Introduction

Note: If you are a new Accounting Analytics’ client, we set up and customize your QuickBooks account. Therefore, this chapter may be disregarded. However, if you do set up your QuickBooks account, we suggest you do so under the direction of your accountant.

This chapter is for QuickBooks users who purchased this Guide to enable them to perform their company’s bookkeeping with QuickBooks using our Accounting System’s bookkeeping process.

Before you start performing our bookkeeping process, you need to set up your company in QuickBooks. There is no such thing as a general setup. You need to set up QuickBooks specifically for your company.

Remember, the objectives of this Guide are to enable bookkeepers to:

1. Efficiently and productively perform their employers’ bookkeeping
2. Help provide their employers with timely, relevant, and reliable financial information
3. Help increase their employers’ financial position, profit, and cash flow

Therefore, although setting up QuickBooks is primarily a one-time event, how you set up QuickBooks determines what you get from QuickBooks. If you want to achieve the objectives above, you need to be thoughtful and thorough in how you set up QuickBooks. As the saying goes, Begin with the end in mind.

The first time you log in to your QuickBooks account, a set-up wizard displays. The wizard consists of a series of screens that ask for information about your company. QuickBooks uses your answers to set up some of the company’s preferences. Follow the onscreen prompts and fill in your company information. This saves time when you set up your company.

When you have completed the set-up wizard, your company is partially set up. The wizard is more of a “quick start” setup to enable you to quickly begin using QuickBooks. However, as stated above, if you want to achieve the Accounting System objectives, you need to be thoughtful and thorough when setting up QuickBooks. Therefore, in addition to completing the wizard, you need to complete the following setup procedures to complete the set-up process.

QuickBooks Online has two different view modes: Business View and Accountant View. Accountant view uses the default terminology and display. The business view uses terminology targeted to individuals who may be unfamiliar with bookkeeping and accounting (for example, the Banking page is labeled Transactions). In this guide, we will be using the Accountant View. Ensure you are in Accountant View by selecting the Gear Icon and selecting the appropriate option at the bottom of the window.

Setup Tools

The following tools are needed to set up your company in QuickBooks:

• QuickBooks
• QuickBooks Payments
• Company online bank account(s) compatible with QuickBooks
• Company credit card(s) (business credit card or personal credit card used only for business) compatible with QuickBooks
• Company one sheet, two-part voucher QuickBooks compatible checks

Bookkeeper Tasks

Your setup tasks include:

1. Gather QuickBooks Setup Information
2. Subscribe to QuickBooks Services
3. Set Up Your Company
4. Set Up Your Lists
5. Set Up Your Bank and Credit Card Accounts (Bank Feeds)
6. Set Up Your Automated Sales Tax

Accountant Tasks

Your accountant’s setup tasks include:

1. Provide QuickBooks set-up training
2. Support QuickBooks set up questions or problems
3. Review your QuickBooks setup

QuickBooks Online Overview

The layout in QuickBooks Online has a homepage dashboard, a left menu, and a toolbar. Each of these contains links to help you quickly navigate features and tools. As we briefly introduce you to features, keep in mind that most of these will be addressed in more detail later in the guide.

Homepage Dashboard

The QuickBooks Online Dashboard is the landing page when you first log in to QuickBooks Online.

The Dashboard includes:

1. Get things done
2. Business Overview

Get Things Done

The Get Things Done tab provides links to quickly access money in, money out, and accounting and reports items. The links are organized to show the workflow of money in and money out.

Business Overview

The Business overview tab of the Dashboard contains tiles that display snapshots of your company’s operating performance. The tiles communicate information regarding your invoices, expenses, profit or loss, sales, and bank accounts.

Left Menu

The Left Menu includes:

1. Dashboard
2. Banking
3. Sales
4. Cash Flow
5. Expenses
6. Projects
7. Payroll
8. Reports
9. Taxes
10. Mileage
11. Accounting
12. My accountant
13. Apps

Banking

The Banking page displays your QuickBooks-connected bank and credit card accounts, their account balances, and transactions for these accounts. Transactions on this page need to be categorized.

Sales

The Sales page is where you can view, create, and edit sales forms, customers, and products/services.

Cash Flow

The Cash flow page shows an overview of your cash flow, including bank/credit card account balances, expected money in and expected money out. The page also features the Cash Flow Planner, a tool that looks at your financial history to forecast future money in ad money out events.

Expenses

The Expenses page is where you can view, create, and edit expense forms and vendors.

Projects

The Projects page is where you can create Projects, which allows you to track profitability by adding project income, expenses, and labor expenses.

Payroll

The Payroll page is where you can run payroll, as well as manage employee, contractor, and employee benefit information. To learn more about this page, see our Payroll with QuickBooks Online Payroll guide.

Reports

The Reports page provides report tools to help you review your financial data and prepare company financial reports.

Taxes

The Taxes page is where you can set up and manage your automated sales tax, payroll tax, and income tax. Each tab displays information regarding your taxes and when things are due.

Mileage

The Mileage page lets you manage and review mileage tracking data, as well as assign vehicles that will be tracked.

Accounting

The Accounting page contains two tabs; Chart of accounts and Reconcile. The Chart of accounts page displays every account and links to their registers. The Reconcile page is where you perform your bank/credit card account reconciliations.

My Accountant

The My Accountant page is where you will conduct communications with your accountant, including Requests (accountant requests information or a document) and Shared documents (documents that either you or your accountant have uploaded to share with each other).

Apps

The Apps page is where you can find and manage third-party applications that integrate withQuickBooks Online.

Toolbar

The QuickBooks Online toolbar includes:

1. Open and close the left menu (hides the left menu)
2. My Experts
3. Help
4. Search
5. Notifications
6. Settings (Gear)
7. Profile icons

My Experts

The My Experts icon opens a side window that shows current open requests or shared documents with your accountant.

Help

The Help icon opens a side window that displays Intuit’s help articles related to the current page you are viewing. You can use the search box in the window to search for other topics.

