ClerkBooks Municipal Accounting System converts Intuit QuickBooks® (the world’s number one small business accounting software) into a full Fund-based accounting system to help simplify municipal financial management. ClerkBooks is designed to offer standard accounting features, plus easy, time-saving tools to meet the unique needs of Local Government.
What is ClerkBooks?
ClerkBooks is a scalable accounting solution designed for City Clerks, and Finance Officers, working in municipalities with populations ranging from 100 up to 5,000. This means smaller cities won’t need to pay for all the bells and whistles they don’t use, yet larger cities can get the performance and reliability they need.
ClerkBooks uses QuickBooks®: the world’s most popular accounting software package, for the core accounting tasks. This means the system is easy to learn and easy to use.
ClerkBooks has converted QuickBooks into a complete fund accounting package for local government including: a customized chart of accounts as suggested by your State Auditor’s Office; utility billing (electric, water, sewer, garbage and recycling) compatible with all hand-held reading systems; automated payroll; and customizable reporting (with budgets)!
Download a summary flyer for your Council or your Auditor!
Key Benefits
- Organizes all your finances in one place
- Easily keeps track of all your receivables, including liens
- Complete fund accounting package, including utility billing and custom reports – all in one system
- Uses the power of QuickBooks: the world’s most popular accounting software package
Made in Rural America, for Rural America
ClerkBooks was created in Fertile, Iowa, a town of 370. We are currently located in Garner, Iowa, a town of 3098 people. We are approximately 120 miles south of Minneapolis and 120 miles north of Des Moines, just 20 miles west of Interstate 35.
While ClerkBooks works great for Cities up to a population of approximately 5,000, ClerkBooks was designed from the ground up for City Clerks with limited accounting experience located in smaller cities. (80% of American Cities are under 5,000)
The Founder and CEO of ClerkBooks has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He has over 30 years of accounting and management experience in wholesale, retail, non-profit and governmental activities. He was the City Clerk in Fertile, Iowa for 8 years. He has completed the course work for both the Certified Municipal Clerk and the Certified Municipal Finance Officer certifications through the Municipal Professional’s Institute, Sponsored by the Iowa League of Cities and The Iowa State University.
In fact, all of our staff have formally been City Clerks, City Treasurers and/or City Administrators and all have attended the Municipal Professional’s Institute. We are also Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisors.
Therefore, ClerkBooks has been designed with a full understanding of what your City faces every day.
While ClerkBooks started in Iowa, it has now been customized for several states. See our Map page, to see all of our ClerkBooks cities. Be the first city in your state to use ClerkBooks and receive 30 days unlimited support at no extra cost!
QuickBooks Software
 ClerkBooks is proud to work with Intuit®, the makers of the world’s most popular accounting software: QuickBooks®. While QuickBooks® handles 90% of the accounting tasks in the ClerkBooks Municipal Accounting System, we have added several features specifically for Cities. We have added Fund Accounting and a Uniform Chart of Accounts as recommended by your State Auditor’s Office. We have added a Utility Billing Module which calculates usage and creates QuickBooks® invoices based on multiple rates per customer type and usage levels. We have also added over 50 custom reports and custom payroll functions designed specifically for City Fund accounting. We have added the features that Cities need but do not come with QuickBooks® by default. |
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| Pro/Premier Editions | Enterprise Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Transactions (total # of checks, paychecks, liability checks, invoices, payments, credit memos, etc.)/i> | approx. 625 per month | approx. 20,000 per month |
| Simultaneous Users (# of users in the same file as the same time) | 1-5 | 1-30 |
| Accounts in the Chart of Accounts bank, assets, liabilities, income, expense, etc. | 10,000 | 100,000 |
| Name Capacity Customers, Vendors & Employees Combined | 14,500 | 100,000 + |
| Payroll Items Wages, Salaries, Benefits, Taxes Combined | 10,000 | 100,000 + |
| Funds General, Special Revenue, Debt Service, Permanent, Proprietary, etc. | 10,000 | 100,000 + |
| Memorized Reports | 14,500 | 29,000 |
| Memorized Transactions | 14,500 | 50,000 |
General Ledger / General Journal
