Getting the Most out of QuickBooks

Why should bookkeepers and accountants know all the secrets? When you’re new to QuickBooks Online, we want you to work smarter, not harder. That’s why we’re bringing you workflow tips to help you process transactions faster and more efficiently.  While some of these shortcuts are for convenience, others can reduce the time it takes you to complete tasks in QuickBooks Online.  Hm, where to start? How about one of my favorites, hotkeys! There’s nothing wrong with using your mouse and clicking away, but QuickBooks veterans swear by hot keys and prefer to use them whenever possible. To bring up the full list of shortcuts (and to get your company ID), press [CTRL] + [Alt/Option] + [? ]on your keyboard. Alt operations begin with [CTRL] + [Alt/Option] + [the associated operation]. As you can see, there are so many hotkey options, you’ll be in and out of QuickBooks in no time. The ones listed on the left let you create new transactions or sales forms, and we use the ones on the rig

Financial reporting is the most objective way to assess your company’s financial health. In this video, Astrid Daniela Galvez (QuickBooks ProAdvisor and Tax Specialist) will walk through the different types of financial statements and how to best utilize them to assess your financial health. Find out where your business is making a profit and identify areas for improvement.   00:00 - Introduction 00:55 - What is included in a financial statement? 01:34 - Balance sheet 02:10 - Income statement 02:40 - Cash flow statement 03:12 - How to use financial statements for business insights   Learn more about financial statements: https://intuit.me/3kQX9sO

If you’re a small business owner who prefers to monitor your company’s cash flow with your own two eyes, there are financial accounting equations that you can use to get started. In this video, Astrid Daniela Galvez (QuickBooks ProAdvisor and Tax Specialist) lays out 8 simple accounting formulas and how to utilize these calculations to assess the financial health of your small business.     00:00 - Introduction 01:08 - The accounting equation 01:35 - Net income equation 01:59 - The break-even point equation 02:32 - The cash ratio equation 02:49 - The profit margin equation 03:19 - The debt-to-equity ratio equation 03:41 - The cost of goods sold equation 04:03 - The retained earnings equation Learn more about accounting equations for business owners: https://intuit.me/3DNACFZ

The accounting cycle, also known as the bookkeeping cycle, helps create accurate accounting data that’s crucial to running your small business. It essentially ensures that all the money passing through your business is accounted for. In this video, Astrid Daniela Galvez (QuickBooks ProAdvisor and Tax Specialist) gives a brief overview of all the materials you need to document and track for your accounting cycle.   00:00 - Introduction 01:14 - What is the accounting cycle? 01:32- Why is the accounting cycle important? 01:59 - How to use the accounting cycle 02:21 - Stages in the accounting cycle Learn more about the accounting cycle: https://intuit.me/38JHyoY

The basics of small business accounting come down to a handful of best practices and only three essential reports: your balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. In this video, Astrid Daniela Galvez (QuickBooks ProAdvisor and Tax Specialist) shares some tips and best practices on navigating through accounting fundamentals.     00:00 - Introduction 01:07 - What is business accounting? 01:32  - Benefits of small business accounting 01:58  - Weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual accounting tasks 03:50 - How QuickBooks helps with accounting tasks   Learn more about small business accounting: https://intuit.me/3BHtGbm

I’d like to think the Top 5 is like your favorite pair of jeans: never out of style! As I looked through the Community I saw some questions about class tracking. So why not put the Top 5 spin on it, and give you the questions (and answers) you’re all asking in the Community. Let’s get to it! How do I set up class tracking in QuickBooks Online? It’s quick and easy to set up class tracking. Head over to your settings and follow along: Click the Gear icon. Select Account and Settings. Go to the Advanced tab. Click on the Edit button for Categories.  Check the Track classes box. Click on Save. To add new classes: Go back to that Gear icon. Select All Lists. Click on Classes.  Then choose New.  Enter the class Name. Click on Save. How to assign class to payroll expenses?  While a class can’t be assigned directly to payroll, you can assign classes to individual employees. Click on the Gear icon. Select Payroll Settings. Choose Accounting. In the Classes sectio

There are many questions to ask yourself as a business owner, but some we don’t give as much attention to. Like, how soon do you want to get paid after sending an invoice? How long do you want to give customers to pay their outstanding invoices? If you aren’t sure, keep reading so we can help you out! Invoice payment terms are an agreement between you and your customers regarding when invoice payments are due. “Net” refers to the number of days before the expected payment. Even simple things, like net payment terms, set expectations for all parties involved. Here are some things to keep in mind when deciding: the pace of your business or industry  your relationship with your customers payment methods you offer When taking types of payments into account, a good place to start is to ask your customers what they prefer. There was a time when cash and checks were the most popular ways to pay. Now debit/credit cards tend to be the top choice. If you find they prefer the convenience o

