpaid, past due, paid in full, drafts or everything, narrowed to one customer or a date range.
3. Point of Sale has a Previous Point of Sale transactions tab — search counter sales by number, customer, item or payment method, or in plain words like "all sales for yesterday".
4. Bank Accounts prints the register for any period, or filtered to one category, one payee, or amounts over or under a figure you choose.
5. Products & Inventory prints your item list sorted however you like, with supplier cost hidden if you want.

3. Printing, saving and sharing

1. Every one of those builders gives you the same four buttons: Print, Download PDF, Save to folder, and Email.
2. Saved lists gather on the Saved reports page — sales tax, invoices, point of sale and inventory, all in one place, ready to print again or delete.
3. For the whole year in one go, use the Annual Report tab: it writes the narrative, draws the charts and produces the accountant's copy for you.

Tip: Cannot find the cut of the numbers you want? Ask the AI Accountant in plain English — it reads your real books and answers.

1. What it shows

1. Money in and money out for the period, side by side, with the difference at the bottom.
2. Cash in hand today across all your bank accounts and the petty cash drawer.
3. What customers still owe you, and roughly when it should arrive.
4. Bills and payroll coming due, so you can see a squeeze before it happens.

2. Using it

1. Open Cash Flow and choose the period — the current month is the most useful view.
2. Look at the running balance line. A dip below zero is a warning to chase invoices or delay a purchase.
3. Click into any figure to see the transactions behind it.
4. Chase the overdue invoices it shows you — the Invoices page will email a reminder in one click.

Tip: Profit and cash are not the same thing. A profitable month can still leave you short if nobody has paid you yet — that is exactly what this page catches.

1. What it is

1. A bookkeeper you can ask anything, that has already read every invoice, sale, check, bill and pay record in your account.
2. It answers with your real numbers — not general advice — and shows the customers, amounts and dates behind them.
3. Your figures are read on the server and are never used to train anything.

2. Things worth asking

1. "Who owes me money right now?"
2. "Where did my money go last month?"
3. "Am I doing better than last year?"
4. "What bills are coming due?"
5. "What is my biggest expense and can I cut it?"
6. "How much should I set aside for tax?"

3. When it hands you off

1. Anything that is a tax or filing decision gets flagged rather than guessed at.
2. It writes the question out for you, dollar figures included, in a box marked "Ask a licensed accountant".
3. Save it and it joins your Questions for my accountant list, ready to print or email at year end.

Tip: Ask it once a week. Most owners find something — an unpaid invoice, a subscription they forgot — within the first few questions.

1. Setting up your accounts

1. Open Bank Accounts and click Add account.
2. Give it a name, the account type, and the balance showing today.
3. Repeat for every account — checking, savings, a second business account, a card.
4. Click Add petty cash to create a cash drawer, and put in the cash you are starting with.

2. Recording transactions

Scroll to the bottom of the register — the blank line there is where you type.

1. First box is the number. Type the check number, or pick ATM, DEP (deposit), EFT, FEE, TRF (transfer) or NEX — NEX fills in your next check number for you.
2. Type the first letter and press Enter to accept it and jump to the next box.
3. In Payee, start typing a name you have used before — press Tab to finish it and move on. New names are remembered for next time.
4. Category is one long list: income choices on top, every expense underneath, and you can type one that is not there. Pick an income category and your amount goes in the Deposit column; pick an expense and it goes in Payment — you cannot put money on the wrong side by accident.
5. Keep pressing Enter until you land on the round purple checkmark, then press Enter once more to save. The running balance updates down the right-hand side.
6. Anything you record elsewhere — sales, invoice payments, checks, payroll, bills — lands here automatically.

3. Checks and petty cash

1. To write a check, click the Write a check button beside the account pills — the old separate Checkbook page is gone, it all lives here now.
2. The check number comes up automatically. At the bottom choose Print, Save, or Print and save.
3. To fix or delete a check you already wrote, click the pencil on its line in the register, change what you need and press Update check, or press Cancel edit.
4. The trash icon beside a check removes it and the matching expense from your books.
5. Click Petty cash to open your cash drawer. When it runs low, click Replenish — it moves money from checking and records both sides. The red Remove button closes the drawer.

4. Printing the register

1. Click Print register above the lines.
2. Choose this month, last month, this year, or your own two dates.
3. Narrow it if you like: one category, a payee name ("all payments from Amy"), or only amounts over or under a figure you choose.
4. The printout shows the filters used plus totals for payments, deposits and the ending balance.