Search

The Search icon opens the search window. This feature allows you to search your entire QuickBooks Online account for anything (transactions, customers, vendors, employees, etc.) containing the keywords of your search. By default, the search window displays search tips and a list of recent transactions. To narrow your search results further, you can select Advanced Search.

Notifications

The Notifications icon displays items that may need your attention or that may have changed in your books.

Settings

The Settings (Gear) icon opens the settings window. This window displays a list of links for Settings, Lists, Tools, and Your Company.

The Settings categories in QuickBooks Online include:

1. Your Company – Account and settings, Manage users, Custom form styles, Chart of accounts, Payroll settings, and QuickBooks Labs
2. Lists – All lists, Products and services, Recurring transactions, Attachments, Custom fields, and Tags
3. Tools – Order checks, Import data, Import desktop data, Export data, Reconcile, Budgeting, Audit log, SmartLook, and Resolution center
4. Profile – Feedback, Refer a friend, and Privacy

Gather QuickBooks Setup Information

To expedite the setup process, you need to gather the information you need to set up your company.

The following is a checklist of the information you need to complete your setup. The Checklist is organized in the same order as the QuickBooks setup process including:

• Account and Settings
• Manage Users
• Custom Form Styles
• Chart of Accounts
• Payroll Settings

Account and Settings

Company Settings include:

1. Company
2. Sales
3. Expenses
4. Payments
5. Advanced

Company

Company Name

1. Company logo file for sales forms and purchase orders
2. Company name as you want it to appear on sales forms and purchase orders

Legal name

1. The legal or registered name of your business is the official name of the entity or person that owns a business. If you are the only owner of your business (sole proprietorship) without employees, the legal name can be your full name.
2. Company EIN (Employee Identification Number) or SSN (Social Security Number)
3. If you are a sole proprietor with no employees and file no excise or pension plan tax returns, you are not required to obtain an EIN and can use your social security number. However, we suggest you obtain an EIN to protect your social security information.
4. To apply for an EIN, go to www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-selfemployed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online.

Company Type

1. Company tax form number
2. Your tax form number is your company’s IRS tax form number. If you do not know the number, ask your company tax preparer.

Industry type

1. Your industry type is your company’s area of expertise or the products or services you offer.

Contact Info

1. Company email address where QuickBooks can email you
2. Customer-facing email address where your customers can email you
3. Company phone number shown on sales forms
4. Company website shown on sales forms

Address

1. Company address is where your company is based
2. Customer-facing address where customers can contact you or send payments
3. Legal address for filing taxes

Sales

Sales Form Content

1. Default payment date
2. Default delivery method (send or print)
3. General fields you want to show on sales forms (shipping, service date, discount, deposit, tips, and other custom fields)
4. Custom transaction numbering system, if you use one

Products and Services

1. Columns you want to show on sales forms (Product/Service, SKU, and Quantity andPrice Rate)
2. Any special pricing (price rules) you offer to customers.

Late Fees

1. Customer late fees and type (flat fee of a percentage of remaining balance)
2. Grace period
3. A Grace period provides the customer a period of time after the due date that the late fee will still not be applied.
4. The label or name you want to use for late fees

Messages

1. Default email message and subject sent with sales forms

Reminders

1. Default email message and subject sent with customer reminders

Online Delivery

1. Format sales forms will be sent to customers (Online invoice, HTML, or Plain text)
2. An online invoice will send an online link to the invoice. This option allows the customer to see any changes made to the invoice.
3. HTML email will send the invoice in a nice easy-to-read format. They will not be able to access the invoice via a link like the Online Invoice option and you will need to resend the invoice if you make any changes you need the customer to see.
4. A plain text email will send the invoice in a non-formatted version. This will not contain a link either.

Statements

1. Fields you want on statements, including aging information

Expenses

Bills and Expenses

1. Information you want to show on expenses and purchase forms, including product/service, customer, and billable columns
2. Mark up rates when expenses are billed to customers
3. Default bill payment terms

Payments

Business Owner Info

1. Owner’s address and mobile phone number

Chart of Accounts

1. Accounts that standard deposits and processing fees will be posted to

Advanced

Accounting

1. The first month of the fiscal year
2. This is for reporting, allowing you to specify any month as the start of your fiscal year(also called your financial reporting year or accounting year).
3. Accounting method (cash or accrual)
4. Accrual means reporting income when you bill a customer; Cash means reporting income when you receive payment from a customer. If you are not sure, consult your accountant.

Company Type

1. The tax form your company files
2. If you are not sure, consult your accountant.

Chart of Accounts

1. The account that discounts will be posted to
2. The account that tips will be posted to (if applicable)
3. The account that billable expense income will be posted to

Categories

1. Classes such as departments, locations, or product lines you may assign transactions to
2. This allows you to add a Class field on forms.
3. Locations such as stores, sales regions, or counties you may assign transactions to
4. This allows you to add a Location field on forms.

Automation

1. Preferred automatic invoicing schedule

Time Tracking

1. Time-related fields to include on forms, such as service and billing rate

Other Preferences

1. A label used for customers (customers, clients, donors, guests, members, patients, or tenants)

Manage Users

1. Add a New User
2. First and last names of individuals to add as Users
3. User types to assign to each user.

User types include:

1. Primary administrator: In most cases, the individual who created the company would be this type of user, with no limitations to access
2. Company Administrator: This type of user has access to every aspect of the company file
3. Accounting firms: This is for granting access to an accountant or accounting firm(up to two)
4. Standard user: Gives you the option of granting full or limited access, excluding administrator privileges
5. Custom user: This user type allows you to specify many areas you want accessed or restricted
6. Reports only: This only grants the user read-only access to reports, with the exception of the Audit Log and Payroll Reports. The user will be able to see reports related to transactions, without being able to view the actual transactions
7. Time Tracking only: These users will only have access to their own time sheets and time reports
8. Any user with access rights is able to do anything within QuickBooks that Administrators can, including changing company settings, creating and editing budgets, viewing the Audit Log, making deposits and transferring funds, reconciling accounts, making journal entries, and viewing reports. If given payroll access, they can also add and edit employees, create paychecks, and perform payroll.
9. A user with no access rights cannot use any accounting features but can simply fill out their own time sheets.

