The end of the year is fast approaching, and as a small business owner, you might think it is time to organize your bookkeeping. Starting the year with new software and a plan to establish a routine of entries is a wise business decision. However, it is often overwhelming, especially for someone running their own business, to figure out how to make time for learning all the things associated with this task. Getting started may send you over the edge between reports, data, features, and transactions!
Never fear! Our list of 13 shocking nuggets about your QuickBooks Online or QBO account will save you money and make the transition easier and quicker! Before you know it, you will be a novice user and then an expert! If you find it isn't as easy as it should be or need more assistance, let the SLC Bookkeeping team take over.
Tips and Tricks for New QBO Users
Business processes are the key to navigating QBO and getting those books balanced. Check out these 13 tips and tricks to move from chaotic to orderly in no time at all:
1. Enter all your business accounts, including checking, savings, credit cards, money market, and PayPal.
Ensure that the correct information is entered. Use the Banking tab to start this process.
2. Linking these accounts makes QBO one of the most accessible recordkeeping apps available. All transactions are automatically downloaded daily so that you won't miss expenses or income. You also do this through the Banking tab, find Link Account, and sync your account to QBO.
3. Keyboard shortcuts are another way to save time, and QBO has its own set of these. Try commonly used shortcuts such as:- Receive payment - PC: Ctrl + Alt + R or Mac: Ctrl + Option + R
- Enter a new expense - PC: Ctrl + Alt + X or Mac: Ctrl + Option + X
- Create a new check - PC: Ctrl + Alt + W or Mac: Ctrl + Option + W
- New invoice - PC: Ctrl + Alt+ I or Mac: Ctrl + Opt + I
- Chart of Accounts - PC: Ctrl + Alt + A or Mac: Ctrl + Opt + A
- For a complete list - PC: Ctrl + Alt + ? or Mac: Ctrl + Opt + ?
4. You may have customers who pay the same amount at the same time every month. QBO allows for recurring invoices. Click on Sales, then Invoices, and Create Invoice. When you hover over the invoice date, there is a dropdown to choose a recurring invoice. You can add intervals, start, and end dates also.
5. Another great option in QBO is the ability to set up recurring expenses. There are options for manually adding or using the bank feed for this task. To add a new transaction, go to the Expenditure tab, choose New Transactions, and Expenditure. At the bottom of the page, click Make Recurring. If you need to alter an existing transaction, open it and choose Make Recurring. Fill out the form and hit Save.
6. Paying bills has never been easier than with QBO. With Online Bill Pay there is no need for other software or to bother your vendors about setting anything up. To get started, go to New<Pay Bills Online and fill out your banking information.
7. Banking rules are a helpful tool to automatically categorize expenses. For instance, if the charge for The Hilton Hotel is always travel, a banking rule is used, so you won't have to categorize that expense. Go to Banking and choose Rules.
8. Transaction matching is handy in a couple of different ways. It means you don't have to manually match every single transaction as it comes over from your bank. Also, QBO recognizes duplicate transactions and flags these so you can review them before they are posted.
9. Receiving payments from customers is accomplished through a payment link. It is a convenient way to ensure the customer doesn't forget to pay. To set up this option, pick Invoicing<Payment Links.
10. The QBO platform features a myriad of specialty reports. The tabs for reports include Standard, Custom, and Management. One way to utilize the standard reports is to insert your most used reports into the favorites section at the top of this tab. To do this, just click on the star at the end of the report name. The star turns green and is now featured in the Favorites area. Another cool option is the report automation. Under the Custom tab, create a custom report and include email (s) to recipients, how often the report is sent, and the end date. It also allows for an email message. The report is automatically generated and emailed.
11. QBO offers integration with Google email. To use this tool, install the add-on QBO and then click on the logo in your Gmail account. Signing into QBO through the add-on means you can create, track, and send invoices from your Google email account.
12. Classes are handy to track the profitability of your business in each department or product line. This feature in QBO is easy to use by turning it on in Settings under the gear icon. Go to Advanced<Categories. Here you can track or assign classes.
13. Integrating QBO with other apps presents lots of opportunities to further automate and organize your business books. At publication, QBO integrates with over 650 other apps! Pick the ones that work best for your business needs.
This list of tips and tricks certainly isn't exhaustive, but it's a start to saving time and money!