Hello Community! Here at QuickBooks, we know that setting up your account correctly is an integral part of a successful business. I’m dedicating this article to your lists: products and services, customers, and vendors.  Our first stop is adding Products and Services to your account. Although different, both represent something you sell to customers. To make things nice and easy, you create them both using nearly identical workflows.  When you create a new product or service item, you have four types to choose from: inventory, non-inventory, service, and bundle.  If you don’t plan on tracking inventory quantities, you can create lists using non-inventory or service items. Bundles let you package and sell multiple items as a single product or service. Inventory tracking, as the name implies, tracks exact quantities of products on hand. QuickBooks Online has great advanced features that can help you better manage your stock, but they aren’t required for a basic setup. You

Supply and demand is a simple concept but a game-changer for business owners. While sales are always welcome, if they exceed more than your inventory, it can be a disaster. No one wants to refund thousands of dollars to their unhappy customers, but what’s a business owner to do? I want to introduce you to inventory tracking in QuickBooks Online. Inventory tracking helps you keep tabs on what goods you have on hand and lets you know when it’s time to restock.  Without further ado, let’s start with turning this setting on in your account: Go to the Gear Icon and select Account and Settings. Select the Sales tab. Click on the Edit Pencil in the Products and services section. Turn on Show Product/Service column on sales forms. You can also turn on price rules. This allows you to provide certain customers with discounts for a certain amount of time.  Turn on both Track quantity and price/rate and Track inventory quantity on hand. Select Save and then Done. This setting is only

We’re back with one of my favorite features here in the Community... our Top 5! (shhh don’t tell the others) This time I’m taking a look at Projects. We love how easy it is to track our jobs, link transactions, and track employee hours. But you’ve got questions and I’m here with answers! Here are the top 5 questions for Projects from fellow business owners like yourself.  1. How can I link existing invoices that are in QuickBooks to a new project? When a project has been created, any associated invoice can be linked to it manually. Once moved, any transactions linked to that invoice (billable time, credits, payments, etc.), or attachments will be removed. Take a look at the steps to move invoices over to a project: In the left navigation bar, go to Invoices, then open the Customers tab. Click on the customer’s display name. Find the invoice, estimate, or transaction and click to open it. Use the Customer drop-down arrow to search for the name of your project. Choose the one you

In a previous article, we talked about using QuickBooks Payments, and how beneficial it can be for your business. Sometimes life happens and there could be delays in money hitting your account, so in this article, I’m going over how to understand holds on your payments and how to minimize them in the future.  When to Expect Funds in Your Account The best place to start is with processing time. Generally speaking, Standard Deposits process every day except Sundays, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas day. Instant Deposits process every day of the year, with no exceptions. However, your deposit speed depends on the product you are using and the type of payment. To check your current deposit speed: Go to the Gear Icon ⚙ and select Account and Settings. Select the Payments tab. Review the Deposit Speed section. Another variable that can affect processing time is the time of day. In general, if you process customer payments before 3 PM PT, we'll deposit them in your bank account on

Today, everything is automated! From your voicemail to your car, automation is definitely here to stay. Why should QuickBooks Online be any different? Connecting your bank to QuickBooks Online allows you to automatically import transactions into your account. Not only does this process save time, it prevents data entry errors that can occur with manual entry. Set yourself up for success by having the most accurate information for your business and reporting.  Are you ready to save time? Let’s go! Connecting your bank is quick and easy, but once connected, then what? Let’s go over the Banking page, so you know all the ins and outs of your transactions. QuickBooks automatically downloads the latest transactions from the last 90 days. Click on Transactions >> Banking on the left nav bar to see your accounts and use the drop-down to switch between them all.  As you can see below, there are three sections for transactions: For Review, Categorized and Excluded. I’m going to

Sometimes I like to tackle big, broad topics like payments or reporting. Other times, it’s nice to focus on important but specific settings that we can help our customers with. Hence, this post! I’m going to talk all about emails in QuickBooks Online.  And let’s face it, your email always needs to be relevant and up-to-date. If it wasn’t, I’d still be sporting angelndisqize13@yahoo.com in my adult life! Starting with the basics, here’s how you can update your email that’s linked to your account. Sign in to QuickBooks Online. Select your profile icon in the upper right-hand corner. Choose Manage your Intuit Account. This opens the Intuit Account Manager. Select the Sign in & security menu. Click the pencil in the User ID, Email Address, or Password section. Edit the information. When you're done, select Save. It’s likely that your business email is not the email you want to show up on client forms. Thankfully, QuickBooks Online had two separate email fields in your settings:

