Workflows for onboarding clients into QuickBooks Online
Help clients get started
Although clients can set up their own company in QuickBooks Online, doing the job right takes skill and experience. One mistake when setting up
products and services or sales tax could spell disaster later.
However, as their bookkeeper, you’ll set them up correctly—and add their company to your list of clients in QuickBooks Online Accountant.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online Accountant has built-in tools to help you organize and track client onboarding tasks, adjust the steps to your
client’s needs, and allocate different tasks in the onboarding workflow to other team members.
To fully enjoy the benefits of QuickBooks Online, your clients need your help setting up their company to work for them and their businesses.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Client routes into your books
The steps you’ll need to take when onboarding a new client depend on their current situation. Some clients will be new to QuickBooks Online, while
others already have company files.
Clients new to QuickBooks Online
Some clients may be just starting a business. So, you’ll need to set up a QuickBooks Online company from scratch, ready for them to populate
as they grow.
Other clients will have established businesses and may have existing books and lists in tools such as Excel—or they might be using
QuickBooks Desktop or similar accounting software. In this case, you’ll need to help them import and/or migrate their data into QuickBooks
Online.
Clients already using QuickBooks Online
You may also take on clients who are already using QuickBooks Online if, for example, they come to you from another bookkeeping firm. In this
situation, you’ll want to review their existing QuickBooks Online to establish the health of the books and their business overall.
We'll go into all of these options later. First, let’s look at a handy tool that lists the onboarding tasks you need in any of these situations, the Client
onboarding template.
The Client onboarding template
QuickBooks Online Accountant has a built-in QuickStart template to help guide you through the onboarding process.
It’s called the Client onboarding template, and it’s preformatted with a list of tasks to carry out when bringing a client into your
firm. You can customize this default list of tasks to tailor your client’s onboarding experience to their needs—and even build in
time to train and coach the client on how to use QuickBooks Online.
The Client onboarding QuickStart template isn’t just a set of tasks to check off, it also lists opportunities to develop a great working
relationship with your client and start to add value to their business.
Select the headings to discover how to set up and use the Client onboarding template.
Where can you find the template?
How do you use the template?
To locate the template, you need to be in QuickBooks Online Accountant.
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Select Work from the left-hand navigation
You’ll need to create a new project and base it on the template, so select Create project
From the Project template dropdown, select Client onboarding
Give the project a name, then choose the client from the Firm or client dropdown
When you scroll down the panel, you’ll see a list of the default tasks for the Client onboarding template. You can configure this list to suit
the individual requirements of the client you’re onboarding
Once you’re done, select Save
Onboarding clients who are new to QuickBooks Online
Now let’s look at what you should do when onboarding a client who’s new to QuickBooks Online.
Select the headings to find out more.
Meet the client and gather information
Once you and the client have signed the contract and agreed on payment arrangements, you can provide a detailed onboarding plan and introduce
the client to the onboarding team.
The New Client Checklist will help you do this. It’s a handy resource for getting to know new clients and gathering the information you need to set
them up with the most appropriate QuickBooks Online solution.
By using the New Client Checklist and asking the right questions, you can more accurately scope the client’s requirements, set expectations, and build
a stronger collaborative relationship for the upcoming onboarding process. Getting this right reassures the client that they’re getting expert advice.
You can learn more about using New Client Checklist in the Identifying the right QuickBooks Online subscription level training
TOOLS:
NEW CLIENT
CHECKLIST.xlsx
Recommend the best QuickBooks Online solution
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Completing the New Client Checklist with the client ensures you get the information you need to recommend the best QuickBooks Online
solution for their business.
You can then work out:
Which product they need (such as QuickBooks Self-Employed or QuickBooks Online)
Which QuickBooks Online subscription level is best for them
Whether they’d benefit from adding QuickBooks Online Payroll and/or QuickBooks Time, and if so, which subscription level
Sign up the client to QuickBooks Online
Once you’ve worked with the client to identify the appropriate QuickBooks Online subscription level—and any other products—that meet their
requirements, you can sign them up to QuickBooks Online.
The procedure for doing this is explained in detail in the lesson on adding clients to QuickBooks Online Accountant. The essential steps
are below:
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From your Client List in QuickBooks Online Accountant, select Add Client
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Follow the prompts and enter the client details. The completed Client Profile section of the New Client Checklist provides the information
you need to complete the client’s account settings for them. You can even request a copy of your client’s logo to surprise your client with a
customized homepage and sales template
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Choose the appropriate billing method (that is, who will pay the subscription fees, and how). The billing options lesson explains the
various billing methods and associated benefits
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Select the appropriate QuickBooks Online subscription level. The identifying the right QuickBooks Online subscription level for a
client lesson explains the different subscription options
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Add a QuickBooks Online Payroll subscription, if required. You can see how to do this in the Adding QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks
Online Payroll lesson
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When you’re ready, select Save
The new QuickBooks Online company will now be added to your Client List.
You can now work with your client to set up and configure their company
Configure and customize the product
No two clients are the same—and neither are their QuickBooks Online company setups. You’ll need to work closely with the client to configure their
company in a way that delivers the features and functions they need for their business to succeed.
Whether you’re advising on a custom payroll setup, adding logos, or improving sales form templates, you can demonstrate your value to clients by
helping them to build the best workflows for their unique business.
When you’re setting up lists for businesses new to QuickBooks Online, review their current customer/vendor lists to determine if you can utilize the
current data to import into QuickBooks Online or if you can tailor it to their needs with some adjustments to the lists and categorization options.
See our training library for extensive training on the various aspects of setting up and configuring a QuickBooks Online company.
Provide training and mentoring
As a skilled bookkeeper, it’s a great idea for you to help clients help you by training them in best-practice methods.
Training and mentoring also allow you as a ProAdvisor to highlight your value as a subject-matter expert, not just in accounting best practices and
requirements but also in how your clients should work in QuickBooks Online to get the best results.
It’s also a great time to remind them to download the QuickBooks Online app to keep track of their finances on the go.
The sooner the client is confident in recording their day-to-day transactions, the sooner they’ll see the value and time-saving benefits of QuickBooks
Online and their trusted advisor—you!
Clients who are using other bookkeeping tools
Clients with established businesses will undoubtedly use some other bookkeeping tool (Excel or more comprehensive accountancy software). They
could be using QuickBooks Desktop, for instance. Onboarding these clients will involve importing and/or migrating their data into QuickBooks Online.
Importing lists into QuickBooks Online is explained in the Importing Products and Services, Customers and Vendors lesson
Converting files from QuickBooks Desktop is a complex procedure that should only be carried out by experienced ProAdvisor’s. You can find out more
in our comprehensive training on QuickBooks Desktop Migration
Remember to use the Client onboarding template to help you define the correct workflow for setting up these clients and adding them to your books.
Gaining new clients already using QuickBooks Online
If you’re taking on a client who’s already using QuickBooks Online, they’ll need to invite you to the company as an accounting firm. When you accept
their invitation, they’ll be added to your Client List.
You should first review the client’s existing books, as they may need cleaning up.
It would take a long time to do this manually, and any errors you miss during your review could lead you to underestimate the amount of work and
underprice your services. The Client overview screen in QuickBooks Online is designed to give you a snapshot of a client’s books and helps you price
your services with confidence and win the client’s business.
You’ll find the Client overview screen by signing in via QuickBooks Online Accountant and selecting Overview on the left-hand navigation. There are
four sections for you to review, as you can see here:
Select each section heading to explore it in more detail.
Company setup
The Company Setup section indicates the complexity of the client’s QuickBooks Online company. It shows the client’s subscription level, whether
they subscribe to a payroll product, and whether they have Sales tax enabled.
This section also shows how many apps the client has connected to their QuickBooks Online company. You need to know which apps the client uses
to fully understand their workflows. You’ll want to review this regularly.
Banking activity
The Banking Activity section displays the client’s cash on hand, checking, merchant, and payroll checking accounts.
The Bank balance comes from the Banking center and shows the balance reported the last time the bank connected to QuickBooks. By selecting the
account name, you can view the transactions in the bank register.
The In QuickBooks figure is the QuickBooks balance from the end date of the register, which could include transactions dated in the future.
The Unreconciled and Reconciled through columns give details about the account’s reconciliation status. Using the Reconcile tool in QuickBooks
Online, you can see the number of unreconciled transactions and the date the books were reconciled.
Common issues
The Common Issues section is where you’ll see some diagnostic information about the condition of the client’s data in QuickBooks Online.
Here, you can check:
The number of uncleared transactions in the Undeposited Funds (or Payments to deposit) account Register
The balance in the Opening Balance Equity account should always be zero
Any transactions that QuickBooks Online has automatically categorized into the Uncategorized Asset accounts
What should you look out for in this section?
If there’s a balance in Undeposited Funds (Payments to deposit), you can view the associated activity by selecting the balance amount. This opens
the Undeposited funds (or Payments to deposit) account Register
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Select the Uncategorized Asset account to view transactions that have been categorized to this account. In this case, it looks like two sales
receipts have been deposited to the Uncategorized asset account instead of to Undeposited funds (Payments to deposit)
Adding deposits without assigning an income account is a common issue among new users of QuickBooks Online. Such transactions appear
in the Uncategorized income account
Transactions under the Uncategorized Expense account have likely been added from the Banking center without being assigned an
expense account
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The Opening Balance Equity account should always be zero in QuickBooks Online. If you see a balance here, it’s most likely because an
amount was entered in the opening balance field during the creation of a new customer, vendor, balance sheet account, or inventory product
The Negative Asset and Liability accounts section displays the number of accounts that have a balance contrary to their normal account
balance (for example, a negative bank balance)
If you’re taking on a client who’s already using QuickBooks Online, they’ll need to invite you to the company as an accounting firm. When you accept
their invitation, they’ll be added to your Client List.
You should first review the client’s existing books, as they may need cleaning up.
It would take a long time to do this manually, and any errors you miss during your review could lead you to underestimate the amount of work and
underprice your services. The Client overview screen in QuickBooks Online is designed to give you a snapshot of a client’s books and helps you price
your services with confidence and win the client’s business.
You’ll find the Client overview screen by signing in via QuickBooks Online Accountant and selecting Overview on the left-hand navigation. There are
four sections for you to review, as you can see here:
The Transaction Volume section shows a grouped overview of the number of transactions for the client for the last 30 days. However, you can change
the date range to view the volume of transactions for periods longer than 30 days.
This tab offers you a clear view of the client’s workload.
Identifying the right QuickBooks Online subscription for a client’s needs
Different clients, different needs
Clients will come to you with different business types and structures—and with different bookkeeping needs. With the many different levels of
subscriptions available to them, clients might find selecting an option confusing.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online offers a range of subscription levels to meet the needs of all clients. To identify the solution that’s right for
each client, you need to understand their unique business situation and requirements.
One of the first things you’ll do for your new clients is to help them choose the right QuickBooks Online solution for their business.
As part of your ongoing QuickBooks Online training and support, you’ll find many resources and checklists to help you do this. One of these is the New
Client Checklist, which allows you to build up a detailed picture of a client’s needs.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
In this lesson, we’ll cover:
Exploring a client’s needs and recommending the right QuickBooks solution
Topics
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Subscription options and levels
Gathering requirements
New Client Checklist
Asking the right questions: the Needs Assessment tab
Usage limits
Subscription options and levels
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QuickBooks Online offers four different subscription plans, plus the addition of QuickBooks Self-Employed.
Here’s a summary of each QuickBooks solution—and who they’re aimed at.
Self-Employed
Designed specifically for independent contractors and
freelancers who file a Schedule C form with their 1040 at
year end.
The four QuickBooks Online subscription levels are as follows:
Simple Start
Designed for sole proprietors, LLCs, partnerships,
and other types of small businesses. This
subscription level is the best fit for solopreneurs
and small business owners with basic accounting
needs.
Essentials
Has all the features of Simple Start but with extra
functionality for businesses with more complex
needs. However, it’s not designed for clients who
need to buy, sell, and track inventory, or who need to
create purchase orders and budgets. For that, they
need Plus.
Plus
Designed for small businesses employing staff and
carrying out functions such as budgeting, managing
inventory, and tracking multiple jobs. Plus is the most
popular subscription level for clients with small
businesses.
Advanced
Our flagship subscription, aimed at growing
businesses that are approaching mid-market size.
Follow the link for further information on QuickBooks Online Plans and Pricing.
To identify the most suitable subscription for your client, you’ll need to explore their current and future business needs. We’ll look at this next.
Gathering requirements
You need to get to know your client and their business. That way, you can tailor your advice to their needs—and make
sure they get the most out of QuickBooks Online.
Discover and target your clients’ needs by using the New Client Checklist to help you gather the right information, focusing
on the Who, What, When, and How.
Who?
You need to find out the client’s:
Get to know who your client is, what they’re aiming for, and where Legal/Tax entity type
they’re coming from.
Accounting year end
Accounting method (cash or accrual)
Business owner(s)
Business history
Business profile
Unique industry
Growing enterprise
Mission, vision, values, and business goals
You need to find out the client’s:
What?
Understand the structure of the client’s business to best discuss
QuickBooks Online features and benefits with them.
Reporting requirements
Daily operations
Sales/Customer workflows
Expense/Vendor workflows
Employee/Contractor workflows
Administrative tasks
Accounting software and processes
Other business applications and processes
When?
You need to find out the client’s:
Compliance and filing deadlines
Find out information such as how often the client runs reports, and their
internal and external deadlines. All your clients will have compliance Income tax needs
requirements for their business, even if they don’t run payroll or pay
sales tax.
Estimated tax needs
Payroll/payroll tax requirements
State tax requirements
Industry-related compliance requirements
Activities you can carry out include:
How?
Consider how you can help the client. You can dive deeper using the New Client Running a discovery session using the New Client Checklist
Checklist, follow the onboarding process, and begin to plan deliverables and tasks
Following a structured onboarding process
with your clients.
Planning 15-, 30-, 60-, and 90-day deliverables
Designing workflows and choosing tools that allow you to collaborate
with your client
Assigning tasks to yourself, your staff, and the client based on
individual strengths
ProAdvisor tip
For a deeper dive into best practices for onboarding new clients, read this useful article on effective and efficient client onboarding.
New Client Checklist
The New Client Checklist is a handy resource for getting to know new clients, gathering the information you need to set them up
with QuickBooks Online, and discovering their business needs to best match them to a subscription level.
The checklist is an Excel spreadsheet with six tabs, each focusing on a different aspect of the client’s requirements and the
onboarding process.
Follow the link to download/open a copy of the New Client Checklist and use it as a reference while you explore each tab in more detail here.
Select the headings to find out more.
Client Profile
The Client Profile tab of the New Client Checklist covers the basics you need to set up your client’s QuickBooks Online subscription.
Needs Assessment
The Needs Assessment tab lists the functionality your client may need from QuickBooks Online and helps you to understand their business better.
You can use the links in the Help resources column to explain certain relevant QuickBooks Online workflows to the client.
Each item listed in the Needs Assessment tab has a Yes/No column that you can use to specify whether the client requires this function. These
responses carry over to the associated QuickBooks Online feature in the QuickBooks Features and Solutions tab.
We’ll look at this tab in greater detail later in the lesson.
QuickBooks Features and Solutions
The QuickBooks Features and Solutions tab is designed to help you and your client identify the subscription that best suits them.
The workflows and functions that you selected with a “Yes” in the Needs Assessment tab are automatically marked with a “Yes” in the Recommended
features from Needs Assessment column on this tab too. You can use the dropdowns in this column to change any selections—and to mark additional
features with a “Yes” or “No” as required.
You can also use the Additional features required column to note any extra functionality the client may require. They’ll likely want to include or
discard certain features at this point too.
Mileage
If your client needs to track mileage, use this tab to collect the profile information of their vehicles. Gathering this information will help you complete
the QuickBooks Online setup for the client, who can then set up the QuickBooks Online mobile app to track mileage for business trips easily. This app
is explained in the QuickBooks Online mobile app lesson.
QuickBooks Bookkeeping Onboarding Checklist
Use the QuickBooks Bookkeeping Onboarding Checklist tab to gather any final additional requirements from your client.
You should use this checklist with the Client onboarding template inside the QuickBooks Online Accountant Work center. Here, you can set up an
onboarding project with tasks and subtasks you can assign to your team members. The Client onboarding template is explained in the lesson
on workflows for onboarding clients.
QuickBooks Self-Employed Profile
If your client needs the QuickBooks Self-Employed subscription, use this tab to gather the additional information you need to set up the subscription.
Asking the right questions: the Needs Assessment tab
To ensure you have all the information to identify the right QuickBooks Online solution for your client, use the Needs Assessment tab of the New
Client Checklist to dig deeper and ask the client questions about how their business operates.
Select each section of the Needs Assessment tab for more detailed guidance.
ProAdvisor tip
Exploring the client’s industry-specific needs will help you identify any additional functionality they may require. For example, they may need third-party
apps to track e-commerce sales or manage their logistics, manufacturing, shipping, point of sale, or personal billable time.
Check out this resource for more information on which QuickBooks Online subscription can help with industry trends.
Try it out: Example 1
It’s time to put your knowledge to the test...
You’ve just completed a meeting with a new client and have established that they need the following capabilities:
To keep track of time worked on each client/project
To keep track of expenses related to each client/project
What’s the minimum QuickBooks Online subscription level that would provide these capabilities?
Simple Start
Essentials
Plus
Advanced
Check Answer’s right.
QuickBooks Online Plus would be the minimum subscription. QuickBooks Online Advanced has all the capabilities of Plus and more.
USAGE LIMITS
Now let’s look at another factor you need to consider when recommending a subscription level to a client.
Each subscription level in QuickBooks Online is designed for a wide range of users, whether they’re busy e-tailers, architects, or contractors. However,
each subscription level also has limits. Usage limits are the maximum number of things (such as accounts or users) that a client can have in
QuickBooks. The more of these they require, the higher the QuickBooks Online subscription level they’ll need.
Usage limits vary according to the level of subscription. For instance, with Simple Start, clients can only have one user and a maximum of 250 accounts
in their chart of accounts. With Advanced, however, they can have up to 25 users and unlimited accounts.
Follow this link for a comprehensive explanation of usage limits in QuickBooks Online.
Try it out: Example 2
Now try another example.
Here’s the Features and Solutions tab of the New Client Checklist that you completed for a new client.
Based on the information in the first two columns about the QuickBooks Online features that the client will need, which subscription level
would you recommend?
QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Simple Start
QuickBooks Essentials
QuickBooks Online Plus
QuickBooks Online Advanced
This client requires Location tracking, Budgets, and Purchase orders, which are all features of QuickBooks Online Plus.
Try it out: Example 3
Try one last example...
Here are the results of an initial needs assessment you did with a potential client:
The client runs a haulage and warehouse business
The business is a large SMB with more than 10 users
Their HQ is in Idaho, but the business also has distribution centers in Maine and New Mexico
They manage a team of around 50, made up of a mixture of employees and contractors. The truck drivers don’t need access
to QuickBooks Online, but the finance team, the separate sales team, and purchasing department all need access to different
sets of data
They’d benefit from giving the sales and purchasing teams custom access to financial data
There will likely be complex tracking and categorization requirements
Which QuickBooks Online subscription level would you recommend?
QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Simple Start
QuickBooks Essentials
QuickBooks Online Plus
QuickBooks Online Advanced
Check Answer right!
The client has many complex bookkeeping requirements that QuickBooks Online Advanced is designed to solve.
BILLING OPTIONS
Flexibility from the outset
Whichever QuickBooks Online solution and subscription your client chooses, they’ll want value for money and flexibility in how they pay for their
subscriptions. They also won’t want to miss out on any discounts that you can offer as a ProAdvisor.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
When you sign up a client via QuickBooks Online Accountant, you can offer them a choice of billing options. Clients may want to pay for their
subscription directly, or for you to add the cost to your fees. Whichever method the client chooses, our ProAdvisor Preferred Pricing program offers
discounts for you and them.
To get the most out of this lesson, we recommend that you first complete the ones on adding clients to QuickBooks Online
Accountant and identifying the right QuickBooks Online subscription for your client’s needs.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
In this lesson, we’ll cover:
The billing options and discounts available with QuickBooks Online
Topics
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Billing options when you add a client via QuickBooks Online Accountant
Billing methods
Billing options when you add a client via QuickBooks Online Accountant
When you add a client to QuickBooks Online Accountant, you can choose whether to sign them up to QuickBooks Online at that time or
later.
To sign them up right away, select Subscription in the Products section.
In the Billing options section, you can then choose how they’re going to be billed for their subscription. The three options are:
ProAdvisor discount
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Direct discount
Revenue share
You can also use the QuickBooks and Payroll dropdowns to choose which QuickBooks Online subscription level to sign the client up to, and whether
to add QuickBooks Online Payroll. Note that you can’t sign up clients to QuickBooks Time at this stage, although it is included with Premium and Elite
subscriptions of QuickBooks Online Payroll.
We'll explore these three options in the next section.
Billing methods
The various billing options you can offer your clients are all part of our ProAdvisor Preferred Pricing program. This gives you and your clients exclusive
discounts on QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Online Payroll, and QuickBooks Time subscriptions, as you can see here:
These discounts are available whichever way you or your clients pay for their QuickBooks Online subscription. The only difference is the duration of
the discount period.
Follow this link for more information on the ProAdvisor Preferred Pricing program.
How you charge your client is up to you. Some firms build the cost into their monthly fee, while others charge a software or subscription fee separately.
Select the headings to find out more about the features and benefits of each billing method.
ProAdvisor discount
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Direct discount
Revenue share
If you’ll pay your client’s subscription fees, choose the ProAdvisor discount when you sign your client up for QuickBooks Online.
With this option, your client will benefit from the pricing discounts for the duration of their subscription, with the option to cancel at any time. You’ll be
billed monthly and get an itemized view of all your billed subscriptions for easy tracking. You can decide how to pass the cost on to your clients and
how to account for the discounted rate.
How long does the discount last?
With the ProAdvisor discount, the client’s subscription fees are reduced by 30% for their entire subscription duration.
What are the benefits for you?
When you pay for your clients’ subscriptions, you’ll receive one consolidated monthly bill that includes the ongoing discount. You’ll also have access
to monthly itemized bills displaying all of your firm-billed clients.
Will this affect clients currently on wholesale discounts?
We know how important an existing agreement is in business. That’s why we’ll continue to honor the 50% wholesale discount for subscriptions enrolled
before the launch of the ProAdvisor Preferred Pricing program.
Knowledge check
Which billing options allow clients to pay their QuickBooks Online subscription fees directly themselves? Select all that apply.
Revenue share
Only clients who sign up to QuickBooks Online themselves are billed directly
ProAdvisor discount
Direct discount
Check Answer
With Direct discount and the Revenue share program, clients are billed directly.
Adding QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online Payroll
Building value
For many of your client’s, employing people is an inevitable reality of running a successful business. For these clients, keeping track of their people’s
time and running payroll are significant and often stressful parts of the job.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online integrates seamlessly with two other QuickBooks products: QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online Payroll. Adopting these
time-tracking and payroll subscriptions can save clients time and money, allowing them to focus on their commercial priorities.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
In this lesson, we’ll cover:
The benefits and subscription levels of QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online Payroll, and how-to sign-up clients for each product
Topics
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Benefits of QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online Payroll
QuickBooks Time subscriptions
QuickBooks Online Payroll subscriptions
Adding QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online Payroll
Benefits of QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online Payroll
When you’re gathering a prospective client’s requirements using the New Client Checklist, you may identify that they could benefit from time-tracking
and/or payroll solutions. This is where QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online Payroll come in.
You can find comprehensive information about each product in our training on QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online Payroll. Here’s a brief
overview of the benefits that they both offer.
Select each heading to explore these benefits.
QuickBooks Time
QuickBooks Online Payroll
QuickBooks Time provides clients with tools for recording, managing, and analyzing time, including an online time tracker and a mobile time-tracking
app.
Some of the benefits of QuickBooks Time are as follows:
Commercial benefits
Accurate timekeeping is a win–win for clients and customers alike
Clients can bill more accurately because the application captures all the time people work on a project
Clients can also use the app and its data to gain insight into the true headcount costs of projects for improved job costing and profitability
Customers know that any headcount-related costs are fair and are not just guesstimated
Operational benefits
Being cloud-based, QuickBooks Time offers easy access to timesheets anywhere, and on any device
GPS tracking allows managers to see who’s clocking in and out—and where their employees are
A geofencing feature automates location-based reminders for employees to clock in and out
Management benefits
Timesheets integrate seamlessly with payroll, so all the hassle of manually collecting, verifying, and submitting timesheets to payroll
vanishes, making running payroll and invoicing a breeze
QuickBooks Time subscriptions
There are two subscription levels available for QuickBooks Time: Premium and Elite.
QuickBooks Time Premium gives your clients all the functionality they need to plan for, record, manage, and approve the hours their employees and
contractor’s work
QuickBooks Time Elite includes all the benefits of QuickBooks Time Premium as well as additional capabilities to improve project efficiency and
profitability. These include mileage tracking, geofencing, timesheet signatures, enhanced reporting, and (importantly) project estimates versus actuals
analysis
With either subscription, clients can choose a standalone or integrated solution.
Standalone versions of QuickBooks Time allow clients to export their timesheet data to third-party payroll applications.
Integrated versions of QuickBooks Time are included with the equivalent QuickBooks Online Payroll subscription—and automatically transfer
approved timesheet data to it.
Note: Accounting professionals who sign up for QuickBooks Online Accountant get a free QuickBooks Payroll Elite subscription (which includes
QuickBooks Time) for their firm.
ProAdvisor tip
If you want more detail about these products, check out our page on QuickBooks Time subscriptions and pricing.
QuickBooks Online Payroll subscriptions
QuickBooks Online Payroll subscriptions are designed to be flexible to meet the needs of all of your clients. There
are three subscription levels to choose from: Core, Premium, and Elite.
Select each subscription level to find out what it provides.
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QuickBooks Online Payroll Core
QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium
QuickBooks Online Payroll Elite
QuickBooks Online Payroll Core offers all the features your clients need to prepare for and run payroll, including:
Automated tax payments and form filing at Garnishments and deductions management
federal and state level
Expert product support
Unlimited pay runs
401(k) plans
Auto Payroll
Health benefits for the team
1099 E-File & Pay
Next-day direct deposit
New-hire reporting
Self-service employee portal
Adding QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Online Payroll
If you and your client have decided to add a QuickBooks Online Payroll and/or QuickBooks Time subscription, you can do this for them as—or after—
you set up their QuickBooks Online company.
Clients with the appropriate admin rights may also be able to add both products themselves later. One way they can sign up for QuickBooks Time is
by downloading and installing the app. Alternatively, you can install the app for them during/after setup.
Select each question to find out more about the various ways to sign up for QuickBooks Online Payroll and/or QuickBooks Time.
How can you add QuickBooks Payroll when you sign up a client for QuickBooks Online?
You can include QuickBooks Online Payroll when you sign a client up for QuickBooks Online from QuickBooks Online Accountant. The procedure for
signing up a new client is explained in the lesson on adding clients to QuickBooks Online Accountant.
To add QuickBooks Online Payroll, scroll down to the Products section in the Add client screen and expand the Payroll dropdown. Then select Add for
the appropriate subscription level.
The total subscription fee will now include both products.
How can you add QuickBooks Online Payroll to an existing QuickBooks Online subscription?
Clients may start with QuickBooks Online on its own, then decide that they want to add QuickBooks Online Payroll later.
To add QuickBooks Online Payroll to an existing QuickBooks Online subscription:
In QuickBooks Online Accountant, go to Subscriptions and billing from the Gear icon and open the tab for whichever billing method the client uses
Select Add Payroll from the Client actions dropdown
Next, choose the most appropriate plan and select Add
Then select Confirm at the bottom of the screen
How can clients add QuickBooks Online Payroll and/or QuickBooks Time themselves?
Clients who are set up as Company or Primary Admins can add either—or both—products themselves, as follows:
In QuickBooks Online, they need to go to Account and Settings and select Billing & subscription
For the products(s) they want to add, they need to select Learn more, where they’ll be taken to the appropriate product page. Once there, they should
follow the instructions
How can clients download and install the QuickBooks Time app?
Clients with the appropriate admin rights can also download and install the QuickBooks Time app as follows:
Select Apps > Find apps from the left-hand navigation, or go to www.apps.com
In the Apps center, search for QuickBooks Time
Choose QuickBooks Time from the search results list, then select Get app now
Choose either QuickBooks Time Premium or Elite and select Try it free. This gives the client a 30-day free trial of the product
The client then sees the QuickBooks Time setup screen, where they can start configuring the product for use. You can see how to do this
in our QuickBooks Time training.
How can you add the QuickBooks Time app for clients?
You can also install the QuickBooks Time app for the client as follows:
In QuickBooks Online Accountant, go to the Apps center and find QuickBooks Time
When you select Get app now, you’ll get an option of which company to install the app on—including your own bookkeeping firm
Select the correct client from the dropdown, then select Install
Next, choose the appropriate subscription level, in the same way as the client would when installing the app themselves
You’ll then see the QuickBooks Time setup screen in QuickBooks Online, where you can show your client how to start using the product
What about clients who sign up for QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium or Elite?
Clients who sign up for QuickBooks Online Payroll Premium or Elite automatically get QuickBooks Time included with their QuickBooks
Online Payroll subscription. They simply need to launch and activate the product from QuickBooks Online.
Knowledge check
Which of the following are benefits of using QuickBooks Time? Select all that apply.
It automates the 1099 filing process
It allows employees to manage each other’s timesheets
It allows administrators to schedule the work of the business
It offers easy access to timesheets anywhere
It offers specific, time-related reports
Check Answer
QuickBooks Time’s suite of tools provides clients with a range of time-management features that allow them to record, manage, and analyze
time.
CUSTOMIZING THE CHART OF ACCOUNTS
Your business, your needs
The chart of accounts is at the heart of any QuickBooks Online file. Although you can choose a default chart of accounts when you sign up a client,
you and your client may still need to customize it to meet the needs of their business.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
You can add value to your client’s business by ensuring that their chart of accounts reflects the reporting requirements for their business.
There are several ways to edit a chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online to make it work for your client. In this lesson, we’ll look at the different
customization options.
To get the most out of this lesson, we recommend that you complete the one on the chart of accounts and the Products and services list first.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here
In this lesson, we’ll cover:
Customizing the chart of accounts, and managing accounts in QuickBooks Online
Topics








The benefits of having a customized chart of accounts
Examples of customized charts of accounts
Adding account numbers
Editing account names
Merging accounts
How to merge accounts
Making an account inactive
Account-editing limitations
ProAdvisor challenge
The benefits of having a customized chart of accounts
Setting up a client’s chart of accounts correctly in QuickBooks Online means paying attention to their business’s needs and business profiles. Some
clients may not want to include accounts that do not apply to their business. Still, they may need new accounts that are specific to their industry or
unique to their business.
As a ProAdvisor, you can help your clients reflect their needs in the way you set up their chart of accounts (COA).
Watch the video to find out more about the benefits of customizing the chart of accounts for different business types.
HOW CAN YOU AND YOUR CLIENTS CUSTOMIZE THEIR CHART OF ACCOUNTS?