5. Bringing in history

1. Click Import transactions on any account to load a QFX, OFX, QBO, CSV or Quicken QIF file.
2. Anything already in your books is skipped, so you cannot double up.
3. Then run Auto reconcile each month to tick everything off against the statement.

Tip: Want to erase everything and import again from zero? Settings → Start over with a clean company — type WIPE and every business record is erased. Your login, subscription, business name and logo stay.

1. What Quicken can give us

EZMunny reads the same files your bank gives Quicken, so getting the history out takes about a minute.

1. EZMunny reads these file types: .QFX (the Quicken download your bank gives out), .OFX, a .QIF export from Quicken itself, and plain .CSV statements.
2. EZMunny cannot open Quicken's own data file (.QDF). That file is Quicken's private database — we ask Quicken to export from it instead.

2. Export the file from Quicken

1. Open Quicken and click the bank account you want to bring over.
2. Click File in the top-left corner, then Export, then QIF file.
3. In the export window pick "Account" so you export just this one account. Choose the dates — this year, last year, or All dates for the whole history.
4. Save the file somewhere you can find it, like your Downloads folder. The name will end in .QIF.
5. Repeat this for each bank account you want — a .QIF export covers one account at a time.
6. Quicker option for one month at a time: on your bank's website, click Download transactions and choose Quicken or Web Connect (.QFX). You never need to open Quicken for this.

3. If Quicken lives on another computer

1. EZMunny only needs the small export file, not Quicken itself — so the two computers never need to talk to each other.
2. On the Quicken computer, save the .QIF file to a USB stick, or email it to yourself and open the email on the other computer.
3. On the computer where you use EZMunny, save the file into your Downloads folder.
4. If the USB stick is still plugged in when you import, that works too — EZMunny can read straight from it.

4. Bring it into EZMunny

1. Sign in to EZMunny and open Bank Accounts.
2. If you have not added the account yet, click Add account and give it a name — leave the starting balance at what the statement says for the day your history begins.
3. On the account card, click Import transactions.
4. Choose the .QIF (or .QFX / .CSV) file you saved.
5. A preview appears: every line shows the date, the payee and the amount before anything is saved. Read down the list and untick anything you do not want.
6. Press Save and the lines are added to the register. Anything already in your books is skipped automatically, so you cannot create doubles even if you import the same file twice.

Tip: If Quicken put a category on each line, EZMunny brings it along as a note. Categories are checked and set in EZMunny, so you can change any of them before saving.

5. After the import

1. Open the register for the account and scroll to the bottom — the ending balance should match your paper or online statement.
2. Next month, download the statement again and click Auto reconcile to tick everything off in a couple of minutes.
3. Quicken and EZMunny can run side by side for as long as you like. When you stop opening Quicken, just keep downloading the bank statements straight into EZMunny.

1. Sending an invoice

1. Add your customers on the Customer list page, or add one as you go.
2. Open Invoices and click New invoice.
3. Pick the customer, then type each line. The item box takes anything you type — pick from your saved items or write a one-off description that is not in the list.
4. Under the customer name is a box for the street address, city, state, ZIP, phone number and email address. If the customer is already saved, these fill in by themselves. Type or correct anything here and it is saved to that customer for next time.
5. Those details print at the top of the invoice under "Bill to", so the customer sees exactly where it came from and how to reach you.
6. Sales tax is added at your rate automatically, or tick tax exempt for this customer.
7. Typed something wrong? Click Clear — it wipes what you typed but keeps the same invoice number.
8. Click Email to send it, or Print for a paper copy. Attach your logo first on the Attach your logo page.

2. Discounts and payment terms

1. Discount one item only: on that line, pick % off or $ off and type the amount — just that line comes down, everything else stays full price.
2. Discount the whole order: use the "Discount on the whole invoice" box and pick Percent or Flat $ — for example 10 percent, or 25.00 off.
3. You can use both together. Per-item discounts come off first, then the whole-invoice discount comes off what is left.
4. The discount shows as its own line on the invoice, and sales tax is figured on the discounted amount.
5. Running a sale? Make a coupon code on the Gift Cards & Coupons page, then type it in the Coupon code box and click Apply — the discount fills in by itself.
6. Pick the payment terms from the Payment terms box — Due on receipt, Net 7, 15, 30, 45 or 60, 2% 10 Net 30, 1% 10 Net 30, Net 30 EOM, or Custom to pick the due date yourself.
7. The terms set the due date for you automatically and print on the invoice, so the customer knows exactly when to pay.
8. Early-pay terms like 2% 10 Net 30 print "Take 2% off if paid within 10 days" on the invoice. When the customer pays early, take the discount at Receive a Payment — EZMunny never takes it for you.