I think it’s safe to say that our Top 5 Series is going to be a thing now. I can’t get enough of seeing what you, our Community, are asking about our products. You’ve got questions, and we’ve got answers. Let’s get to it! This week, we’re looking at account services. Managing your QuickBooks Online account is more than transactions, bills, and employees. Here are 5 questions in the Community to help you organize your account behind the scenes: #1 - How do I delete an unused account? Regardless of whether you're using a paid or trial subscription (or made an account by mistake), you can cancel the account yourself through your Account and Settings page. Here are steps to guide you through: 1. Log in to your account. 2. Go to the Gear icon, then Account and Settings.  3. Choose Billing and Subscription. 4. In the QuickBooks section, select Cancel (paid subscription) or Cancel Trial (if you are using a trial). 5. Pick Continue to Cancel, then scroll down and click Confirm Cancel. &nb

Today, I’m going to let you in on a secret that gives you a super quick and easy way to make sure your customers open your invoice: customizing! A customized invoice is an opportunity to enhance your brand and produce something eye-catching for your customers.  Before we get into it, ask yourself these questions: Appearance – Do you want your brand image to be subtle? Or bolder? Try to match your existing marketing efforts to create a sense of uniformity. Data-fields – What information matters most to your customers? How much information is too much? Do you provide clients with specific details or a summary?  Format – Are your invoices easy to read? Which data fields are absolutely necessary? Should you use larger fonts to improve?  Personality and Tone – Is being approachable important to your business? Do you want to sound casual or official? Edit the text accordingly. Now that the wheels are turning, what’s an invoice without a logo? This is your brand’s identity an

In QuickBooks Online, we like to go above and beyond for our customers (sales tax included). Last week I posted an article about the basic setup for sales tax in your account, but this time we’re getting into some extras you may need!  As I mentioned in the last article, sales tax varies from state to state. To accommodate this, flexibility is important to us. If you sell to different states or need to add a certain local tax, you can add custom rates to your forms to reflect any of those changes. Go to Taxes on the left menu, then Sales tax. Select Sales tax settings. In the Custom rates section, select Add rate. Choose Single rate. Enter the Name of the custom rate. Select the Agency you file payments to.  Enter the Rate, then Save. It’s good to add specific information about the type of tax within the name. You can mention the name of the state, county, or city where that tax type applies. Ex: Boise Sales Tax, or CA Tax on Cigarettes.  You can also find this custom

Hello Community! I enjoyed our Top 5 Questions: Invoices so much that I had to come back with another one. This week I’m focusing on reconciling! I already have an article on how to reconcile, and even some common troubleshooting tips, but what are customers asking in the Community? Let’s take a look!   1. I just converted from QB desktop to QB online and I’m trying to reconcile accounts. My beginning balance is way off, can someone help?  First, some housekeeping items: It’s important to know that when converting from Desktop to Online, there are limitations to what comes over into your new account. When it comes to reconciling, your reconciliation reports won't convert to QuickBooks Online, but all reconciled transactions in the register will have an "R" in the cleared column in QBO.   Now, if your beginning balance is incorrect after your migration, you'll want to run a Profit and Loss report and a Balance Sheet report in both Desktop and Online to compare the t

Did you know that August 14th is National Financial Awareness Day? Well, now you do! We’re taking this time to remind you to look ahead to your financial future and see how you can continually increase stability within your business.   QuickBooks Online has a wealth of reports and customizing options to help you tap into the heartbeat of your business to see if you’re healthy and strong. Let’s look at our top reports to help you accomplish this:   Profit and Loss Report   What don’t we love about knowing how profitable your company has been over the past month? If you don’t know where to start, this report should be your first stop in order to find out how your business is doing. At the most basic level, P&L reports deduct your expenses from your income to show how your company is performing. Run this report every month or two to stay on top of your true revenue. Thinking about applying for a loan, or looking for some new investors to help you expand your business? T

Most business owners hear the words “sales tax” and go running for the hills (or to their accountant). Do we blame them? Of course not. While it can be intimidating, there’s no need to break into a sprint! I’m going to walk you through the details of setting up sales tax in QuickBooks Online.  Sales tax is a state tax on goods and services sold and varies from place to place. If you’re not sure what that rate is for your state, find out here.  Note: Not all customers are required to pay a sales tax. Look and see what qualifies your customer to pay or not, and then you can set them up as tax-exempt if necessary.  Now, where to start? Double-check your business address. This is important because QuickBooks uses this info to set up the right tax agency and rates for you. Go to Taxes on the left menu, and then Sales Tax. Select Set up sales tax. If you have already set up your business address in Settings, this step should reflect that address. If not, you can add it now. R

