QuickBooks Welcome Guide
10 simple tasks to help you get started
The Home Page shows a summary of important info and has links to resources to help you navigate QuickBooks Online.
Here's the quickest way to get around in QuickBooks.
The navigation bar on the left shows a menu of items. Click an item to manage your Customers, Vendors, Transactions, Reports, and Sales Tax.
Click Transactions to see related sub-items (like Banking).
Click the magnifying glass to quickly find past transactions. Search by transaction number, date, or monetary amount. Use the Advanced Search to combine your search terms.
Click the Create (+) icon to add any transaction.
View a list of recent transactions. Click a selection to open it directly from this list or click More to search for a specific transaction.
Click the Gear icon to manage your subscription, users, companies, and settings.
Click the Help (?) icon to get help information.
QUICK TIPThe Create icon initially appears as a (+), but spins to an (x) when you click it.
To save time and reduce errors, use QuickBooks Online to automatically download and categorize your bank and credit card transactions from a secure online connection.
Once you've established a secure connection with your bank, your transactions will automatically transfer to your QuickBooks Online company file.
From the home page, click Connect an account.
Follow the onscreen instructions to select your bank, enter your sign in information, and connect your account.
From the navigation bar, select Transactions > Banking.
Click Update to download the latest bank data or upload a bank statement.
Click Add to add the transaction to QuickBooks.
Click a column header to sort by that heading.
Print a page of transactions.
Change the number of rows to display.
Review the transactions you've added to QuickBooks.
QUICK TIPAs an alternative to connecting your bank, you can import your bank transactions manually. Simply click File upload and follow the onscreen instructions.
It’s easy to create and customize beautiful invoices to send to your customers.
Before you create your first invoice, make sure you have set up sales tax.
Click the Gear icon and select Custom Form Styles.
Edit the Standard style (to apply a consistent look to all forms) or create a New style (recommended if you want different styles for each form).
Customize the style as desired, and upload your logo if you have not done so already.
Click Save to save your customizations.
Click the Create (+) icon and select Invoice.
Fill out the Expense form.
Add more lines if needed.
(Optional) Apply a discount.
(Optional) Add a message to display on the invoice.
(Optional) Add an attachment.
Click Customize at the bottom of the form to select the Custom Form Style to use (if you set up a new style).
Click Print or Preview to see how the invoice looks.
Click Save and send.
QuickBooks keeps you organized by helping you collect payments against customer invoices.
Click the Create (+) icon and select Receive Payment.
Select a customer from the list.
Fill out the rest of the Receive Payment form.
If the customer has outstanding invoices, they appear here so you can apply the payment to them.
Click Save and new.
To find open invoices, use the Search or Recent Transactions list, run a report, or go to the Customers page.
On the Customers page, click the Unpaid section of the Money Bar at the top of the page to filter the view to outstanding invoices only.
Click Clear Filter / View All to remove the filter.
Enter and categorize your business expenses so you're ready for tax time.
Click the Create (+) icon and select Expense.
Fill out the Expense form.
Select the account you’re paying the expense from.
(Optional) Choose a payment method.
Enter a reference number so the transaction is easy to find later.
Include the account so QuickBooks categorizes each line item.
Select the applicable account. This ensures that QuickBooks categorizes each line item to the appropriate account.
(Optional) Attach a document (like a receipt).
You can make this a recurring expense to save time later.
You can make this a recurring expense to save time later. This allows you to create a template and set the interval so you can make this payment automatically as needed.
Click Save and new.
QUICK TIPYou can also access expenses from the left navigation bar (Transactions > Expenses), and then click New transaction > Expense to create a new expense.
Keep track of all the people who are important to your business, from customers to vendors to employees.
From the navigation bar, select Customers.
Add or import a customer.
Show or hide the Customer Money Bar.
Select multiple customers and apply a batch action (like Send statements) to all of them at once.
Click the desired header to sort the customer list by name, company, or balance.
Print or export the customer list.
Choose the columns you want to show.
Click a customer to see more details.
Create an invoice or other item for this customer.
How's your business doing? Track the financial data of your company with a variety of customizable reports.
From the navigation bar, click Reports.
Hover over a report to preview the layout.
Search for a specific report by name.
Click a recommended report, or choose another tab: Frequently Run, My Custom Reports, or All Reports.
You can customize a report before you open it, or click Customize after you open it.
Use the navigation items in the left column to navigate the options and customize your report.
Click Run Report to display the report with your changes.
Click Email to send the report to a specified recipient with a subject line and a note. The report will appear both as an attachment and in the body of the email.
Click Export to export your report to Microsoft Excel so you can make further changes. The Excel formulas are also exported.
After you run the report, click Save Customizations to save your custom settings (not shown). You can find this custom report later in the My Custom Reports section of the Reports page.
QUICK TIPThe two reports you'll run most often are Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports. They're found at the top of the Recommended and All Reports sections of the Reports page. Any reports that you run on a regular basis will also be listed in the Frequently Run section for easy access.
Share QuickBooks with your accountant or one other accounting professional at no extra charge.
Click the Help (?) icon and select Add your accountant.
Or to find an accountant, click Find an accountant near you.
Offer your customers an easy, online way to pay their invoices. You'll get paid faster, too.
Click the Create (+) icon and select Invoice.
At the top of the page, switch on Online Payment.
Extend the power of QuickBooks with apps for time tracking, billing, and more. Try any app for free!
Go to: Navigation bar > Apps
QuickBooks can help you manage your business wherever you are. It is available across your computer, Apple, or Android devices.
Visit:quickbooks.intuit.com/mobile
The app is easy to use and you don't have to sync any data; it's all done automatically for you.
In addition to the mobile app, the full web version of QuickBooks Online can be launched from the mobile browser on tablets.
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