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How to Set Up QuickBooks Online: Step-by-Step Guide

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QuickBooks Online is one of the most popular, most user-friendly accounting software choices for small businesses. It’s notably simple to set up — but it’s even easier with a step-by-step guide to explain each part of the process for you.

Once you’ve signed up for a QuickBooks Online plan, log on to your online account and pull it up alongside this guide. We’ll walk you through how to set up QuickBooks Online for the first time.

Step 1: Enter basic business information

QuickBooks’ friendly setup wizard starts by asking you to enter basic business information the first time you log into your new software.

Along with your business’s name, QuickBooks will ask whether you want to import financial data from another bookkeeping service, previously used accounting software or your own spreadsheet. You’ll also be prompted to answer questions like the following:

• Is this business your sole source of income?
• How long have you owned this business?
• How is your business set up and organized (e.g., as a sole proprietorship, partnership, nonprofit and so on)?
• What industry does your business participate in?
• What is your main role at your company (e.g., owner, accountant, employee and so on)?

You can also sync any apps you currently use to run your business as part of the setup process. QuickBooks also gives you the option to skip any aspects of set up if you’d like to take care of them later.

Step 2: Get to know your QuickBooks Online dashboard

Once you’ve answered QuickBooks’ initial questions about your business (or if you’ve opted to skip the questionnaire and fill it out later), you’ll be taken to your account dashboard.

A video should also pop up offering to give you a quick tour of the dashboard (I definitely recommend taking it). Additionally, since one of QuickBooks’ top selling points is its user-friendliness and intuitive UX, I recommend clicking through various tabs on the dashboard to familiarize yourself with the interface. Simply checking out the font and graphics helped me orient myself to QuickBooks’ style before I started entering information.

There are quite a few tabs on both the top and left-hand side of your initial dashboard, so here’s what I recommend checking out first:

• Click through the four dashboard tabs at the top (“Get things done,” “Business overview,” “Cash flow” and “Planner”) to see how QuickBooks groups financial information and get a quick grasp of the software’s interface, graphics and style.
• Scroll through the tabs on the left-hand side, specifically “Reports” (to see how QuickBooks presents information in a visual format) and “My accountant” (feel free to send your accountant — if you have one — an invitation to collaborate using this tab if you haven’t already).

Step 3: Go through your QuickBooks Online setup checklist

Once you have a good grasp of QuickBooks Online’s interface, style and organization, you’re good to start going through the setup checklist and completing each of the four top tasks.

Each task includes a numerical list of steps to follow and embedded videos that further guide you through each step of the process.

Create an invoice

You don’t have to use QuickBooks’ built-in invoicing tool to get paid: QuickBooks syncs with dozens of third-party invoice apps. But if you’re planning on invoicing with QuickBooks, you can start by customizing one of QuickBooks’ invoice templates to include your business’s details, color scheme and logo.

There are four steps to setting up your first invoice in QuickBooks Online:

• Personalize your invoice with your brand logo and color, plus setting up a method of payment.
• Add customer information.
• Add information about the products and services you sell.
• Dive deeper into optional customizations.

As you complete each step, the number on the side turns into a check mark. You’ll also see a progress percentage in the top right corner that updates in real time as you complete the setup process.

As you can see in the image below, if you enter basic business information after logging on to QuickBooks for the first time, the QuickBooks invoicing template will auto-populate with your business’s details and give you basic customizations instructions.

If you’d like, you can customize more aspects of your invoice by adding payment instructions, setting up late fees, writing a default message to send with sales and automating invoice reminders.

Set up online payment acceptance

If you want to use QuickBooks Payments to accept online payments, you’ll need to tackle two basic steps:

• Verify your business information, including its name, address, phone number and email address.
• Enter your personal contact details, including your name, home phone number and home address.

Once you’ve successfully set up QuickBooks Payments, you’ll be able to add payment links to your invoices, accept payments via a variety of methods and order a card reader to take in-person card payments. Note that QuickBooks Payments charges the following transaction fees:

• Online invoice: 2.99%.
• ACH payments: 1%.
• Card swipes/taps/dips: 2.5%.
• Keyed-in card transactions: 3.5%.

Additionally, the company will deposit $5 in your preferred checking account once you’ve set up QuickBooks Payments to show you how the payment acceptance process works.

Organize expenses

There are three key steps to start tracking and categorizing your expenses in QuickBooks:

• Connect your bank accounts and any credit cards.
• Confirm that QuickBooks has categorized your expenses correctly.
• Explore QuickBooks’ overview of your finances.