As well as adding accounts, edits to a default chart of accounts can include:
Editing the names of default accounts
Adding account numbers
Merging duplicate accounts


Making unused or redundant accounts inactive (Note that you can’t delete an account)
We’ll explore how to make these changes later in the lesson.
ProAdvisor tip
You can also view examples of—and import—industry-specific chart of accounts templates. Find out more in this article about importing
chart of account templates.
Examples of customized charts of accounts
Let’s look at two different business types, their chart of accounts, and how the setup reflects the accounting profile of each business.
Select each of the tabs to find out more.


Sample client A
Sample client B
Client A is a sole proprietor with no employees and isn’t eligible for corporate tax. Their primary focus when it comes to data and reporting is customer
profitability.
The reports that this client is most interested in are:




Profit and Loss by Customer
Un-invoiced Charges
Balance sheet
Accounts Receivable Aging
So, how should you set up the chart of accounts for this client?
Because the client deals with job-related expenses in their business, they have two materials accounts on their COA:
Job Materials (Purchases): used for categorizing reimbursable expenses used on billable jobs
Materials and Supplies (Overhead): used for categorizing other non-customer-related purchases
Client B is a real estate investment company with a portfolio of multiple properties.
So, how should you set up the chart of accounts for this client?
Their chart of accounts needs to reflect the business. So, they have individual accounts for each of their mortgages and a combined property income
account with expense subaccounts for each property. They even have an account to record the escrow costs related to the purchase costs to keep
track of when they sell a property.
You might want to customize a client’s account numbering and hierarchies to create consistency across all clients or to comply with the industry or the
government’s accounting standards.
Before you can add numbers to a client’s account, you need to enable numbering. Let’s see how to do that, and then add some account numbers.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
To enable account numbers:
1.
2.
Select the Gear icon, then Account and settings
3.
4.
5.
Select anywhere in the Chart of accounts section to enable editing
Move the slider next to the Enable account numbers option. Note that this setting will affect all users in the client’s company
Next, check the Show account numbers option. This setting allows account numbers to show on the chart of accounts and on reports. If it is
not selected, account numbers will be hidden on reports—but clients will still be able to search for an account by number when they record
transactions
Select Save
Then select Done
6.
7.
Select the Advanced tab from the left
QuickBooks Online now allows account numbers in the chart of accounts. It may automatically assign account numbers, but these can be changed if
needed.
To do this:
1.
Select the Gear icon, then Chart of accounts
Alternatively, select Accounting from the left-hand navigation and select Chart of accounts
2.
3.
4.
Select the Pencil icon above the Action column
In the Number column, enter the desired account numbers. These can be up to twenty digits long
When done, select Save
That’s it.
EDITING ACCOUNT NAMES
Sometimes it’s a good idea to edit default account names to make them more appropriate or easily identifiable for clients. This can help clients avoid
errors such as posting transactions to the wrong accounts.
To edit an account name, you need to be in the chart of accounts.
Find the account to rename and, from the Action column dropdown, select Edit
In the Edit account panel, enter the new account name in the Account name field
When done, select Save
Merging accounts
Merging accounts is a common practice when there are duplicates or two accounts are being used for the same thing.
Note that the merging process is permanent and can’t be reversed. Any transactions in merged accounts are also merged and will
appear under one category in reports.
What do you need to be aware of when merging accounts?
To successfully merge accounts, the Account Name, Account Type, and Detail Type must all be the same.
What about subaccounts?
You can merge subaccounts that are under the same parent account. To do this, the Account Name, Account Type, and Detail Type must all be the
same. Also, the subaccount Account Type must be identical to the parent Account Type.
How to merge accounts
Now let’s look at the process for merging accounts in the chart of accounts.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
Find the account to be merged and, in the Action column dropdown, select Edit
In the Edit account panel, copy the exact Account name by highlighting and selecting the name, then copying it
Select Cancel to close the Edit account panel
Back in the Chart of Accounts list, find the other account to be merged and—as before—select Edit in the Action column dropdown
In the Edit account panel, paste the name of the previous account into the Account name field. You need to replace the current name with the one
that you copied from the first account
Select Save
QuickBooks Online will ask you to confirm that you want to merge the account. To proceed, select Yes, merge accounts
Finally, select Save again
These accounts are now merged in the Chart of Accounts.
Making an account inactive
When setting up a client file, you may want to make some default accounts inactive. This helps keep the chart of accounts tidy and prevents clients
from posting transactions to the wrong or redundant account by mistake.
QuickBooks Online lists inactive accounts as deleted on reports. However, transactions in inactive accounts remain part of the company data. They
would appear on reports if they were posted to the account when it was active.
Select the headings to see how to make accounts inactive—and how to reactivate them.
How to make an account inactive
How to make an account active again
You can make accounts inactive individually or in a batch.
To make a single account inactive:
In the Chart of Accounts screen, select the down arrow from the Action column and choose Make inactive
In the popup, select Yes to confirm
To make multiple accounts inactive at once:
Select each one by placing a checkmark in the box to the left
Then, from the Batch actions dropdown, select Make inactive
To confirm, select Yes, make inactive
How to make an account active again
By default, inactive accounts are not visible from the chart of accounts. To make an account active again, you’ll first need to make it appear in the
Chart of Accounts screen:
Select the small Grid Gear icon above the Action column
Check the Include inactive option
Find the account you want to make active again, and select Make active from the Action column
Account-editing limitations
Because QuickBooks Online requires some default accounts to carry out essential functions, customization has certain limitations.
You can edit the following accounts’ names, but they can’t be made inactive or merged:
Accounts Receivable
Opening Balance Equity
Retained Earnings
Reconciliation Discrepancies
Unapplied Cash Payment Income
(Sales tax agency name, such as GST, VAT) Payable
Services
Sales of Product Income
Uncategorized Asset
Uncategorized Expense and Uncategorized Income
Owner’s Equity
The Inventory/Stock Assets and Cost of Goods Sold/Cost of Sales accounts can be renamed, made inactive, and merged, with the following limitations:
They can only be made inactive if they’re not assigned to a Products/ Service item
They can be merged or renamed, but if any changes are made to a Product/Service item that relates to these accounts, the merge will be undone, or
the account will revert to its original name
Knowledge check
Which of the following options is NOT true regarding editing a chart of accounts?

All transactions are deleted from an account if you make it inactive

Merging accounts isn’t possible for all account types

Transactions posted to merged accounts are also merged

You can make an account active once it has been made inactive
Check Answer
That’s right.
Transactions in inactive accounts remain part of the company data.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping company, merge two accounts in the
chart of accounts.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.), then rightclick and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about making a mistake or
breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
You want to help your client keep their chart of accounts tidy, so you’ve decided to merge two of their subaccounts: one for legal fees and the other
for professional fees.
Here’s what you need to do:
The task
 Merge the Bookkeeper account into the accounting account
 Only the Accounting subaccount should remain
How did you do?
To check if the merge has been successful, select Run report from the Action column next to the accounting subaccount.
You should see no entries for Bookkeeper, just entries for accounting fees.
Our solution
If you didn’t make it quite to the end, or you had a different outcome, try this:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Navigate to the Chart of Accounts screen either by selecting the Gear icon and choosing Chart of accounts or by
selecting Accounting from the left-hand navigation and choosing Chart of accounts from there
Find the Bookkeeper account in the list, select the down arrow in the Action column and choose Edit
In the Edit account panel, change the name of the account to Accounting
Next, select Save
To confirm that you want to merge the accounts, select Yes, merge accounts
Select Save again
Having trouble?
For an account to merge with another, the names (including characters and spacing) should be exactly the same. So, make sure that you copy and paste the account name without any
extra spaces or characters.
Importing products and services, customers, and vendors
Making things simple
QuickBooks Online makes it easy for you and your clients to set up a new product, service, customer, or vendor from scratch.
However, some of your clients may already have lists of their products, services, customers, or vendors. It’s time-consuming to enter all these items into QuickBooks Online manually, and
mistakes can happen when entering data.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online has a built-in importing tool that allows you and your clients to import external lists. The tool also makes it easy to map the data to the correct fields in QuickBooks
Online.
However, clients are likely to need the know-how of an experienced ProAdvisor to configure the data so that it maps to the correct fields in QuickBooks Online.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
In this lesson, we’ll cover:

Importing products and services, customers, and vendors into QuickBooks Online



What’s involved in importing lists into QuickBooks Online?
Importing a list into QuickBooks Online
ProAdvisor challenge
Topics
What’s involved in importing lists into QuickBooks Online?
Importing a list into QuickBooks Online is a straightforward process. The most time-consuming aspect is making sure the list is configured in the correct format before you import it.
Select the headings to discover more about importing lists into QuickBooks Online.
How do you import a list?
You or your clients can import a list from within the relevant center in QuickBooks Online. For example, to import a products and services list from the Products and Services center, select
the down arrow next to New, then select Import.
You or your clients can also import lists by going to the Gear icon and selecting Import data.
Then choose the list type to import.
The second method works well if clients want to import several different types of lists into QuickBooks Online, but they can only import one list at a time.
Note: The process for importing a list is covered in more detail later in the lesson.
What format do lists need to be in?
QuickBooks Online can import lists saved as Excel or CSV files. Clients can also connect to a file in Google Sheets.
You need to ensure each list is set up or configured in the correct format so that QuickBooks Online can map each item of data to the correct field.
How do you know how to configure a list correctly?
QuickBooks Online includes a sample file for each list type so that you and your clients know how to format each list before you import it. You or your clients can download the sample file
by choosing the relevant list type from the Import screen and selecting Download a sample file.
Each sample file is preformatted with the column headings that QuickBooks Online needs in order to add the data to the company correctly. Using the sample file saves you or your clients
from having to create a new template from scratch.
Here is a sample file for the chart of accounts:
We recommend downloading and saving the sample file as a template, then copying and pasting your client’s customer data into each column. Remember to delete the sample data in
each column first! Pay attention to which columns (fields) are included in the template, their names, and their order.
Alternatively, you can update your client’s existing spreadsheet to match the sample file.
Once the list is configured correctly, you or your client can import it into QuickBooks Online.
What if the client already has products and services, customers, and/or vendors?
Importing a chart of accounts or a customer/vendor list doesn’t replace or update existing data in your client’s QuickBooks Online company. Instead, it adds new items to the company.
However, when importing a products and services list, you or your client can choose to overwrite and update items already in QuickBooks Online.
In either case, if QuickBooks Online identifies a name that already exists during the importing process, it prompts you to change the name or clear the box and not import that item.
ProAdvisor tip
You’ll find more detail on importing lists into QuickBooks Online in the lessons on exporting lists from QuickBooks Desktop and importing lists
into a QuickBooks Online company.
Importing a list into QuickBooks Online
Let’s look at how you import a list into QuickBooks Online.
To demonstrate the procedure, we’ll show you how to import a products and services list from the Products and Services center. The procedure is the same for importing a customers or
vendors list.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1. Go to the Products and services tab in the Sales center
2. Select the arrow next to New and select Import
3. Next, select Browse
4. Find the spreadsheet to be imported and select Open to upload it
5. Select Next
6. Check that the column headers in the list are mapped to the correct fields in QuickBooks Online. The column headers in the spreadsheet
are
referred
to
as
“Your
Field”
here
7.
8.
9.
You may also need to enter any data that’s missing from the spreadsheet. Data could be missing because you added a column to the
spreadsheet but didn’t enter data in the column for every row.
When you’re ready, select Next
On the next page, select the correct income accounts from the chart of accounts in the Income Account column dropdowns
Once you’ve done this, select Import
That’s it! You’re done.
https://app.qbo.intuit.com/app/customers#
Knowledge check
Here is the Customer center in a client’s QuickBooks Online company:
Ready to test how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping
company, import a customer list.
To complete the task, you need to:
 Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy
link address
 Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome,
InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.), then
right-click and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to
explore and try out new things without worrying about making a mistake or
breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely
refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
Where can you go to import a customer list into QuickBooks Online? Select all that apply.

Customer types, then select Import customers

The Gear icon, then select Import data

The Gear icon, then select Account and settings

New customer, then select Import customers

The down arrow by new customer, then select Import customers
Check Answer
Well done, that’s correct.
Importing a list from the relevant center in QuickBooks Online is quicker if you’re only importing one list type. The Gear icon route is useful if you’re importing multiple lists.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
The task
Your client, Craig, has a customer list that he’s asked you to import into his QuickBooks Online company.
Here’s what you need to do:


Use the link below to download the file Craig’s customer list to your computer
Import the customer list into his QuickBooks Online
Craig’s customer list
How did you do?
Check the Customers tab in the Sales screen. If you can see the following customers, you got it right:



Dick Tse
Lawrence Tan
Paul Simmons
Our solution
If you got stuck or didn’t get to the end, try the following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
First, download Craig’s customer list to your local computer. (The customer list is in the task dropdown in this ProAdvisor challenge)
Go to the Sales center
Select the Customer tab
Select New Customer
Select Import Customers
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Select Browse
Upload Craig’s customer list
Select Next
Check that the mapping is correct, then select Next
Finally, select Import
Having trouble?
Some fields are required when importing list data into QuickBooks Online. Fields with errors will be highlighted in red. You can update the data directly in the review data screen
to resolve any issues!
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Importing products and services, customers, and vendors into QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
If a client has existing lists of their products and services, customers, and/or vendors, QuickBooks Online’s built-in importing tool allows you or the client to import these lists into their
company. A sample spreadsheet file provided for each list type shows you how to format each correctly so the data maps to the correct fields in QuickBooks Online.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at managing the products and services
Managing the products and services list
Save time with automation
The products and services list in QuickBooks Online contains the details of the items and services that a client sells to their customers. As clients add new products/services—or discontinue
them—they’ll need to keep their products and services list up to date.
This can be a challenge for clients, especially those with larger businesses.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online gives you and your client the tools to manage the products and services list and keep it in good shape.
Helping your clients understand how products and services work in QuickBooks Online is a vital part of helping them to get the most out of their accounting software. If you can get your
clients into good habits managing their products and services list, it’ll be easier for everyone in the long run—including you!
To get the most from this lesson, we recommend that you complete the one on the Chart of accounts and the products and services first.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Product and service types
You or your client must select the appropriate item type when adding an item to QuickBooks Online. Here’s a quick recap of the available item types:
Inventory (available in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced only)
These are items that are bought and sold, and whose quantities on hand are tracked. Your clients must
subscribe to QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced to use this feature.
Non-inventory
These are items that are bought and sold, and whose quantities on hand are not tracked. Your clients may
use this item type for small parts used in the installation or delivery of a product.
Service
These are services that are provided to your client’s customers. They can be one-time, recurring, or fixedfee services.
Bundle
This is a collection of products and services that are sold together. For example, a package that includes
an exterior door and a security lock, or a product installation that includes both labor and materials.
The Products and services center
The products and services list can be found in the Products and services center in QuickBooks Online.
To open the Products and services center, select Sales from the left-hand navigation, then Products and services.
Select each of the highlighted areas to find out more.
Selecting More allows clients to:

Manage their product categories and add new ones. You’ll discover more about product categories later in the lesson

Run the Product/Service List report
Selecting New allows clients to set up a new product/service item. To see how to do this, go to the lesson on the chart of accounts and products
and services.
The down arrow to the right takes clients to the import data tool, where they can import an existing products and services list. The importing procedure
is covered in the Importing products and services, customers and vendors lesson.
The Low/out of stock summary is only available to clients with inventory enabled in QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced.
This visual snapshot shows how many inventory-type items are at low or zero stock numbers. Selecting either badge allows clients to filter the products
and services list to only show items at the associated stock level.
Use the filter icon or search bar to look for specific items by keyword or show/hide items by criteria such as type and category. Clients can also use
the filter to show product and service items that they’ve made inactive.
The products and services list grid lists all the product and service items that the client sells and/or provides. Items are listed in rows, and the
columns give detailed information about each item.
In this example, “Cabinets” has been set up as a product category in QuickBooks Online. Product categories are explained later in the lesson.
The Action column allows you or your client to:

Edit the item details

Make it inactive (for example, if the client has stopped selling/providing the item)

Make a duplicate copy of it

Run a report on the item
For inventory items, clients can also adjust the item quantity and the item starting value. To learn more about using inventory in QuickBooks Online,
look at the lesson on setting up inventory products.
Creating and using product categories
Product categories in QuickBooks Online allow your clients to group items of the same type. For instance, if your client has a retail business selling
hiking gear, they may want to create product categories for items such as hiking boots, backpacks, and tents.
Categories help you and your client easily find products or services. They are also very useful when running sales and inventory reports, as they make
it easy to compare and explore data by product category.
Select each question to reveal more about creating and using product categories.
How do you create a product category?
You and your clients can create a new product category before adding new products/services to QuickBooks Online. To do this:
The
1.
Select More, followed
2.
Then
3.
Give
by Manage
select New
the
new
categories
category
category
will
category
a
now
appear
suitable name and
in
the
select Save
categories
list.
Can you add sub-categories to a category?
If your client wants to be more specific with grouping items, they can also create sub-categories.
Note that you can only add a sub-category via the More > Manage categories > New categories method, not when setting up a new product/service
item.
To create a sub-category, select the Is a sub-category checkbox in the Category information panel. This will make a second dropdown appear, from
which
clients
can
assign
the
sub-category
to
an
existing
category.
The sub-category appears in the categories list, as you can see here:
Note that you can only have up to four category layers, including the parent.
How do you assign a product/service item to a category?
Once you’ve set up a product category, you can assign a product/service item to it when you’re adding the item in QuickBooks Online.
You can also assign an existing product/service item to a product category. To do this, select Edit from the Action column in the Products and services
center.
Either way, in the Product/Service information panel, select the appropriate category from the Category dropdown:
Note: If you choose a sub-category here, it will appear in the Category name field as “Category name:Sub-category name.” For example, “Vehicle
inspections:Oil inspections.”
Can you create a product category when you add a new product/service?
Yes, you or your client can also create a new product category when setting up a new product/service.
Note that you can only create a new product category when you add a new non-inventory, service, or inventory item—not a bundle.
1.
Start by setting up a new product/service, as described in the lesson on the chart of accounts and the Products and services list
2.
When
3.
Give
4.
Continue to add the remaining item details, then select Save and close
you
get
the
to
the
category
Category
a
field,
open
suitable
the
dropdown
name
and
and
select Add
new
select Save
The item will be listed under the new product category in the Products and services list.
ProAdvisor tip
Follow the link for more information on grouping products and services into different categories.
Setting up products and services to sell and/or purchase
Now let’s look at another aspect of setting up products/services where your clients may need extra guidance.
In the Product/Service information panel, clients have the option to tell QuickBooks Online whether they:

Sell this product/service to their customers

Purchase this product/service from a vendor (available in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced only)
Select the headings to reveal what additional detail the client needs to enter for each option.

Sell the product/service

Purchase the product/service
Clients who select this option need to fill in the following details about the item:

A description of the item that will appear on sales forms such as invoices

The sales price/rate for the item

Which account in the chart of accounts will be credited when the client generates an invoice for this item

The sales tax rate for the item
What do clients need to be aware of when setting the sales tax rate?
For clients who use sales tax in QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Online calculates the sales tax using the standard rate by default. With this setting,
when clients add a new taxable product/service, sales tax is calculated based on the seller’s (that is, the client’s) location. Clients can change the sales
tax rate to a custom rate or tell QuickBooks Online that the item is nontaxable, if applicable.
You can dive deeper into how sales tax works in QuickBooks Online by exploring the lessons on basic sales tax setup and advanced sales tax
activities.

Purchase the product/service
Clients with QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced can add additional information about products or services they purchase from vendors. Clients who
choose this option need to fill in the following details about the item:

A description of the item that will appear on forms such as purchase orders

The item cost

Which expense account in the chart of accounts will be debited when the item is added to an expense transaction

The
client’s
preferred
vendor,
if
they
have
one
Products and services settings
QuickBooks Online allows you or your clients to customize certain product and service features, such as whether to include product/service information
on sales forms (invoices, estimates, and sales receipts) and whether to turn on inventory tracking.
To customize the fields and columns on sales forms, select the Gear icon and then Account and Settings. Select Sales from the left menu and scroll
to the Products and services section.
Select each highlighted area to find out more about the setting options.
The Show Product/Service column on sales forms option must be selected if the client wants to use product/service items on sales forms.
Deselecting this option limits clients to adding only descriptions to each line item of a sales form—and uses the default product or service item defined
by QuickBooks Online.
Select the Show SKU column option to add a column on sales and purchase forms to track SKU (stock-keeping unit) numbers
Select the Turn on price rules option to enable the Price Rules feature (only available in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced). Enabling this
feature allows clients to create special pricing for different types of customers and products/services.
The Track quantity and price/rate option adds the quantity and rate columns to sales and purchase forms.
Select the Track inventory quantity on hand option to turn on the inventory-tracking feature (only available in QuickBooks Online Plus and
Advanced). To find out more about using inventory in QuickBooks Online, have a look at the lesson on setting up inventory products.
Which of the following statements about adding sub-categories to the product and services list are correct? Select all that apply.

You can only add 1 sub-category level to a product category

You can only assign a product or service item to a sub-category when you’re setting it up for the first time

You can edit existing product/service items to assign them to a sub-category

You can create a sub-category when you’re setting up a new product/service item

You can only add up to 4 category and sub-category levels, including the parent
Check Answer
Great job!
You can only add a product sub-category when you select New category from the Product Categories list. Once you’ve created a sub-category, you
can assign new and existing product/service items to it.
Managing customers and vendors
Keeping things in shape
As a client’s business grows, they’ll likely work with new customers and vendors. Depending on their business, clients may well have customers and
suppliers on their lists that they no longer do business with.
It’s important that clients keep their customers’ and vendors’ lists up-to-date. This can be a challenge for them, especially those with high customer
turnover, such as retail businesses.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online gives you and your clients a great set of tools for managing their lists of customers and vendors.
Clients can add, edit, and remove customer/vendor information. They can also group customers by type to help them organize their customer lists and
generate meaningful data.
To ensure you get the most from this lesson, we recommend that you work through the training on adding customers and adding vendors first.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
The Customers and Vendors centers
QuickBooks Online has both a Customers and a Vendors center to help your clients manage their customers and vendors. These centers are where
the client can add new customers/vendors—and make existing ones inactive.
The Customers center and Vendors center look and function similarly, so let’s look at what they have in common.
Select the headings to explore the Customers and Vendors centers.
How do you open the Customers center and the Vendors center?
The Customers center is part of the Sales center. Clients can open it by selecting Sales from the left-hand navigation, followed by Customers.
Clients can find the Vendor center by selecting Expenses from the left-hand menu, then selecting Vendors.
What information do the Customers/Vendors centers provide?
When clients open either center, the key feature they’ll see is the customer/vendor list. This shows the name and contact details of each
customer/vendor, plus their current open balance.
Selecting a name in the list allows clients to view information about the customer/vendor, such as their contact details and a list of the transactions
to/from them. We’ll cover how to edit the customer/vendor details later in the lesson.
What actions can you take with a customer/vendor?
A dropdown in the Action column on the right allows clients to carry out a variety of tasks with a customer/vendor.
The actions clients can perform depend on the status of the customer/vendor. Here’s an example of the options available for a customer...
... and here’s an example of the open Actions dropdown for a vendor:
How can you add a new customer/vendor?
Clients can add or import new customers/vendors using the options at the top:
The process for adding a new customer/vendor is explained in the lessons on adding customers and adding vendors. Importing customers/vendors
is covered in the Importing Products and Services, Customers and Vendors lesson.
How can you remove or delete a customer/vendor?
Clients can’t delete a customer or vendor from QuickBooks Online. However, you or your client can make a customer or vendor inactive. To do this,
open the dropdown in the Action column and select Make inactive.
Note that you or your client won’t be able to make a customer inactive if they still owe the business any money.
If you or your client wants to make multiple customers/vendors inactive, the Batch actions tool will do the job. Add a checkmark to the required names
in the list, then select Make inactive from the Batch actions dropdown. Easy!
Editing a customer’s or vendor’s details
You and your clients can update a customer’s or vendor’s details in QuickBooks Online, for example, to update their address. To do this:
1.
Open the Customers or Vendors center as required, then select the appropriate name from the list
2.
Open the Customers/Vendor Details tab
3.
Select
4.
This
either Edit button
(they
opens
the
both
have
Customer/Vendor
the
same
function)
details
panel
You or your clients can now edit information about the customer/vendor, such as their contact details, addresses, and payment details.
You’ll find a detailed explanation of each section of the Customer/Vendor details panel in the lessons on adding customers and adding vendors.
Customer types
As a client’s list of customers grows, they may want to group—or categorize—their customers. This will make it easier to filter their customers list and
run reports by customer.
This is where the customer types feature comes in, allowing you or your client to group customers into different segments. For instance, the client may
want to mark customers by how they heard about the business, for example, through referral or online search. This could help the client with future
marketing and promotion campaigns.
Use the following questions to discover more about customer types.
How do you create a new customer type?
1.
In
the
Customers
center,
select Customer
Here you can see the list of customer types that have already been created.
types from
the
top
2.
To
3.
Give
create
it
a
new
a
one,
suitable
select New
name
How do you assign a customer to a customer type?
Once you’ve created a customer type, you can assign a customer to it by going to the Customer details panel.
1.
Select Edit
2.
Scroll down to the Additional info section and select the appropriate Customer type from the dropdown
customer
and
type
select Save
3.
Then
4.
You can assign multiple customers to a customer type using the Batch actions tool.
select Save
How can you view customers by customer type?
Back in the Customer center, go to the Grid Gear icon and check the box for Customer type.
This will add a Customer type column to the grid, as you can see here:
How can you run reports by customer type?
Clients can also run reports that show transactions by customer type. The Sales by Customer Type Detail report shows transactions grouped by
customer type.
You can also customize the Sales by Customer Detail, and Customer Contact List reports to add the customer type
field.
You can find out more about running and customizing reports in the Basic reporting options and Customizing reports lessons.
ProAdvisor tip
Follow this link for more in-depth guidance on setting up and assigning customer types in QuickBooks Online.
Knowledge check
Here you can see the Vendors center for a client.
What should you select to remove a vendor from the list?