Custom Form Styles

1. Customize Your Sales Forms
2. Samples of your current invoice, estimate, sales receipt, and statement templates

Chart of Accounts

1. Current chart of accounts in an Excel spreadsheet (if applicable)
2. Any and all accounts to be added

Set Up Your Lists

Products and Services

1. (Optional) Import Products and Services
2. All products/services your company offers in an Excel spreadsheet
3. Setup Categories
4. Categories that your products/services fit in
5. Add Products and Services

Detailed information on each product or service your company offers, including the following:

1. Product/service name
2. SKU (if applicable)
3. Image of the product (optional)
4. Category
5. Description
6. Sales price/rate
7. Income account
8. Sales tax category (if applicable)
9. Purchase information (if purchased from a vendor)

Payment Methods

1. Add a Payment Method
2. All payment methods your company accepts

Terms

1. Add a Term
2. Terms are given to customers regarding invoice payments
3. Terms refer to the due date your set for your customers to pay (Ex. Due on receipt, Net 15, Net 30, Net 60, etc.)

Set Up Your Bank and Credit Card Accounts (Bank Feeds)

1. Create a New Account
2. Accounts in the chart of accounts to link to your bank/credit card accounts to
3. Connect a Bank or Credit Card Account
4. Bank and Credit Card Account information for the accounts you will connect to QuickBooks, including your login credentials to your financial institution’s website and your bank account and credit card numbers
5. Set Up Deposit Account
6. Bank or Credit Card account you want funds to be deposited to

Set Up Your Automate Sales Tax

1. Set Up Automated Sales Tax
2. The physical address of the company
3. The date current tax period started
4. The frequency you file sales tax returns
5. The date you started collecting tax for your home tax agency
6. List of additional tax agencies (if you collect sales tax in multiple states)

Subscribe to QuickBooks Services

Subscribing to QuickBooks tools includes:

1. Subscribe to QuickBooks Online Plus
2. Subscribe to QuickBooks Online Payments

Subscribing to QuickBooks Online

Note: Accounting Analytics’ bookkeeping service fee includes your QuickBooks subscription.

To subscribe to QuickBooks Online, go to quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing.

Applying for QuickBooks Online Payments

Note: If you are a new Accounting Analytics’ client, we apply for and set up your QuickBooks Online Payments.

In order to use QuickBooks Online Payments, you need to apply for a QuickBooks Online Payments account. To apply for a QuickBooks Payment account, go to quickbooks.intuit.com/payments.

When you subscribe to QuickBooks, you can apply for a QuickBooks Online Payments account by selecting the Setup icon and Billing & Subscription.

Set Up Your Company

When using QuickBooks, it is important that you have your settings completed properly to allow your company to operate in a way that best fits your needs.

Your Company includes:

1. Account and Settings
2. Manage Users
3. Custom Form Styles
4. Chart of Accounts
5. Payroll settings

Account and Settings

Account and Settings include:

1. Company
2. Sales
3. Expenses
4. Payments
5. Advanced

To complete Account and Settings:

1. Select the Gear icon on the toolbar and select Account and Setting

Company

Company settings involve entering your company information, such as name, contact info, address, and more.

To set up your Company settings, select Company from the left of the screen in Account and Settings.

Company Name

1. Select the Pencil icon in the Company name section
2. Select the plus in the image box, select the plus, and select and upload your company logo file
3. Enter your Company name
4. Enter your Legal name. If the Company name and the Legal name are the same, check the Same as company name box
5. Select and enter your EIN (Employer Identification Number) or SSN (Social Security Number)
6. Select Save

Company Type

1. In the Company Type section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select your company tax form from the Tax form dropdown menu
3. Enter your Industry type
4. Select Save

Contact Info

1. In the Contact Info section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Enter your Company email
3. Enter your Customer-facing email, if different from the Company email
4. Enter your Company phone number
5. Enter your Website
6. Select Save

Address

1. In the Address section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Enter your Company address
3. Enter your Customer-facing address, if different from the Company address
4. Enter your Legal address, if different from the Company address
5. Select Save

Communications with Intuit

Communications with Intuit is where you select how you want or do not want Intuit, the developer of QuickBooks, to communicate with you. By default, Intuit is set up to mail, phone, and email you. To unsubscribe from one or more of these communications, select Please do not mail me, Please do not phone me, or Please do not email me.

Sales

When you go through your Sales settings, several functions and the decision to use them will depend on your company and the way it operates. With that in mind, use the following steps to set up your sales content and preferences at your discretion.

To set up sales, select Sales from the left of the screen in Account and Settings.

Sales Form Content

1. In the Sales form content section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select the default payment date from the Preferred invoice terms dropdown menu
3. Select the default delivery method for sales forms to new customers from the Preferred delivery terms dropdown menu
4. Select Shipping to add shipping fields (date, tracking number, destination, subtotal) to sales forms
5. Select Custom transaction numbers to use your own numbering system. If left blank, invoice numbers are automatically assigned by QuickBooks
6. Open an invoice or any sales form, and in the Invoice, no. field, enter the custom number or letter sequence you want to use for your forms. The sequence you set here applies to all sales forms.‍‍
7. Select Service date to add a Service date field if you need to track the date a service was performed separately from the invoice date
8. Select Discount to add a Discount field to invoices and other sales forms
9. Select Deposit to add a Deposit field to invoices so you can subtract a customer deposit from the total to calculate the balance due
10. Select Tips (Gratuity) to add a tips field to sales receipts (not for mandatory gratuity or service fees)
11. A window will appear to select who is receiving the tips. Select either Just me or My team. If prompted, select Update to update sales forms
12. Select Save

Note: Once you have set up your custom invoice numbering, turn off the Custom transaction numbers feature. This will help prevent accidental changes to your numbering. Turning this feature off only means the Invoice no. field is hidden from your sales form. Invoice numbers are still printed for your customers

Products and Services

1. In the Products and services section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select Show Product/Service column on sales forms to add a Product/Service column on sales forms so you can choose from a list of products and services to include
3. Select Show SKU column to add an SKU column to on-screen sales forms so you can easily track products and services by SKU. You can also show SKUs on printed forms
4. Select Turn on price rules to be able to provide discounts for specific products to certain customers for a specified amount of time
5. Select Track quantity and price/rate to add Quantity and Rate fields to sales forms so you can track this information for products and services
6. Leave the box next to Track inventory quantity on hand unchecked
7. Select Save

Late Fees

Enabling this setting creates a product/service item for late fees and will automatically apply and calculate late fees.