3. Getting paid

1. When money arrives, open Receive a Payment. Received from takes any name you type, not just saved customers.
2. Choose the invoice, the payment method and the amount, and tick "Put this payment in the bank account" to post it straight to the register.
3. A deposit recorded in Bank Accounts that matches an open invoice marks it paid on its own.
4. Card payments taken at Point of Sale are matched the same way.
5. Paying with a gift card? Choose Gift card as the method, type the card number, and click Check to see what is on it — the amount comes off the card automatically.

4. When they take the early-payment discount

On 2% 10 Net 30 terms a customer who pays inside 10 days sends you 98 dollars on a 100 dollar invoice. Here is how to close out the other 2 dollars so your books balance.

1. Open Receive a Payment and pick the invoice as usual.
2. Type the amount they actually sent — 98.00, not 100.00.
3. Tick "The customer took the early-payment discount." EZMunny tells you exactly how much is left over.
4. Save. The 2 dollars is written off as a discount, the invoice shows paid in full, and nothing sits on your books as still owed.

Tip: Only do this when they really paid inside the discount window. If they paid late and short, leave the box unticked so the balance stays showing.

5. Lists of who has paid and who has not

1. Click Invoice lists beside Email unpaid.
2. Choose unpaid, past due, paid in full, drafts, or everything — and narrow it to one customer or a date range.
3. Print it, download a PDF, email it, or save it to your folder. Saved lists also show on the Saved reports page.

6. Chasing late payers

1. Overdue invoices are flagged in red on the Invoices page and on Cash Flow.
2. Click the reminder button to email a polite nudge with the invoice attached.
3. Ask the AI Accountant "who owes me money right now?" for the full list with amounts and ages.

1. Turning them on or off

1. Open Gift Cards & Coupons from the menu.
2. Tick "Use gift cards" to show the gift card box at the register and on payments.
3. Tick "Use coupon codes" if you want customers to be able to use codes. Leave it unticked and the coupon box never appears.

2. Selling a gift card

1. On the Gift cards tab, EZMunny fills in a card number for you — or type the number printed on the card you are handing over.
2. Type the amount the customer is paying, and who it is for if you want it on record.
3. Leave "Record the money received" ticked so the money lands in your bank register under Gift cards sold.
4. Click Sell gift card. It shows up in the list with its full balance.

Tip: The "Still owed to customers" figure at the top is money people have already paid you but have not spent yet — handy at tax time.

3. Taking a gift card as payment

1. At the register, type the card number in the Gift card box and click Check — it shows what is left on it.
2. Ring the sale up as normal. The card pays as much as it can and the rest is due by the payment method you picked.
3. On an invoice, choose Gift card as the payment method in Receive a Payment and type the number there.
4. Every use is logged on the Gift card history list, and the balance comes down by itself.

4. Making a coupon code

1. On the Coupons tab, type the code your customers will say or type — for example SAVE10.
2. Choose percent off or flat dollars off, and type the amount.
3. Set a smallest purchase if you want (0 means any size order), and a limit on how many times it may be used (0 means no limit).
4. Add start and end dates if it is a short sale, then click Save coupon.
5. At the register or on an invoice, type the code in the Coupon code box and click Apply. EZMunny checks the dates, the minimum and the use limit before it takes anything off.

Tip: Use the power button beside a coupon to switch it off for a while without deleting it.

5. Discount one item or the whole order

1. To knock money off one product only, use the small % off / $ off box on that line.
2. To take money off everything, use the "Discount on the whole sale" box lower down.
3. Both can be used at once — the item discount comes off first, then the order discount comes off what is left.
4. Sales tax is always figured on the discounted amount, so you never overcharge tax.

1. Setting your rate

1. Open Settings and type your rate in the Default sales tax rate box, plus your tax area name if you want it shown on invoices (for example "Florida — Marion County").
2. Save. Every new invoice and every Point of Sale ticket now starts with that rate already filled in.
3. Typing a different rate at Point of Sale saves it as the new default automatically.
4. Mark any product that is exempt on the Products & Inventory page so it is never taxed.

2. Day to day

1. Tax is added automatically on every sale and invoice.
2. The Sales Tax page shows how much you have collected and not yet paid over.
3. Remember: collected tax is not your money. Keep it aside.
4. Every line on every sale starts out taxable. Tax only comes off when you tick the exempt box for that customer or sale, or untick Taxable on a single line.

3. When a sale counts for tax

Some businesses owe the tax the day they write the invoice; others not until the customer pays.