The Delete option from the dropdown in the Action column

The delete button from the Vendor information screen

The Make inactive option from the down arrow next to the New vendor button

The Make inactive option from the dropdown in the Action column
Check Answer
Exactly right!
You can’t delete a vendor (or a customer) from QuickBooks Online, but you can hide them from the customer/vendor list by making them inactive.
Adding and managing users
Giving people what they need
If you didn’t invite the client to QuickBooks Online during the sign-up process, you’ll need to add them once you’ve set it up.
The client will likely need to add other users too. However, they may want to keep some of their company information confidential and control who has
access to specific areas and features of the business.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
When clients add a user in QuickBooks Online, they can choose which area(s) of the business the person has access to—and what the person can
see and do within that area.
You can control these permissions by selecting a user type for each person added to the company file. Some user types have predefined permission
levels, while others can be customized to match the requirements of the individual user.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
User types and permissions
Let’s start by looking at the user types you or your clients can add to QuickBooks Online.
When adding a user, your client can manage their role and limit their access to specific tasks. They can also choose what the person can see and do
within different areas of QuickBooks Online, such as customers and sales, or vendors and purchases. To achieve this, set the person up as the
appropriate user type from the list below.
Select each user type to see what they can and can’t do.
Primary admin
The primary admin has access to every part of the QuickBooks Online account. They can manage all other users and other admin tasks.
By default, the primary admin is the person who initially set up the account. So if you signed up the client from QuickBooks Online Accountant, you’ll
be the primary admin. However, you can reassign the role of primary admin to a company admin user once you’ve invited someone for this role and
they’ve accepted. Note that there can be only one primary admin per company, regardless of the subscription level.
Follow this link to find out how to change the primary admin user in QuickBooks Online.
Company admin
A company admin has access to all areas of QuickBooks Online, including company settings. They also have full access rights to all other products
and services the client subscribes to, such as QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Payments.
To protect the company’s data, only the primary admin can add a new company admin user. QuickBooks Online will ask the primary admin to confirm
their identity before it sends the email invitation to the proposed company admin user.
Standard user
When you or your client set up someone as a standard user, you can control which areas of QuickBooks Online they have access to. You can:

Give them access to everything, allowing them to work with customers, sales, vendors, and expenses, as well as perform tasks such as
adding and editing accounts

Limit their access to areas relating to customers and sales and/or vendors and expenses. However, they won’t be able to carry out any admin
tasks

Restrict their access so they can only manage certain things and submit their own timesheets, but not access any accounting features
If the client has Payroll enabled, they can use the Payroll access checkbox to allow or restrict access to employees’ salary details and other sensitive
payroll information. This is useful if—for example—an employee is responsible for creating invoices but won’t need access to payroll.
Custom role (QuickBooks Online Advanced)
Custom roles have even more refined and tailored permissions than standard users. For example, you or your client can set up a custom role so that
the person can only see the Bank Deposit screen. Once you set up custom roles, you can assign the custom role to client users.
Follow this link to learn more about adding custom roles in QuickBooks Online Advanced. You’ll also find more in-depth training in the lesson
on custom roles in QuickBooks Online Advanced.
Reports only (QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced)
Reports only users sign in to a special version of QuickBooks Online that gives them access to almost all reports, except reports showing payroll and
contact information.
Everything a Reports only user needs is in this view. They won’t see the following features:

The Accountant Tools at the top, even if they’re accessing the Reports center from QuickBooks Online Accountant

The left-hand navigation—including the + New function
Reports only users still have access to most functions in the Reports center, such as being able to add reports to their Favorites. They can create
custom reports and add report groups, but can’t view the actual transactions.
Time tracking only
Time tracking only users sign in to a special version of QuickBooks Online that only allows access to the timecard feature.
They can fill out and change their own timesheets—but they don’t have access to other users’ timesheets.
ProAdvisor tip
Follow this link to delve deeper into user roles and access rights in QuickBooks Online.
Adding a new user to QuickBooks Online
Let’s see how to add a new user to a QuickBooks Online company whose role will be to manage invoices. Note that only the primary or company
admin can add new users.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
From the Gear icon, select Manage users
2.
Select the Users tab
3.
Select Add user
4.
Next,
select
the
correct user
type
In this case, we want to give limited access without admin privileges, so we select Standard user.
5.
Select Next
6.
On
the
next
screen,
specify
the access
rights the
new
user
should
have
To allow access only to invoices, select the Limited option and check the Customer box
7.
Select Next
8.
On the new screen, answer some further questions about user settings. When done, select Next
9.
Add the Name and Email of the employee to give access to. This will be their user ID
10. Select Save
The new user now appears in the Manage users screen. Note that the status is Invited. The employee will get a notification email with a link.
They need to follow the link to sign in and get access.
Editing and deleting users
Once a user is added to QuickBooks Online, you or the client can edit their user profile. To do this, select Edit from the Action column in the Manage
users screen:
From here, clients can update the person’s name and email address. They can also change their user type. For example, suppose the employee they
previously set up as a Reports only user now needs access to the full accounting tools and features. In that case, clients can select the appropriate
option from the User type dropdown. They then need to configure their permissions the same way as when they add a new user.
You and your clients can also delete a user from the company when, for example, an employee leaves the business. To this, select Delete from the
dropdown next to Edit in the Action column:
Knowledge check
One of your clients asks you to give a new employee access to QuickBooks Online. The employee will be dealing with all aspects of the business, but
they shouldn’t have access to other employees’ salary and timesheet data.
What user type and setting should you choose when you add the employee?

Company admin

Standard user with access limited to customers and vendors only

Standard user with access to Payroll access disabled

Standard user with access to all areas of the business

Company admin with access to Payroll disabled
Check Answer
Great job!
The correct user type settings are as follows:
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Assigning and managing user permission settings in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
You can now help your client add and manage users in QuickBooks Online. Clients will want to ensure that employees can access the areas and
features of QuickBooks Online that they’re meant to, but nothing more.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll cover how clients can enhance their QuickBooks Online company with integrable apps.
Adding apps
More help at hand
QuickBooks Online makes it easy to manage clients’ core accounting needs. However, they may have industry-specific needs, or require additional
functionality on top of their QuickBooks Online.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online is more than an accounting application: It offers a range of apps to capture data in a way that suits the client’s business. With apps,
clients can enhance existing functions and save time and money.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
The benefits of apps
QuickBooks Online is an open platform, so developers can create apps that integrate with it. This allows data to flow easily from the apps into
QuickBooks Online—making it even more useful.
For instance, clients can use an app to connect their webstore to QuickBooks Online so that customer data from the webstore feeds into QuickBooks
Online.
Intuit has a rigorous testing process for prospective apps to ensure they meet strict requirements before they can be offered to QuickBooks Online
users.
Watch the video to find out more about the benefits of using apps.
Selecting an app
Client or accountant users with Admin access can see all the apps available from the Apps center from the left-hand navigation. However, even without
a QuickBooks Online account, anyone can browse the integrable apps via apps.com.
Before we dive into how clients can add apps to their company account, let’s look at some things that can help them choose the right app for their
needs.
Select the questions to find out more.
How do I decide which app to select?
There’s plenty of information available to help clients find the best app for any given situation.
First of all, at the top of the Find apps tab in the Apps center, clients can browse categories or use the most popular search keywords. By scrolling
down, they can also see preselected app categories such as popular, highly rated, or free apps.
Once clients find and select an app, they can find out more about it before committing to it.
For example, the Overview section offers key information about the app and its benefits, and the Reviews tab gives a ratings snapshot and reviews
from people who’ve used the app.
By selecting the Similar tab, clients can find shortcuts to other apps that are similar, helping them choose the one that best meets their needs.
What are Premium Apps?
Premium Apps are purpose-built apps that fully integrate with QuickBooks Online and make it seamless for clients to manage their workflows in one
place. Connecting and integrating these apps to a mid-market client’s QuickBooks Online Advanced could be a huge time-saver.
Can I try out an app before purchasing it?
Yes, that may be possible. Most apps in the Apps center offer a free trial period without the need to give credit card information. Clients can also
request a demo of the app from the developer or sign up for a webinar to learn about it.
However, because (in most cases) it’s not recommended to test an app with a live QuickBooks Online company, it’s best practice to create a trial
company for testing purposes.
What else do I need to consider when selecting an app?
Before subscribing to an app, you or your client should check the billing policies for it, including whether the vendor charges monthly or annually.
You or your client may also want to read the privacy statement on the app’s website to find out how it shares data with other parties and review the
options available to get direct support from the vendor in case of issues.
ProAdvisor tip
Many app developers offer partner programs, incentives, or special discounts for referring your clients. These can be an additional revenue stream for
your firm.
Adding and managing apps
Once clients have selected the right app, it’s easy to add them to the company account. However, only users with Admin rights can access the Apps
center from the left-hand navigation, and add and manage apps.
Select the tabs to learn more about adding and managing apps.

Adding an app

Managing apps
To add an app, simply select it from the Apps center and then select Get app now.
The
on-screen
steps
guide
clients
through
the
installation
process.
Note: Installing an app can make changes to existing data that clients may not be able to undo. You can help them review each step to avoid making
irreversible
changes.
Once the app is installed, it appears in the My Apps tab of the Apps center.

Managing apps
All active apps appear in the My apps tab of the Apps center. Clients can launch apps from here and can disconnect apps by selecting the down arrow
next to it.
Note that in some cases, only the Admin user who connected the app may be able to disconnect it. Follow this link for more information on how
to disconnect an app and change subscription.
ProAdvisor tip
Firm users with Admin access to client company files can also add apps for clients from the Apps center in QuickBooks Online Accountant. There, all
apps connected to client accounts appear in the Client apps tab of the Apps center.
Knowledge check
Who can add apps to client company accounts?

Anyone with access to the company account can add apps, but only Admin users can add Premium Apps

Only Admin users can add apps to a company account

Anyone with access to apps.com can add apps

Only the Primary Admin can add apps to a company account
Check Answer
That’s right.
Well done.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Selecting, adding, and managing apps in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
You can further enhance your client’s QuickBooks Online company with many integrable apps.
Next steps
This is the last lessons in this subject. Navigate back to the personalized training page to pick your next lesson.
Customizing sales forms
Stand out from the crowd
QuickBooks Online’s out-of-the-box forms, such as invoices and purchase orders, allow your clients to create documents and send them to customers
with just a few clicks.
However, some clients may want to customize their forms (to add additional fields to show specific information, for example). They may also want to
change how their forms look and the information that they contain.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online has tools that allow your clients to customize invoices, estimates, sales receipts, refund receipts, credit memos, and purchase
orders. Customization options include adding new fields to sales forms and—in some cases—changing their design and content.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Options for customizing forms
QuickBooks Online has two key features that allow clients to customize forms. Both are accessed from the Gear icon.
Custom fields allow clients to add unique fields to their sales forms and/or purchase orders
Custom form styles allow clients to create customized templates for their invoices, estimates, and sales receipts
Select each heading to explore how that feature works.
Custom fields
Custom form styles
Opening the Custom fields tool displays a list of existing custom fields. In the example below, you can see that two custom fields have been created:
one for purchase orders and the other for sales forms.
Note that if you’re setting up QuickBooks Online for a new client, this will likely be empty when you first open the Custom fields tool. There might be
fields here if you converted their company file from QuickBooks Desktop.

Custom form styles
Opening the custom form styles tool displays a list of the form styles that have already been created, plus the standard (default) form template.
Clients can edit and rename any custom form styles that they’ve created. They can also edit the standard form template—although they can’t rename
it.
The custom form styles tool gives clients extensive options to configure the visual design of the form, the items, columns, and headers that appear on
it, and how the form appears in emails to customers. You’ll see how to create a new custom form style later in the lesson.
Adding a custom field to sales forms
Let’s look at how to add a custom field to forms.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
Select the Gear icon, then select Custom fields
2.
Select Add field
3.
In the Name field, enter the name of the custom field
4.
To customize sales forms such as invoices, check the box next to All Sales Forms
5.
Use the Print on form slider to make the custom field appear on printed or emailed transactions
6.
When
done,
select Save
Back on the Custom fields screen, the new custom field appears. Note that there is a checkmark in the columns of the transaction forms that
the custom field applies to. The print icon next to them indicates whether the custom field is set to show for customers and vendors on printed
or
emailed
forms.
The new custom field now appears on transaction forms that the custom field applies to.
ProAdvisor tip
Clients can add custom fields for internal use only (that they don’t want customers or vendors to see). Always remind clients to check which custom
fields they want to show on printed or emailed forms.
How many custom fields can be added?
The number of custom fields that clients can add to forms depends on their subscription level, as shown here:
Subscription level
Sales forms
Purchase orders
QuickBooks Online Simple Start
Not available
Not available
QuickBooks Online Essentials
Up to 3
Not available
QuickBooks Online Plus
Up to 3, shared across both sales forms and purchase orders
Up to 12 active custom fields for each of the following:
QuickBooks Online Advanced

Purchase orders

Sales forms

Expense forms

Customer profiles

Vendor profiles
Follow this link for a detailed article on how to create and edit custom
fields in QuickBooks Online Advanced.
Creating a custom form style
Now let’s explore how to create a custom form style. For this example, we’ll create a customized template for invoices.
To start, select the Gear icon, then Custom form styles.
From the dropdown next to New style, select Invoice.
The custom form tool has three tabs: Design, Content, and Emails. It opens at the Design tab by default, as you can see here:
Let’s look at each of these tabs in more detail, starting with customizing the form design.
Customizing the form design
The Custom form styles tool has an extensive selection of options for customizing the form design. Let’s walk through these now.
Watch the video below to see how it’s done. The individual steps are here for you to follow.
1.
In the Design tab, start by giving the template a unique name
2.
To
change
the
default
template,
select Dive
in
with
a
template and
choose
one
of
the
options.
Note that changing a template may affect progress invoices. To confirm the new template, select Change template.
The preview on the right updates with the changes to show what the form will look like.
3.
To add a logo, select Make logo edits and choose the Plus icon to upload a new logo. When done, select Save
4.
To modify how and where the logo appears on the form, use the size and placement options
5.
Change the colors used for highlighting by selecting Splash on some color
6.
To change the font style and size, use the options under the Get choose with your font section
7.
Review
and
edit
the
printing
options
by
selecting
the When
in
doubt,
print
it
Once ready, move on to the Content tab to edit more details of the template.
Completing a custom form template
Once you’ve configured the form design, you can define what content to include on the form and how you want it to appear in emails.
You can then use the customized form style as the new template for invoices.
Select each question to find out how to create a custom form style.
How can you specify which content to include on the form?
out section
The Content tab allows clients to customize the information appearing on invoices that use this template.
Forms are divided into three sections: Header, Table (the center section), and Footer. Each section contains a selection of settings and fields the client
can edit, some of which are specific to the form type.
Select
a
section
from
the
preview
area
on
the
right
to
edit
it.
The Header contains the business name and address, shipping information, and payment method.
The Table shows the details of the product/service being sold. Clients can choose what information to include on the form. They can also edit the
column labels and customize their width.
The Footer allows clients to add a personalized message and/or any other message they’d like to include on this part of the form.
How can you customize how the form appears in emails?
The Emails tab allows clients to choose how invoices appear in emails.
There’s an option to select whether the customer sees full or summarized details, and whether the form is embedded in the email or attached as a
PDF. Clients can also customize the message that accompanies the form when it’s sent to customers.
Note that the Reminder email option is only available with invoices (not estimates and sales receipts). It allows clients to edit the reminder email
message.
What should you do once you’ve customized the form style?
To see how invoices based on this new template will look, select Preview PDF. Otherwise, when finished, select Done.
The new template now appears in the list of customized form styles.
How do you use a custom template when you’re creating a sales form?
When your client creates a new invoice, sales receipt, or estimate, QuickBooks Online bases it on the default form style. This could be the out-of-thebox template or a customized style the client created using the Custom form style tool.
If the client wants to use this customized form style as the default template for future invoices, select the arrow in the Action column and select Make
default.
QuickBooks Online applies this customized form style whenever the client creates an invoice for their customers.
The client can choose a different form style by selecting Customize at the bottom of the form, then selecting a template from the list.
Knowledge check
Which of the following statements about adding a new custom field in QuickBooks Online Plus are correct? Select all that apply.

You can add a custom field to either sales forms or purchase orders, but not both

You can add up to 12 custom fields to sales forms, but only 3 to purchase orders

Custom fields are included on printed and emailed forms by default

You can add the same custom field to sales forms and purchase orders

You can add up to 3 custom fields to sales forms and purchases orders
Check Answer
Great work!
In QuickBooks Online Plus, you can add up to three custom fields, shared across sales forms and purchase orders.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping
company, customize an invoice.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in
Safari, etc.), then right-click and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about
making a mistake or breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start
over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Your client, Craig, asked you to help him customize the invoice he sends to his customers.
Here’s what you need to do:

Create a new invoice style

Change the font of the invoice to Courier

Change the invoice color to orange

Save the customized form
How did you do?
You can check if you got it right by selecting your customized form from the Custom form styles screen.
Our solution
If you didn’t make it to the end or didn’t get the right result, here’s how to do it:
1.
Select the Gear icon, then Custom form styles
2.
Select the New style dropdown and select Invoice
3.
Select Try other colors and choose orange
4.
Select Select a different font and choose Courier
5.
Select Done to save the customization
6.
Open your customized form to see your work
Having trouble?
There are lots of options in the Custom Form Styles tool. Make sure to check your selections with the instructions above.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Customizing sales forms in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
QuickBooks Online’s built-in tools for customizing forms give your clients the flexibility and control to personalize their sales forms and purchase orders.
With some up-front support from you to help get them started, your clients can quickly start getting the most out of their accounting software.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at working with estimates and converting them to purchase orders and invoices.
Working with estimates and purchase orders
rom estimate to invoice
Sometimes clients may need to provide an estimate (also known as a proposal or quote) for a job to submit to their customer for approval. When it’s
accepted, they need to ensure that they use the correct data on purchase orders and invoices.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online allows clients to create and track the status of estimates, and convert them into invoices at the end. QuickBooks Online Plus and
Advanced subscribers can also use estimates when creating purchase orders, saving time and headaches.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Overview of the estimate workflow
Estimates are non-posting transactions that your clients can send to their customers to indicate how much their product or service would cost.
When clients record estimates in QuickBooks Online, they can track the progress of the transaction and transfer the details to purchase orders to order
goods from vendors, and then to invoices to bill for the work at the end.
Using the estimate workflow saves time and eliminates human error because clients don’t have to re-enter information manually when creating
purchase orders and invoices.
When the invoice is saved, the amounts will appear as posted transactions in the financial reports and clients can mark the estimate as closed.
Creating an estimate
Let’s see how to create an estimate.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
From the left-hand navigation, select Sales, then All Sales
2.
Next, select New transaction and then Estimate
3.
From the Customer dropdown, select the customer the estimate is for
4.
Set the Estimate date and the Expiration date. In our case, we set the Expiration date two weeks from the Estimate date
5.
In the Product/Service column, enter the details of the job
6.
Adjust the Quantity and Rate if needed
7.
Next, select Save and send
8.
Review the estimate and the content of the email in the Send email screen. When ready, select Send and close
That’s it. QuickBooks Online will send the email with the estimate to the customer.
Enabling purchase orders
Clients using QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced can create a purchase order using an estimate. However, before they do this, they need to enable
that option.
To do that, follow these steps:
1.
From the Gear icon, select Account and Settings
2.
Next, select the Expenses tab
3.
In
4.
When done, select Save and then Done
the
Purchase
orders
section,
move
the Use
purchase
orders slider
to
switch
it
on
Using an estimate to create a purchase order
Once the purchase order option is enabled, clients can create a purchase order using an estimate.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
From
the
left-hand
navigation,
select Sales, and
then All
Sales
Alternatively, navigate to the Customers tab of the Sales center.
2.
On the money bar, select the Estimate box
3.
Select the estimate to be turned into a purchase order
4.
On the Estimate screen, use the Estimate status dropdown to update the status of the estimate and add any details
Note that there are four different status types for estimates in QuickBooks Online: Pending, Accepted, Closed, and Rejected.
5.
To save the changes to the estimate status, select Save
6.
Next, select the down arrow next to Create invoice and select Copy to purchase order
7.
On the Purchase Order screen, select the Vendor to order the item from
8.
In the Ship to dropdown, select the customer whose project the item is for and who the estimate was created for
9.
Review and adjust any details as necessary
10. When done, select Save and send
11. Review the content of the email with the purchase order and when ready, select Send and close
The purchase order is now sent to the vendor.
Converting a purchase order to an expense or bill
Once the vendor delivers the item, your client can add the purchase order to a bill or expense, depending on how they’d like to pay for it.
To do that, follow these steps:
1.
From the left-hand navigation, select Expenses, then Vendors
2.
On the money bar, select the Purchase Order box
3.
Find
the
purchase
order
and
select
either Create
bill or Create
expense from
the
down
arrow
Note how some details are pre-filled. Enter any missing details.
4.
From
the
drawer
on
the
right,
5.
When done, select Save and close
select Add to
add
the
details
of
the
purchase
order
to
estimate
to
the
expense
Converting an estimate to an invoice
Finally, let’s see how to bill the customer when the job is complete.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
From the left-hand navigation, select Sales, then Customers
2.
Select the Estimate box in the money bar
3.
Find the right customer and select Start invoice in the Action column
4.
Review the details, including the due date
5.
From
the
drawer
on
the
right,
select add to
add
the
details
of
the
the
invoice
If necessary, clients can change the quantity and price on the invoice.
6.
Select Save and send
7.
Review the invoice and the content of the email in the Send email screen. When ready, select Send and close
The estimate will automatically be marked as closed even if only partial quantities are added.
That’s it!
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping
company, create an estimate, then invoice the customer.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.), then rightclick and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about making a mistake or
breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Help your client, Craig, create an estimate. Here are some details:

The customer is Geeta Kalapatapu

The products needed for the job are 2 x fountain pumps ($15 each)
Here’s what you need to do:

Create an estimate

Then invoice the customer
How did you do?
If you go to the Sales center > All Sales, you should see the estimate and the invoice for Geeta Kalapatapu. Both the estimate and the invoice should
be $30.
Our solution
1.
Select Sales, then All Sales from the left-hand navigation
2.
Select the New transaction button and select Estimate
3.
From the Customer dropdown, select Geeta Kalapatapu
4.
Set an Estimate date and an Expiration date
5.
In the Product/Service grid, select Fountain Pump
6.
Adjust the Quantity to 2
7.
Select Save and send
8.
Preview
the
estimate
and
select Send
and
close
Note that emails do not send in Craig’s sample company file, but you can still carry out the challenge.
9.
Next, select the Estimate tile in the money bar
10. In the Action column next to the estimate for Geeta Kalapatapu, select Create invoice
11. Review the details
12. Then select Save and send
13. Preview the email and select Send and close
Having trouble?
Make sure you are following the correct workflow. In this case, you are creating an estimate and then an invoice. Make sure you complete each step
in the proper order.
Knowledge check
Which of these statements about estimates in QuickBooks Online are true? Select all that apply.

Estimates are posting transactions

Estimate data can be used to create a purchase order

Estimate data can be used to create a vendor credit

Estimate data can be used to create an invoice
Check Answer
That’s right.
Estimates are non-posting transactions and they can be used to create purchase orders and invoices.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Creating estimates in QuickBooks Online

Converting estimates to purchase orders and invoices in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Clients can track the status of estimates and turn them into invoices or purchase orders with QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at creating customer statements.
Customer statements
Ready-to-go statements
At times, customers may have outstanding balances, or want to see a summary of all their transactions with your client’s business. If that happens,
your client can send them a customer statement.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
Clients can easily generate different kinds of customer statements in QuickBooks Online. These can serve as gentle reminders about upcoming
deadlines, or provide a summary of the transaction history between your client and the customer.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Customer statement options
Customer statements list a customer’s transactions, including invoices, payments received, credits applied, and balances.
There are three different types of customer statements your clients can create in QuickBooks Online.
The Balance Forward statement shows a list of invoices and payments with the balance for the date range selected.
Balance Forward
It’s perfect for situations where a client wants to provide customers with a summary of what’s still due on their account.
With the Open Item statement, your client can show a list of all open and/or unpaid invoices.
Open Item
It’s great if a client wants to provide detail of all unpaid invoices, unapplied payments, and credit memos to their customers.
Use the Transaction Statement to show all the transactions between the customer and the client’s business between
two set dates.
Transaction
Statement
Clients might use this when there’s a large volume of transactions for a customer, so they can see how their payments have
been applied.
Continue training
Creating a customer statement
Now let’s look at how to create a customer statement.
1.
Go to the Sales menu and select the Customers tab
2.
Check the customer(s) to make statements for
3.
In
the Batch
actions dropdown,
select Create
statements
4.
On
the
Create
Statements
screen,
5.
Then set the Date fields for the statement and check the customer’s email address
6.
When
7.
Review the details on the next screen, then select Send again
done,
select
select Save
the Statement
type from
the
and
ProAdvisor tip
When you or your client makes changes to a transaction on a statement, the statement automatically updates to reflect those changes.
Viewing and deleting customer statements
If you or your client wants to view existing statements, they need to:
1.
In the Sales center, select the All Sales tab
dropdown
send
2.
Select
3.
Then, in the Type dropdown, select Statements
4.
Adjust the date or select a specific customer if necessary
5.
When done, select Apply
the Filter dropdown
To delete a customer statement, open the statement by selecting it from the list. Then, select Delete from the bottom of the screen
Knowledge check
What would you select from the Customers tab in the Sales center to create a customer statement?

The customer(s) from the list and then select Create statements from the Batch actions dropdown

The Customer statement option from the dropdown next to the New customer button

The Customer types button, then select Statements

The Create statement option from the Action column next to the customer’s name
Check Answer
That’s right.
Well done.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping
company, send a customer statement.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in
Safari, etc.), then right-click and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about
making a mistake or breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start
over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Your client, Craig, asked you to help send a customer statement.
Here’s what you need to know:

The customer is John Melton

Craig wants to send a statement to show a summary of what is still due on their account
How did you do?
To check if you got it right, view the customer statement by going to the All Sales tab and selecting Statements from the Filter option.
The customer statement should look like this:
Our solution
If you didn’t get it right, or need help, follow these steps:
1.
Select Sales, then Customers
2.
Find John Melton on the list and check the box next to his name
3.
In the Batch actions dropdown, select Create statements
4.
Select Balance Forward from the Statement Type dropdown
5.
Select Save and send
6.
Preview the details and then select Send again
Having trouble?
Make sure you selected the correct statement type! Craig wanted you to send a statement to show a summary of what is still due on the customer’s
account. The best statement type for this is the Balance Forward statement.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Creating customer statements in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
You can now help clients create customer statements to send reminders to them about upcoming deadlines.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at creating and using Credit memos and Refund receipts.
Credit memos and customer refunds
Keeping customers happy
Clients may encounter situations where they complete a project sooner than expected, purchase more materials than they used, or perhaps a customer
has to return a faulty item. In these cases, the client may need to either refund all or part of a payment to the customer or offer them credit against a
future service/product.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online allows clients to give their customers credit that they can apply to invoices. These are issued as Credit memos. Clients can also
send refunds to customers if required. They can do this by creating Refund receipts.
Let’s start by looking at Credit memos.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here
Understanding credit memos
A credit memo is a posting transaction that can be applied to a customer’s invoice as part/full payment. A credit memo doesn’t refund the customer,
so it’s not a money-out transaction. Credit memos reduce Accounts Receivable (A/R) but not cash.
Your client may have some questions about credit memos. Let’s see some of the most common ones.
Why use a credit memo instead of just editing the original transaction?
If a client completes a job quicker and cheaper than expected, they may think that the best solution is to edit the original invoice accordingly.
However, it’s not best practice to change transactions once the client has sent them to the customer. Editing an existing transaction can cause confusion
and isn’t good for recordkeeping. This is especially true when the original invoice is in a prior period because making a change would cause the books
to become out of balance with the tax return and change previously reported amounts.
Why not just bill for less on the next invoice?
Most clients have set prices and costs for their products and services in QuickBooks Online. To bill for less on one invoice than another, the client
would have to edit the item cost/price or invoice for less than was supplied. Either way, it could affect the books later on.
In addition, it’s important to create a new transaction in QuickBooks Online for each exchange between the client and the customer. It clarifies the
timing and sequence of events with a customer and can also affect the timing and balances of sales tax liabilities and inventory movement in and out
of the company.
Why not just refund in cash and not record?
It’s important to capture all transactions, paid in cash or not, to ensure that the client’s records are complete.
If a client pays their customer back in cash and doesn’t record the transaction, they will pay sales and income taxes on the sales transaction—and
receive no benefit from the return transaction deduction.
What else can you use credit memos for?
So far, we’ve talked about credit memos in relation to products/services for which a customer has already been invoiced. However, clients can issue
credit memos at any time. For example, as part of a loyalty reward or referral incentive program—or as a goodwill gesture.
If clients want to set up a referral scheme, they can add a new Service item called “Thank you for referring us” that’s mapped to a Discounts income
account. Then they can use this item when they create the credit memo.
We’ll look at how to create a credit memo next.
Creating a credit memo
Let’s record a credit memo for a faulty item. After this, you’ll see how to apply the credit memo to an invoice.
To record a credit memo:
1.
Select +New, then Credit
memo
Alternatively, your client can create a credit memo through the Sales center by selecting All Sales, then New transaction and Credit Memo
2.
Fill in the sections, including the Customer, the Product/Service, the Quantity, and the Amount
3.
Then
select Save
and close
Clients can now apply this credit memo to an invoice for the customer. Let’s see how to do it next.
How are Credit memos applied?
By default, QuickBooks Online automatically applies the value of any Credit memos to existing or new customer invoices.
This feature is controlled by the Automatically apply credits setting in the Advanced tab of Account and Settings.
This setting is great for clients with simple Accounts Receivable (for instance, just a few invoices per customer). However, clients who have highervolume or more complex accounts receivable workflows should use it with caution. If clients want to apply credits manually, they can disable the slider.
Applying a credit memo to an invoice
Now let’s apply the credit memo to an invoice for the customer.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
From the + New button, select Invoice
2.
Select the customer from the Customer dropdown
3.
In our case, we replaced the faulty item with a new product, so in the Product/Service column, we add the new item
4.
For the sales price rate, enter the value of the new item. In our case, it’s the same as the replaced item
5.
Then
select Save
and
close
If your client has the Automatically apply credits option switched on in Account and Settings, QuickBooks Online will prompt them to apply the existing
credit memo to the new invoice. Otherwise, they would have to do it manually.
Let’s apply the credit to a new invoice manually.
1.
Select the + New button, then Receive payment
2.
From the Customer dropdown, select the same customer
3.
In the Outstanding Transactions section, check the box next to the Invoice
4.
In the Credits section, check the box next to the Credit Memo
5.
Finally, select Save and close
Customer refunds
There may be instances when a credit memo isn’t the right solution, and the client needs to refund money to a customer. This could be due to faulty
goods or a one-time job that came in under budget, for example.
In QuickBooks Online, clients can issue a customer refund by creating a Refund receipt. This is a money-out transaction from the specified payment
account.
To create a Refund receipt:
1.
Select +
2.
Choose
3.
Use
New, then Refund
receipt
the Customer from
the Refund
From dropdown
to
select
the
the
bank
account
dropdown
to
issue
the
refund
from
4.
Enter
the
appropriate
product/service
5.
When done, select Save and close
information.
Make
sure
to
fill
in
the
other
required
fields
accordingly
What happens next?
The Refund receipt posts the money-out-transaction but does not issue the refund. The refund will still need to be processed as a check or another
electronic payment method.
ProAdvisor tip :Follow this link for comprehensive guidance on recording a customer refund in QuickBooks Online.
Knowledge check
Which of these options is true about Credit memos in QuickBooks Online?

