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Accounting & ERP Guides, Comparisons, and Tools for Growing Businesses
Still trying to figure out whether QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho, or a full ERP system is the right fit; or whether your current setup just needs to be cleaned up and configured properly? This is where Certum Solutions publishes the guides, comparisons, checklists, and case studies we wish more businesses had before they signed a software contract or hired a bookkeeper. Everything here is written by our own accounting and ERP consulting team for U.S.-based small and mid-sized businesses (roughly $1M–$50M in revenue) evaluating their systems in 2026; not outside contributors guessing at what matters.
Not sure where to start?
Head-to-head breakdowns of QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho, Odoo, and ERP options, built to help you decide, not just compare features.Free checklists, templates, and calculators you can use todayStep-by-step walkthroughs recorded inside real QuickBooks, Xero, and ERP accounts.Real Certum client stories: the problem, the system we implemented, and the result.In-depth articles on QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho, ERP, & running the financial side of your business.Latest from Certum
The newest guides, updates, and breakdowns from our team — covering QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho, ERP, and everything in between.
Turning on Advanced Inventory in QuickBooks Enterprise
Many of our posts are based in QuickBooks Enterprise and require Advanced Inventory to be on (required Platinum or higher subscription). To turn on Advanced Inventory, you will open up QuickBooks Enterprise and navigate to Preferences, under the Edit menu.
How to Enter Checks in QuickBooks Online, and When to Use Checks Instead of Enter Expenses
In this quick video I show you how to enter a check in QuickBooks Online (we used Advanced, but it will work for all QuickBooks Online editions). You will also learn when you would want to use the Write Checks function instead of the Enter Expenses function. While you can enter checks using the Expenses screen, I don’t recommend it typically for a few reasons. If these reasons are not important to your business, then using the Expenses screen is sufficient.
Things to Consider when Changing Software
As an Accredited Business Consultant, I focus on navigating the ever-changing balance between tech and people. When companies are changing software this differentiation becomes incredibly important to be aware of. My mantra is to let people do people stuff, and let tech do tech stuff. Knowing how to leverage the tools you have available for your business – no kidding – will make you money.
What’s Unapplied Cash Payments in QuickBooks Online?
You are running your reports at the end of the month, and come across an odd account on your P&L. Maybe your accountant asked about it, maybe it just stuck out like a sore thumb. Unapplied Cash Payments in QuickBooks are a funny animal. There seems to be a number there, and if you don’t know what it is, it takes way more time than necessary to fix!
Using the Chronobooks Backup for Your QuickBooks Online Advanced File
We were an early adopter of ChronoBooks, the newly acquired backup service for QuickBooks Online Advanced. A few years ago, we reached out to Nate, and were excited about his new service that was able to seamlessly backup QuickBooks files in case of issue.
How to Calculate Landed Costs in QuickBooks Enterprise
In a previous post we set up our QuickBooks Enterprise file to calculate Landed Cost, or the cost to get an inventory item to a recipient’s door. Landed cost is important, because it helps you understand the total cost of your items that are shipped, instead of only calculating the cost of creating the item. As any manufacturer or distributor knows, knowing your COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) is a critical need for business planning and pricing. If you need a refresher on how to turn on Landed Cost, please see the previous article below, then carry on with our post.
QuickBooks Enterprise 2020 Landed Cost
Continuing our thread of improvements to this year’s version of QuickBooks Enterprise, today we are talking about the brand new Landed Cost feature for QuickBooks Enterprise Platinum tier. This new feature is available in both the US and Canadian versions of QuickBooks Enterprise.
QuickBooks Payroll: Paying Employees for Supplemental Sick Leave (FFCRA)
The Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic has affected every business owner I know. Whether directly or indirectly, no one has come through this situation completely unchanged. Some manufacturers have changed course and are manufacturing medical supplies. Some are losing projects or business until the shutdown is over. Logistics companies are simultaneously working with fewer staff in some cases, but many more truck loads to deliver. No one has been unchanged, especially in the verticals we work with.
QuickBooks Online Tightens Restrictions on Usage Limits
QuickBooks Online rolled out usage limits in 2019. Prior to usage limits being imposed, users picked tiers based on feature needs, and usage within those tiers was generally unlimited. Once usage limits were incorporated, users with usage different from the new tiers was flagged.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
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Guides, comparisons, checklists, video tutorials, and client case studies covering QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho, ERP systems, inventory software, and general accounting topics for small and mid-sized businesses.
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Certum's own accounting and ERP consulting team writes everything here, based on client implementations we've actually done — not generic outside content.
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All three, plus Odoo, Cin7, Katana, and other ERP and inventory platforms. Certum is vendor-neutral, so the content reflects what actually fits different business situations, not one software brand.
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Everything in the resource library — guides, checklists, comparisons, and downloads — is free to read and download, whether or not you're a Certum client.
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New guides and comparisons are added regularly, and existing posts are updated when software pricing, features, or plans change (like the 2026 QuickBooks Online price increase).
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Start with the Software Comparisons category, or book a free consultation and tell us where you're at — we'll point you to the right guide or give you a direct answer.
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Yes. Contact us at help@certumsolutions.com with what you'd like covered.
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Our most-requested guides, tools, and breakdowns — picked for businesses actively evaluating software, cleaning up their books, or getting ready to scale.
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