1. In the Late fees section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. If you use late fees, select Default charge to be applied to overdue invoices
3. Select either “Flat fee” or “Percentage of remaining balance”, depending on the type of late fee you wish to use
4. If you select “Flat fee”, you can specify a default amount to be charged independent from the invoice total
5. If you select “Percentage of remaining balance”, it will allow you to specify a percentage of the total invoice amount to charge for the late fee
6. Enter the Amount or Percent (depending on the option you selected) and select the Frequency, which dictates how often the late fee is applied
7. For the percentage option, you can also select the box to Apply an upfront, one-time flat fee in addition to the percentage. If you select this option, fill in the Amount field that then appears
8. To apply a Grace period, open the dropdown menu and make a selection
9. Enter the label used for late fees on invoices or use the default “Late fee”
10. To apply sales tax to late fees, select Apply Sales Tax
11. Select Save

Progress Invoicing

This feature can allow you to keep track of the progress of a particular job by creating multiple invoices from an estimate.

1. In the Progress Invoicing section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select Create multiple partial invoices from a single estimate to turn on Progress Invoicing
3. Select Save

Messages

This allows you to customize the default email message sent with sales forms.

1. In the Messages section, select the Pencil icon to the right‍
2. (Optional) Select Use greeting, then from the dropdown, choose your ideal greeting
3. Select the desired Sales Form type from the dropdown menu. You can create a different default email message for each sales form
4. Invoice
5. Estimate
6. Credit Memo
7. Sales Receipt
8. Statement
9. Refund Receipt
10. For the Subject and Email message, you can leave the default message in the box or type in your own custom messages
11. If you would like to receive a copy, select Email me a copy
12. After you have made all the appropriate changes to the message, select Save

Reminders

These are invoice reminders, which are email messages sent to your customers to remind them that payment is due.

1. In the Reminders section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. To change the default reminder, select the dropdown arrow to show the customization options. You can use [Invoice No.] and [Company Name] as placeholders in the subject and a message of the reminder
3. Enter the Subject line‍
4. (Optional) Select Use greeting, then from the dropdown menus, choose your greeting
5. Enter the desired email message
6. If you would like to receive a copy, select Send a copy
7. Select Automatic invoice reminders to have QuickBooks automatically send invoice reminders
8. Select each reminder and toggle it on or off and customize it, as desired
9. Select Save

Note: You can set up to three automatic reminders

Online Delivery

This feature gives you some control over how your forms come through to the customer.

1. In the Online delivery section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. For Email options for all sales forms, select either Show short summary in email or Show full details in the email, then check the PDF Attached box if desired
3. Attach sales form as PDF will allow the customer to view and print a full PDF of the invoice, which will retain all the formatting of your invoice, even the colors, in addition to the format you select in the email options for invoices dropdown.
4. Select Online invoice, HTML, or Plain text from the email option dropdown menu
5. Select Save

Statements

Statements let you customize the form and show how much detail to include.

1. In the Statements section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select either List each transaction as a single line or List each transaction including all detail lines
3. A statement includes all unpaid transactions for a customer. This is simply choosing how much detail to include‍
4. (Optional) Select Show aging table at bottom of the statement to have the statement shows how many days an invoice is overdue by adding the aging information
5. The aging information is grouped as Currently due, 1-30 days past due, 31-60 days past due, 61-90 days past due, and 90+ days past due.
6. Select Save

Expenses

Similar to setting up your sales functions, Expense settings have several functions and the decision to use them will depend on your company and the way it operates. With that in mind, use the following steps to set up your preferences at your discretion.

To set up expenses, select Expenses from the left of the screen in Account and Settings.

Bills and Expenses

1. In the Bills and expenses section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select the Show Items table on expense and purchase forms to add a Product/Service table on expense and purchase forms so you can itemize products and services
3. Select Track expenses and items by a customer to add a Customer column on expense and purchase forms so you can track expenses and items by customer
4. Select Make expenses and items billable to add a Billable column on expense and purchase forms so you can add billable expenses and items on sales forms‍
5. (Optional) Set the markup rate
6. If you make an expense billable to your customer, this automatically adds a default markup % to the expense.‍
7. (Optional) Enable Track billable expenses and items as income. Then, select either In a single account or In multiple accounts (Adds a "Use for billable expenses" checkbox to an account’s edit screen in the Chart of Accounts)
8. Use one or more income accounts to track billable expenses.
9. Set the default bill payment terms (when payment is due) under the dropdown menu
10. Select Save

Payments

Before you can set up the Payments section of Account and Settings, you will want to connect your Payments account to QuickBooks. By doing so, you will be able to send invoices that get deposited directly to your bank after payment is received.

To connect your Payments account:

1. Select the Gear icon at the top, then select Account and Settings
2. Select Payments from the left menu
3. Select Connect or Start here for linking your merchant service
4. An additional window or tab opens to an Intuit Payment Solutions page. The connection service automatically looks for any QuickBooks Online Payments accounts that have the same login as the current user.
5. Select the QuickBooks Online Payments to the account you want to connect with your QuickBooks company
6. If no accounts are found, sign in using the QuickBooks Online Payments account login credentials.
7. If you do not see the QuickBooks Online Payments account you want to connect, select Choose another account to link, then sign in using the QuickBooks Online Payments account login credentials.
8. Review all important disclosures then confirm that everything looks right and that the correct account was selected. Select Link account and wait to be informed that the process is complete
9. Sign out of your QuickBooks account and sign back in for all features to take effect

Now that your Payments account is connected to QuickBooks, you can proceed to complete the Payments settings in Account and Settings.