Credit memos are for refunding cash directly to the customer

Credit memos are not essential when customers pay in cash

Credit memos reduce accounts receivable

Credit memos need to be created and applied manually
Check Answer
That’s right.
A credit memo is a credit applied to the customer’s accounts receivable and it reduces the client’s accounts receivable.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping
company to create a Credit memo.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in
Safari, etc.), then right-click and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about
making a mistake or breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start
over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Your client, Craig, asked you to help him create a Credit memo for a partial refund for services.
Here’s what you need to know:

The customer is John Melton

The service was Design work

Craig billed the customer for 10 hours of work when in fact his crew only spent 4 hours on the project
You need to record the Credit memo to credit the customer for 6 hours of Design work.
How did you do?
To check if you got it right, view the credit memo by going to the All Sales tab and selecting Credit memos from the Filter.
The credit memo should look like this:
Our solution
If you didn’t get it right or need help, follow these steps:
1.
Select + New, then Credit memo (or go to the All Sales tab in the Sales center and select New transaction and then Credit memo)
2.
Select John Melton from the Customer dropdown
3.
Select Design as the Product/Service item from the dropdown
4.
Enter 6 for the QTY. Make sure the rate is $75
5.
Select Save and close
Having trouble?
Make sure to enter Design as the Product/Service item, and to adjust the quantity to 6.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Creating and using Credit memos and Refund receipts
Knowledge recap
You can now help clients to issue credit memos and customer refunds, so they can maintain a good relationship with their customers.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at setting up QuickBooks Payments.
Setting up QuickBooks Payments
Get paid faster
Every trip your clients need to take to a bank to deposit customer payments means less time doing tasks that are more important. Going to the bank
to deposit payments also means it takes longer for money to enter your clients’ accounts, which can mean cash flow issues.
How can QuickBooks Online help?
No matter how many payments per month your clients expect to receive, QuickBooks Payments, QuickBooks’ integrated instant payment processing
service, can help make processing customer payments seamless.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
uickBooks Payments overview
QuickBooks Payments allows clients to email invoices containing a payment button that enables their customers to pay online instantly. Clients can
also accept payments from their customers over the phone if they have a signed authorization form on file.
With the feature, clients can also set recurring invoices to be automatically sent and paid. At the same time, QuickBooks Online automatically matches
payments with invoices to save time.
Watch the video to find out more about how QuickBooks Payments works.
ProAdvisor tip
Follow this link for some common questions about Payments deposits in QuickBooks Online.
QuickBooks Online ProAdvisors get special rates on QuickBooks Payments, plus the same discounts for their clients. You can choose between payas-you-go or monthly pricing. Follow this link for more information about the special rates for ProAdvisors.
Setting up QuickBooks Payments
Clients need to sign up for QuickBooks Payments themselves. That’s because the process forms a contract. If you were to sign them up, you’d be
signing the contract, not your client.
Let’s see how they can set up a new QuickBooks Payments account.
Note that these steps may vary slightly if, for example, the bank account is already set up in QuickBooks Online.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
Select the Gear icon, then Account and settings
2.
Select the Payments tab
3.
In the QuickBooks Payments section, select Learn more
4.
Scroll down and select Get set up
5.
There
are
three
sections
to
complete.
Select Start in
the Business
info section
QuickBooks Online already populated some fields. Check if the details are correct, and edit or add more information.
6.
When done, select Next to move on
7.
Make changes or add details in the Personal info section too
8.
When done, select Next
9.
The last section is for connecting to the client’s bank. Select an account to link and sign in to the account. Alternatively, select the Enter
account info manually link and then add the account and routing numbers
10. When done, select Next
11. Finally, select Activate Payments
Connecting to an existing QuickBooks Payments account
QuickBooks Payments is also known as QuickBooks Merchant Services, Intuit Merchant Services, or Intuit Check Solution. Clients with one of these
accounts can easily connect their QuickBooks Payments account to their QuickBooks Online.
Clients on a Direct billed plan can connect their existing merchant account in the Billing & subscription tab in Account and Settings.
Clients on a Firm billed plan need to contact Support to connect their existing merchant account.
If a client needs help syncing or migrating their existing merchant account, in QuickBooks Online Accountant, select Help from the top right,
then Contact Us, and follow the instructions to receive a callback from Support.
While clients can use the QuickBooks Payments account with either QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online, it won’t work with both simultaneously.
ProAdvisor tip
If you have trouble connecting the services, contact the QuickBooks Payments support staff and they can do it for you.
If your client expects to process more than $7,500 per month using QuickBooks Payments, call 866-827-9500 for special pricing.
Knowledge check
When a client sets up QuickBooks Payments the first time, what sections do they need to fill in? Select all that apply.

Personal information

Tax information

Business information

Company bank details

User permissions
Check Answer
That’s right.
New clients need to fill in three sections: personal info, business info, and bank details.
Summary
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Setting up QuickBooks Payments
Knowledge recap
QuickBooks Payments is a great way for your clients to streamline their invoicing and payments processes for their businesses.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at using QuickBooks Payments once it’s up and running.
Using QuickBooks Payments
Maximizing efficiency
Clients who have signed up for QuickBooks Payments will be keen to start using the instant payment processing service. However, they may not be
sure how to use QuickBooks Payments as a payment method for invoices and sales receipts or how to set up recurring payments.
This is where you come in.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
Once a client has QuickBooks Payments up and running, it’s straightforward to link it to a payment method such as a credit or debit card. Customers
will then be able to pay invoices and sales receipts instantly and easily—and the client will get an immediate notification that payment has been made.
Clients can make things even quicker by adding payment links.
Let’s start by looking at how clients can set up a payment method for sales and invoices.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Adding a payment method for invoices and sales receipts
Once a client has set up and activated QuickBooks Payments, they can add it as a payment method on invoices and sales receipts.
To do this, they first need to set up a payment method as follows:
1.
Go
to
the Gear icon,
followed
2.
Select Payment
3.
Select a payment method from the list. In this example, we’ll choose MasterCard
4.
Open
5.
Enable
by All
lists
Methods
the
the
dropdown
next
checkbox
for This
to Run
is
report and
a
select Edit
credit
card
Sales receipts and invoice payments can now be processed by QuickBooks Payments when the client chooses Mastercard as the payment method.
Note: The client will need to repeat this process for any other payment methods that they want to work with QuickBooks Payments.
How QuickBooks Payments works on invoices
Let’s look at what happens when a client using QuickBooks Payments creates an invoice for a customer.
Select each heading to explore the invoicing and payment process.
What should the client do when they create the invoice?
When the client creates an invoice, they can select how they’d like to get paid (credit card or ACH or both).
The client can choose which payment option(s) to include by selecting Edit.
Once the client has filled in the invoice details, they can send it via email to their customer to make payment.
Here's an example invoice
What happens when the customer receives the invoice?
When the customer receives the email, they can tap Review and pay to view the invoice in a browser.
The customer can make the payment, as you’ll see next.
How does the customer make payment?
When the customer selects Review and pay on the invoice, they can enter the payment information (debit card, bank transfer, or credit card).
When the customer has filled in the payment details, they select Pay [amount].
The customer receives a payment confirmation—and can print or download the receipt directly from the browser.
What if the customer doesn’t want to pay immediately?
If the customer wants QuickBooks Online to automatically take the payment from their account at a later date, they can use the Payment Date box at
the bottom of the screen to schedule it. Note that customers don’t need an Intuit account to use the Schedule pay feature. However, if they check
the Save payment method to pay faster next time box, they will be asked to create one to store their payment info for future use.
How does QuickBooks Online let the customer know that payment has been made?
When the customer makes the payment, the client also receives a notification. If the client is using the QuickBooks Online mobile app, a notification
pops up on their mobile device—and they also receive an email notification of the payment.
The payment status is automatically updated in QuickBooks Online. There’s no need for clients to record the payment or the deposit: QuickBooks
Online does it all!
Using QuickBooks Payments with sales receipts
If customers pay clients at the time of sale, there’s no need to create and send an invoice. In these cases, clients need to create a sales receipt, which
will record both the sale and payment on the same screen in QuickBooks Online. Customers can then be emailed the sales receipt so they have a
record of the sale.
If the client uses QuickBooks Payments and selects a credit card as the payment method, they'll get an option to Process credit card.
To process payment, the client then needs to select Enter credit card details and fill in the necessary details.
Finally, the client saves the sales receipt and sends it to the customer.
Payment links, instant deposits, and QuickBooks GoPayment
Clients using QuickBooks Payments have access to three additional features to make things faster:

Payment links

Instant deposits

QuickBooks GoPayment
Select each feature name to see how it can benefit your clients.

Payment links

Instant deposits

QuickBooks GoPayment
Payment links are single-use links that clients can send to their customers in emails or messages. Each link automatically expires once the customer
has paid.
Payment links are great if your client expects their customer to pay straight away. If your client doesn’t need the customer to pay immediately, or the
customer has payment terms with the client, an online payment option added to invoices would be better. You saw how to do this earlier.
Watch the video to discover more about using payment links.

Instant deposits

QuickBooks GoPayment
With QuickBooks Payments, it can take a few days to get the money into your client’s bank account. If clients need access to payment funds quickly,
they can activate the QuickBooks Payments’ Instant Deposit feature. They’ll need to do this themselves in QuickBooks Online, it’s not something you
can do for them.
With Instant Deposits, for an additional charge of 1% per transaction, available funds can be instantly deposited into the client’s designated bank
account. Clients can deposit a minimum of $1 or a maximum of $2,000 up to three times a day—as long as they don’t exceed the daily $2,000 limit.
Clients can also schedule instant deposits for certain days of the week. To do this, they should:
1.
Open Account and settings
2.
Select the Payments tab and go to the Deposit Speed section
3.
Select Change
4.
In the “Set up your instant deposit schedule” pop-up, select the days you want instant deposits for
5.
Select Save schedule
Follow the link for more information about instant deposits in QuickBooks Online.

QuickBooks GoPayment
Clients who use QuickBooks Payments can also use QuickBooks GoPayment, a mobile point-of-sale app. This all allows clients to accept payments
on the go using their mobile devices with a connected card reader.
To download the app, clients just need to search for QuickBooks GoPayment in their mobile app store.
Follow this link for more information on processing payments in the GoPayment app.
Setting up recurring payments using QuickBooks Payments
If clients have configured QuickBooks Payments to work with a credit card, ACH, Visa, or Mastercard, they can set up a recurring charge that will be
automatically sent to customers. They can do this by setting up a recurring sales receipt that will automatically record the sale in QuickBooks Online
and deposit funds into the client’s bank account. This is a great way of automatically billing and getting paid for services such as monthly maintenance
plans or service agreements.
However, the client must have written authorization from their customer to charge a recurring amount. The authorization form appears automatically
when saving a new recurring sales receipt, as you’ll see later.
How do you create a recurring sales receipt?
From Account and settings, select Recurring transactions > New > Sales Receipt > OK
2. Start filling in the recurring sales receipt details, as you would any other sales receipt. This process is explained in the lesson on sales receipts.
3. As you’re creating a recurring sales receipt, you need to specify how often—and on what date—QuickBooks Online should send it to the customer.
Enter these details in the Interval section.
4.To use QuickBooks Payments, you need to select a Payment method that’s set up accordingly. You saw how to set up a payment method earlier in
the lesson.
5.Choose the payment method, then select Enter credit card details
6.Enter the customer’s credit card details and select Save
Note: If this is the first recurring sales receipt your client is creating for this customer, they’ll need written authorization from the customer to take
payment. The credit card information panel includes a link to download the authorization form.
7.When you’ve added the credit card details, ensure that the Process credit card box is checked. This tells QuickBooks Online to process payments
via QuickBooks Payments.
8.Complete the rest of the details as with any other sales receipt. When you’re done, select Save template
That’s it. Your client is now set up to process sales receipt payments using QuickBooks Payments.
Recurring invoices with Autopay
With QuickBooks Payments, clients can enable the Autopay feature with a recurring invoice for their customers. The Autopay function allows customers
to automatically settle their regular invoices.
Select each of the tabs to find out how it works.
Enabling Autopay
Using Autopay
To allow customers to use the Autopay function, clients need to set up a recurring invoice in the following way:
They need to use an Invoice template. Currently, Autopay only supports recurring invoices
From the Type dropdown, they need to select Scheduled
They need to check the Automatically send emails option
In the Online payments section, they need to define which payment methods the customer can use with Autopay
Using Autopay
When the customer receives the invoice by email and selects the Review and Pay button, they have the option to check the Autopay box before
selecting the Pay button. With Autopay enabled, QuickBooks Online takes care of all future payments related to this recurring invoice.
Note that if the customer doesn’t have an Intuit account, they will be prompted first to create one.
Matching QuickBooks Payments transactions in the bank feed
As you may have seen in the lesson on managing the bank feed, payment transactions come into QuickBooks Online via the bank feed. You or the
client can then review and add the transactions.
QuickBooks can do this automatically by matching bank deposits corresponding to QuickBooks Payments transactions. You can find and view details
on automatically matched transactions in the Banking center under the Categorized or Reviewed tab.
To turn automatic matching off or on, select the Grid Gear icon and use the Automatic Matching slider control.
ProAdvisor tip
Follow this link for a detailed article on automatic matching for QuickBooks Payments.
Knowledge check
A client using QuickBooks Payments sets up an invoice so their customer can pay directly via a link in the invoice.
When the customer receives the invoice, what do they need to do to begin the payment process?

Select Pay now and email the client with their credit card details

Scan and upload a photo of their credit card. QuickBooks Online will then automatically take payment

Select Review and pay, then choose the appropriate payment type and enter the necessary details

Select Review and pay, then apply for QuickBooks Payments so they can make the payment
Check Answer
Great job!
With QuickBooks Payments, customers can pay by debit card, credit card or bank transfer.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Using QuickBooks Payments in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
QuickBooks Payments makes it easier for clients and customers to send and make payments with invoices and sales receipts. It also allows clients
faster access to their money. You can now help your clients get the most out of QuickBooks Payments to save them time and money!
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at setting up sales tax.
Basic sales tax setup
Making sales tax less complicated
Clients who sell products and services need to follow the tax regulations of their states. However, with more than 40,000 different tax laws across the
U.S., it can be a challenge for clients to keep track of how much sales tax to collect every time they make a sale.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
As a ProAdvisor, you can set up your clients’ sales tax information for the cities and states where they do business. Then you can review their products,
select a sales tax category, and identify the type of product they sell.
Once the setup is complete, QuickBooks Online automatically calculates the sales tax each time the client creates an invoice or sales receipt. The
sales tax is based on the location of the sale and the type of product or service.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Identifying the client’s sales tax requirements
Before setting up a client’s sales tax, you should find out what the sales tax requirements are for their business and location. You may have done this
as part of your initial requirements gathering with the Client Needs Assessment tool.
Some key questions to ask your client are:

What is their company address?

When did their last tax period start?

Which agencies do they need to pay their sales tax to?

When did they start collecting sales tax for each agency?

What is their filing frequency?

Do they do business in more than one state?
Setting up the Sales Tax center
Let’s see how to set up sales tax.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
Note that the example here shows a QuickBooks Online company for a client who converted from QuickBooks Desktop. However, the process when
you’re setting up sales tax for the first time is identical.
1.
From the left-hand navigation, select Taxes
2.
Select the Get started button
3.
QuickBooks Online already knows the client’s address because it was entered when we created the QuickBooks Online company file, so
select Next
4.
Select the relevant agency for any tax rates shown, then select Next
5.
Review your rates, changing them if needed, then select Save
6.
QuickBooks Online tells us it’s set up sales tax for us
7.
Select Continue to get an introductory tour
8.
Either select View sales tax center or close the window
9.
Select
the
reporting
Note that the reporting period adjusts.
10. Select Save, and we’re on the sales tax screen
interval
for
each
agency
Great work! That’s the first part completed.
You can support your clients by adding or editing sales tax agencies as the company grows.
Navigating the Sales Tax center
As clients collect sales tax from their customers, the Sales Tax center keeps track of how much sales tax they owe to each tax agency. The Sales Tax
center is where your clients can manage all their sales tax tasks, including:

Seeing when tax payments are coming up

Viewing the previous sales tax activities and payments

Viewing sales tax liability reports

Updating their sales tax settings, including adding new tax agencies
Let’s take a quick tour of the key features of the Sales Tax center.
Select each of the highlighted areas to find out more.
Clients registered with more than one tax agency can use the dropdown to switch between agencies. QuickBooks Online displays the sales tax
information for the selected agency in the main area below.
Sales Tax Settings allows you and your clients to view and edit any tax agencies they have set up in QuickBooks Online. From here, clients can add
new tax agencies and make existing ones inactive.
An information tile provides a snapshot of the sales tax currently due to each tax agency that the client has set up in their Sales Tax center.
By default, the tile shows the sales tax amount your client owes the agency for the current month. Selecting More details reveals a breakdown of the
total sales tax figure, as you can see here.
Clients can switch between agencies by selecting the different information tiles. QuickBooks Online displays the sales tax information for the selected
agency in the main area below.
The filters here allow clients to narrow down the sales tax information listed below so it only shows amounts that match the specified criteria.
The Status filter has the following options:

Paid: Sales tax amounts that the client has previously paid to the agency. This is a useful reference for reporting and at year end

Due: Sales tax that’s currently due (that is, for the current month)

Overdue: Sales tax for which the due date has passed and no tax payment has been recorded within QuickBooks Online

Open: Sales tax amounts accruing for the following period
The Tax Period Date filter allows clients to filter by a specified period.
The Reports tool allows clients to run the following QuickReports:

Tax liability report

Taxable customer report

Nontaxable transaction review
QuickReports are explained in the lesson on basic reporting options.
The area here lists all the sales tax transactions for the tax agency selected above, filtered by status and tax period if the client applied the relevant
filter(s).
Selecting View Tax Return allows the client to review the sales tax returns for that payment. If the payment is due or overdue, the client can also
record the payment in QuickBooks Online from here.
Selecting the right sales tax category for a product/service item
One of the tasks you need to do when setting up sales tax for your client is review their product and service items and select the appropriate sales tax
category for each one.
By default, QuickBooks Online applies the regular state tax rate to a product/service item. This appears as Taxable - standard rate in the
product/service information panel, as you’ll see below. However, many states have special tax rates for certain products and services—and other items
might not be taxable at all. Therefore, the client may want to either assign a special sales tax rate to an item or mark it as nontaxable.
Select each heading to explore when and how clients may need to change the sales tax rate for a product/service item.
How do you assign a special tax rate to a product/service item?
Many states have special tax rules for:

Services

Software, digital goods, and telecommunications (delivery method matters)

Medical devices and drugs

Food and beverages

Clothing
States may also have special tax rules or rates that depend on how the product or service is used. For instance, there are specific rates and exemptions
for manufacturing, contracting, construction, property, and even wholesale.
To change the sales tax category for a product/service item:
1.
On
the Products
2.
Scroll
3.
Here, you can see a list of special categories set up in QuickBooks Online. Selecting a category name expands it to display a list of options
for that category. You can choose an option that most closely describes the product/service item in question
down
and
services screen,
to
the Sales
select Edit next
tax section
to
the
item
and
to
open
select Edit
the
pop-up
sales
window
tax
4.
When
you’re
ready,
select Done
The product/service item information panel updates to show that the item is now being taxed at the special sales tax rate.
5.
Finally, select Save and close
6.
What if the item isn’t subject to sales tax?
7.
Some product/service items don’t qualify for sales tax. This can vary from state to state, and depends on the product/service being sold. For
example, in some states, essential food items (not things like candy), clothing under a certain dollar amount, and residential services (as
opposed to commercial services) carried out by a contractor may not be subject to sales tax.
8.
You’ll need to check the individual state tax rules to find out which of the client’s items—if any—are nontaxable.
9.
To set up an item as nontaxable in QuickBooks Online, edit the item and select Edit sales tax as before. Then scroll down and
select Nontaxable.
10.
Follow this link to help you understand and set up sales tax-exemptions in QuickBooks Online.
What if the client wants the item to be taxed at the regular sales tax rate again?
To change the method back to the default setting (that is, the regular state tax rate):

Select Edit sales tax in the product/service information panel

Scroll down and select Taxable—based on location only

Then select Done, followed by Save and close
Telling QuickBooks Online that a customer is exempt from sales tax
Another task to carry out when setting up sales tax is to specify any customers who are exempt from sales tax.
What type of customer could be tax-exempt?
Certain organizations and businesses that meet specific criteria may be exempt from sales tax. These criteria are determined by each state, so you’ll
need to check the relevant rules.
Some examples of tax-exempt customers are:

State, local, and federal government

Nonprofit organizations

Resellers

Providers
of
raw
materials
used
to
produce
other
goods
(manufacturers)
How do you set a customer as being tax-exempt?
QuickBooks Online allows you to check the box This customer is tax exempt so that sales tax won’t be calculated for the customer. You must give
a reason for the exemption.
Knowledge check
Your client wants to view the tax returns that they previously paid to the tax agency they’re registered with.
What’s the quickest way the client can do this in the Sales Tax center?

Select Paid from the Status filter

Go to the sales tax settings

Select the More details link in the tax agency name tile

Select the View Tax Return link in the Action column
Check Answer
That’s right.
The Status dropdown allows the client to filter tax returns to only show ones that are:

Paid

Due

Overdue

Open
How sales tax is calculated in QuickBooks Online
When the client creates a sales form such as an invoice, QuickBooks Online automatically calculates sales tax based on several factors:

The sales tax category for the product or service being sold

Whether the customer is subject to—or exempt from—sales tax

The state where the client is registered to collect sales tax. This is usually the state for the client’s registered business address

The location of the sale. This is usually the client’s registered business address, but the client could be providing the product/service from a
different location, as you’ll see later
You can see how QuickBooks Online uses these factors in its sales tax calculations by selecting the See the math link at the bottom of the sales form.
This opens a panel showing a detailed breakdown of the sales tax settings for the sale.
You’ve already seen how to update the sales tax settings for product and service items and customers, so QuickBooks Online knows to apply the
correct rate here.
But what about the location of sale? This is a key factor in determining the sales tax rate. We’ll look at this area next.
How does QuickBooks Online use the location of sale to calculate sales tax?
By default, QuickBooks Online calculates the sales tax rate for a sale based on the seller’s address (that is, the client’s registered business address).
When a client creates a sales form such as an invoice, QuickBooks Online displays this address in the Location of sale field.
However, if there is an address in the Shipping to field (for instance, if a shipping address has been added to the customer’s details), QuickBooks
Online will calculate sales tax based on this address instead of the seller’s address. Note that, in this situation, the name of the Location of sale field
changes from Location of sale to Shipping from.
However, there may be times when the client is shipping an item from a location other than their registered business address, such as a warehouse.
This location may have a different tax rate—or even be in a different state.
Select the headings to discover how to update the address that QuickBooks Online uses to calculate sales tax.
How do you update the address for the location of sale?
To update the address that QuickBooks Online uses as the location of sale, select the Location of sale field and enter the address here.
Unless there is an address in the Shipping to field, sales tax will be calculated based on the applicable rate(s) for the updated location of sale.
However, if there is a shipping address, the sales tax will be calculated on this address instead.
What if no sales tax agency is set up for the state that the client’s shipping to?
If the client’s shipping to an address in a state for which there’s no sales tax agency set up in QuickBooks Online, an alert appears at the top of the
invoice.
The alert states that the agency’s not set up and suggests that you select the See the math link, where you’ll be able to set up the new sales tax
agency.

If you select the See the math link and add another agency to the Sales Tax center, QuickBooks Online automatically calculates the required
sales
tax
Note: Only do this if your client has already established sales tax nexus in that state. For more information, read our article about sales tax
nexus.

If you don’t select the See the math link, no tax will be calculated and you can save the transaction
What if you’re shipping within a state that has local taxes?
When you’re located in a state that has local taxes and you’re shipping within that state, QuickBooks Online calculates the correct sales tax rate
depending on whether the state is an origin or destination state.
States with origin-based rules
For these states, the origin of the transaction takes precedence in sales tax calculations. Sales tax is calculated and collected based on the locale,
district, and county of the ship-from address.
States with destination-based rules
For these states, the destination of the transaction (or the customer address) takes precedence. Sales tax is calculated and collected based on the
locale, district, and county of the ship-to address.
The exception is California, which employs this hybrid approach:

District and local taxes are calculated and collected based on the ship-to location

County taxes are calculated and collected based on the ship-from location
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Basic sales tax setup and application in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Clients no longer have to worry about sales tax. That’s because, with your help, QuickBooks Online automatically calculates the sales tax each time
they create an invoice or sales receipt.
To find out more about some advanced uses of the Sales Tax center, check out the lessons on Advanced sales tax activities, Filing sales tax in
QuickBooks Online, or Adjusting sales tax.
Next steps
This is the last lessons in this subject. Navigate back to the personalized training page to pick your next lesson.
Setting up Bill Pay powered by Melio
Taking the strain out of paying bills
Your clients are busy people who want to minimize the logistical overhead that comes with their businesses. They need to pay their bills and vendors
and keep their office running smoothly without spending a lot of time and energy on these tasks.
How can QuickBooks Online help?
Bill Pay powered by Melio allows clients to pay and schedule vendor bills with ease from the office or from their phone when they’re out and about. It’s
fully integrated with QuickBooks Online, making for a smooth payment experience.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Overview of the Bill Pay feature
Available to clients using QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus, and Advanced—and accountants in QuickBooks Online Accountant—the Bill Pay feature
makes it easy to set up payments to vendors.
What does the Bill Pay feature offer?
With the Bill Pay feature, clients can streamline their accounts payable process by importing and paying all bills from inside QuickBooks Online. It also
allows them to schedule future payments and never miss a deadline or incur a late fee.
The feature gives clients control over which account payments come from. Clients can choose from multiple payment options and send checks or ACH
payments to vendors quickly and easily.
Another benefit of the feature is that the vendor doesn’t have to create an account or set up anything. All they need to do is choose whether they want
to get paid via check or enter their bank account information to receive payments automatically via ACH bank transfer.
Where is Bill Pay available?
The Melio Bill Pay feature is available in QuickBooks Online, but clients can also access the service via the QuickBooks mobile app.
It’s free to use the Bill Pay feature for the first two checks each month. There’s a 2.9% transaction fee for credit or debit card payments, and each
check each month after the second costs $1.50. Follow this link for more information on the pricing of Melio.
Setting up and using Bill Pay
Let’s look at how to set up Bill Pay in QuickBooks Online and use it to pay a bill.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
Navigate to the Expenses center, and from the New transaction dropdown, select Bill
Alternatively, select + New and then Bill.
Complete the information for the bill payment, including the vendor, category, description, and amount
Then select Save and schedule payment at the bottom of the screen
The Bill Pay setup wizard will load.
Select an option from the Choose how you want to pay screen
The options available are Bank account, Credit card, and Debit card.
Select how you want to connect to your bank account. In this case, we select Connect instantly and sign in to the online banking
There is an option to manually enter the account and routing number and verify with two micro-deposits. Note that this may delay your client’s ability
to use Bill Pay by a few days.
Select Continue
Select the bank from the options and select Continue to proceed and enter the login credentials
The Bill Pay feature is now ready to be used and the bill is ready to be paid.
Select the right payment account in QuickBooks Online
Select Link my bank account to establish the link for the payment
Now select the chosen method to use to pay the vendor
Choose either to send a paper check or set up a bank transfer if you have the vendor’s bank account routing and account number.
Alternatively, select Ask vendor for payment details to allow the vendor to choose how they would like to receive the payment and enter their email
address, then select Next.
Set the date when the payment should be deducted. Notice that the estimated payment delivery date will be displayed. Then select Continue
To leave an optional memo for the vendor, enter the note and select Continue
This will appear on checks and payment notifications.
Finally, review the payment and select Confirm and schedule payment
Tracking the status of bill payments
Once the payment is made, its payment status is visible in QuickBooks Online.
Select each tab to find out more.
How to view payment status
To view the status of a bill payment, follow the steps below:
1.
Navigate to the Expenses screen
2.
Open an existing bill payment transaction
3.
Select View online payment
What the status screen shows
The Payment details screen displays the following information:

Which account paid the bill

The date QuickBooks Payments processed the payment

How the vendor will receive the payment

The estimated delivery date of the funds to the vendor
Bill Pay FAQ
Let’s
take
a
closer
look
at
some
of
the
most
common
questions
about
Bill
Pay.
Select each heading to find out more.
How is Bill Pay accessed?
Clients can access Bill Pay from the Expenses page or from any bill in the Pay Bills list.
How are bill payments made?
Clients can specify the payment method for each vendor, which can be either a direct deposit (in 1–3 business days) or a paper check sent in the mail
(in 5–7 days).
What if I don’t want to use Bill Pay?
Bill Pay is now the default payment method in QuickBooks Online. However, if you or your client would rather continue to access the print check option
or mark a bill as paid, follow the steps below:
1.
From the Expenses page, select Mark as paid from the Action dropdown
2.
Select a bill
3.
Then select Save and close from the dropdown next to Save and schedule payment
ProAdvisor tip
Bill Pay powered by Melio is a great way to streamline the accounts payable process, even more so when using the Receipt Capture feature.
The Managing receipts and bills lesson covers this feature in more detail.
Additional features of the Melio app
While the new Bill Pay powered by Melio feature is integrated with QuickBooks Online, Melio also has its own app with additional features that aren’t
available in QuickBooks Online. Many of these are great for ProAdvisors, including:

Accountant Portal: You can access all your clients from one dashboard

Approvals workflows: You can schedule payments, then the client approves the payment before it goes to the vendor. (It’s great for
accountants because it shifts the final responsibility for making the payment back to the client)

Multiple Users: You can add other users who don’t have access to QuickBooks Online

Invoices: Vendors that use Melio can send their invoices directly into the Melio app

Syncing: The Melio app syncs with QuickBooks Online, which means that bills entered in QuickBooks Online will show in Melio, and bills
entered in Melio will show in QuickBooks Online
To find out more, visit apps.com or go to meliopayments.com.
Knowledge check
When setting up a bill, how can you allow the vendor to choose how they’d like to receive the payment?