Step 1: Connect bank accounts and credit cards.

Use the “find your bank” search feature to link your business bank and credit card accounts to your QuickBooks Online account. QuickBooks automatically imports 90 days’ worth of financial records, but you can import records stretching as far back as a year.

Generally speaking, it’s a smart idea to import as many months’ worth of financial records as possible. (For instance, if your business is six months old, import six months’ worth of records instead of the default 90 days.)

Step 2: Confirm QuickBooks’ auto-categorization of your expenses.

Once QuickBooks pulls your records, the software will auto-categorize your expenses. You’ll be asked to confirm that the software has tagged each expense correctly. If it hasn’t, you can change the designation or assign a new category.

Depending on how many months’ worth of expenses you’ve imported, this process can take quite a while. Expect to spend several hours, minimum, on this particular task.

And a quick word of advice: It’s worth taking the time to make sure each expense is tagged correctly in this initial import, no matter how time consuming the process is. QuickBooks learns how to more accurately categorize your financial transactions based on your input, which can both give you better insights into your business’s finances and save you the hassle of categorizing every transaction yourself.

Step 3: Explore QuickBooks’ overview of your finances.

Once you’ve synced your bank accounts and categorized your expenses, click to the “Business overview” tab on the top of the page to get a bird’s eye view of your business finances, including your expenses, invoices, and net profit and loss.

Download the QuickBooks Online mobile app

You may have already downloaded the QuickBooks accounting app earlier in the setup process, but if you haven’t, now’s the time to do so. The app is easy to set up and gives you the same basic financial overview as the dashboard interface. You can also use it to scan and upload receipts, send mobile invoices and track mileage.

Step 4: Configure your chart of accounts

A chart of accounts is foundational to accurate double-entry bookkeeping. (If you’re not sure what that is, you can definitely leave it up to your accountant, who you can invite to share your QuickBooks account at no additional charge on the “My accountant” tab on the left-hand side of the page.)

QuickBooks gives you a fairly comprehensive chart of accounts with 250 optional accounts available with the Simple Start plan.

Depending on how complex your business’s finances are, you may end up using the maximum amount of accounts — but if you’re using the Simple Start plan, odds are that you won’t. Freelancers and brand-new businesses don’t typically need the in-depth sub-accounts that help enterprises get extremely granular when it comes to understanding their cash flow.

Again, if you’re not sure what a chart of accounts is or which accounts will prove useful to your business, I recommend checking in with your accountant. If you don’t have one, you can sign up for QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping by clicking the “Live Bookkeeping” tab on the left-hand side of your dashboard. This virtual service connects you with a bookkeeper who can organize your books and perform basic account maintenance on a monthly basis.

SEE: The Complete Guide to Accounting Software (TechRepublic)

Step 5: Customize any other aspects of your QuickBooks account

QuickBooks’ user-friendliness extends to letting you customize nearly every aspect of your page, from the four primary dashboards (“Get things done,” “Business overview,” “Cash flow” and “Planner”) to the bookmarks on the sidebar. I personally appreciated QuickBooks’ drag-and-drop format, which made it as easy as possible for me to get my dashboard set up the exact way I wanted it.

For example, I’m not using payroll for my freelance business, so I can click the checkbox next to “Payroll” to remove it from my dashboard view entirely. I also like the idea of having the “Customers & leads” tab at the top of the sidebar (not for any real reason — it just suits my personal preferences better than the default organization). It’s easy to snag the “Customers” tab from the customization menu and drag it directly beneath the “Dashboards” tab.

If you play around with customization and decide you prefer the default setup, you can click “Reset to default menu” at any time to revert to QuickBooks’ built-in settings.

Further resources

Reading how-to guides like ours is a great first step to setting up your QuickBooks Online account, but we’re just one resource among many. There’s plenty of information at your fingertips to help you make the most of your QuickBooks account, starting with these.

QuickBooks’ online setup guide

With its comprehensive setup guide , QuickBooks showcases useful setup videos, hosts setup seminars and includes free guided setup for all first-time users.

One-time free setup assistance

If you’re new to QuickBooks, make sure to take advantage of the free setup assistance. It’s the best way to ensure your account is set up to your exact preferences, and it also gives you the perfect opportunity to get advice that will help you make the most of your QuickBooks account.

SEE: Best Practices for Choosing the Right Accounting Software (TechRepublic)

Note that free setup assistance is unavailable if you opt into QuickBooks’ free trial.