To set up payments, select Payments from the left of the screen in Account and Settings.

Deposit Accounts

You will set up your Deposit to accounts after you have connected your company bank account. See Setting Up Bank Feeds later in this chapter for this step.

Business Owner Info

1. In the Business Owner info section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select the owner’s business title
3. Enter the owner’s address and mobile phone number
4. Select Save

Chart of Accounts

1. In the Chart of Accounts section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select the accounts for Standard deposits and Processing fees from the dropdown menu
3. To add a new account, select Add new. Take the time to do this now.
4. To see how to add a new account, see the Chart of Accounts later in the chapter.
5. Select Save

Time

The Time settings enable you to use time tracking to assign particular activities to a project or customer and choose whether to bill your customers for the activity. This can also be used to track an employee’s time for payroll purposes.

To set up time settings, select Time from the left of the screen in Account and Settings.

General

1. In the General section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select Add Service field to timesheets to be able to specify services performed when entering timesheets

Time Tracking

1. In the Time tracking section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select Add Service field to timesheets to be able to specify services performed when entering timesheets
3. Select Make Single-Time Activity Billable to Customer to add a checkbox on timesheets to specify whether activities should be billed to the customer
4. When checked employees and contractors who fill out timesheets can specify if activities should be billed to a customer.
5. Select Show billing rate to users entering the time box
6. If you bill customers a different hourly rate than you pay your employees and subcontractors, you may want to leave this blank.
7. Select the dropdown and choose the First day of the work week.
8. This affects how employees and contractors view weekly time sheets.
9. Select Save

Advanced

The Advanced settings section has many features, some of the most notable being Accounting preferences, Automation, Time tracking functions, and several others. Follow the steps below to be sure that everything is set the way you need it.

To set up advanced settings, select Advanced from the left of the screen in Account and Settings.

Accounting

1. In the Accounting section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select the First month of the fiscal year from the dropdown menu
3. Select whether you want the First month of the income tax year to be the same as the fiscal year or January
4. Select your Accounting method (Cash or Accrual)
5. Select Save

Company Type

1. In the Company type section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select the Tax form your company files from the dropdown menu
3. Select Save

Chart of Accounts

1. In the Chart of accounts section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. (Optional) Select Enable account numbers to turn on account numbers in your Chart of Accounts. This affects all users within your company
3. QuickBooks will sort accounts by their account number within each account type
4. (Optional) Check the Show account numbers box to display account numbers on reports and transactions, such as in sales and expense forms (for your view only)
5. Making this change will affect the sort order of your reports, such as the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet
6. Select the desired Discount account from the dropdown menu
7. To add a new account, select Add new. Take the time to do this now
8. To see how to add a new account, see the Chart of Accounts later in the chapter
9. Select the desired Tips to account from the dropdown menu
10. To add a new account, select Add new. Take the time to do this now
11. Select the Billable expense income account from the dropdown menu
12. To add a new account, select Add new. Take the time to do this now
13. Select Save

Categories

This adds a Class field on forms to make it easier to assign and organize transactions.

1. In the Categories section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select the Track classes to add a Class field on forms so you can assign transactions to different segments like departments, locations, and product lines‍
3. (Optional) Select the checkbox next to “Warn me when a transaction is not assigned a class” and select how you want classes to be assigned from the dropdown menu
4. Select the Track Locations to add a Location field on forms so you can assign transactions to different locations like stores, sales regions, and counties‍
5. (Optional) Use the options in the Location label dropdown list to specify a name for the field in which you select a location. If you do not select an option, the name of the field defaults to Location
6. Select Save

Automation

1. In the Automation section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select Pre-fill forms with previously entered content to enable auto-recall
3. This automatically fills other fields of the form, based on the last saved transaction for that customer, vendor, or employee.
4. Select Automatically apply for credits
5. This automatically applies credits to the next invoice you create for the same customer. Most companies turn on this setting; turn it off if you are a property manager that requires security deposits
6. Select “Automatically invoice unbilled activity” to automatically create invoices for customers with unbilled activities. Then, set your preferred invoicing schedule and choose how you want to be notified every time
7. Notifications appear in the Activity feed on the Home page.
8. Select Automatically apply bill payments to automatically apply payments to the oldest existing bill when you add bill payments to the register
9. Select Save

Other Preferences

1. In the Other preferences section, select the Pencil icon to the right
2. Select the Date format from the dropdown menu
3. Select the Number format from the dropdown menu
4. To change the Customer label, select the desired label from the dropdown menu
5. This replaces the word "Customers" wherever it is shown in QuickBooks
6. (Optional) Select Warn if duplicate check number is used
7. (Optional) Select Warn if duplicate bill number is used
8. (Optional) Select Warn if duplicate journal number is used
9. Select the timeout duration by choosing 1, 2, or 3 hours from the dropdown menu
10. QuickBooks measures your time of inactivity from the last time you moved your mouse, clicked, or used your keyboard on any transaction form
11. If you are timed out, sign back into your company to continue where you left off
12. The timeout setting can only be changed by the Primary administrator and it applies to all company users
13. Select Save

Manage Users

If you want to give your employees the ability to log and track their own time, you will need to give them permission to access your QuickBooks account by adding them each as a user. To keep your sensitive company information protected, we will help you understand the different types of users to assign them appropriately.

Manage Users includes:

1. User Types
2. Add a New User

User Types

Here are the different user types, along with the details regarding access rights.

• Primary administrator: In most cases, the individual who created the company would be this type of user, with no limitations to access
• Company Administrator: This type of user has access to every aspect of the company file
• Accounting firms: This is for granting access to an accountant or accounting firm (up to two)
• Standard user: Gives you the option of granting full or limited access, excluding administrator privileges
• Custom user: This user type allows you to specify many areas you want accessed or restricted
• Reports only: This only grants the user read-only access to reports, with the exception of the Audit Log and Payroll Reports. The user will be able to see reports related to transactions, without being able to view the actual transactions
• Time Tracking only: These users will only have access to their own time sheets and time reports

Any user with access rights is able to do anything within QuickBooks that Administrators can, including changing company settings, creating and editing budgets, viewing the Audit Log, making deposits and transferring funds, reconciling accounts, making journal entries, and viewing reports. If given payroll access, they can also add and edit employees, create paychecks, and perform payroll.