Select either the Paper check or Bank transfer option and then check the Allow the vendor to request a different payment method
box

Select Ask vendor for payment details and then enter their email address

You can’t do that through the setup screen. You should ascertain the vendor’s payment preference before paying the bill

Select Send vendor payment preference link and then copy the link and send it to the vendor via email or text
Check Answer
That’s right.
Well done.
Summary
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Using Bill Pay powered by Melio and the Melio app
Knowledge recap
Bill Pay powered by Melio is a great resource that makes life easier for you and your clients. Coach them on how to use it and get the most out of it.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll cover how to add and manage receipts and bills in QuickBooks Online.
Managing receipts and bills
The age-old problem
Keeping track of receipts and bills is a challenge for business owners of all sizes. As a financial professional, you may have come across clients who
collect receipts in shoeboxes or who don’t know how to automate their bills.
How can QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online makes keeping track of receipts and bills much easier by allowing clients to scan, upload, or even email them to a custom email
address. Receipts can then be matched to existing expense transactions or used to create new ones.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Adding bills and receipts to QuickBooks Online
The Receipts tab in the Banking center is the hub for adding and managing bills and receipts in QuickBooks Online.
Users can upload bills and receipts in PDF, JPEG, JPG, GIF, or PNG format and in multiple different ways. Then QuickBooks Online uses OCR (optical
character recognition) to scan the information on the receipt and extract the necessary data to build a transaction record.
Select the tabs to find out about the main ways clients can add bills and receipts.

Uploading a file

Forwarding by email

Uploading via the mobile app
If your client has receipts stored on their computer or their Google Drive already, they can easily upload them to QuickBooks Online.
To upload from the computer, either drag and drop the file to the boxed area or select the area and browse for the file to upload.
To upload from Google Drive, select that option and follow the on-screen steps to connect the account if necessary and select the right file.
Note that it may take up to 15 minutes for QuickBooks Online to process the file and for it to show as ready in the account.

Forwarding by email

Uploading via the mobile app
You can help clients set up a custom QuickBooks Online email address to allow users to forward images of receipts and bills from their email.
To set up a custom QuickBooks Online email address:
1.
Select
2.
Then
the Forward
enter
the custom
email to
from
be
used
to
send
email option
bills
and
receipts
to
Note that only Admin users can register the customer email address, and each QuickBooks Online company can only have one active custom
email address.
To specify which users can email receipts:
1.
Select Manage
Note
2.
that
forwarding
once
a
custom
email
is
set
up,
email
the
wording
on
the
tile
changes.
In the Manage receipt senders section, use the sliders to give access to existing users or select Add new user to enable new users to
forward
emails
to
the
custom
email
address
Note
that
for
users
to
send
receipts,
they
need
to
be
at
least
standard
users
with
vendor
permissions.
The users with access can forward bills and receipts as attachments or within the body of an email to the custom email address.
Note that QuickBooks Online can only recognize one receipt at a time when they are sent in the body of the email rather than as an attachment.
However, users can include multiple receipts in the same email as long as they are separate attachments.
If a client accidentally sends a receipt from or to an email address that isn’t registered with QuickBooks Online, they’ll get a notification email.
Reviewing, matching, and adding bills and receipts
Once bills and receipts are added to QuickBooks Online, they appear in the For review section of the Receipts tab of the Banking center. If necessary,
clients can update any missing or incorrectly mapped fields directly from here.
They can then start matching the uploaded bills and receipts to transactions from the bank feed. When reviewing the uploaded bills and receipts, check
the suggested next step in the Action column.
Select the dropdowns to find out more.
If there’s a suggested match
If QuickBooks Online finds an existing transaction that matches the uploaded bill or receipt, it suggests matching it. Select Match from the Action
column to connect it to the transaction, or select the dropdown next to Match and then select Review to view the potential match first.
If there’s no match
If
QuickBooks
Online
can’t
find
a
matching
To do this:
1.
Select the Review option from the Action column
2.
Add any missing details on the next screen
3.
When done, select Save
transaction,
you
or
your
client
need
to
add
it
manually.
4.
On
the
next
screen,
select Create
The image of the receipt will be attached to the posted transaction.
If there’s more than one match
If QuickBooks Online finds two or more potential matching transactions, you or your client need to review them and select the correct bill or expense
manually.
To do that, select View. QuickBooks Online then lists the potential matching transactions. Select the correct bill or receipt from the list of options, then
select Match.
Knowledge check
What is the next step in the receipt addition process once your client has captured a receipt for a new expense and uploaded it from their computer?

Go to the For Review tab in Receipts

Go to the Expenses Center to see the receipt

Manually enter the corresponding transaction in the bank feed
Check Answer
That’s right.
All uploaded receipts that enter QuickBooks Online first appear in the For Review section of the Receipts tab in the Banking Center.
Knowledge check
How can users with email forwarding access add multiple bills or receipts to 1 email message?

They need to send them in separate emails

They need to send them to an Admin user because only those users can send multiple bills or receipts in 1 email message

They need to add them as attachments

They can either add them to the body of the email or as attachments
Check Answer
That’s right.
To send multiple bills or receipts in 1 email, you need to add them as attachments.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Adding and managing bills and receipts in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Users with the correct permissions can upload bills and receipts to QuickBooks Online through their computer, Google Drive, or the QuickBooks online
mobile app. They can also set up a special email address for this purpose. They can then edit the bills and receipts or match them with transactions.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at using vendor credits.
Creating vendor credits
Returning items
Sometimes, clients might have to return items to the vendor, who may decide to credit your client’s account instead of refunding the cost. Your client
needs to record this credit for use against future purchases.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
Vendor credits in QuickBooks Online allow your clients to record credits to vendors’ accounts payable so they can apply them to existing or future bills
received from the vendor.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Continue training
Learning outcomes
In this lesson, we’ll cover:

Using vendor credits in QuickBooks Online

About vendor credits

Creating and applying a vendor credit

ProAdvisor challenge
Topics
About vendor credits
Vendor credits are for refunds of products or services, or discounts received on account after the vendor has issued the bill and the client has recorded
it in QuickBooks Online. They post as a debit to decrease accounts payable.
A vendor credit can then be:

Applied to an existing bill

Held
as
open
and
applied
to
a
future
bill
By default, QuickBooks Online automatically applies the vendor credit to the oldest bill for that vendor.
What if a client doesn't want QuickBooks Online to apply the credit automatically?
If clients want to apply the credit manually, they can disable that option by going to the Advanced tab in Account and Settings and disabling
the Automatically apply credits slider.
In that case, after creating a vendor credit, the client has to manually choose the bill to apply the credit to on the Pay Bills screen.
Creating and applying a vendor credit
Let’s see how to record a vendor credit for a client who has the Automatically apply credits option turned on.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
To access the Vendor Credit screen, select + New, and then Vendor credit. Alternatively, select New transaction from the Expenses center
and then select Vendor credit
2.
In the Vendor Credit screen, from the Vendor dropdown, select the vendor the credit is from
3.
Next, set the Payment date of the credit
4.
In the Item details grid Product/Service column, select the item the vendor credit is for
5.
In the Description column box, add a note explaining the credit
6.
Set the Rate and the Quantity of the credited item
7.
In the Customer column, add the customer the item was ordered for
8.
In the Memo field, your client can add additional notes
9.
Then select Save and close
Now let’s go and see the vendor credit and apply it to a bill.
1.
From
the
left-hand
Here, your client can see the vendor credit and the original bill
navigation,
select Expenses.
2.
Find the original bill of the returned item. Select the dropdown icon in the Action column and select Mark as paid
In the Bill Payment screen, we can see that QuickBooks Online has already applied the vendor credit, reducing the amount payable.
Knowledge check
Which of the following statements is true about vendor credits in QuickBooks Online?

Vendor credits can’t be applied to a bill that has already been received

Vendor credits post as a debit to decrease accounts payable

A vendor credit can be linked to a cash refund when the cash is deposited

Vendor credits post as a debit to increase accounts payable
Check Answer
That’s right.
Vendor credits post as a debit to decrease accounts payable.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping company, record
a vendor credit.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.), then rightclick and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about making a mistake or
breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Your client, Craig, has returned two items to a vendor and he needs your help.
Here's what you need to know:

The vendor is Norton Lumber and Building Materials

The credit is for 2 Pumps at $10 each

The bill to apply it to has a total of $205

The items were not related to a customer project
Here’s what you need to do:

Record the vendor credit

Apply the credit to the vendor bill
How did you do?
If you got it right, Craig’s Expenses center Expenses tab should look like this.
The bill was for $205. When recorded and applied, the vendor credit reduced the total payable to $185.
Our solution
1.
Select + New, then Vendor credit
2.
Select Norton Lumber and Building Materials from the Vendor dropdown
3.
Select Item details to open the grid
4.
Select the Pump from the dropdown under Product/Service
5.
Enter 2 for the Qty and $10 for the Rate
6.
Select Save and close
7.
From the left-hand navigation, select Expenses
8.
Scroll down to find the original bill for $205.00 for Norton Lumber and Building Materials
9.
Select Mark as paid from the Action column
10. Next, select Save and close
Having trouble?
Here are a few things to check:

Did you use the correct quantity of 2 pumps?

Did you use the default cost of $10?

Did you select the correct vendor?
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Using vendor credits in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Vendor credits make it easy for clients to record credits on returned items and apply them to existing or future bills.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at the Pay down credit card feature in QuickBooks Online.
The Pay down credit card feature
Keeping things tidy
As a finance professional, you know that categorizing transactions in the correct accounts is vital for keeping the books tidy and financial statements
accurate.
However, clients aren’t always so careful.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
With the Pay down credit card feature in QuickBooks Online, clients can easily categorize credit card payments in the correct account, keeping their
balances and reports tidy and accurate.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Benefits of the Pay down credit card feature
Clients often categorize credit card payments to an expense account rather than to the credit card liability account, leading to incorrect balances. They
also may end up with duplicate entries in the bank feed if they add credit card payments there instead of following the correct workflow.
The Pay down credit card feature in QuickBooks Online uses client-friendly language to help clients make the right choices and avoid some of the
most common mistakes with credit card payments. This allows them to keep the books tidy and error-free—making your job easier at month end.
ProAdvisor tip
Clients can still make credit card payments by check if they prefer.
Using the Pay down credit card feature
To use the Pay down credit card feature, select + New and then choose Pay down credit card from the last column.
Select the highlighted areas to find out more.
In the Which credit card did you pay? field, select the credit card to pay down.
In the Payee field, optionally enter the name of the bank the credit card was issued from.
Enter the Date of payment.
In the What did you use to make this payment? field, select the account that the payment was made from.
Select the I made a payment with a check box if applicable. Then enter the check number (or the EFT number if paid electronically).
To add notes or file attachments, select the Memo or Attachments fields and follow the instructions on the screen.
ProAdvisor tip
Once it’s saved, you or your client can select the More button at the bottom of the transaction and choose the Transaction journal to see if the right
accounts have been debited and credited.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping company, pay down a credit card.
To complete the task, you need to:
Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address
Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.), then right-click and
paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about making a mistake or
breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Your client Craig paid his Visa credit card today and asked you to help him record the transaction in QuickBooks Online.
Here’s some useful information:

The payment was $500

Craig used his Checking account to pay off his Visa card
Here’s what you need to do:

Use the Pay down credit card feature to record the transaction
How did you do?
You can check if you’ve completed the task correctly by looking at the Transaction Journal.
Alternatively, you can see the transaction listed under credit cards on the balance sheet.
Our solution
If you didn’t get to the end or didn’t get the right answer, try following these steps:
1.
Select + New, then select Pay down credit card
2.
In the Which credit card did you pay? box, select Visa
3.
Leave the Payee field blank
4.
In the How much did you pay? box, enter $500
5.
Enter today’s date for the Date of payment
6.
In the What did you use to make this payment? box, select Checking
7.
Finally, select Save
Having trouble?
Did you select the correct credit card account? Make sure you select Visa!
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Using the Pay down credit card feature in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
The Pay down credit card feature is a simple and user-friendly workflow to help avoid duplicate or miscategorized transactions and keep all credit card
transactions tidy.
Next steps
This is the last lessons in this subject. Navigate back to the personalized training page to pick your next lesson.
Excluding bank transactions
Keeping things clean
QuickBooks Online makes managing transactions from an online bank feed easier. However, clients might end up with duplicate transactions or
transactions that shouldn’t have been imported.
How can QuickBooks Online help?
When reviewing transactions in QuickBooks Online, clients can exclude certain transactions if they’re certain they shouldn’t be in their books. If there’s
a mistake, they can easily reinstate excluded transactions.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Why excluding may be necessary
Excluding a transaction involves removing it from the bank feed and not recording it in your client’s
QuickBooks Online register.
The bank, for example, might import the same transaction more than once, creating duplicates in the bank
feed. Similarly, completing the reconciliation before clearing the bank feed leads to duplicates because the
Banking center doesn’t match imported transactions against reconciled transactions.
Excluding is about avoiding errors. Because the goal of reconciling is to prove that the transactions in the
register match the transactions that have cleared on the bank statement, a duplicate transaction prevents
the register from reconciling with the bank statement. This leads to incorrect financial reports.
Excluding a transaction
Let’s look at how to exclude a transaction.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
Select Banking from the left-hand navigation
2.
Check the box next to the transaction to exclude
3.
Select Exclude in
the
dark
banner
The transaction has now been removed from the For review tab in the bank feed.
4.
Select the Excluded tab to see these transactions. From here, you can manage them further if necessary
That’s it!
Reinstating an excluded transaction
If your clients exclude a transaction they later require in the bank feed, you or they can easily reinstate it.
1.
In the Banking center, select the Excluded tab
2.
Check the box next to the transaction to reinstate
3.
Select Undo in
the
dark
The transaction is now back in the For review tab of the bank feed for your clients to add, categorize, or match and accept.
Knowledge check
When would you need to exclude some transactions from a bank feed?

If the bank mistakenly imports a transaction more than once

If the transaction is a personal expense that you don’t want to include in your accounts

If the transaction in the bank feed matches those in the expense transactions

If the transaction has not cleared the bank yet
Check Answer
That’s right.
This is the best example of a transaction you’d need to exclude from a bank feed.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Excluding bank transactions and reinstating excluded transactions in QuickBooks Online
banner
Knowledge recap
Clients may need to exclude bank transactions to avoid duplicate entries in the bank feed and avoid incorrect financial reports. Clients can always
reinstate excluded transactions if necessary.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at managing bank feed connections.
Managing bank feed connections
Staying connected
Bank feeds in QuickBooks Online perform an essential role in how your clients manage their books. But how can your clients maintain and manage
their bank feed connections—and what if something goes wrong with the connection?
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online allows your clients to maintain and update their bank feed connections. Clients can carry out tasks such as disconnecting
and reconnecting bank accounts, and changing how they appear in the Banking center.
To help you get the most from this lesson, we recommend that you work through the training on managing transactions in the bank feed first.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Managing existing bank connections
Clients can edit and customize the way that connected accounts are displayed in the Banking center. They can also disconnect an account from
QuickBooks Online (if they’ve changed banks or opened a new account, for example).
Select each heading to discover how clients can change how their accounts appear in the Banking center.

Reordering the accounts

Customizing account names

Disconnecting an account
Bank accounts appear at the top of the Banking center in the order that the client connected them to QuickBooks Online. In the example, you can see
that the client connected a Checking account first, followed by a Savings account, then a Mastercard, and so on.
To change this order, go to the Business overview tab in the company dashboard and select the Pencil icon where the client’s connected bank
accounts are listed.
Then use the Grip icons to drag accounts up or down to their new position.

Customizing account names

Disconnecting an account
Clients can also change how an account name appears in the Banking center (to differentiate between two checking accounts by using unique
identifiers, for example).
They can do this as follows:
1.
Select
the Pencil icon
on
the
account
tile
2.
Select Edit
account
info
3.
Edit the account Name to add the unique information, such as the name of the banking company and/or part of the account number
4.
Then select Save and Close
This updates the displayed account name, as you can see here:

Disconnecting an account
Clients may need to disconnect a bank account from QuickBooks Online, perhaps to replace it with a new one.
To do this:
1.
Select
the Pencil icon
on
the
2.
Check the Disconnect this account on save box
3.
Select Save and Close
account
tile,
then
select Edit
account
info
What should the client be aware of when disconnecting a bank account?
If your client disconnects a bank account, QuickBooks Online will delete transactions that still need to be categorized in the For review tab of the
Banking center. Depending on the bank, the client won’t be able to re-download any transactions older than 90 days into QuickBooks Online.
If the client has set up any bank rules to assign actions to transactions coming into the bank feed from this account, the rules will no longer work. The
client will need to review their bank rules and update them, if required. Bank rules are explained in the lesson on creating and using bank rules in
QuickBooks Online.
Most importantly, QuickBooks Online doesn’t display a warning when you disconnect an account, so make sure your clients know to be very careful
about doing this.
Restoring a bank connection
Once you’ve got the bank feed function up and running, QuickBooks Online will seamlessly bring bank transactions into the Banking center.
But what if something goes wrong with the connection? In this instance, you and your clients need to understand how to get things flowing once more.
Select each heading to understand the steps to follow to recover a disconnected bank feed.
Update the bank feed data
The first thing to do is refresh the bank feed data in the Banking center. To do this, simply select Update:
Start a manual upload
If you or your client spots that there seems to be a problem with the bank feed transferring data into QuickBooks Online, the first thing to do is attempt
a manual upload to test the connection.
To do this, open the dropdown next to Link account and select Upload from file.
Then follow the instructions for manually uploading transactions. The client needs to sign in to their online banking page to export the bank transactions
in one of the correct file formats.
Check the bank or credit card’s website
If the manual upload fails, the next thing to do is see if the bank’s IT systems are functioning by visiting the bank’s website. If downloads seem slow or
stuck, the issue may be at the bank’s end.
To check this, see if you can sign in to the bank’s online banking page. The safest way to do this is to use the URL that QuickBooks Online uses to
connect.
1.
In
the
2.
Search
for
3.
Copy
the URL listed
Banking
your
center, select Link
client’s bank and
for
your
account
select
client’s
it
bank
4.
Sign in to the bank or credit card’s website using the copied URL
If you can sign in, it’s a good sign that there isn’t a major issue at the bank’s end. To continue troubleshooting, do this next:

Check the online bank account for messages, notifications, or alerts

Look for any display issues as you navigate the website. These can block QuickBooks Online from downloading new transactions

Check the bank’s website for any announcements about new security requirements
If everything looks good, go back to the Banking center in QuickBooks Online and select Update.
Update the bank info in QuickBooks Online
Did you or your client recently update anything on their bank’s website, like the account number, username, or password? If so, you need to update
that information in QuickBooks Online too, so the data matches.
1.
In the Banking center, select the tile for the bank account
2.
Then
3.
Select Edit account info
4.
Update the info as needed
select
Fix specific bank errors
Bank errors often block QuickBooks Online from downloading new transactions.
the Pencil icon
To help you resolve them, we’ve created support and guidance on how to fix specific download errors. You’ll find these by going to the QuickBooks
support
center,
or
you
can
use
the
direct
links
below.

Fix bank error 101

Fix bank errors 102 and 105

Fix bank error 103

Fix bank error 106

Fix bank error 108

Fix bank error 185

Fix bank error 192

Fix bank error 324

Fix bank error 377
Adding transactions from e-commerce apps
Clients can also connect to—and import transactions from—e-commerce apps such as Amazon Business, Square, and eBay.
To connect these apps, select Connect free app from the App transactions tab of the Banking center or connect them from the Apps center
or www.apps.com and follow the online steps.
Once the connection is established, QuickBooks Online begins downloading transactions from the client’s Amazon Business, Square, or eBay
accounts. The imported details include:

Transaction date

Customer name

Product description

Quantity

Purchase price

Any
fee
breakdowns
Imported transactions from apps appear in the App Transactions tab of The Banking center. Just as with any other transactions in the bank feed,
clients need to review and categorize the transactions.
Knowledge check
Starting from the Banking center, what would you select to begin disconnecting a bank account from QuickBooks Online?

The Bank icon on the account tile

The Gear icon

The Pencil icon on the account tile

The Go to bank register link
Check Answer
That’s right!
In the Account details panel, you need to check the Disconnect this account on save box, then save your change.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Managing bank feed connections in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Managing and maintaining your client’s bank account connections to QuickBooks Online is essential to managing their accounts. You can now support
clients with setting up and managing their bank feed connections.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at how to create bank rules.
Creating bank rules
Save time with automation
Many clients find that around 80% of their transactions are repeated month after month. Checking, adding, and categorizing these regular transactions
manually would be a real chore.
Clients can also run into problems when they’re recording transfers between accounts in bank feeds.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online allows clients to set bank rules to speed up the matching process. Rules can identify repetitive bank feeds and automatically
suggest a match.
Clients can set up rules to tell QuickBooks Online what to do with downloaded bank activity that meets a particular set of conditions. Rules give clients
control—and can take some of the pain out of working with regular and predictable bank feed activity.
Learning outcomes
About bank rules in QuickBooks Online
Bank rules automate the categorization of transactions in the bank feed, including assigning the transaction type, category, payee, and—if the client
uses these categorization methods—class, tag, and location.
Rules can be prioritized, copied, edited, deleted, and exported. Clients can even create bank rules to add transactions to the register automatically.
They can also be used to automatically split transactions, which means assigning different categories to multiple lines of a transaction. These topics
are explained in the lesson on using bank rules.
Select the headings to discover more about bank rules.

How do bank rules work?
Rules have two elements: conditions and actions.
Conditions define which transactions to look for in the bank feeds, and can include criteria such
as a specific bank account, keyword in the description, or transaction amount.
Actions tell QuickBooks Online what to do with transactions that meet the rule conditions.
Examples of these instructions include automatically posting a transaction to the correct
account(s) and/or assigning prespecified data such as payee, category, class, location, and/or
tags.
When should a rule be used?
Clients will likely know which of their regular transactions they categorize the same way each time. It could be regular money-in or money-out payments
to/from the same vendor/customer, or purchases from a vendor that the client always categorizes to the same account in QuickBooks Online.
If the client isn’t sure, a good tip is to check the categorization history of a transaction. This shows how previous transactions for this vendor/customer
were categorized in QuickBooks Online. If transactions have previously been categorized in a consistent way, the client may want to create a rule so
that QuickBooks Online will now do this automatically.
To check a transaction’s categorization history, go to the For review tab in the Banking center and select the transaction in question. Then
select Categorization history at the bottom of the panel.
In the example here, you can see that transactions from this vendor have previously been categorized as Office expenses. The client could choose to
set up a rule to categorize future transactions from this vendor in the same way.
Rules share some similarities with recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online. We cover which feature is the best one to use in certain situations in
the lesson on using bank rules.
Launching the Create rule tool
As you just saw, clients can create a bank rule from the Categorization history panel in the Banking center. However, it’s good practice to create it as
follows:

Select Banking from the left-hand navigation, then select the Rules tab

Next, select New rule on the right
This opens the Create rule drawer.
Now let’s look at how to create a new rule.
First, enter a unique name for the rule.
The next step is to define the rule conditions so you can specify the transactions that the rule should apply to.
We’ll look at how to do this next.
Defining the rule conditions
Defining the rule conditions involves specifying the criteria that transactions need to meet for the rule to apply.
Select each step to find out how to set the rule conditions.
Step 1: Specify which account(s) the transactions will be in
From the first dropdown, choose whether the rule will apply to Money in or Money out transactions, then select which bank or credit card account(s)
the transactions will appear in.
Step 2: Specify the conditions that the rule will use to identify transactions
In the next section, specify the conditions that transactions must meet for the rule to apply.
You can choose whether the rule should match transactions based on a specified:

Description

Bank text

Amount
What is the difference between Bank text and Description?

Bank text (also known as Bank detail) is the transaction detail that QuickBooks Online receives from the bank. Depending on the bank, this
may include information such as the store number, city, state, phone number, and date. It might also include hard-to-interpret abbreviations
of vendor/customer names. To see these details, expand your bank transaction in the bank feed

Description is QuickBooks Online’s shortened and cleaned-up interpretation of the Bank text
Note: It’s often more useful to create a rule with conditions referencing the Bank text than the Description.
What happens if you tell the rule to match transactions by Description or Bank text?
What happens if you tell the rule to match transactions by Description or Bank text?
By selecting Description or Bank text, you get the following options:

Contains

Doesn’t contain

Is exactly
Selecting Contains as part of a rule permits many kinds of transactions to be assigned to one set of actions.
For example, transactions made at different outlets of a national gas station or department store chain can be listed with
many different descriptions, such as the store number or city name. However, the transactions will usually all contain the
name of the national chain itself. In this case, a client can select Contains and enter just the name of the chain—not the
store number or city name. QuickBooks Online will then pick up each relevant transaction. The client would need to make
sure that the name they choose is unique to that particular chain, and not one that’s also contained in other vendor names.
Selecting Doesn’t contain allows clients to filter out specific transactions, so QuickBooks Online excludes them when it
applies the rule.
In the gas station example above, this could be used to tell QuickBooks Online to ignore transactions from one or more
specific gas stations.
Clients would use the Is exactly option to create a condition for an exact match.
Using the same gas station example, this option would let the client set up the rule to look only for transactions made at a
specific location.
Once clients have made a choice from this dropdown, they’d enter the relevant text or reference number in the right-hand field.
In the example here, the rule is being set up to look only for transactions with the word “transportation” in the bank text:
What happens if you tell the rule to match transactions by Amount?
If clients select Amount instead of Description or Bank text, they can set up the rule to look for transactions of a specific amount.
With this option, they can choose whether the rule should apply in the ways shown here:
Choose the applicable option and then enter the relevant value in the right-hand field.
Can you add more than one condition to a rule?
Yes, clients can create up to five different conditions in a single rule.
To add more conditions to the rule, select + Add a condition:
This allows clients to set up a second condition using the same options as before:
Clients can specify whether the bank activity has to meet Any or All of the specified conditions before QuickBooks Online will apply the
rule.
How do you know that the rule is identifying the correct transactions?
Once clients have specified which transactions QuickBooks Online should look for, they can select Test rule to ensure that the rule is working.
If the rule is working as intended, they’ll get a message like the one here:
Once clients have defined the rule conditions, they can then define what actions the rule should take with transactions that meet these conditions.
We’ll cover this next.
Defining what actions QuickBooks Online
Once clients have specified which transactions QuickBooks Online should look for, they can define what actions it should take with transactions that
meet the specified conditions.
They can also specify whether the rule should Assign or Exclude transactions to/from these actions.
Select each heading to see the differences between Assign and Exclude.