QuickBooks’ customer service team

In the top right corner of your QuickBooks dashboard, you’ll see a question mark icon next to the word “Help.” At any point during your setup experience, you can click the icon to access QuickBooks’ chatbot, search for helpful articles or request help from a live customer service agent.

YouTube tutorials

Do you prefer auditory or visual instructions over written ones? QuickBooks’ official YouTube page hosts its vast library of how-to videos. You may also find useful guides from third-party reviewers, but double-check the content creator’s credentials before relying on their videos for guidance — and be wary of any third-party sources pushing their own paid products or services alongside their QuickBooks setup guide.

Frequently asked questions

How do i set up a quickbooks online account.

To set up a QuickBooks Online account, start by visiting QuickBooks’ site to choose an accounting plan. After signing up for either a 30-day free trial or 50% off your plan’s base cost for three months, you’ll be directed to a sign-in page where you can choose your user name and password. From there, QuickBooks’ setup wizard will prompt you to enter your business’s information, sync any third-party apps you’re already using, customize invoices and start tracking finances.

What information do I need to set up QuickBooks Online?

The first time you set up a QuickBooks Online account for a new company, you’ll need to enter basic information about yourself and your business, including the following:

• Your name and your business’s name.
• Your business address.
• Your Employer Identification Number.

As you’re setting up a new company in QuickBooks, you’ll also be prompted to sync any bank or credit card accounts so Quickbooks can start categorizing your expenses and generating business reports. Having your account and routing numbers on hand is a good idea. If you’re importing financial records from an older bookkeeping service or your own spreadsheet software, make sure to have those pulled up as well.

If you don’t have the information on hand to complete any step of the setup process, QuickBooks will always let you click “skip.” You can return to complete the step once you gather the correct information.

Can I have two companies on one QuickBooks Online account?

Yes, you can manage two or more companies under the same QuickBooks Online account. Once you log into your QuickBooks account, you can easily toggle between businesses to view each organization’s finances without signing out of your account. Note that each company requires its own QuickBooks subscription — you can’t manage finances for multiple companies without paying extra.

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How to Use QuickBooks Online: Step-By-Step Guide

Our content is funded in part by commercial partnerships, at no extra cost to you and without impact to our editorial impartiality. Click to Learn More

QuickBooks Online isn't the only software out there for handling accounting and taxes, but our research does recommend it for most business needs, even above other top picks like FreshBooks or Zoho Books .

If you need to learn how to use it, we're here to help.

This guide will cover the basic steps you need to know when first setting up your business on QuickBooks Online, as well as the process behind common needs (like reconciling and deleting deposits), and all the best tips for getting the most out of the service.

Every business needs to handle accounting paperwork, and our experts know all the best features, prices, and support to look for. Once you've finished reading this guide, you'll know how to find the core QuickBooks tools you need quickly and efficiently. Just don't forget to select Alt + S whenever you need to save your form!

In this guide:

How to Use QuickBooks Online

How to reconcile in quickbooks online, how to delete a deposit in quickbooks, what are some alternatives to quickbooks online, tips for using quickbooks online, next steps: ready to use accounting software, project management software faqs.

Getting started with this popular accounting software doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's our checklist for any newcomers:

• Figure out your dashboard
• Input company details
• Set up sales settings
• Import business data
• Connect your bank cards
• Connect your payroll software
• Add integrations
• Figure out your tax needs

The QuickBooks Online business view

1. Figure out your dashboard

Your QuickBooks dashboard can be configured two different ways: A business view or an accountant view. If you're a business owner or manager, the business view is best, while the accountant view will rely on accounting-specific jargon and processes. You'll be able to toggle between the two by clicking the Settings gear icon on the top right.

You'll also want to eventually add users as part of your setup. The main user should be the “primary admin,” but you can add other admins or standard users (with customized levels of access).

2. Input company details

Open the Settings gear icon on the top righthand side of your dashboard and select “Account and Settings” from the dropdown, followed by “Company.” This takes you to your company details page, which you can edit to add your company name, logo, contact info, and physical address (both legal and customer-facing).

3. Set up sales settings

Your “Account and Settings” menu includes the “Sales” and “Expenses” tabs, and beginners will need to add data to both these pages in order to allow the QuickBooks software to correctly generate reports.

Key information to add here includes: Sales form design and content, invoice automation setup, and VAT details, as well as the year-end date that company reports will use. Many features can be toggled on or off, allowing you to chose what expenses or sales elements should be used, from purchase orders to tracking items by customer.