A user with no access rights cannot use any accounting features but can simply fill out their own time sheets.

Add a New User

To add a new user:

You must be a Primary administrator or Company administrator to add or change a user’s access. Keep in mind that, depending on your subscription options, you will have a limit to the number of users you can add. To view your user limit, go to the Gear icon and, after selecting Account and Settings, select Usage. Fortunately, Time Tracking and Reports Only users do not count towards your user limit.

1. Select the Gear icon on the toolbar and select Manage Users
2. Select Add user to open the Add a new user page
3. Select which type of user you would like them to be, then select Next
4. If you select the Company admin option, specify whether or not this user is your accountant. Just be aware that you can only have one accountant user
5. For Company admin, Reports only, Time tracking only, and Take payments only users, enter the user’s First name, Last name, and Email address, then select Save
6. For a Standard user, follow the steps below
7. Select the appropriate access right you would like them to have, then select Next
8. You can set up an All access rights user with or without payroll permission. Simply check or uncheck the Payroll access box
9. Set the desired user settings, then select Next
10. Enter the user’s First name, Last name, and Email address, then select Save

The new user will receive an email after you add them. Invite them to read the email and select “Let's go!”. This link must be opened through a web browser and not from the mobile app and will expire within 2 to 5 days. After selecting the link, it will direct them to finish the process.

Users and their rights can be removed or edited by going to Manage Users through the Gear icon and selecting Edit or Delete from the Action column.

Custom Form Styles

Customizing your Sales Forms allows you to decide which fields display on your forms and modify them to fit the feel and aesthetic of your company. You have the option to customize a standard template, which you can use for all transaction types, or create a custom template for specific transactions. A custom template has advanced customization options but is only available for invoices, estimates, and sales receipts. The following steps will walk you through the process.

Customize Your Sales Forms

To customize your sales forms:

1. Select the Settings (Gear) icon on the toolbar, then select Custom Form Styles
2. Select New Style and choose a type of transaction from the dropdown
3. Select a tab to start customizing your form template
4. Design: Edit and personalize the following areas as needed
5. Change up the template / Dive in with the template: Select a template that fits your company’s style. Take note that while you can choose your template, you cannot drag or rearrange boxes
6. Make logo edits: Upload, resize, relocate, and hide your logo here
7. Try other colors: Choose your desired color scheme or use html color codes to customize your color palette
8. Select a different font: Select a font that fits your business. Set the font and line height to Arial MS (Multilingual) to see multilingual characters such as Chinese
9. Edit print settings: Adjust how your forms will print in this section
10. Content: Select the section of the form from the preview on the right to start editing
11. Header: The top section of the form where you can customize your business and basic information. You can add up to 3 custom fields here
12. Table: The middle section is where you can select the fields you want to show on your forms, including the account summary. Select Edit Labels and Widths to edit the sizing of these items. Select Show more activity options for more options
13. Footer: The bottom is where you can add customized messages or a note for your customers
14. Emails: change how your form will appear in emails, enter a default message that you send with your invoice, estimate, or sales receipts, and set up email reminders here (for Invoices only)
15. Select Preview PDF or Done at the bottom of the window
16. Do these steps for your Invoices, Sales Receipts, and Estimates

Note: Avoid using special characters or emojis in the subject line or the body of your email to prevent delivery errors.

Chart of Accounts

Your Chart of Accounts is an important tool for analyzing and recording your company data into individual accounts. When you specified industry in the previous settings, QuickBooks automatically presets a chart of accounts for you. However, you will want to review your chart of accounts and add or remove accounts as needed based on your business needs.

Chart of Accounts includes:

1. Import accounts
2. Add an account
3. Make an account inactive

Note: Accounts may be added or removed from the chart of accounts at any time. However, an account is not easily removed after transactions have been posted to it. As such, it is important to remove any accounts that are not needed before recording transactions. You do this by making undesired accounts “inactive”.

Import Accounts

If you have an existing chart of accounts, you can import the data using Excel spreadsheets. While this is not required, importing can save a lot of time, as opposed to adding each account manually.

To import Accounts from an Excel spreadsheet:

1. Select the Gear icon from the toolbar, then select Chart of Accounts
2. Select the dropdown arrow next to New, then select Import
3. On the Import accounts page, select Browse. Then, locate and open the excel file to be imported
4. You can select the link to download a sample file to see how the excel spreadsheet should be formatted. It is recommended to save this sample file to use as a template and simply edit the information to contain your data
5. Select Next
6. Verify the field mapping from the Excel file to QuickBooks, then select Next
7. To change which fields from the Excel file correspond to each QuickBooks field, open the dropdown menus and change the selections
8. Select Next
9. Verify and edit the accounts and account information as desired, as well as select the checkboxes next to the rows that are to be imported
10. Select Import

Add an Account

To add an account:

1. Select the Gear icon on the toolbar, then select Chart of Accounts
2. Select New from the upper right-hand side of the screen

The following window will appear:

1. Select the account type
2. Select the parent account
3. Select the appropriate Tax form section
4. Enter the Account name‍
5. (Optional) Add a Description for the account
6. For Bank, Asset, Credit card, Liability, and Equity accounts, enter the date for when QuickBooks will start tracking finances, then enter the account balance in the appropriate field‍
7. (Optional) Review the New Account Preview
8. Select Save

Repeat these steps for all necessary accounts.

Make an Account Inactive

You cannot permanently delete an account. Instead, you make it inactive. Making an account inactive does not remove its transactions.

Note: Before making a balance sheet account (bank, credit card, asset, liability, and equity accounts) inactive, you should always consult your accountant, as doing so will reduce its balance to zero.

To make an account inactive:

1. Select the Gear icon on the toolbar, then select Chart of Accounts
2. Locate the account to be removed, then select the dropdown arrow from the Action column
3. Select Make inactive

Repeat these steps for any accounts that need to be removed.