What happens if you choose Assign?

What happens if you choose Exclude?
By choosing Assign, clients can instruct the rule to assign matching transactions as follows:
Transaction type:
The
options
here
depend
on
whether
the
rule
applies
to
money
If the rule applies to money-out transactions, the options are:

Expense

Transfer

Check

Credit card payment
For money-in transactions, the options are:

Deposit

Credit card payment

Transfer
We cover how to use rules for transfers in the Using bank rules lesson.
Category:
Here, clients select the account on the chart of accounts to categorize this transaction to.
If there’s more than one account, select Add a split to split by Percentage or Amount.
Payee: (Optional but recommended)
Again, the options here depend on whether the rule applies to money-out or money-in transactions:
out
or
money
in.

For money-out transactions, use the Payee dropdown to select a vendor. Clients can also select a customer here—to record
a project-related expense, for example

If the rule applies to money-in transactions, use the Payee dropdown to specify a customer
In the example above, you can see that Tags is also an option. Clients can also categorize matching transactions by any of the following advanced
categorization methods (if they’re using them):

Tags

Classes

Locations
In addition, clients can create a memo that’ll be added to matching transactions. To do this, select + Assign more.
What happens if you choose Exclude?
It’s unlikely that a client will encounter a situation where they need to set up a rule to exclude transactions, but it’s a useful feature to know about.
One example would be a client with a bank or credit card account that mistakenly downloads pending transactions that (a) don’t affect the balance and
(b) will be removed after a short time.
In this case, choosing Exclude instructs QuickBooks Online to send this transaction from the bank feed to the Excluded tab in the Banking screen.
Using the Auto-add feature
You can also create bank rules that both categorize transactions and automatically accept them into the client’s books (in the Banking center).
Do this by moving the Auto-add slider to on, as shown here:
However, this Auto-add feature should be used with caution—and only by users who are experienced in working with bank rules. So, if your clients
decide to use Auto-add in their rules, they should consider adding a condition regarding the expected dollar amount. That way, if the transaction
expense exceeds the typical dollar amount, the rule won’t be applied—and the transaction will show up in the for-review tab.
Note that if the Auto-add feature is used, there’s no need to review the transactions because it’s applied automatically. If Auto-add isn’t used,
QuickBooks Online won’t apply the rule, but flags transactions up in the for-review tab. We’ll cover how to review these transactions in the Using bank
rules lesson.
The Rules list
When you or your clients have finished setting up a new bank rule, select Save.
The rule is added to the Rules list in the Banking center, as shown below.
From the Actions column, you or your clients can edit, copy, disable/enable, or delete existing rules on this list.
Is the order in which rules appear in the Rules list important?
Yes, it is. When QuickBooks Online checks transactions from the bank feed, it applies rules in numerical order as listed. We’ll explore this in more
detail in the Using bank rules lesson.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping
company, create a simple bank rule.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.), then rightclick and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about making a mistake or
breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Craig would like you to categorize purchases from Mahoney Mugs as promotional materials.
Here’s what you need to do:

Set a bank rule

The bank rule is for purchases from Mahoney Mugs

Categorize these transactions as promotional
How did you do?
You can check if you’ve created the rule correctly by taking a look at the Rule tab in the Banking center.
Any transactions for Mahoney Mugs should have the Promotional rule visible in the Rule column of the Categorized tab within the Banking center.
Our solution
If you didn’t get the same results, have another go, following these steps:
1.
Open Banking from the left-hand navigation
2.
Select the Rules tab
3.
Select New Rule
4.
Add a name. Make it Mahoney Mugs
5.
In the dropdown, select Money Out
6.
In the bank account dropdown, check All bank accounts
7.
For the condition, select Bank text from the first dropdown
8.
Select Contains from the second dropdown
9.
Type Mahoney Mugs in the final box
10. Make the transaction type Expense
11. Select the category. Make it Promotional
12. Select the payee Mahoney Mugs
13. Make sure that the Auto-add is turned on
14. Then
select Save
Now go back to the Banking tab and select the Categorized tab. Notice that the Mahoney Mugs transaction has a Rule icon attached to it.
Having trouble?
Did you select Auto-add before you saved your rule? If not, the transaction will appear in the For review tab.
Knowledge check
How many conditions can you apply to a single rule?

3

5

10 in QuickBooks Online Advanced, 5 in all the other subscription levels

1
Check Answer
That’s right.
Well done.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Creating bank rules in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Rules make life easier for you and your clients, but they need to be well structured to do the job you want. So clients will need your support getting
started with creating rules in QuickBooks Online.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at how to use bank rules.
Using bank rules
Understanding automation
QuickBooks Online allows clients to set bank rules to speed up the matching process.
However, unless clients use the Auto-add feature, they still need to review the matches with the rules applied. Besides, at times, clients may find that
some rules are overwritten, or they inadvertently create rules that lead to duplicate transactions in the bank feed.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
As a ProAdvisor, you can help clients avoid mistakes with bank rules by explaining how QuickBooks Online applies rules and what they should do
when a rule is applied. In this lesson, we also cover how you could use rules for transfers and how they compare with recurring transactions.
To ensure you get the most out of this lesson, we recommend you work through the one on creating a bank rule first.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
How QuickBooks Online applies rules
Rules apply to unaccepted transactions only (transactions in the For review tab on the Banking screen).
For transactions in the For review tab, QuickBooks Online first looks to see if the transaction is already recorded. If so, it suggests a match.
If there is no match, it then runs each transaction through the list of rules on the Rules list to determine if any are applicable. It only applies one rule
per bank activity, and it uses the following logic when determining which rule to apply:
1.
Rules are applied in numerical order as listed on the Rules list. The first rule that fits a bank activity (that is, where the transaction meets
those
rule
conditions)
is
the
one
that
QuickBooks
Online
applies
To
2.
change
the
order
in
which
rules
are
applied,
use
the Grip icons
to
drag
them
up
or
down.
A transaction will be flagged for review if it meets the bank rule conditions. You or the client can then decide whether to tell QuickBooks
Online
to
execute
the
rule
actions
3.
If QuickBooks Online runs a transaction through each rule and still doesn’t know how to categorize a transaction, it’ll try to give it a
category based on past transactions or the customer/vendor’s name. These transactions will be labeled as an Uncategorized
Income/Expense/Asset,
as
appropriate
Reviewing transactions with rules
Unless your client has turned on the Auto-add feature, they’ll need to review the transactions that QuickBooks Online applied a bank rule to. The client
can then instruct QuickBooks Online to carry out the specified actions for that rule (for example, categorize and/or reclassify the transaction).
To do this, open the For review tab in the Banking center and select Recognized from the All transactions dropdown.
This lists all transactions recognized by a bank rule and/or that match an existing transaction in QuickBooks Online. Transactions recognized by a rule
will be marked with a Rule label, as you can see here:
If everything looks good, select Add in the Actions column to move the transactions directly into an account in QuickBooks Online. Clients can also
select and review each transaction before they move it.
How to create a bank rule for transfers
Now let’s put this into practice and create a bank rule to record transfers between accounts automatically. This task can confuse clients, and they
sometimes make simple mistakes such as posting one or both sides of the transfer to an income or expense account. They can also unwittingly create
duplicate transfers.
Note that you should only create the rule for one account, and it doesn’t matter which one. If you create a rule for both accounts, the client will end up
with duplicate transactions.
Select the headers to reveal how to create the rule and how it works.
Create the rule
First, determine which account you’re going to create the rule for, and look for a unique identifier in the bank’s description of the transfer. Typically,
you’ll see words such as “transfer out” and “transfer in,” or “XFR out” and “XFR in,” along with all or part of the account number. You’ll use this
information to tell QuickBooks Online which transactions to look for.
For this example, we want to record transfers between the Savings and Checking accounts automatically, using a unique identifier in the Bank text as
the search criterion, so we’ll set up the rule as follows.
When you Save the rule, QuickBooks Online adds it to the Rules list.

How the rule works
Now let’s see what happens when a money-out transaction with bank text that contains part of the checking account number downloads from the
client’s savings account.
As you saw above, QuickBooks Online follows the logic explained earlier to match/categorize the transaction. Because you set up the bank rule to
look for transactions that meet the specified conditions, QuickBooks Online applies it here. It’ll automatically add the transaction to the Savings account
and categorize it against the Checking account.
Here, you can see the transaction in the For review tab of the Savings account:
When you look at the Checking account, the other side of the transaction will match:
Using rules compared to using recurring transactions
Rules share some similarities to recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online, as you can discover in the lesson on creating and using recurring
transactions.
As a result, there are many situations when clients can use either feature to achieve their needs.
For example, clients can use recurring transactions to enter routine expenses like mobile phone or utility bills. However, it’s usually better to use
banking rules because they take into account variations in dollar amount and date. This is easier than fixing amounts and dates on scheduled recurring
transactions or checking for and editing reminder transactions. If your client used both recurring transactions and banking rules for the same transaction,
you or they would have to check for and delete duplicates resulting from the recurring transactions.
When would using a recurring transaction be the better choice?
Here are a couple of situations where it would be better to use recurring transactions than banking rules:
1.
A client wants to create reminders to invoice a customer regularly but for varying items/amounts/descriptions
In this case, recurring invoices can also be set up to include any unbilled charges to the customer.
This is a feature that bank rules don’t offer.
However, if the items/amounts/descriptions won’t vary, use a scheduled recurring transaction
instead.
2.
A client processes a transaction for the same dollar amount at the same interval
However, if there’s going to be any variation in dollar amount (such as a mobile phone bill, which
can vary if extra charges or rate changes happen), you should use a rule.
Knowledge check
Your client Amy creates three rules that appear in this order in her Rules list. There are no other rules.
Rule 1 Assigns all purchases at MotoZpares to an Auto Supplies expense account
Rule 2 Assigns all purchases at Office Depot to an Office Supplies expense account
Rule 3 Assigns all purchases over $500 to Fixed Assets
When Amy’s colleague spends $750 on a trailer at MotoZpares, the purchase is assigned to Auto Supplies.
What can Amy change so that the same purchase goes to Fixed Assets instead and MotoZpares purchases of $500 or less are still assigned to Auto
Supplies?

Move Rule 2 down to the position of Rule 3

Move Rule 1 down to the position of Rule 2

Move Rule 3 up to the position of Rule 1
Check Answer
That’s right.
Amy’s colleague’s purchase was assigned to the Auto Supplies expense because it fits Rule 1’s conditions, so no other rules are considered.
Amy needs to drag Rule 3 up to the first position to have that purchase (and any other over $500) assigned to Fixed Assets.
A purchase at MotoZpares for $500 or less (say, for a spare tire costing $100) would still be assigned to Auto Supplies.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Using bank rules in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
While using bank rules can make things easier, clients need to be aware that rules are applied in sequential order and, unless they use the Auto-add
function, they still need to be reviewed in the Banking center.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll cover setting up and using templates to create recurring transactions.
Creating and using recurring transactions
Save time with automation
Around 80% of most clients’ transactions are the same each month, but clients usually can’t spare the time to manually check, add, and categorize
these regular transactions.
In many cases, the rules feature in QuickBooks Online can help clients customize and automate data from bank feeds. However, if your client has
transactions such as bills that occur regularly, they may prefer to automate these transactions rather than processing them manually each time.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online’s Recurring transactions feature makes creating and saving templates with the information needed for regular transactions easy.
With this feature, clients can create recurring transactions to manage most transactions in any workflow, including sales receipts, invoices, bills, journal
entries, checks, deposits, or expenses.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Introducing recurring transactions
The Recurring transactions feature in QuickBooks Online is a great way for clients to automatically record payments and receipts that occur at regular
intervals and in fixed amounts.
Select each question to get a more detailed picture of recurring transactions.
What are recurring transactions?
Recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online can be set up to manage pretty much any transaction in any workflow, like sales receipts, invoices, bills,
journal entries, checks, deposits, or expenses.
A recurring transaction can be set up in QuickBooks Online to occur on a scheduled or unscheduled basis, or as just a reminder for you or the client.
Once a client has set up the parameters for the recurring transaction, QuickBooks Online will automate the process.
Clients can also use an existing recurring transaction as a template for creating others of a similar nature.
What can you use recurring transactions to record?
Clients can set up recurring transactions to manage pretty much any transaction in a workflow.
Recurring transactions can be used to record money-out transactions, such as rental or insurance payments. They can also be used for money-in
transactions. For example, a client who provides regular, fixed-price services such as weekly lawn mowing can set up a recurring transaction to
automatically send invoices or sales receipts to their customers.
Here's a list of transaction types that you can use a recurring transaction to record:
Bill
Expense
Non-posting charge (delayed charge)
Invoice
Check
Journal entry
Non-posting credit (delayed credit)
Refund
Credit card credit
Sales receipt
Credit memo
Transfer
Deposit
Vendor credit
Estimate
Purchase order
As an accountant user, you can also set up recurring journal entries. For example, to reclassify deferred revenue or prepaid expenses.
What can’t you use a recurring transaction to record?
Transaction types that clients can’t set up to be recurring are:

Bill payments

Customer payments

Time activities

Pay down credit card type transactions

Inventory adjustments
So, although clients can set up a regular invoice, they can’t use a recurring transaction to record the associated payments received, even if the
customer makes the payments on a regular basis.
What are the benefits of using recurring transactions?
Some of the benefits of using recurring transactions are that clients can use them to:

Automate money-out transactions that are paid at regular intervals and for fixed amounts

Automatically invoice customers for regular services provided at fixed prices

Set up invoices to include unbilled charges and automatically send emails

Record non-posting transactions, such as purchase orders or estimates

Use recurring Sales receipts with QuickBooks Payments
What should you bear in mind when using recurring transactions?
Clients should review their recurring transactions, to ensure they avoid sending out automated invoices for canceled or delayed work.
Also note that a customer, vendor, employee, product/service, or account can’t be deleted if they are being used on a recurring transaction.
ProAdvisor tip
Follow the link for an article about the recurring transactions feature in QuickBooks Online.
Template types for recurring transactions
There are three template types that can you and your clients can use to create recurring transactions:

Scheduled: for transactions with the same details that occur on a regular, scheduled, basis. For example, vehicle lease payments or monthly
accruals

Unscheduled: for transactions where the details are the same, but which don’t occur on a scheduled basis. For example, purchase orders
for repeat orders that are made at varying intervals

Reminder: for when the client doesn't want QuickBooks online to process the transaction automatically. For example, invoices that are
regularly sent to a customer, but the details (the text, amounts, or both) can change from period to period
Select each heading to learn more about the template types.
Scheduled
Scheduled templates automatically create a transaction at a set frequency or on set dates.
With the Scheduled template, clients can instruct QuickBooks Online to create the transaction a specified number of days in advance of the due date.
For example, if a client uses QuickBooks Payments and they charge a customer the same amount on a regular basis (such as every month or every
quarter), they can create a Sales receipt template for this customer and make it scheduled. The credit card or ACH info for the customer will already
have been entered, so the sales receipt serves two purposes:

It charges the customer’s bank or credit card account

The client can set it to get sent out to the customer automatically as a receipt
By scheduling a Sales Receipt and using QuickBooks Payments to process the payment, the client can ensure that they're paid ahead of the day
service is set to happen.
Clients using QuickBooks Payments can use the Scheduled template type to create a recurring invoice. When the emailed invoice is opened, the
customer has the option to set up Autopay and allow QuickBooks Online to take care of all future payments related to this recurring invoice. Follow the
link for guidance on setting up Autopay for recurring invoices.
Unscheduled
The Unscheduled template just sits on the list of recurring transactions to use as a starting point to record transactions in the future.
Here are some examples of when you or your clients could use an Unscheduled recurring transactions template:
What should the template be
Details
based on?
Requirement
Daily sales z-tapes
Sales Receipt
The template already includes product/service items that are
linked to all the required general ledger accounts. Clients
can edit it to overwrite the numbers, any notes and the posting
date.
This template is useful when all the estimates for a particular
customer or job have the same structure.
Pre-populated
templates
detailed
estimate
Estimate
Clients can create generic estimates as templates using a
dummy customer name, then use the one that best suits the
customer whose job they’re quoting for.
Using a template makes creating a journal entry easy and cuts
down on errors when all the accounts in the journal entry are the
same but the amounts differ from month to month.
Depending on the complexity of the transactions and the
bookkeeper’s experience, you or your client can save these as
templates:
Monthly journal entries that are very
Journal Entry
complex
Invoices that can be used for multiple
Invoice
customers at different times

A sample journal entry showing all the necessary
general ledger accounts as well as sample debit or
credit column amounts

A sample journal entry showing all the necessary
general ledger accounts with no amounts in the debit
or credit columns
Clients can create a generic invoice for a dummy customer as
an unscheduled template then use it at any time for the
customer of their choice. Just enter the customer/subcustomer/project, then edit the date, memo, the
products/services included, and the amounts if necessary.
Find out more in this article on creating the same invoice for
multiple customers.
Reminder
The Reminder template is a hybrid that combines features of the Unscheduled and the Scheduled templates. However, instead of QuickBooks Online
creating the transaction automatically, it reminds the client to review it and make changes before finalizing or sending it out. The client can specify how
many days in advance of the transaction date QuickBooks Online should send the reminder.
How does QuickBooks Online remind the client of any upcoming recurring transactions?
The client will need to keep an eye on the QuickBooks Online dashboard for the reminders alert.
The client can select the alert to see reminders that are due to be skipped/paused/entered/edited/sent
Setting up a recurring transaction
Let’s see how to set up a recurring transaction.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
Select the Gear icon, then Recurring transactions
2.
Select New
3.
Select the transaction type from the dropdown, then select OK
4.
In the Template name box, enter an easily identifiable name for the recurring transaction. It’s best practice to include the name of the vendor,
customer, or employee that the recurring transaction concerns
5.
From the Type dropdown, select Scheduled, Reminder, or Unscheduled. In this case, it’s Scheduled
6.
In the next box, add how many days in advance to create the transaction
7.
Then complete the rest of the details as with any other transaction
8.
In the Interval section, use the dropdowns to adjust the required frequency. In this case, we’re creating a monthly recurring transaction with
the payment due on the fourth day of the month
9.
Add the start date
10. In
the End
date dropdown,
either
specify
when
the
recurring
transaction
should
end,
or
select
There’s no need to enter a payment method or reference number.
11. Add the details of the item the transaction is for in the Category details section
12. Finally, select Save template
That’s it.
The Recurring transactions list
Once you or the client has created a recurring transaction and given it a template name, it will be added to the Recurring transactions list.
To open this list, go to the Gear icon and select Recurring transactions.
From here, clients can view and edit their active recurring transactions.
None
Clients can also use transactions in this list as a template to create new ones (either recurring or one-off transactions) with similar characteristics. Let's
explore this next.
Using an existing template to create a new transaction or template
Recurring transaction templates allow clients to create new transactions and/or templates easily and accurately—and more quickly than by doing
it from scratch.
To do this, the client should find a suitable example in the Recurring transactions list. Then they select either Use or Duplicate from the dropdown in
the Action column, depending on what they want to use the template for.
If the client wants to record a new transaction based on an Unscheduled or Reminder template, they should
select Use.
This will open up a prefilled form containing the details of the existing transaction. The client can then update
any fields to overwrite them with the new information, as required.
Once the client has made the changes, they should select Save from the bottom toolbar.
If the client wants to set up a recurring transaction template that's similar to an existing one, they should
select Duplicate. For example, this would be a good option if the client currently uses a template to make
a monthly loan repayment—and they have just taken out a second loan with similar repayment terms from
the same provider.
As before, this will open up a prefilled form that the client can edit and update. An alert message reminds
the client that they're editing a copy of the original recurring transaction.
When the client has finished, they should select Save template from the bottom toolbar.
Is there an alternative way to create a recurring transaction?
If a client has recorded several similar transactions and then decides to set them up as recurring, they can do this by opening one of the transactions
and selecting Make recurring on the bottom toolbar.
This will create a new prefilled template that the client can edit to create a new recurring transaction template, in the same way as before. They must
remember to give this template a new name.
When the client has finished, they should select Save template from the bottom toolbar.
Using recurring transactions compared to using bank rules
Recurring transactions share some similarities to rules in QuickBooks Online, as you can discover in the lesson on using bank rules.
As a result, there are many situations when clients can use either feature to achieve their needs. For example, clients can use recurring transactions
to enter routine expenses like rent payments or utility bills. However, they’re usually better off using bank rules instead because they have variations
in dollar amount and date into account. Using a bank rule in these situations is easier than fixing amounts and dates on scheduled recurring
transactions, or looking for reminders and editing them.
The decision on which feature to use depends on whether the transactions in question will have the same details each time and/or occur at the same
intervals. Here's a quick overview:
Requirement
Bank
rule
transaction?
or
Recurring
Same transaction details (items/amounts/descriptions) on the same
Recurring transaction (Scheduled)
date
Same transaction details (items/amounts/descriptions) on varying dates
Recurring
(Unscheduled)
transaction
Varying transaction details (items/amounts/descriptions) on the same
Bank rule
date
Varying transaction details (items/amounts/descriptions) on varying
Bank rule
dates
What if a client uses both recurring transactions and rules for the same transaction?
This is not recommended! If your client used both recurring transactions and rules for the same transaction, they would be creating duplicates of the
same transactions. In which case, they must remember to delete the duplicates resulting from the recurring transactions—or they may overstate their
income and expenses.
Knowledge check
A client wants to set up a monthly customer charge for a customer. The charge is a fixed fee, with payment due by the last Friday of the month.
Which one of these options would be the best way for the client to achieve this?

An unscheduled recurring purchase order with a quantity of zero

A scheduled recurring expense

A scheduled recurring sales receipt

A bank rule
Check Answer
That’s right.
In this case, the client can set up a regular, recurring sales receipt for landscaping services carried out each month.
Remember, a sales receipt means you get paid at the time of sale. So, provided the client is signed up for QuickBooks Payments and has prior
authorization to charge the customer, they can set up the payment as part of the recurring sales receipt transaction.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Select
the
headings to find
out more.
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s
Landscaping company, set up an annual recurring payment.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in
Safari, etc.) then right-click and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about
making a mistake or breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start
over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
annual insurance is $2000 and he pays from his checking account
Here’s what you need to do:

Set up a recurring annual payment for Craig’s insurance

Configure the transaction to happen 5 days before the deadline

Name the recurring transaction Brosnahan Insurance Agency: Insurance
How did you do?
You can check you’ve completed the task correctly by taking a look at the recurring transactions.

Select the Gear icon, then select Recurring transactions

The recurring transaction for the insurance company should appear in the list, as shown here:
The task
Your client, Craig,
asked you to help
him set up a
recurring insurance
expense.
Here’s what you
need to know:

Craig’s
insurance provider
is
Brosnahan
Insurance Agency

He pays
for his insurance
annually, on June 19
each year

His
Our solution
If you didn’t get the same results, have another go, following these steps:
1.
Select the Gear icon
2.
Select Recurring transactions
3.
Select New
4.
Now choose Expense from the dropdown as the new transaction type
5.
Select OK
6.
On the new screen, enter Brosnahan Insurance Agency: Insurance as the Template name
7.
As the type, make it Scheduled
8.
Add 5 days in the Create days in advance box
9.
Select Brosnahan Insurance Agency from the vendor list
10. Make the account from which the payment will be made Checking
11. Select Yearly as the interval
12. Make the payment on June 19
13. Leave the End date on None
14. There’s no need to enter a payment method or reference number
15. In the Category details section, select Insurance
16. Make the amount $2000
17. Select Save template
Having trouble?
Remember to include the name of the customer or vendor in the Recurring transaction name. This will help you to find and sort your Recurring
transaction list.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Setting up and using templates to create recurring transactions
Knowledge recap
Recurring transactions are a great time-saving feature that can be applied to a broad range of transaction types. You can now help clients create
templates to set up recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online. You’ll also be able to advise them on when bank rules would be the better solution
for their needs.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll cover how to record undeposited fund transactions in QuickBooks Online.
Recording undeposited funds
Payments that haven’t yet reached a bank account
Clients often receive payments from customers that aren’t deposited in their bank account right away. Reconciling them might take some time and
effort.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
The Undeposited Funds account (also known as the Payments to deposit account in some company files) keeps track of clients’ checks until they take
them to the bank. Clients often struggle to grasp the function of this account, so as a ProAdvisor, you can help them understand how to use it.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Learning outcomes
In this lesson, we’ll cover:

Recording undeposited fund transactions in QuickBooks Online

What is the Undeposited Funds account?

Recording payments as Undeposited Funds

Adding payments to a deposit

ProAdvisor challenge
Topics
What is the Undeposited Funds account?
The Undeposited Funds (or Payments to deposit) account is meant to be a temporary holding account that tracks payments received from customers
that have not been deposited to your client’s bank account. Its main purpose is to make reconciliation easier by combining multiple transactions into a
single record.
What's the advantage of combining multiple transactions into a single record?
Holding payments in Undeposited Funds groups them together into a single deposit, making it easy for clients to match the bank register with their
bank statement.
For example, if your client receives two payments, a check for $100 and another for $200, and deposits those checks, the bank records them as one
$300 deposit.
What should clients take note of when using the Undeposited Funds account?
Using the Undeposited Funds account incorrectly may result in overstated income. For example, if the client marks an invoice as paid and then assigns
the received funds to a bank account, the company appears to have more cash on hand than it actually has.
Similarly, if they create deposits to an asset account, they inflate the asset account and cause an imbalance in the balance sheet.
Recording payments as undeposited funds
Let’s see how your clients would record received but not yet deposited checks in QuickBooks Online.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
Let’s start with recording the first payment from a customer.
1.
Select the + New button and then Receive payment
2.
From the Customer dropdown, select the customer the first payment is from. In this case, it’s for a check from Bill Gallinger. Notice how a
list with any outstanding invoices for that customer appears
3.
Set the Payment date
4.
Then select the Payment method. In our case, we select Check
5.
Fill in the Reference number box
6.
In the Deposit to box, make sure to select Undeposited Funds (or Payments to deposit)
7.
To
apply
the
payment
to
an
invoice,
check
the
box
next
to
the invoice
By selecting the invoice, QuickBooks Online will calculate an amount in the Amount received field. Make sure this amount matches the actual
amount of the check.
8.
Select Save and new
Now let’s add another payment from a different customer:
1.
From
the Customer dropdown,
select
the
customer
the
second
Once again, the active invoice automatically appears.
2.
Follow the same steps as before
3.
When done, select Save and close
Adding payments to a deposit
Now let’s see how your client would record a bank deposit for the two checks we added in the previous video.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
Select + New and then Bank deposit
In the Account dropdown, select the Checking account
Set the Date
Notice how the two payments we added earlier show up in the Select the payments included in this deposit section.
payment
is
from
Check the boxes for the payments to include
The total amount of the deposit reflects the sum of the selected payments, and this will be the deposit shown in the check register.
Select Save and close
To check whether a payment is deposited or not:
Go to the Sales center from the left-hand navigation
Select the Invoices tab
On the money bar, select Deposited to see a list of the deposited transactions.
Knowledge check
Your client records payments from customers in QuickBooks Online as they receive them throughout the day. They just deposited 4 checks at the
bank.
What’s the next step they have to do to deposit those payments in QuickBooks Online?

+ New > Receive payment

+ New > Bank deposit

+ New > Journal entry

Gear icon > Reconcile
Check Answer
That’s right.
From the Bank deposit screen, they can now select the undeposited payments and make them deposited.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to test how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping company, record an
undeposited funds transaction.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.), then rightclick and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about making a mistake or
breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Craig has received checks from two customers for outstanding invoices. He doesn’t have time to take them to the bank yet and he asked you to record
the received payments to Undeposited Funds (or Payments to deposit) in his QuickBooks Online file.