 ClerkBooks uses a Uniform Chart of Accounts as suggested by your State Auditor’s Office. This means all of your reports will always line up with the State Budget report and Annual Financial Report. Most of our Clerks are able to prepare their Annual Financial Report within 30 days of year end! ClerkBooks gives your Council an updated fund balance at the end of every month, so there are no surprises at the end of the year. |
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| Pro/Premier Editions | Enterprise Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Uniform Chart of Accounts (As suggested by your State Auditor’s Office – with account numbers) | Yes | Yes |
| Fund Tracking (General, Special Revenue, Debt Service, Enterprise, etc) | Yes | Yes |
| Current Assets (Cash, Checking, Savings, CD’s, A/R, Pre-Paid Expenses, Due from other Funds, etc.) | Yes | Yes |
| Long-Term Assets (Land, Buildings, Equipment, Depreciation, etc.) | Yes | Yes |
| Current Liabilities (A/P, Sales Tax Payable, Payroll Liabilities, etc.) | Yes | Yes |
| Long-Term Liabilities (Bonds, Loans, etc.) | Yes | Yes |
| Income (Property Taxes, Other Taxes, Intergovernmental, Charges for Services, etc.) | Yes | Yes |
| Expense (by Activity and by Expense: Public Safety:Fire Department:Capital Outlay, etc.) | Yes | Yes |
Account Registers
| Pro/Premier Editions | Enterprise Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Checking and Petty Cash | Yes | Yes |
| Savings and Investments | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Cards | Yes | Yes |
| Easy Account Reconciliation | Yes | Yes |
Accounts Payable
| Pro/Premier Editions | Enterprise Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase Orders, Bills, Credits and Discounts | Yes | Yes |
| Contractor Management (1099s) | Yes | Yes |
| Individual Voucher Forms | Yes | Yes |
| Summary of All Claims for Approval Report | Yes | Yes |
| Summary of Claims Paid and Revenues Received Report | Yes | Yes |
Accounts Receivable and Utility Billing
 The utility billing module calculates usage and charges for water / sewer, garbage / recycling, and electricity (including 3-phase and demand calculations). Meter readings are entered in using one screen, similar to a spreadsheet, or can be synchronized with any handheld reading system. The system allows each QuickBooks customer to have multiple meters and effortlessly calculates different rates for multiple customer types & usage quantities. Invoicing for minimum charges, surcharges and discounts is a breeze. ClerkBooks also tracks customer deposits, payments, and late fees. |
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| Pro/Premier Editions | Enterprise Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Receipts (Building Permits, Pet Licenses, etc.) | Yes | Yes |
| Prints Meter Reading Worksheets | Yes | Yes |
| Easy Spreadsheet-Style Entry for Meter Readings | Yes | Yes |
| Import Readings From All Automatic Readers (Badger, Sensus, etc.) | Yes | Yes |
| Automatically Calculates Usage | Yes | Yes |
| Exports Invoices into QuickBooks | Yes | Yes |
| Print or E-mail Invoices from QuickBooks | Yes | Yes |
| Track Payments & Make Batched Deposits | Yes | Yes |
| Utility Summary and Detail Reports | Yes | Yes |
| A/R Aging Summary and Open Invoices Reports | Yes | Yes |
| Sales Tax Management | Yes | Yes |
Payroll
 ClerkBooks automatically calculates net pay including gross wages, vacation, sick pay, insurance, taxes, retirement, and more, making it easy to pay your liabilities. Easily break payroll down by fund and expense line. Create 941 reports, and fill in your W-2s with the easy to read Payroll Summary report. (Enhanced Payroll Subscription can be added to the Towns & Cities plan for an additional annual fee) |
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| Standard Payroll | Enhanced Payroll | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Suggested for Cities with: (Do not count salaried (or evenly paid) employees while considering which payroll option is the best for your City) | Up To 10 Hourly Employees |
10+ Employees Paid Hourly |
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| Subscription Update Required (See Pricing page for current costs.) | None | Annual | |
| Time Card Processing | Yes | Yes | |
| Income Items (Wages, Salaries, Overtime, Holidays, Vacation, Sick, etc.) | Yes | Yes | |
| Deduction Items (Retirement, Insurances, Child Support, etc.) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tax and City Contribution Items (FICA, State Withholding, SUI, FUTA, Retirement, etc.) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tracking Payroll Items by Fund (General Fund, Roads, Water, Sewer, etc.) | Yes | Yes | |
| Easily Track Vacation and Sick Time (Does not track Comp Time) | Yes | Yes | |
| Automatic Calculations (Gross Wages, Net Pay, Social Security, Unemployment, Federal Unemployment, Health Insurance, etc. | Yes | Yes | |
| Federal and State Withholding | Manual | Automatic | |
| Direct Deposit (Additional Fees Required) | Manual | Automatic | |