Set Up Your Lists

Set up your lists includes:

1. Products and Services
2. Custom Fields
3. Payment Methods
4. Terms

Products and Services

There are two sales items that are available when using QuickBooks: Products and Services. A product is a tangible, usable item that is physically delivered and received by the customer, while a service is generally identified as work performed for the benefit of the customer. Your Products and Services list located through the Gear icon under Lists), displays the existing products and services that you offer to your customers. When setting this up, you will want to simply go through and add each product and/or service item to the list, as well as categorize them accordingly. The following steps will show you how to do just that (make sure your Products and Services preference is turned on in the company settings).

Setting up your products and services list includes:

1. Import products and services
2. Set up categories
3. Add products and services

Import Products and Services

If you have an existing list of your products and services, you can import the data using Excel spreadsheets. While this is not required, importing can save a lot of time, as opposed to adding each product or service manually.

To import Products and Services from an Excel spreadsheet:

1. Select the Gear icon from the toolbar, then select Products and Services
2. Select the dropdown arrow next to New, then select Import
3. On the Import products and services page, select Browse. Then, locate and open the excel file to be imported
4. You can select the link to download a sample file to see how the excel spreadsheet should be formatted. You can even save this sample file to use as a template and simply edit the information to contain your data
5. Select Next
6. Verify the field mapping from the Excel file to QuickBooks, then select Next
7. To change which fields from the Excel file correspond to each QuickBooks field, open the dropdown menus and change the selections.
8. Select Next
9. Verify and edit the information and options you want to be associated with each row item as desired‍
10. (Optional) Select the checkbox at the bottom to overwrite any existing products or services in your QuickBooks account that contains the same name as the ones being imported
11. Select Import

Set Up Categories

Creating categories and sub-categories for your products and services keeps them organized and will allow you to better understand your sales volume, as well as track more easily what customers are buying what items from you. This will also allow you to search for items by category, saving you time when completing forms.

To set up a new category or sub-category:

1. Select the Gear icon on the toolbar, then select Products and Services
2. Select Manage Categories from the More button dropdown list
3. Select New category from the upper-right of the screen, and the following Category information panel will appear
4. Enter the Name of the new category
5. Select the Is a sub-category checkbox, if applicable, and select the parent category from the dropdown list
6. Select Save at the bottom of the panel

To add an existing product/service to a category, go to the Products and Services list, check the box next to the desired item(s) and select the category from the Assign category dropdown list that appears at the top of the table.

Add Products and Services

To add a Product or Service:

1. Select the Gear icon on the toolbar, then select Products and Services
2. Select New from the upper right-hand side of the screen and the following window will appear
3. Select the product or service type
4. Because we are not tracking inventory, you will select Non-Inventory for products or Service for services
5. The Product/Service information page opens
6. Enter the Name of the product or service and the SKU number (if applicable)‍
7. (Optional) Select the Image box to the right to attach an image to the product/service item
8. Select a Category from the dropdown list
9. Check the box next to I sell this product/service to my customers then add a description of the product/service in the appropriate box for the description field to auto-populate on sales forms
10. In order for the item to show up on sales forms, this box must be checked
11. Enter the dollar amount for the item under Sales price/rate, then open the dropdown menu and select the Income account
12. Select the Sales tax category from the dropdown list
13. If you purchase this item from a vendor before it is sold to customers, check the box under Purchasing information and fill in the Description, Cost, Expense account, and Preferred Vendor
14. Select Save and close or Save and new

You can edit, duplicate, or deactivate a product/service at any time from the Action column on the Products and Services list.

Repeat these steps for all products and services your company offers.

Custom Fields

Custom fields allow you to place additional fields on your sales forms for further customization. By using custom fields, you can better track, search, and filter data points relevant to your company and create detailed reports to help you make better business decisions.

Custom Fields include:

1. Add a custom field
2. Edit or disable a custom field

Add a Custom Field

To add a custom field:

1. Select the Gear icon on the toolbar, then select Custom fields
2. Select Add custom field
3. The Add custom field window will open.
4. Enter the desired name in the Name field
5. Select the All Sales forms checkbox
6. To have the custom field appear on printed and delivered forms, select Print on form. If you want the custom field to only be visible in QuickBooks, leave the Print on formtoggle off
7. Select Save

Edit or Make a Custom Field Inactive

To edit or make a custom field inactive:

1. Select the Gear icon, then Custom fields
2. In the Actions column, select Edit or Make inactive as necessary
3. Select Save

Payment Methods

By default, your QuickBooks Online Payments will accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and AMEX. However, if a payment method option is missing, you will need to add it manually in order for merchant processing to work.

Payment methods include:

1. Add a payment method
2. Edit or disable a payment method

Add a Payment Method

To add a payment method:

1. Select the Gear icon, then All Lists
2. Select Payment Methods, then select New to open the New Payment Method window
3. Enter a name for the payment method and select “This is a credit card” if necessary. If the “This is a credit card” checkbox is unchecked, that payment method is not going to be processed with Merchant Services. This is often used when you need to record a credit card payment without submitting the card for electronic processing
4. Select Save

Edit or Disable a Payment Method

To edit, disable, or make a payment method inactive:

1. Select the Gear icon, then All Lists
2. Select Payment Method
3. Select the Credit Card Name and click on the dropdown arrow, then select Edit or Delete as necessary
4. Select Save

Terms

Terms refer to the due date you set for your customers to pay. By setting terms, you can indicate how long the customer has to pay an invoice and the date that payment is due. You can set multiple terms to use for different circumstances. You should have default terms in your Terms list already, including Due on receipt, Net 15 (15 days), Net 30 (30 days), and Net 60 (60 days). However, you can create additional custom terms as well.