The first payment is for Kookies by Kathy, the invoice is 1016 and the amount is $75.00

The second payment is for Jeff’s Jalopies, the invoice is 1022 and the amount is $81.00
How did you do?
To check if you got it right:
1.
Go to the Sales Center
2.
Select the Invoices tab
3.
Select the Deposited section of the bar
You should see the two transactions with a status of Paid.
Our solution
Here are the correct steps if you didn’t quite get there.
1.
Go to the + New button and select Receive payment
2.
In the Customer dropdown, select Kookies by Kathy
3.
Change the Payment date to today
4.
Select check as the Payment method
5.
Enter 1234 as the Reference number
6.
Make sure the Deposit to account is Undeposited Funds (or Payments to deposit)
7.
Check the box next to invoice 1016 to apply the payment to the invoice for $75
8.
Select Save and new
9.
For the next payment, select Jeff’s Jalopies from the customer dropdown
10. Change the Payment date to today’s date
11. Select check as the Payment method
12. Enter 12345 as the Reference number
13. Make sure the Deposit to account is Undeposited Funds (or Payments to deposit)
14. Check the box next to invoice 1022 to apply the payment to the invoice. It’s the one for $81
15. Select Save and close
Having trouble?
When recording transactions, sometimes clients change the Deposit to account to the Checking account. This may seem like a great idea because it
saves them a second step in the workflow and the payment appears in the bank register automatically. However, they often forget to change the
Deposit to account back to Undeposited Funds (or Payments to deposit). When left unchanged, they will have no payments listed on the Bank deposit
screen.
To fix it, follow these steps:
1.
Select Sales, then All Sales
2.
On the money bar, select the Paid box to review the recently paid invoices
3.
Next, select Filter, and choose Money received
4.
Select each of the incorrectly recorded payments
5.
Then change the Deposit to account to Undeposited Funds (or Payments to deposit)
6.
Select Save
7.
In
the
pop-up
window,
confirm
by
selecting Yes
Now your client will be able to group the payments into a single deposit on the Bank deposit screen.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Recording undeposited fund transactions in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
The Undeposited Funds (or Payments to deposit) account helps keep track of clients’ checks until they take them to the bank. Train your clients to use
it properly to avoid miscategorized transactions that make reconciling difficult.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll cover how to record deposit transactions in QuickBooks Online.
Recording deposit transactions
The need for categorizing deposits
Clients sometimes receive deposits that aren’t related to customer transactions. Some examples are refunds, cash contributions from owners, or
proceeds from loans. Adding these as income deposits would lead to confusion and inaccuracies with future tax payments.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
Clients can easily categorize deposits—even negative deposits—in QuickBooks Online. This way, they can separate deposits like refunds or proceeds
from loans so that they’re not confused with sales income, and taxable and nontaxable income are kept separate.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Understanding deposit transactions
Simply put, deposit transactions are used for any money coming into the business that isn’t subject to sales tax or income tax and doesn’t have to be
matched to a sales receipt or invoice in QuickBooks Online. However, clients still need to record and categorize these transactions to the appropriate
account on the chart of accounts.
When would a client use deposit transaction?
Here are some cases when clients would use deposit transactions:

The client receives funds from loan proceeds or contributions of cash from owners

The client receives a refund from a vendor and wants to record it directly against the expense account or to a Refunds Received income
account

The client doesn’t record income using sales transactions (invoices or sales receipts) and wants to record deposits directly to income
accounts

The client receives a refund from a tax agency and needs to record it to reduce the Tax Liability or Expense account

An employee reimburses the client’s company, and the client needs to record the reimbursement against the Employee Loan receivable
account
Clients can also use the deposit transaction workflow with negative deposits. This could be for a bounced check or when a customer’s refund amount
exceeds the amount they’re depositing.
ProAdvisor tip
Clients can add multiple funds to the same deposit. For example, they might include both customer payments and other funds in a single deposit.
Recording a deposit transaction
Let’s see how to record a deposit transaction for a bank loan.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
Select + New, then select Bank deposit
2.
Specify the Account, and set the Date
3.
Select the Add funds to deposit grid
4.
In the Received From column, enter where the payment is from. In our case, it’s from a bank
5.
Next, select the right account in the Account column. In our case, it’s SBA Loan Payable. This is a liability account, so QuickBooks Online
won’t classify it as income
6.
Add the description if necessary
7.
Then enter the Payment Method, the payment’s Reference Number, and the Amount
8.
Finally, select Save and close
Knowledge check
Which of these situations would call for a deposit transaction? Select all that apply.

Your client receives a payment from a customer, but it’s not a check

Your client receives a tax refund from the IRS

Your client receives a cashback payment from a vendor for ordering in bulk

Your client receives a gift certificate from a customer
Check Answer
That’s right.
A tax refund and cashback payment are perfect examples of money coming in that isn’t matched to an existing payment. These need to be recorded
as deposit transactions.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to test how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping company, record a deposit
transaction.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.) then rightclick and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about making a mistake or
breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
The task
Your client, Craig, needs some help to record a deposit transaction for a refund he’s received and for any other items in his Bank Deposit screen.
Here is some useful information:

The refund is from Fidelity, his insurance company

The refund amount is $30.00

It’s to be paid into the Insurance expense account

It’s check number 5487
Here’s what you need to do:

Create a deposit transaction for the refund from his insurance company

Deposit anything else in Craig’s Bank Deposit screen
How did you do?
To check if you got it right, follow these steps:
1.
Select the Search box in the top right of the dashboard in Craig’s QuickBooks Online file, and select the Deposit transaction for
$2,092.52 at the top of the Recent Transactions section.
2.
On the Bank Deposit screen, select More from the black bar at the bottom of the transaction window
3.
From the options, select Transaction journal
You should see the report shown here with details of which account the transaction is posting to.
]]
Our solution
If you got stuck or didn’t get the right result, try these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Select + New, then select Bank deposit
Specify the Account as checking
For the Date, add today’s date
Select the other deposits by checking the boxes next to Cool Cars and Freeman Sporting Goods
Now go to the Add funds to deposit grid
For the Received From column, enter Fidelity
For the Account, select Insurance. Note that this is an expense account, so this deposit won’t be classified as a sale
Select Check for the Payment Method
Enter the insurance company’s check number, 5487, as the Reference Number
Set the Amount as $30.00
Finally, select Save and close
Having trouble?
Here are a few things to check:

Did you add any additional amounts to your deposit?

Did you select all the transactions listed for deposit?
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Recording deposit transactions in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Your client should use deposit transactions to keep non-sales-related payments and expenses separate from their usual income and expenses.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at using journal entries in QuickBooks Online.
Using journal entries
When one size doesn’t fit all
Clients usually use sales and purchase forms to record income and expenses in QuickBooks Online. However, sometimes these forms just aren’t
appropriate for the client’s purpose.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
Journal entries in QuickBooks Online is a way to post debits and credits directly to accounts in the general ledger. They allow you or your client to
move money between accounts and adjust your client’s books in specific ways. Let’s see how it works.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
How to use journal entries
A journal entry is an accounting transaction that posts directly to the general ledger. You or your client can use journal entries as another way to adjust
account balances. They’re useful, for example, to correct errors or summarize the depreciation of assets, but you or your client may also use journal
entries to enter debits and credits manually, transfer money between income and expense accounts, or from an asset, liability, or equity account to an
income or expense account.
Before we dive into how to create them, let’s look at some rules regarding journal entries:

Total debits must equal total credits

You can’t use product or service items in a journal entry

When posting to accounts receivable, you must specify a customer

When posting to accounts payable, you must specify a vendor

You can’t mark an amount as billable to a customer

You may use multiple accounts receivable and/or accounts payable accounts in the same journal entry
Creating a journal entry
Let’s see how to create a journal entry for the depreciation of equipment that was donated to the business by the owner.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
Select + New, then select Journal entry
2.
Set the Journal date
3.
Enter or accept the Journal number
4.
In the Account column, select Add new
5.
In the pop-up Account window, add the Account Type. In our case, it’s Fixed Assets
6.
Next, select the right Detail Type. Because we’re creating a Journal Entry for equipment depreciation, we select Machinery & Equipment
7.
If the client wants to track depreciation, check the Track depreciation of this asset box and leave the original cost and Depreciation fields
blank
8.
Then select Save and Close
9.
Back in the Journal Entry window, in the Debits box, enter a debit amount
10. Add a description in the Description column. In our case, it’s the contribution of the equipment
11. In the next row, under the Account column, we select Owners Equity from the dropdown. Notice that QuickBooks Online automatically
populates the credit matching the debit and the description in the line above
12. Next, select Save and close
About adjusting journal entries
An adjusting journal entry is a type of journal entry that adjusts an account’s total balance and occurs at the end of an accounting period before the
company produces its financial statements.
Note that while clients can also create journal entries, only users with access to QuickBooks Online Accountant can create adjusting journal entries.
Accountants usually use adjusting journal entries to fix minor errors or record uncategorized transactions.
To mark a journal entry as adjusting, just enter the journal entry as normal and check the Is Adjusting Journal Entry? checkbox.
Select the headings to find out more about when you would use adjusting journal entries.
Accrued expenses
These are expenses your client has accrued but hasn’t paid yet, like loan interest or accrued payroll.
Accrued expenses appear on the balance sheet as liabilities.
Deferred expenses
This is where your client has paid for something but has not yet realized the benefit. An example of a deferred expense would be if they pay for their
insurance a year in advance.
Deferred expenses appear on the balance sheet as assets.
Accrued revenues
This is when a client has earned the revenue but they haven’t invoiced the customer yet. This is a common practice in many industries that work on
long-term contracts.
These appear on the balance sheet as accounts receivable, which is an asset account.
Deferred revenues
These occur when your client has been paid in advance by a customer but they haven’t finished the work yet.
This appears on the balance sheet as unearned income, a liability.
Non-cash transactions
Not all expenses are cash expenses. Some things represent expenses that don’t have a cash effect on your client’s business. Depreciation and
allowance for doubtful accounts are two examples of common non-cash transactions.
If regular adjustments aren’t recorded to reflect these activities, it’s easy to get a skewed picture of a company’s financial position.
For example, a client that has no liability accruing for their annual loan interest might overestimate how much cash they have. Without ensuring that
they keep track of their growing current debt, they will have incorrect information about the profit they make each month. Also, when they make the
annual business insurance payment, and it’s not accrued, they will have the monthly insurance expense reflected in the wrong accounting period.
ProAdvisor tip
As an accountant, you can set adjusting journal entries to post automatically using the Recurring transactions feature in QuickBooks Online. That way,
you know that most (if not all) of the necessary adjusting entries are reflected when viewing monthly financial reports. For more information, check out
the lesson on creating and using recurring transactions.
Knowledge check
Which of these are true about journal entries in QuickBooks Online? Select all that apply.

You can’t use product and service items in a journal entry

Total debits must equal total credits

You can’t use multiple accounts receivable and/or accounts payable accounts in the same journal entry

You can mark an amount as billable to a customer
Check Answer
That’s right.
Well done.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping
company, create
a
journal
entry.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link
address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in
Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.) then right-click and paste the
full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out
new things without worrying about making a mistake or breaking something. Once you
close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Your client, Craig, donated his personal laptop to the business and asked you to help him enter this transaction to ensure it’s recorded correctly.
Here are some useful details:

Craig is donating his laptop to his business

Its value is $500

It should be tracked for depreciation
Here’s what you need to do:

Create a journal entry and name the account Laptop

Record the contribution by creating a debit of $500 to a new Fixed Assets Account type with the Detail Type as Fixed Asset Computers

Create a new Owner’s Equity account, and credit the amount to it. Make the Account Type Equity and the Detail Type Owner’s Equity
How did you do?
You can see if you got it right by selecting More at the bottom of the saved journal entry transaction, then selecting Transaction journal. You’ll see
the journal entry listed and the credit to the account named Owner’s Equity.
Our solution
If you got stuck or didn’t get the right result, try these steps:
1.
Select + New, then select Journal entry
2.
In the Journal date box, enter today’s date
3.
Accept the Journal Entry reference number
4.
In the Account column, select Add new from the dropdown
5.
In the pop-up Account window, select Fixed Assets for the Account Type
6.
For the Detail Type, select Fixed Asset Computers
7.
For the Name of the account, enter Laptop
8.
Check the Track depreciation of this asset box. Leave the original cost and depreciation fields blank
9.
Then select Save and Close
10. Back on the Journal Entry screen, enter a debit amount of $500 and enter Laptop in the Description column
11. In the Account column of the next row, select Add new
12. In the pop-up Account window, select Equity for the Account Type
13. For the Detail Type, select Owner’s Equity
14. Then
select Save
and
Close
The credit should automatically be populated with $500, matching the debit above.
15. Finally, select Save
Having trouble?
It’s easy to get confused when entering amounts into the debit and credit columns. Check these columns first if something doesn’t look right.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Using journal entries and adjusting journal entries in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
A journal entry in QuickBooks Online is a way to post debits and credits directly to accounts in the general ledger. An adjusting journal entry, by
contrast, is only accessible to users with QuickBooks Online Accountant, and it’s an entry in a company’s general ledger that occurs at the end of an
accounting period before the company produces its financial statements.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at using the Transfer function.
Using the Transfer function
Moving your money
Your clients may have multiple company-owned bank accounts for different purposes. They need to make sure that their books correctly reflect what
happens when they transfer funds between accounts.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
Whether moving money between a savings and a checking account or paying down a loan, the Transfer function in QuickBooks Online makes it easy
for clients to set up transfers between balance sheet accounts.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
About the Transfer function
The Transfer function in QuickBooks Online is for moving funds between two
balance sheet accounts. It shouldn’t be used to record transfers between a
client and their vendor’s bank account, or to record income or expense. When
using the Transfer function, there are no fields for customers, vendors,
employees, products, services, or splitting the amount.
Recording a transfer
Let’s see how to transfer money between company-owned accounts.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
Select + New, then select Transfer
2.
In the Transfer funds from box, select the account to transfer from
3.
In the Transfer funds to box, select the destination account
4.
Next, enter the Transfer amount
5.
Then set the date
6.
Finally, select Save and close
That’s it!
Knowledge check
For which of the following should you use the Transfer function in QuickBooks Online?

Moving money from a checking account to a vendor

Moving money from an income account to a bank account

Moving money from a savings account to a checking account

Moving money from a checking account to a customer
Check Answer
That’s right.
The Transfer function is for moving money from one balance sheet account to another balance sheet account.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to see how you’d do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s Landscaping company, create a transfer
transaction.
To complete the task, you need to:

Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and select copy link address

Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in Safari, etc.), then rightclick and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to explore and try out new things without worrying about making a mistake or
breaking something. Once you close the window, the account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Your client, Craig, asked you to help him transfer some money to his savings account.
Here’s some useful information:

The amount is $500

The transfer is from his checking account to his savings account
Here’s what you need to do:

Create a Transfer transaction

How did you do?

The easiest way to check if you got it right is to look in the Checking Bank Register.

You can access this from a link in the Banking center.

You should see a transfer transaction for $500 going to the savings account.
Our solution
If you got stuck or didn’t end up with the right result, try these steps:
1.
Select + New, then select Transfer
2.
In the Transfer funds from box, select the Checking account
3.
In the Transfer funds to box, select the Savings account
4.
For the Transfer amount, enter $500
5.
In the date box, enter today’s date
6.
Finally, select Save and close
Having trouble?
Did you select the correct transfer to and transfer from accounts?
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Using the Transfer function in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Transferring money between balance sheet accounts is easy with QuickBooks Online’s Transfer function.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll cover reconciling accounts in QuickBooks Online.
Reconciling accounts
Keeping things synced
Reconciling accounts is important to ensure that a client’s bank balances match their financial data. However, going through each account statement
and manually finding the right match can take time and attention.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
By connecting your clients’ bank accounts to QuickBooks Online and using the Reconcile tool in QuickBooks Online Accountant, you can easily match
transactions to reconcile their books.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Learning outcomes
In this lesson, we’ll cover:

Reconciling accounts in QuickBooks Online

Overview of the reconciliation process

Viewing account statements

Using the Reconcile tool

The Reconciliation dashboard
Topics
Overview of the reconciliation process
The Reconcile tool makes it easy to reconcile accounts and find discrepancies between QuickBooks Online registers and the bank.
It’s best practice to reconcile accounts monthly to ensure that what clients have in QuickBooks Online reflects the actual income, expenses, and other
movements and adjustments of cash.
When you’re done reconciling, the difference between the amount in the QuickBooks Online accounts and the bank statements should be $0.00.
Watch the video to find out more about the reconciliation process.
Viewing account statements
Before starting the reconciliation process for a client’s account, you need the beginning and ending balances, and the total amount of withdrawals and
deposits on that account.
It’s best practice to connect your client’s bank accounts to the Banking center because then their account statements are automatically uploaded to
QuickBooks Online without having to work with paper statements or sign in to the bank account.
If the bank account is connected to the Banking center, you can easily access the beginning and ending balances needed to start the reconciliation.
To do this:
1.
Select Reconcile either from the Gear icon or from Accountant Tools
2.
From the Account dropdown, select the account to reconcile
3.
Select View
4.
Then
Note
statements
select
that
you
the statement you
can
also
see
want
a
list
to
of
statements
use
that
for
have
the
already
reconciliation
been
reconciled.
5.
Make a note of the beginning and ending balances of the unreconciled statement and select Done to return to the Reconcile page to begin
the reconciliation
ProAdvisor tip
If the client’s bank doesn’t automatically upload bank statements to QuickBooks Online, you can still upload them for recordkeeping purposes by
selecting the History by account option from the Reconcile screen. You can also access manually or automatically uploaded historical statements
here.
Using the Reconcile tool
Let’s now see how to reconcile an account with the Reconcile tool.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
Select Reconcile either from the Gear icon or from Accountant Tools
2.
From the Account dropdown, select the account to reconcile.
3.
From the client’s bank statement, enter the ending balance and the ending date
4.
Select Start reconciling
5.
On the next screen, compare the list of transactions on the bank statement with the transactions in QuickBooks Online
Note that there’s already a checkmark next to the transactions that were previously marked cleared when processing bank feeds in the
Banking center.
6.
Put a check next to any transaction that appears on the bank statement but hasn’t been marked cleared yet
Once the transactions are verified, the amount at the top right changes to $0.00, and the Finish now button appears.
7.
Select Finish now
8.
Then
select Done
To view or print the reconciliation report, select the Last statement ending date link on the screen. To view the reconciliation reports for all
periods, select the History by account link at the top right of the screen.
The Reconciliation dashboard
While the aim is to create a seamless reconciliation process by keeping the bank feed accurate, sometimes you need to verify or edit transactions
manually. Let’s look at the different options on the Reconcile screen.
Select each of the highlighted areas to find out more.
The shortcuts here allow you to jump between different screens.
The overview area gives more detail on how you’re reaching the zero difference.
This is the all-important number you want to get to zero. The difference automatically updates when you include or exclude a transaction. Your client’s
books and bank agree when the difference equals $0.00.
Select the Edit info button if you need to edit the statement ending balance or date.
Select the Save for later button if you want to continue the reconciliation later. When the difference reaches the target amount of zero, this button
changes to Finish now and allows you to complete the reconciliation. If you select Close without saving, you’ll need to start the process from scratch.
You can filter transactions in many ways, including by memo, reference number, and amount, or cleared status, transaction type, payee, or date range.
By default, QuickBooks Online sets a filter to show transactions on or before the statement ending date.
By default, the table shows all transactions, but you can customize it to show just payments or deposits.
Any transactions added or matched through bank feeds automatically have a checkmark in this column. Check the boxes next to the transactions that
appear on the account statement. Once you check everything from the account statement, the difference should be zero.
ProAdvisor tip
The Reconcile screen also enables you to change the payee and the posting account. You can add any check transactions that don’t come through
with the check number, along with any memos.
For more information on how to correct some complex issues in the reconciliation, check out the Correcting beginning balances for
reconciliations lesson.
Knowledge check
Where do you select to only see cleared transactions?

1

2

3

4

5
Check Answer
That’s right.
You can use the filter to search for cleared transactions. You can also use the filter to search by memo, reference number, amount, transaction type,
payee, or date range.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Reconciling accounts in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Use the Reconcile tool to make sure that records in the client’s QuickBooks Online match their bank and credit card statements.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at identifying and resolving issues with beginning balances when reconciling accounts.
Correcting beginning balances for reconciliations
Restore balance to the books
To reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online, the opening balance must be the same as the closing balance for the previous reconciliation. However,
this may not always be the case.
Discrepancies in opening balances can be caused by a number of things, such as someone deleting or changing previously reconciled transactions.
Clients may need support to troubleshoot and resolve these errors. That’s where you come in.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
When you or your clients start to reconcile accounts, QuickBooks Online immediately flags any issues with transactions. It also provides the tools to
help identify the cause of the problem—and to suggest a solution to get the books back on track.
Let’s start by looking at what can lead to discrepancies in beginning balances.
To get the best from this lesson, we recommend that you first complete the training on reconciling accounts in QuickBooks Online.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Discrepancies in beginning balances
When you begin a new reconciliation, you enter the statement ending date and ending balance. QuickBooks Online also calculates the beginning
balance for the reconciliation based on the sum of all the transactions posted to the account that are marked as previously reconciled. The calculated
beginning balance should be the same as the previous period’s ending balance, with a difference of $00.00.
However, this may not always be the case. When this happens, you need to resolve any discrepancies before starting the reconciliation.
Select the headings to explore discrepancies in beginning balances.
How does QuickBooks Online alert you if the beginning balance isn’t correct?
If QuickBooks Online detects that the beginning balance could be inaccurate, it displays an alert on the reconciliation screen.
You need to find—and then fix—the cause of the problem.
What could cause the beginning balance to be incorrect?
QuickBooks Online calculates the beginning balance from the sum of all the transactions posted to the account that are marked as reconciled.
So if the balance isn’t correct, the cause is likely one or more of the following:

Changes
have
For example:
been
made
to
one
or
more
transactions
marked
as
reconciled
o
A transaction was deleted
o
A transaction amount was changed
o
A transaction was manually unreconciled in the register by changing the reconciliation status from
reconciled (R) to cleared (C) or no status
Other potential changes to reconciled transactions include changing the bank or credit card (source) account, or voiding the transaction.

One or more transactions have been manually marked as reconciled by changing their cleared status to [R] in the register

QuickBooks Online is including transactions in its calculations that it shouldn’t do
How do you find the problem transactions?
To identify the cause of the balance discrepancy, select the We can help you fix it link from the alert message.
This will open a Reconciliation Discrepancy Report, as shown below. This report lists any transactions that were changed after the last reconciliation
date, and displays the type of change (shown in the Change Type column) and the effect on the beginning balance. In most cases, this report also
identifies where the problem lies.
Selecting View in the History column of a transaction opens the audit history for this transaction. This may give you more insight into when—and by
whom—the transaction was changed.
As long as the transaction wasn’t deleted, you can select it on the Reconciliation Discrepancy Report to correct it.
The corrective action you then need to take depends on how the transaction was changed.
Correcting problems: A transaction amount was changed
If a client has manually changed the amount of a reconciled transaction, you can change the amount back to what it was beforehand. Let’s do this for
the expense transaction that was changed by $500.00.
1.
Select the transaction from the Reconciliation Discrepancy report
This
allows
you
to
edit
and
update
the
transaction.
2.
In this case, you need to change the transaction amount from $589.09 to $89.09, to match the figure in the Reconciled Amount column
3.
Then
select Save
This takes you back to the Reconciliation Discrepancy report. Note that the Expense transaction you corrected no longer appears in the report, and
that the Total Discrepancy Difference figure at the top has changed by $500.00, from -$270.00 to $230.00.
Correcting problems: A transaction’s reconciliation status was changed
Another common cause of discrepancies on the Reconciliation Discrepancy report is when the status of a reconciled or unreconciled transaction has
been changed—either accidentally or intentionally.
Reconciled transactions can be changed for a number of reasons, such as if a client selects a line in the account register and marks a reconciled [R]
transaction as cleared [C] or uncleared [blank]. Similarly, a client may incorrectly mark a transaction as reconciled [R] on the register.
Any of these changes will affect the reconciliation beginning balance.
How do you fix the error?
You can correct the reconciliation status as follows:
1.
Select
2.
Correct
the
transaction
in
the
the
Reconciliation
reconciliation
Discrepancy
report
status
If an unreconciled transaction was incorrectly marked as reconciled, change the status to cleared [C] or uncleared [blank]. In this example,
the transaction was previously reconciled but later incorrectly marked as unreconciled. So you need to change the status back to reconciled
[R].
3.
Then
select Save
Correcting problems: A transaction was deleted
The other mistake clients can make is to delete a transaction that was included in a previous reconciliation.
Transactions like this will show as Deleted in the Change Type column of the Reconciliation Discrepancy report.
You can’t undelete a transaction. However, you can still fix reconciliation errors related to deleted transactions. To do this, you’ll need to identify which
transactions were deleted, then re-enter them in QuickBooks Online. If the transactions were originally added via the bank feed, you’ll need to rematch
them in the Banking center. Finally, you’ll need to mark them as reconciled on the account register.
Select the headings to see how it’s done.
Step 1: Identify the deleted transaction(s)
Step 2: Re-enter and match the transaction(s)
Step 3: Mark the transaction(s) as reconciled on the account register
ProAdvisor tip
If an account is riddled with deleted transactions, an alternative approach to re-entering each one manually is to undo the previous reconciliation and
redo it.
Note that only an Accountant user (you) can do this. It can be time-consuming, even if you use a printout of the reconciliation before it’s undone.
What happens when you’ve corrected the errors?
Once you’ve fixed any issues that were flagged on the Reconciliation Discrepancy report, the reconciliation opening balance will match the previous
closing balance.
QuickBooks Online will then no longer display an alert when you start to reconcile the account, and you can proceed with the reconciliation. The
account reconciliation process is explained in the lesson on reconciling accounts in QuickBooks Online.
Undoing a reconciliation
Although the best way of fixing reconciliation errors is to use the Reconciliation Discrepancy report, Accountant users can undo reconciliations if
necessary.
You can undo a reconciliation if the reconciliation was forced, which means it was saved even though the difference wasn’t zero.
Undoing the reconciliation allows you to start over so that you can find the discrepancies.
To undo a reconciliation:
1.
In the Reconcile screen, select History by account
2.
In the Action column, select the down arrow next to View report, and select Undo
Note that this feature is only available to Accountant users. Client users won’t see this option.
Knowledge check
Your client asks you to help them with the Reconciliation Discrepancy report shown here.
Which of the following statements are true about how you can resolve these discrepancies? Select all that apply.

You can re-enter and re-match the Expense transaction

Selecting View on the Expense transaction line allows you to remove it from the Reconciliation Discrepancy report

You can correct the amount of the check paid to Chin’s Gas to match the value of the reconciled transaction

Selecting View in both lines will allow you to correct both transactions

If you re-enter and re-match the Expense transaction, you’ll need to mark it as reconciled
Check Answer
That’s correct.
You can correct transactions from the Reconciliation Discrepancy report, provided they haven’t been deleted.
Deleted transactions can be fixed by re-entering and rematching them, then marking them as reconciled.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Identifying and resolving issues with beginning balances when reconciling accounts
Knowledge recap
With the Reconcile tool and the Reconciliation Discrepancy report, you can now help your clients troubleshoot discrepancies in account opening
balances when they’re carrying out a reconciliation.
Basic reporting options
Creating insight
With QuickBooks Online, clients have a variety of reporting options to give them precise and timely information on their business performance. Clients
can run reports to get overview data, such as a simple statement of gross profit. They can also get detailed reports that show a breakdown of individual
transactions in a particular period.
What’s more challenging for clients is determining which report is the best option for their particular needs. This is where you come in.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
The Reports center in QuickBooks Online is designed to help clients find the reports they need by browsing reports by category or using the search
function. Clients can also run QuickReports to get rapid insight into specific areas of their business.
In this lesson, we’ll look at the main types of reports available in QuickBooks Online and how clients can run them. To get the most out of this lesson,
we recommend you first work through the one on the Reports center.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Summary and detail reports
QuickBooks Online offers clients a range of report types, all of which can be filtered and customized. Two of the most frequently used types are
summary and detail reports.
Select each question to explore these report types in more detail.
What information can you get from a summary report?
Summary reports show the aggregate total of all transactions for a list name. They give your client an overall view of financial information for a reporting
period—without them having to look at all the details.
Two examples of summary reports that clients should be familiar with are the Profit and Loss report and the Balance Sheet report.
The Profit and Loss report summarizes the financial activity associated with each income or expense account for a specific period of time. This will
indicate whether your client is operating at a profit or a loss.
The Balance Sheet summarizes the financial position of a business at a single moment in time. It reflects whether the assets the business owns are
enough to offset its liabilities and leave a net equity balance after the liabilities have been paid off.
What other summary reports are available?
Other examples of summary reports in QuickBooks Online include:
Sales by Customer Summary
Accounts
Summary
Receivable
(A/R)
Displays total sales recorded for the period for each customer.
Aging
Summarizes the status of unpaid invoices.
Accounts Payable (A/P) Aging Summary
Summarizes the status of unpaid bills and unapplied vendor credits.
Trial Balance
Displays the balance as of the report date for all balance sheet accounts
and a summary of activity during the reporting period for income and
expense accounts.
Customer Balance Summary
Shows each customer a total of their open balance in accounts receivable.
Vendor Balance Summary
Displays each vendor with an open balance in accounts payable and the
open balance amount.
Inventory Valuation Summary
Lists each inventory item along with the SKU (stock keeping unit), quantity
on hand, asset value, and calculated average cost per unit.
What information can you get from a detail report?
As the name implies, detail reports provide detailed information about transactions. As well as summary transactions, detail reports contain individual
transactions, which provides a second layer of detailed information about customers, vendors, expenses, and more.
Detail reports list each transaction. They allow you or your clients to drill down into any individual transactions, open them, and review and possibly
edit or delete them.
Most summary reports have corresponding detail reports. For example, you can run a Profit and Loss Detail report and a Balance Sheet Detail
report. Here is an example of a Profit and Loss Detail report:
Other examples of detail reports include:

Transaction Detail by Account lists all transactions for a period summarized by account. This report is the detailed version of the Trial Balance
report

Accounts Payable (A/P) Aging Detail

Accounts Receivable (A/R) Aging Detail

Sales by Customer Detail

Vendor Balance Detail
You can customize a detail report by most fields used in the transaction.
How do you run a detail report from a summary report?
You can run a detail report from the Reports center the same way you’d run any report available there.
However, in many cases, you can also run a corresponding detail report from a summary report by selecting the final figure at the bottom of the report.
For instance, choosing any of the amounts in the Total row of the A/P Aging Summary report shown below...
...will open the A/P Aging Detail report for this period.
When should you use a summary report vs a detail report?
Here are a couple of common use cases for whether a summary or a detailed report would be the most appropriate report type to run.
Requirement
Report type
For example...
To get an overall view of financial information for a
Summary
reporting period without looking at all the details.
If a client wanted to quickly see how each of
their product and service items is performing,
they would run a Sales by Product/Service
Summary report.
To analyze the makeup of a balance in a summary
Detail
report.
If a client wanted to see which of their
customers had purchased a specific
product/service item, they would run a Sales
by Product/Service Detail report.
Other report types in QuickBooks Online
Other report types that you and your clients can run from the Reports center include list and aging reports. You and your clients can also run special
reports elsewhere in QuickBooks Online.
Select the headings to explore List, Aging, and special reports.

