Using the Company Setup wizard, you create a new company and enter basic information about that company. As part of the company setup process, you select what type of business you are creating. The business type uses a Microsoft Office Accounting business template to configure the initial settings of a new company with the most common settings for that type of business.
Set up one company at a time. If you have more than one company, complete the Company Setup wizard from start to finish for each company.
Start the wizard
Do one of the following:
- On the File menu, click New Company.
- On the Start - Microsoft Office Accounting page, click Start a new company.
Wizard pages
Add company details
Enter your company contact details. This information can be included in company reports, on purchase orders, on sales orders, and in other documents.
| Option |
Description |
| Company name |
(Required.) Name of the company. |
| Legal name |
(Required.) Full legal name of the company. |
| Street |
Company street address. |
| City |
City where the company is located. |
| State/Province |
State or province where the company is located. |
| ZIP/Postal code |
Postal code of the company. |
| Country/Region |
Country or region where the company is located. |
| Phone |
Primary telephone number of the company. |
| Fax |
Primary fax number of the company. |
| E-Mail |
(Required if you want to use the online option in Accountant Transfer.) Primary e-mail address of the company. |
| Web site |
Main Web address of the company. |
| Federal tax ID |
Your nine-digit federal tax ID number. This is also known as a federal employer identification number, or EIN.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues a federal tax ID to corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietors that employ one or more individuals.
If you do not know your company's federal tax ID number, or if you are a sole proprietor who does not employ or pay wages to any employee and does not file pension and excise tax returns, you can enter your social security number in the Federal tax ID field.
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On the Add company details page, click Next to continue.
Choose a business type
Select the business type that best matches your business. The business type determines which business template is used when your company is created. The business template will configure your initial company preferences and chart of accounts with typical settings for that type of business.
After you save a new company, you can modify any settings configured by a business template.
Important After the new company is created and saved, you cannot apply a different business template. To see what effect a business template has on a company, you can use the Company Setup wizard to create a test company. Apply a business template and see if the settings and setup are right for your company.
For more information, see About business templates.
| Option |
Description |
| Business types |
Business specific templates configure your Office Accounting company with typical settings for that type of business. Consider the following:
- Select the business type that most closely matches your business.
- If you want minimal configuration or are unsure about which business type to use, select the Basic business type (at the bottom of the Business types list). This will create a generic company that contains only default system accounts.
|
| Add |
Click Add to locate a custom business template on your computer or network. If you have created your own custom business template, or have received a business template from another source (such as your accountant), use this option to find and apply that template to the new company. By default, business templates are located in:
Windows Vista drive:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates\Office Accounting 2008
Windows XP drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Templates\Office Accounting 2008
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On the Choose a business type page, click Next to continue.
Create company file
This step creates your new Office Accounting company. If you want to save the new company shortcut to a location other than the default, click Browse.
Note The shortcut points to the location where your actual company file is stored. For more information, see About data files.
To create and save your new company, click Finish.
After you complete company setup, we recommend that you verify that initial settings for the new company are correct.
The Office Accounting Resource Center
After you save the new company, the Office Accounting Resource Center opens with the Quick Start page open on top of it. If you are already familiar with the basics of Microsoft Office Accounting 2008, use the Quick Start page to quickly get started. If you are new to Office Accounting 2008, close the Quick Start page and use the Resource Center to learn what you need to do to start using your Office Accounting company.
We recommend that you start with the Quick Start Guide. To open the Quick Start Guide, do the following:
- In the Resource Center, in the Navigation Pane, under Get help in the product, click Get Started.
The Quick Start Guide includes information about reviewing company preferences, entering opening balances, setting up the company start date, setting up taxes, and more.
Related topics
- About business templates
- Settings that can be contained in a business template
- Create a custom business template
- Welcome to the Office Accounting 2008 Quick Start Guide
- About the Office Accounting Quick Start page