Terms include:

1. Add a term
2. Make a term inactive

Add a Term

To add a term:

1. Select the Gear icon, then All Lists
2. Select Terms, then select New to open the New Term window
3. Enter the Name of the term
4. Select “Due in fixed number of days” or “Due by certain day of the month”
5. If you select the first option, enter the number of days the customer has to pay from the datethe invoice is received
6. If you select the second option, enter the day of the monthly payment is due and the number of days within the due date that it will be moved to the following month (optional).
7. Select Save

Make a Term Inactive

To make a Term Inactive:

1. Select the Gear icon, then All Lists
2. Select Terms
3. Locate the term in the list, then select the dropdown arrow in the action column and select Make inactive

Note: To view inactive terms, select the settings (Gear) icon from the terms list and select Include inactive

Set Up Your Bank and Credit Card Accounts (Bank Feeds)

QuickBooks offers a convenient feature that automatically imports your bank and credit card transactions, which allows you to view, analyze and manage connections and transactions. This is done using your financial institution’s online banking sign-in information. You will need to create an account to link your bank account to before connecting it. Follow the steps below to create and connect a bank or credit card account.

Set up your bank and credit card accounts including:

1. Create a New Account
2. Connect a Bank or Credit Card Account
3. Set up Deposit Account

Create a New Account

If you have not already, you will first want to create an account that you will then link to your bank account.

To create a corresponding account:

1. Select the Gear icon on the toolbar, then select Chart of Accounts
2. Select the New button to open the Account window
3. From the Account Type dropdown menu, select Bank
4. Provide information as needed
5. Select Save and Close

Connect a Bank or Credit Card Account

Now that you have created the account in your Chart of Accounts, you can connect the bank or credit card account using the steps below.

To connect a Bank or Credit Card Account:

1. Select Banking from the left menu
2. On the Banking page, select Link account

The following page will open:

1. Search for your financial institution and select it from the list
2. Enter your User or Login ID and password for the financial institution's website and select Continue
3. Complete the security verification steps your financial institution may require and select Securely connect
4. Select the Account type dropdown menu to choose either a Bank or Credit Card account
5. Select Connect

Repeat the above steps for additional bank and credit card accounts.

Set Up Deposit Account

Now that your bank and credit card accounts are connected to QuickBooks, you will need to navigate back to the Payments settings to select your standard “Deposit to” account.

To set up your deposit account:

1. Select the Gear icon at the top, then select Account and Settings
2. Select Payments from the left menu
3. Under Deposit accounts, select Change
4. In the window that appears, select the connected bank account for standard deposits
5. Select Confirm

Set Up Your Automated Sales Tax

QuickBooks offers a new Automated Sales Tax system to make dealing with sales tax as hassle free as possible. By using information like your state (where you have nexus and are registered to collect sales tax), physical address of the business, physical address on sales receipts and invoices, and product mapping associated with your products/services, the feature is able to calculate the appropriate sales tax.

What is Sales Tax?

Sales tax is an imposed dollar amount collected on the sale of tangible personal property (physical items with value) and some services by the government. This tax is generally collected first from the consumer by the final seller and is represented as a percentage rate determined by a tax agency.

What Conditions Require a Seller to Collect Sales Tax?

A seller will be obligated to collect sales tax when they have nexus. Nexus is the physical presence in a specific jurisdiction, and, depending on the state, is generally dictated by one or more of the following: being physically located in a jurisdiction, delivering in company-owned vehicles, having property in a jurisdiction, or having sales presence or services performed in a jurisdiction.

What Products or Services are Tax Exempt?

This is another area that will differ depending on the state. However, there are circumstances where a product or service may be exempt. One of those is where there is a public policy reason for it. In this case, these items would be exempt from all purchasers. Examples could include food, clothing, utilities, or medical items. Another situation could pertain to a state law that constitutes an exemption based on the nature of the actual purchaser or the reason for the purchase. This could include exemptions based on the entity (usually the government, charities, or religious/scholastic organizations) or based on the use (such as agriculture, manufacturing, or resale).

What Does Automate Sales Tax Do For You?

In the past, trying to accurately calculate sales tax and keep up to date with tax rates and agencies was a hassle. The advancement of automation has, once again, relieved the sales tax process for the user with Automated Sales Tax (AST) in QuickBooks, which automatically calculates sales tax rates based on product mapping and your locations.

Once activated, the Automated Sales Tax feature considers all of the questions above and more to automatically calculate the required sales tax for your sales. It does this by looking at the information that you have set up, such as the state where you have nexus and are registered to collect sales tax, the physical address of your business, the address on the sales receipt or invoice, the product mapping that is associated with the products and services you offer, and the exemption status of the customer. The feature will also automatically update sales tax rates and rules when changes occur.

Set Up Automated Sales Tax

To set up automated sales tax:

1. Select Taxes from the left menu, then Sales Tax
2. Select Get started
3. When asked to verify your address, select Next if correct, or select the Pencil icon and correct it. Calculations are based on this address, so it is important that it is correct
4. Select Official agency
5. Select the checkbox for any other tax agencies you will be paying sales tax to from the list provided
6. Select Apply to auto-populate the Official Agency Name column
7. Select Next
8. In the new window, review the Active Rates, then select Save
9. Select Save
10. In the new window, select the Filing frequency from the dropdown menu
11. Select Save

Set Up QuickBooks Payments Instant Deposits

It generally takes several days for customer payments to show up in your bank account through QuickBooks Payments. However, there is an option to receive instant deposits for eligible participants who deposit to a Visa or Mastercard debit card with a fee of 1% of the total deposit amount. If you use a QuickBooks Cash account, as opposed to a Visa or Mastercard account, the 1% fee will be waived. Once set up, the user can then specify when and how often the instant deposits should occur.

Set Up Instant Deposits

To set up instant deposits:

1. Select Sales from the left menu and select the Deposits tab
2. Select Get set up in the instant deposit banner. You'll only see this option if you are eligible
3. Follow the onscreen steps and enter your debit card info
4. When you get the confirmation code, enter it to verify the account

Set Up Deposit Schedule

To set up your deposit schedule:

1. Select the Gear icon at the top, then select Account and settings
2. Select Payments from the left menu
3. Select Deposit Speed, then Set a schedule for instant deposits
4. Select the checkbox next to the day that you would like to get instant deposits
5. Select Save schedule