As a business owner, many of you are familiar with overtime. Although mostly unplanned, overtime happens often, and it’s important to account for it correctly. If you need help setting up our basic Overtime Settings, take a look here: Set up Overtime Tracking.   What I’m going to show you now are some hidden gems in QuickBooks Time that help you track advanced overtime hours accurately and take the stress out of time tracking.   So, you have your basic overtime rules set up, but you need more overtime options? Don’t you worry, QuickBooks Time has got you covered. Click on “Use Pay Rate Engine” like you see in the screenshot below and continue reading.   Once there, you’ll see there’s a Company Default Setting which is created based on your choices in Company Settings for overtime. This gives the Pay Rate Engine the basics to build additional rules on top of.    Here are the steps for setting up additional overtime rules:   Go to Featured Add Ons, then Pa

Have you ever been in your Chart of Accounts and noticed Undeposited Funds? It’s possible that you’ve seen it many times without knowing much about it, or when you should use it. Well, get ready to learn something new and take a thorough look at Undeposited Funds.    This account is special because it’s a temporary account that QuickBooks uses to hold received payments from invoices before you deposit them in the bank. Imagine this account as the blue bank deposit bag businesses use to hold cash/checks/etc before they deposit them at the bank.   Using this Undeposited funds feature is going to be an important part of your workflow if you use an external processing service or have some wait time depositing your money.  You will see Undeposited Funds as the default "Deposit to" account when you receive payments from invoices, use a payment item on an invoice, or enter a sales receipt.   Let’s say you have an invoice that is paid in multiple payments. When you lo

In QuickBooks Online, we try to set you up with the best reports that give you information in a clear and concise way. Because every business is different, it’s likely you’ll want to tweak these reports so that you can understand the data best. This article will be your go-to for the ins and outs of customizing.   Where do we start? Well, first you need to choose the report you want to run. We have a wealth of options, from profit & loss to inventory. If you’re not sure where to start, I’m here to help:   Go to Reports on the left menu. Use the Search bar to find a specific report. Click on the ? icon to read what information each report shows you.     Now that you have your report, it’s time to customize! Here’s an overview of what you can customize: Filter section: Select which customers, accounts, vendors, accounts, and products appear on the report. General section: Change things like the accounting method, reporting period, and number format. Rows/Colum

Can we ever talk too much about invoices? Impossible! Invoicing is such an important pillar in business, which is why we’ve searched the Community for the most popular questions. Let’s not waste another moment and take a dive (in no particular order).    1. How do I apply credits to an invoice? Let’s take a moment to go over when you would want to use a credit. A credit is used when you wish to reduce what the customer owes you, maybe because of a promo or as a reward. This is not to be confused with a refund, which occurs when you need to send money back to a customer. We can walk through this step by step:   Create Credit Memo: Select + New. Choose Credit memo. In the Customer dropdown, click the customer's name. Enter the credit memo details (info like the date and amount).  Once done, Save and close.   Now you’re ready to apply that credit to your open invoice.  Select + New. Click Receive payment. In the Customer dropdown, select the customer

I promised I’d be back! To follow up on last week’s post, today we will tackle importing products and services and invoices into QuickBooks Online. If you missed the first part, or need a quick refresher, you can check out the first post in this series.   Once you have uploaded your customers and vendors, you can move on to products and services. The good news is that you don’t have to start from scratch with your spreadsheet. Our sample file takes the guesswork out of formatting so you can avoid any issues in your upload.   Sign in to QuickBooks Online. Select Settings ⚙, then choose Import Data. Click Download a sample file and open the file.   Here are some formatting tips to keep in mind: Product/Service Name: 100 character limit.  Income Account: You can't use sub-accounts. Quantity as-of Date: Format like this: MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY. Income and Expense account: You can't use sub-accounts.   At this point in the process, you’ll want to double-check

Not every company starts with QuickBooks Online from the very beginning, so what do you do with the important information you need in your account? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!   You can easily bring over information like customers, invoices, etc through a convenient upload so that you don’t miss a beat.   To start us off, let’s go over the file types you can use when utilizing this process. CSV file: A common file format used for text files that contain tabular data. In CSV files, each field of text is separated by a comma, semi-colon, or other special character. XLS/XLSX file: XLS is the file format of Microsoft Excel 1997-2003. Microsoft Excel 2007 and newer use the XLSX file format. Google Sheets: A cloud-based spreadsheet created in Google Drive.   One thing to keep in mind is that you can only import files of less than 1000 rows at a time, however, you can upload multiple files.  If you find that you have a file that is too large on the first go, you