List reports
List reports, such as the Account List or the Product/Service List, show detailed information about the list items. These reports allow you to display
additional fields associated with that list.
Note: To add these additional fields to the report, use the Customize button or the Grid Gear icon.
Some list reports, such as the Customer Contact List, can be grouped by various criteria, such as billing zip code. They have customization options
appropriate for lists but no column totals or customization options for general, aging, or grouping/subtotals.
When should your clients use list reports?
Clients can use list reports if they want a report related to one of their centers (such as the Sales center), but they don’t need to see transactions. One
advantage of using a list report is that clients can customize and filter to see what they want. They can then save the customization to re-run the same
report type.
ProAdvisor tip
Follow this link for a full list of reports included in each QuickBooks Online subscription level.
Aging reports
Special reports
Aging reports are special reports that show how many days a transaction is beyond the specified due date. As you saw earlier, you can view aging
reports in summary or detail format.
When should your clients use aging reports?
A client can use A/R and A/P aging reports to see which of their customers are slow to pay (and who may need a nudge) or which vendors expect
payment soon. This will help the client with cash flow projections.

Special reports
QuickBooks Online also includes special report types, such as the Business Snapshot and the Audit Log.
The Business Snapshot is a graphical representation of the business’s money-in and money-out transactions. You run this report from the Reports
center.
The Business Snapshot is helpful for clients who absorb information better from graphics than lists and tables. However, it’s more of a dashboard than
a report, so clients can’t customize it that much and can’t save any customization into a Custom report. This report is of limited use in printed form
because it’s meant to be interactive. Clients can only drill down and find anomalous transactions contributing to totals while viewing it on a screen.
The Audit Log contains a list of all changes to company data in QuickBooks Online. This includes transactions entered, reconciliations completed,
recurring transactions created, sign-in and sign-out by users, and more. You can run the Audit Log from Account and Settings, as shown here:
Running QuickReports
A QuickReport displays all activity for an account, along with a running balance for the period.
You and your clients can run a QuickReport from the relevant account in the chart of accounts, or the products and services list. There are also some
specific reports that you can run from the relevant center (for example, sales tax reports from the Sales tax center).
Use the questions below to discover how to run and use QuickReports.
How do you run a QuickReport from the chart of accounts?
To run a QuickReport from the chart of accounts, go to the Action column for the account in question.

If it says Run report in the Action column, select this link

If it says View register, open the dropdown and select Run report
The QuickReport gives a breakdown of transactions in/out of the account in the period specified. Clients can customize the report as they can for most
reports in QuickBooks Online.
How do you run a QuickReport from the products and services list?
You can run a QuickReport for an item in the Products and services list by selecting Run report from the down arrow in the Action column.
A QuickReport on a product/service item shows the transaction history for that item in the selected period.
Where else can you find links to run QuickReports?
Clients can also run specific reports from certain centers in QuickBooks Online.
For example, in the Cash flow center, there is an option to run QuickReports for:

Open invoices

Invoice list

Sales by customer detail
Another example is the Sales tax center, where clients can run the QuickReports shown here:
Exploring the company dashboard
Besides the Reports center, clients can gain immediate insight from the dashboard in QuickBooks Online.
The dashboard has two tabs, which offer an easy-to-digest financial summary for the business.
Select each tab title to find out more.

Get things done

Business overview
The Get things done tab provides quick links to areas of the client’s QuickBooks company to key workspaces. Links are presented in a task-based
format to help clients follow workflows and carry out activities as required.
ProAdvisor tip
Follow this link to discover how the QuickBooks Online dashboard can help clients visualize data, KPIs, and key metrics at a glance.

Business overview
The Business overview tab offers clients a useful overview of their business’s point-in-time financial position. Sections are laid out to allow clients to
spot issues as they emerge easily.
Knowledge check
Which report type would be the best to use if a client needed to see which customers are slow to pay and which vendors expect payment soon?

Summary report

QuickReport

Aging report

List report
Check Answer
That’s right!
Aging reports analyze Accounts Receivable (A/R) and Accounts Payable (A/P) to help with cash flow projections.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Running basic report types in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
QuickBooks Online has a wealth of tools to give you and your clients a thorough insight into their business. You can now help your clients choose the
best reports to address their reporting needs—and advise them how to get the most from QuickBooks Online’s powerful reporting capabilities.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports.
The Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports
Creating insight
As your clients work in QuickBooks Online, they develop a complex financial dataset about their business, and this resource becomes a valuable
source of insight. But to benefit from it, clients need to know which reports to run and how to interpret them.
How can QuickBooks Online help?
The two most important reports you and your client need to be able to use are the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports. In this lesson, we’ll look
at how to run and analyze them.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
The Profit and Loss report
The Profit and Loss report is the one that most clients are familiar with. It summarizes the financial activity associated with each income or expense
account for a specific period, with the last line showing the net income (or loss) for the defined period. This indicates whether your client is operating
at a profit or a loss.
Running a comparative Profit and Loss report also allows clients to compare their business’s current or past performance with that of a different period.
This can reveal cash flow trends in spending and earnings from the business.
To create a comparative Profit and Loss report, run either a Profit and Loss or a Profit and Loss Comparison report and use the Compare another
period dropdown to customize the way the data is presented.
From here, clients can define the periods to show and add columns to show the $ and % changes between them.
The example below shows how clients can use a Profit and Loss Comparison report to dive into how their expenses compare with those at the same
time last year.
Analyzing the Profit and Loss report
As a ProAdvisor, you can help clients understand the Profit and Loss report and how it can help them with financial planning. When analyzing it, look
for discrepancies or things that look out of place, and make sure to review the following:

Total income

Total expenses

Gross profit

Net income (also known as the “bottom line”)

Net profit

Uncategorized income and expenses (and any transactions in the Ask My Accountant section)

Changing trends from the previous periods
Review the video to see how the conversation between you and a client might go.
Knowledge check
Which accounts on this Profit and Loss report would you investigate further to analyze changing trends in the client’s business? Select all that apply.

1

2

3

4

5
Check Answer
That’s right.
Rent & Lease have seen a significant decrease in value. You’ll want to ask your client why this is.
Ask My Accountant entries are automatically registered as uncategorized expenses by QuickBooks Online. You’ll want to take a deeper dive into the
transaction report with the client to agree on how each of these should be correctly categorized in the future.
The Balance Sheet report
Another key report in the end-to-end accounting life cycle is the Balance Sheet report, which summarizes the financial position of a business at a
single moment in time. That’s why it’s commonly referred to as a snapshot of the business. This report reflects whether the assets the business owns
are enough to offset its liabilities and leave a net equity balance after all liabilities have been paid off.
As with the Profit and Loss report, clients can create a comparative Balance Sheet report by running either a Balance Sheet or a Balance Sheet
Comparison report and using the Compare another period dropdown to customize the way the data is presented. This can show the financial
position of the business over different periods, indicating a trend or direction of change.
The example below shows how clients can use a Balance Sheet Comparison report to dive into how their equity at a specific date compares to that
date the previous year.
ProAdvisor tip
To validate or prove the numbers on each row of the Balance Sheet report, the value needs to be verified with another report. To see which reports
can be used to prove the Balance Sheet report, check out the Proving the Balance Sheet document.
Analyzing the Balance Sheet report
When analyzing the Balance Sheet report, make sure to review the following:
Each bank and credit card account. They should agree with the register balance on the reconciliation reports
Accounts receivable
Any new asset purchases
Any prepaids, confirming they were accurately categorized
Loan accounts, making sure they’ve been reconciled against current ending balances
Owner transactions in the Equity section
Net income, which should match the net income on the Profit and Loss report for the same period and the same accounting method
Review the video to see how the conversation between you and a client might go.
Knowledge check
Take a look at a client’s balance sheet for 2021 to date.
In which account would you not expect to see a balance?

Uncategorized Asset

Furniture and Equipment

Good SMB Loan

Owner’s Pay
Check Answer
That’s right.
The Uncategorized Asset account should have a zero balance. You’d want to investigate the transactions in this account and ensure that they get
correctly categorized.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Using the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
The Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports give clients an in-depth overview of the business’s performance in any specific period or at a specific
date. They can provide insight into trends and help clients make business decisions.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we'll cover which reports can help answer common business questions.
Reports to answer common business questions
Too many options
QuickBooks Online offers many reports to give insight into the business’s financial status. However, with so many reports to choose from, clients
may find it hard to select which can help them drill into the data they need.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
As a ProAdvisor, you can help clients run the report they need to get the exact data to evaluate how their business is performing and implement any
changes. In this lesson, we’ll look at some common business questions and the best reports to answer them.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Learning outcomes
In this lesson, we’ll cover:

Selecting the best report in QuickBooks Online to answer clients’ common business questions


Answering common client questions: Part 1
Answering common client questions: Part 2
Topics
Answering common client questions: Part 1
Let’s look at some of the most common questions that clients might have about their business and which reports can help answer them.
Select each question to find out more.
Who owes me money?
Report to use:
A/R Aging Summary (or Detail)
Why:
This report lists all customers who currently owe the client balances and how old the balances are. This helps clients prioritize which customer to
contact to get outstanding payments from.
Who are my top customers?
Report
Sales by Customer Summary (or Detail)
to
use:
Why:
This report lists the client’s customers and how much income they generated in the defined period. They can help identify other customers with the
same buying trends.
What are my top-selling and/or worst-selling products and services?
Report to use:
Sales by Product/Service Summary (or Detail)
Why:
This report shows how many of each item on the products and services list were sold and gives details of the income they generated. They can help
clients decide which products they should buy more of or which products to put on sale. It also helps to prevent clients from ordering too much stock.
How much do I owe my vendors?
Report to use:
A/P Aging Summary (or Detail)
Why:
This report lists all vendors with open balances and shows how old the balances are, which can help clients prioritize which vendor to pay first.
How much money did I make?
Report to use:
Profit and Loss
Why:
This report shows profitability and how much money was earned and spent on each category. Clients can use it to evaluate how their business
strategies are working.
Can I afford to spend money?
Report to use:
Balance Sheet
Why:
The Balance Sheet report shows how much the business has in cash and assets, and how much money it owes. Clients can use it to evaluate their
cash balances in relation to the company’s debt and make decisions about potential expenditures.
Answering common client questions: Part 2
Select each question to find out more.
How much is my inventory worth?
Report to use:
Inventory Valuation Summary (or Detail)
Why:
These reports show the book (purchase or cost) value of inventory items with quantity on hand. They can help clients understand the total cost of
their inventory and potential profits from their sales.
How much revenue is available to cover operating costs?
Report to use:
Profit and Loss
Why:
It shows profitability and how much money was earned and spent on each category. This can help clients work out whether they need to raise prices
or reduce spending, or both.
How much have I spent on a certain thing?
Report
Profit and Loss
to
use:
Why:
It shows profitability and how much money was earned and spent on each category. This can help a business evaluate its most expensive costs and
whether it should adjust the amount they spend on different things.
How much have I paid a particular vendor?
Report
Expenses by Vendor Summary (or Detail)
to
use:
Why:
These list the client’s vendors and show how much the client’s paid each in the defined period. This can help a business negotiate better pricing from
the vendors they purchase from frequently.
Which vendors may also be classed as 1099 contractors?
Report to use:
Vendor Contact List
Why:
It shows vendors and if they have been classified as 1099 contractors. It is critical to verify and validate which Vendors will or should be issued
1099s at the end of each calendar year.
If I show a profit, why isn’t there any cash in the bank?
Report to use:
Statement of Cash Flows
Why:
It shows the cash flowing in and out of a business for a specific period of time and breaks down the source of cash received and spent. This can help
a business identify whether it’s generating more cash than it’s using.
ProAdvisor tip
Download a pdf copy of the Common questions you can answer with reports for yourself or share it with your client as a reference.
Knowledge check
Your client is considering new computers for their business. They want to see accurate real-time financials to decide whether they have enough
profit and cash flow to take out a small business loan to cover the cost.
Which reports could help them make this decision? Select all that apply.

Balance Sheet

Profit and Loss

Statement of Cash Flows

Expenses by Vendor Summary

A/R Aging Summary
Check Answer
That’s right.
Before applying for a loan, your client should review the Profit and Loss report against the Cash Flow Statement to ensure they can make the loan
repayments.
Knowledge check
One of your e-commerce clients ordered far too many products in the build-up to the holiday season last winter. This left them with too much stock in
January, and they had to offer discounts to shift the stock.
Which report could help prevent them from making the same mistake again?

Profit and Loss

Expenses by Vendor Summary

Sales by Product/Service Summary

Sales by Customer Summary
Check Answer
That’s right.
The Sales by Product/Service Summary report will help your client track the sales of each product over time to best evaluate past growth and figure
out the sweet spot.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Selecting the best report in QuickBooks Online to answer clients’ common business questions
Knowledge recap
QuickBooks Online offers many reports to give insight into the business’s financial status, but knowing which can help address specific questions
can help clients dive into the relevant data and make sound business decisions.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at customizing reports to meet your clients’ needs.
Customizing reports
Several customization options are available within the report’s header section. In this example, we use a summary report, such as a Profit and Loss
report. However, note that the options differ depending on the report, so some options presented here don’t appear in all reports.
Select each of the highlighted areas to find out more.
The Report period section allows clients to select or customize the time range for the report to cover.
In summary reports like this Profit and Loss, the Display columns by option allows clients to display data grouped in columns by period, customer,
vendor, classes, product and service items, etc.
If the Show non-zero or active only option appears on the report, it allows clients to refine further which accounts to show in the report

The Active option hides empty rows or columns


The Non-zero option hides rows or columns where the total is zero
The All option shows everything
In certain reports, the Compare another period can be used to compare financial data from multiple time periods, including a custom period, and
even display the changes in percentages or dollar amounts. The Reorder columns link also makes it easy to change the order of these columns.
The Accounting method radio buttons allow clients to choose whether only to display money paid or received in the defined period or include invoices
and bills dated during the reporting period, regardless of whether or not they’ve been paid.
The Collapse/Expand option allows clients to expand or collapse all categories in the report at once. Clients can collapse or expand individual
categories by selecting the small arrows next to the relevant lines in the report.
The Sort option can sort the report by total in ascending or descending order.
The Add notes option allows clients to add a note to display, print, or export with the report. Notes added here appear in the bottom left corner of the
report.
The See a chart option takes clients to the Performance center to view visual charts related to the report. To learn more about the Performance center,
check out the Using the Performance center lesson.
The Edit titles option allows clients to customize the section heading used in the report.
As with many of the options, what clients can customize from the Grid Gear icon depends on the report. For example, in this Profit and Loss report, it
can only be used to compact the report, but in other reports, it can allow the displayed columns to be defined.
Selecting the heading area allows clients to include the logo (if there’s a default one connected with the company) and edit the company name or the
report title.
Selecting the Customize button opens up a drawer on the right with many more options divided into sections. We’ll look at these next.
After adjusting the customization in the report, make sure to select Run report to refresh it.
ProAdvisor tip
Instead of some of the options presented above, detail reports include the option to group columns from the header section, and aging reports offer
options to choose the aging method and specify the aging periods.
Further customization options
Selecting the Customize button from the top right of the report opens up the Customize report drawer on the right. This drawer offers further
customization options organized into collapsible categories.
Note that, as with the options from the header section, the customization options in the Customize report drawer depend on the report being used.
Select the dropdowns to find out more about the different categories.
General
The General section offers some of the options also available from the report screen header. However, it also allows additional editing options to
modify the number format or define how negative numbers are displayed.
Rows/Columns
The options in the Rows/Columns section depend on the report, but, in many cases, it offers similar options of that in the header section. In other
cases, as illustrated in the image below, this section allows clients to check or uncheck the boxes they want to display or hide from the report. The
small Grip icon to the left of each box makes it easy to reorder columns.
Aging
For aging reports, there’s an additional Aging section where clients can choose the aging method and set the number of days in the aging period and
the number of aging periods to show on the report.
The two ways to categorize any outstanding receivables or payables are the following:


Current: Due status will be based on the current date. Take the example of a client who has two open invoices: one that was open at the
end of last month but has since been paid and another that was open at the end of last month and is still open. The Current option won’t
include the paid invoice on the report because it isn’t currently due, but it will include the invoice that is still open
Report Date: Due status will be based on the report date (that is, the status of any outstanding receivables on a specific date). This option
would display both invoices from the previous example if they were due on the date of the report
Filter
The Filter option allows clients to select what they want to display in the report.
Selected filters appear at the top of the list, and clients can choose the specific details they want to appear.
Note that the Specified option only shows transactions that are labeled, while the Not Specified option only shows transactions where the field is
blank. This could be useful, for example, if clients wanted to see transactions with no class assigned or filter for customers who haven’t been
assigned terms.
The filtering options vary depending on the report, but some of the
Detail reports offer more filtering options, such as:
most common filters are:








Distribution Account
Customer
Vendor
Employee
Location
Class
Product/Service
Payment Method















Account
Due Date
Created Date
Transaction Type (including posting and non-posting)
Cleared Status
A/R Paid
A/P Paid
Last Modified Date
Check Printed
Sales Printed
Billable
Customer Taxable
Memo
Num (Number)
Ship Via

Product/Service Taxable
Clients that have set up custom fields can also filter reports by the custom fields. For more information on how to use custom fields, check out
the Customizing sales forms lesson.
Note that some filtering options don’t have a dropdown field from which to select. In these text-only fields, the text entered in the filter must be
contained in the field entry. For example, if the crew number is 1234, entering 123 brings up any transactions with crew numbers that contain 123,
including 1234 or 5123.
Header/Footer
The Header/Footer section allows clients to customize the header and the footer.
For the header, they can decide whether they want to include the company logo or the reporting period, and they can also change the company
name and the report title. Note that these customization options are also accessible from the header section of the report.
Clients can also select whether to show the date and time the report was prepared and the accounting method in the footer, as well as the alignment
for this information.
If clients want to add further details to the header or the footer, they can export the report to Excel or create a management report. For more
information about creating management reports, check out the Management reports lesson.
Saving the customization
Once clients have customized the report, they can save it or export it.
Saved reports appear in the Custom reports tab of the Reports center.
Select the highlighted areas to find out more about the saving and exporting options.
Selecting Save customization opens the options below.
Use the Custom report name field to enter a unique name for the report to be easily identifiable. Note that this can differ from the heading on the
report.
From the Add this report to a group dropdown, clients can put the report into groups for better organization. The Add new group option also
allows them to create groups.
The Share with dropdown allows clients to share the report with other users. The Firm only option shares it with accountant users with access to this
client, while the All users option gives access to firm and client users with reporting access.
When the Share reports with community option is checked, QuickBooks Online saves and offers the structure of the customized report to other
QuickBooks Online subscribers. Note that this shares only the customizations of the base report, not the data.
Make sure to select Save to complete saving the customization.
Selecting the Envelope icon allows you to email the report to any recipient. Emails can be customized and will be sent from
quickbooks@notification.intuit.com
Selecting the Printer icon offers the option to print the report, choose the orientation, and decide which pages to include in the printed document.
The Export icon allows clients to export the report to Excel, or PDF. For clients with QuickBooks Online Advanced subscriptions, there’s also the
option to export to Google Sheets.
ProAdvisor tip
QuickBooks Online saves the report settings, not the data in the report. For example, if the report date is set for the period Last Month and clients
save the report in September but open it again in December, the report will show data for November, not August.
Knowledge check
Which of the following can you NOT customize when running reports from the Reports center in QuickBooks Online?

What to show in the header

How negative numbers are displayed

The order of the columns

Whether to display empty rows or columns

Font style
Check Answer
That’s right.
All the other options are customizable, except the font.
Take our ProAdvisor challenge
Ready to test how you would do as a ProAdvisor?
Complete the following task and help a sample client, Craig’s
Landscaping company, create a custom report.
To complete the task, you need to:


Right-click on the Craig’s Landscaping link below and
select copy link address
Open a new browser window in private view (Incognito in
Chrome, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge, Private Window in
Safari, etc.), then right-click and paste the full link
Craig’s Landscaping is a practice account and a safe space for you to
explore and try out new things without worrying about making a
mistake or breaking something. Once you close the window, the
account is completely refreshed, so you can start over again.
Craig’s Landscaping
Select the headings to find out more.
The task
Your client, Craig, asked you to help him create a customized report to see how his business is performing on a quarter-by-quarter basis.
Here’s what you need to do:





Create a customized Profit and Loss report
Make the date range This year
Display columns by Quarters
Select the option to display % of Row
Call the report Special Quarterly Performance Report
How did you do?
You can check if you got it right by running the report and comparing it to the one shown here. Are the highlighted areas more or less the same?
Our solution
If you didn’t make it to the end or didn’t get the right result, here’s how to do it.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
From the Reports center, create a Profit and Loss report
Make the date range This year
Display columns by Quarters
Select the option to display % of Row
Change the heading to Special Quarterly Performance Report
Having trouble?
Knowing the right starting point when creating a customized report is key! Remember that the Profit and Loss report shows income and expense
accounts, and the Balance Sheet report shows asset, liability, and equity accounts.
Summary reports always show the aggregate amount for each account, customer, product and service, vendor, or employee, whereas a detail report
always shows each line in a transaction.
Summary
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Customizing reports in QuickBooks Online to meet the needs of clients
Knowledge recap
The many customization options in QuickBooks Online allow clients to easily access the data that matters to them and in the format they prefer.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll look at how to create management report packs in QuickBooks Online.
Management reports
More reports for stakeholders
QuickBooks Online has many report options that allow clients to review the business’s financial performance. However, clients may need a way to
compile multiple reports to present to stakeholders.
How can you and QuickBooks Online help?
The Management reports tab in the Reports center of QuickBooks Online allows clients to create customizable, professional-looking report packages
to share with important stakeholders.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Creating management reports
To start creating a management report, select the Management reports tab in the Reports center.
The first step in creating a new management report is choosing a template to use. Because clients can’t create a management report from scratch,
it’s best practice to copy an existing template rather than edit it. To do that, select the down arrow next to the required template and select Copy.
Note that the default template options differ according to who’s accessing the Management reports tab and from where.
Templates accessible to clients in their company account:
Templates accessible when accessing a client’s books via
QuickBooks Online Accountant:



Company overview
Sales performance
Expenses performance


Basic company financials
Expanded company financials
Once the template has been duplicated, select Edit from the options to start customizing it.
As the image above shows, QuickBooks Online logs who created the report and when it was last modified. Clients can also define the report period.
Customization options
Once clients start editing a management report, a panel appears on the left with the sections to customize.
Select the dropdowns to find out more about the steps.
Customizing the cover page
The first section allows clients to customize the cover page and edit the details, including the title, layout, and logo. However, it’s recommended to
start with editing the template name at the top of the screen to make it unique.
Note that QuickBooks Online automatically fills in some fields using data from Account and Settings or where they’ve been defined in the report
setup, but clients can overwrite these.
Customizing the table of contents
In the Table of contents section, clients can select whether to include a contents page or not and what to call it.
Customizing the preliminary pages
The next section allows clients to add preliminary pages with notes.
Note that the Page content box allows various formatting options, including the option to insert company content that QuickBooks Online populates
based on predefined settings. To do that, select the special bracket option, for example: {Company name}. The actual text QuickBooks Online adds
here automatically updates if the predefined text is changed.
Customizing the reports included in the management report
Finally, clients can select whether to include an end notes section at the end of the management report. Here, they can also select whether to
include a breakdown of subaccounts.
Additional customization options
More customization options are available from the Advanced option at the bottom of the screen.
Here, clients can customize the placeholder fields that automatically populate in the report. They can also enter the header and footer text that will
appear on every page of the management report (except the cover page and the table of contents).
Exporting management reports
Before saving or printing the management report, clients can preview it by selecting the Print or Preview option at the bottom of the page.
Once the clients are happy with the editing of the report, they need to select Save.
Back in the Management reports tab of the Reports center, they can export it as a .pdf or .docx file.
Knowledge check
Which of the following statements are correct regarding management reports in QuickBooks Online? Select all that apply.

You can export management reports in Word, PDF, and Excel format

You can customize reports via the Management Reports screens

You can add as many reports as needed to the package

You can reorder the reports included in the package
Check Answer
That’s right.
You can add as many reports as you need to a management reports package and then rearrange them as necessary.
However, you can only select from two templates by default when accessing from QuickBooks Online Accountant. To customize reports, leave the
Management reports editing functionality and then add the reports to the Management Reports package afterward.
Summing up
Learning outcomes
Well done. In this lesson, we covered:

Creating management reports in QuickBooks Online
Knowledge recap
Management reports take the data already in QuickBooks Online to create high-quality, customized report packages.
Next steps
In the next lesson, we’ll cover setting up and using tags in QuickBooks Online
Setting up and using tags
The easy way to track money
Clients can always use classes, locations, and projects to track how money enters and leaves a business, but this is cumbersome and has limits.
How can QuickBooks Online help?
QuickBooks Online supports the use of tags: customizable labels that let clients categorize and group transactions the way it suits their business
needs. These customizable labels make it easy to track money without getting bogged down with classes, locations, and jobs.
This lesson looks at the basics of tags and tagging.
The QuickBooks Online ecosystem is constantly evolving to meet your needs.
Your current experience may differ from what you see here.
Overview of tags
Tags are customizable labels that clients can assign to transactions of their choice. Clients can then group tags and run reports to see how specific
areas of the business are performing.
For example, a charity might want to see donations received and expenses surrounding each of its fundraising events. In this case, tags and tag
groups would look like those shown below.
The benefits of tags and tag groups
Tags provide a quick and easy way to compare data—perfect for when other categorization methods may be more complex.
For example, a professional services firm may tag sales and expenses for various clients based on the referral source. Using tags in this way can
help clients see which advertising channels yield the most business.
Another example could be a sales manager who uses tags to track sales made by individual team members to see who sells the most. The manager
could also use tags to see who bills the most expenses. This combined data can show who contributes the most to the company’s bottom line.
Unlike other methods that must be used consistently on every transaction to generate accurate reports, clients can assign tags as needed. They
work best for items selected from a list, such as invoices, sales receipts, and credit memos. By contrast, custom fields are best for unique data, such
as purchase order numbers.
Tags can provide another dimension of data labeling even if you or your clients already use classes, locations, jobs, and custom fields.
Tags are available in all subscription levels of QuickBooks Online, offering a cost-effective solution for many businesses.
Tags can be added to:
 Estimates
 Invoices
 Sales receipts
 Credit memos
 Refund receipts





At the moment, tags can’t be added to:
 General journal entries

 Transfers


 Time entries
 Pay down credit card
transactions
Delayed charges
Delayed credits
Expenses
Checks
Bills




Purchase orders
Vendor credits
Credit card credits
Bank deposits
Customers
Vendors
Products



Services
Employees
Payroll items
Tagging transactions and creating tags
Let’s tag a new transaction and create some new tags at the same time.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to follow.
1.
2.
3.
Select + New and the Expense
Fill in the transaction details as usual
Notice that selecting the Tags field displays a list of existing tags. Select any of these, or add a new tag or tag group by entering the name
of the tag and selecting + Add
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
To add more tags at once, select Manage tags
The Manage your tags drawer displays all the tags and tag groups. The Edit option next to each of them makes it easy to make changes to
them.
Select one of the Create options from the top. In this case, we want to create a new tag group with a few tags and assign one of them to
the transaction, so we select Create group
Enter the Group name and assign a color for the new group, then select Save
Now that the tag group is set up, enter the tag name and select Add
Repeat this if necessary to add all the tags to the group
Once the tag group and the tags are ready, select Done, and close the drawer
This returns you to the transaction edit screen.
10. To use one of the tags, select it from the Tags field or start entering the name of the tag and select it when it appears
Note that clients can add as many tags to a transaction as needed, but only one tag can be added from each group.
11. When done, select Save and close
The Tag tab in the Banking center
The Tag tab, accessible from the Banking center, shows a summary of money in and out by tag group, and gives clients an overview of all the tags
and the transactions that have tags assigned to them.
Select the hotspots to find out more.