1. At the top of the Sales Tax page pick "When the money is received" or "When the invoice is written."
2. Every figure on the page — collected, payable, by quarter, by month and by area — follows your choice.
3. Your state decides which one you must use. Most want the tax reported when you write the invoice; some let smaller sellers report it only once they are paid, sometimes only with permission.
4. Check with your state before switching, and keep it the same all year so your returns match.

4. Building the return figures

1. Open Sales Tax and pick your dates on the calendar, or use the year and quarter shortcuts.
2. You get the four numbers a state return asks for: taxable sales, tax exempt sales, gross sales and tax collected.
3. Print it, download the PDF, email it to yourself or your accountant, or save it to your reports folder for the record.
4. Use those totals to fill in your state's online return, then record the payment so your books and your bank agree.

1. Producing it

1. Reconcile your bank accounts first so the year is accurate.
2. Open the Annual Report tab and pick the year.
3. Click Build my report. It gathers your income, expenses, payroll, tax and stock, then writes the narrative.
4. Read it through — it explains in plain English what happened to the business this year.

2. Getting it out

1. Download it as Word to read, edit and print.
2. Download the Excel version for your accountant to work the numbers.
3. Download the PDF if you need a fixed copy for a bank or a loan application.

Tip: Send the Word and Excel files together to your accountant in January — it is most of what they will ask you for.

1. Day one

1. Open Settings (last tab on the left) and enter your business name, address and your default sales tax rate.
2. Open Attach your logo and upload your logo so invoices, checks and receipts look like yours. If your logo already has your business name in it, tick "Hide my business name when my logo is shown" on that page and your invoices, receipts and pay stubs will show the logo only. Your name always stays on tax forms.
3. Make your paperwork your own: Settings → Customize your invoices, receipts and pay stubs. Change the headings, pick a colour, type your address and phone, choose which details print, and add messages at the bottom. Pay stubs can show or hide the pay period, payment method and time-off balances. A live sample updates as you work; click Save my design when it looks right. Gift cards have their own Customize your own gift cards tab under Gift Cards & Coupons.
4. Open Bank Accounts and add each account with today's balance.

2. Day two

1. Add your customers on the Customer list page, or import them.
2. Add what you sell on the Products & Inventory page, with cost, price, stock count and barcode.
3. Coming from QuickBooks? Use Import from QuickBooks and follow the import guide instead of typing. Coming from Quicken? The bank history moves over with the "Bring in your bank history from Quicken" instruction sheet.
4. Made a mess of an import? Settings → Start over with a clean company, type WIPE, and every record is erased so you can import again from zero — your login, name and logo stay.

3. The rest of the week

1. Send your first invoice, or ring up your first sale at Point of Sale.
2. Add your workers on the Payroll page if you pay anyone, and check the Tax due tab.
3. Import last month's bank file and run Auto reconcile so your starting point is exact.
4. Open At a Glance each morning — it is your home screen for money in, money owed and anything due.
5. Ask the AI Accountant "how are we doing?" to see it all come together.

Tip: Stuck anywhere? The 24/7 Live Chat tab answers questions about any section, day or night.

1. Open the design page

1. Click Settings (last tab on the left).
2. Open Customize your invoices, receipts and pay stubs. A live sample invoice sits beside your choices and changes as you work.

2. Words, colour and logo

1. Change the big heading words if you like — for example INVOICE, BILL, SALES RECEIPT or PAY STUB.
2. Pick a colour for the heading and the total line. Leave it empty to keep the normal colour.
3. Type your address, phone and email under Contact lines — one line per line.
4. Tick or untick Your logo to show or hide it.

3. Choose what prints

1. Tick the details you want on the page: due date and terms, P.O. number, who made the sale, how they paid, and notes under each item.
2. For pay stubs, choose whether to show the pay period, how the worker was paid, and time-off balances.
3. Add a message at the bottom of invoices and receipts, and how-to-pay instructions under the invoice total.

4. Put the columns in your order

Invoices and Point of Sale receipts have five columns: Item, Description, Qty, Price each and Total.

1. Find Column order, left to right.
2. Click ← Left or Right → beside a column to slide it one place. Repeat until the sample reads the way you like — for example Item, Description, Qty, Price each, Total.
3. The Description column shows each item's notes, and only appears when Notes under each item is ticked.

5. Save it

1. Click Save my design. Every invoice and receipt you print or email from now on uses it — including old ones you reprint.
2. Changed your mind? Put everything back to the normal look with the reset button on the same page.

Tip: Starting over with a clean company? On the WIPE screen, leave "Customize your documents" ticked and your design is kept.