| Easy Payroll Liability Payment Manager | Yes | Yes | |
| Federal Forms Included (941, 940) | PDFs Online | Print From QuickBooks | |
| State Forms Included (Retirements, SUI, Withholding) | Online | Online | |
| E-File and Pay | Manual | Automatic | |
Reports
Even though QuickBooks comes with over 100 standard reports, ClerkBooks has added an additional 50 custom reports (with many more on the way) designed and organized specifically for Municipalities!Council Reports
- Balance Sheet by Fund
- Profit and Loss by Fund
- Budget vs. Actual Summary
- Budget vs. Actual by Fund
- Individual Bill Payment Vouchers
- Summary of Claims for Approval
- Claims Paid & Summary of Receipts
Historical Reports
- Balance Sheet by Year
- Balance Sheet by Quarter
- Balance Sheet by Month
- Profit & Loss by Year
- Profit & Loss by Quarter
- Profit & Loss by Month
Tax Reports
- Payroll Summary (Last Month)
- Payroll Summary (Last Quarter)
- Payroll Summary (Last Calendar Year)
- Sales Tax Liability (Last Month)
- Sales Tax Liability (Last Quarter)
State Reports
- Budget Sheet for Annual Reports
- Profit & Loss by Fund for Annual Reports
- Budget Worksheet – General Fund
- Budget Worksheet – Library Fund
- Budget Worksheet – Fire & Ambulance Funds
- Budget Worksheet – Water Fund
- Budget Worksheet – Sewer Fund
- Budget Worksheet – Electricity Fund
- Budget Summary (Last Fiscal Year)
- Budget Summary (This Fiscal Year)
- Budget Summary (Next Fiscal Year)
Departmental Reports
- Grant Progress Report
- Balance Sheet – Library Fund
- Profit & Loss vs. Budget – Library Fund
- Balance Sheet – Fire & Ambulance Fund
- Profit & Loss vs. Budget – Fire & Ambulance Funds
- Balance Sheet – Water Fund
- Profit & Loss vs. Budget – Water Fund
- Balance Sheet – Sewer Fund
- Profit & Loss vs. Budget – Sewer Fund
- Balance Sheet – Electricity Fund
- Profit & Loss vs. Budget – Electricity Fund
Utility Billing Reports
- ACH/Auto Pay Export
- Accounts Receivable Aging Summary
- Accounts Receivable Aging by Fund
- Billing Register
- Billing Summary
- Deposit Detail Report
- Open Invoices
- Utility Usage by Customer Type
- Utility Usage by Service Type
- Meter Reading Worksheet (by route & read order)
Data Conversion
To get you up and running, ClerkBooks offers both remote and on-site set-up, configuration and training. A member of our support team will install the software, configure and streamline the system to be applicable for your city, and help you get comfortable with the system. We will make sure you know where and how to get started right away.
We will get your beginning Fund balances into the system. We help import your customer list, beginning customer balances, current meter readings, and set-up your utility rates. We set-up your employees and enter their year-to-date totals, so W2s will be a breeze. We help customize your utility bill invoices as well as your Council Reports. By the time we are done, we typically have 1-2 months of accounting in the system for you.
Training & Support
Beyond set-up and configuration, ClerkBooks offers several support and training options. We have created a user support site with over 12 hours of video training covering both QuickBooks and the ClerkBooks additions. The support site also includes a searchable online Knowledge Base where you can ask questions and get step-by-step directions. For person-to-person assistance, we have 10 and 20 hour discounted remote support packages available. Our support team can connect into your computer to see your screen and walk you through the answers you need. The minutes you purchase can be used in 5 minute increments and they never expire. Every complete package purchased also includes 10 hours of remote support to help you get started.
NEW! All City Councils are required to attend an evening of training presented via online webinar. The webinar is live and is tailored to each City specifically. During the webinar we will preview the financial statements with emphasis on understanding the financials, using the financials to make informed decisions, and preventing and monitoring fraud.
You are never alone with the ClerkBooks Municipal Accounting System. We are here to help you succeed!
System Requirements
The following is a list of minimum specifications your computer should have to run the ClerkBooks Municipal Accounting System. If you need help determining if your computer can run ClerkBooks, we would be more than happy to connect in remotely and check out your computer’s specifications with you.
- Windows 7 (all editions), Windows 8 (all editions), Windows 10 (all editions)
- 2.4 GHz processor minimum
- 4 GB of RAM for single user, 6 GB of RAM recommended for multiple users
- Minimum 20 GB of available disk space (additional space required for larger data files)
- Minimum 1024×768 screen resolution, 16-bit or higher color
- Requires High-Speed Internet access
- Product registration and license agreement required