Editing Sales in QuickBooks Online

4. Import business data

You can import your existing data spreadsheets into the QuickBooks system by navigating to the Settings gear icon and selecting “Import Data.” You can upload files listing customers, suppliers, products and services, invoices, sales receipts, bills, credit notes, and charts of accounts. Common file types are accepted, including MS Excel and CSV files.

5. Connect your bank cards

Accounting software is all about connection, and getting credit cards, debit cards, and bank details added is essential. To add your bank, visit “Settings,” “Account and Settings,” “Bill Pay,” and “Bank Accounts.”

6. Connect your payroll software

QuickBooks Accounting supports integrations with other payroll services, but it offers its own software as well. We rate QuickBooks Payroll highly and it will appear as the “Payroll” tab on your dashboard if you use it.

We can also offer deals on the best payroll software solution on the market. Whichever service you use, you'll want it integrated with your accounting software to automate your tax process.

7. Add integrations

You'll also want to add integrations with any other business software service you already use. QuickBooks offers a range of integrations covering areas including sales, compliance, marketing, and cash flow forecasting. Visit the QuickBooks App store to find what you need.

8. Figure out your tax needs

Tax season arrives for everyone, and your business should be prepared ahead of time. Find out which tax deadlines are relevant, depending on the federal, state, and local regulations that may apply to your operation. If you're using QuickBooks Payroll, it has the tax reporting functionality needed to walk you through this process, although you'll still need your federal and state ID numbers.

QuickBooks Payroll tax information

“Reconciling” refers to the important accounting process of checking any financial activity against supporting documentation to find and address discrepancies. Here's how to do it with QuickBooks software:

• Review or enter the opening balance : Select “Settings” and locate the “Reconcile” tab under the Tools section.
• Fix discrepancies with the opening balance if needed: Your opening balance might be fine. But if there's an issue, you'll need to visit your discrepancy report and manually edit it. QuickBooks will link you to this report.
• Check audit history : Some discrepancies are caused by multiple changes, rather than just one. To address this, click “View” under the history section to see the Audit History for the transaction in question. This lets you see all the changes at once.

Audit History in QuickBooks Online

How to Undo Reconciliation in QuickBooks Online

If a reconciliation has too many discrepancies, reversing that reconciliation might be the best move. If you just need to start fresh from a previous reconciliation, you can get your accountant to reverse the current one.

You'll need a plan that allows multiple users in order to add your accountant. Here's the process for adding an accountant:

Settings > Manage Users > Accounting firms > Invite 

Your accountant can then navigate to the main “Reconcile” page and select the “History by account” button on the upper-right corner. This allows them to undo the previous transaction without needing to manually edit individual transactions from within the register.

You can also manually edit each transaction:

• Navigate to Accounting > Your Company > Chart of Accounts
• Choose your account and select View Register
• Click the “R” status until it is blank or says “C” for cleared
• Click “Save” and select “Yes” when prompted to confirm

The “History by account” button is visible on the upper righthand corner here.

Deposits may need to be deleted from time to time: Perhaps it was entered in error or a duplicate of a legitimate deposit was included. To delete a QuickBooks Online deposit, take these steps:

• Navigate to Settings > Banking > Make Deposits
• If the Payments to Deposit box opens, Select “Cancel”
• Hit “Previous” in order to move through existing transactions to find the deposit you wish to delete
• Select Edit > Delete Deposit

QuickBooks Online stands as the best accounting software that our researchers have tested, due to a great feature catalog, reporting tools, a top-quality support team, and a customizable interface.

Other options are well worth considering, though. We'd also highly recommend FreshBooks , a solution that has almost as many features and comes at a slightly lower price. It's a particularly attractive pick for ecommerce businesses, since it has inventory management tools across all plans.

Other top options include Xero, which integrates easily with the best retail EPOS systems, or Wave, which offers good tools for tracking outstanding payments to suppliers. We've explained more about these software solutions in our guide to QuickBooks alternatives , and we've built a table for quick reference as well:

Once you have a handle on day-to-day use of the QuickBooks Online accounting software, try adding a few more tips and tricks to help you get the most out of the experience.

• Reconcile your checking, savings, and credit card accounts every month : Keeping on top of the process will ensure it stays easy.
• Save early and often : You can save any form by hitting Alt + S (or Option + Control + S for Mac users).
• Use keyboard shortcuts : Saving isn't the only shortcut available. See a full list of common QuickBooks Online shortcuts over here .
• Set up recurring invoices : Set-it-and-forget-it is the name of the game.
• Attach a receipt to your expense entries: This adds a paper trail that will help you back up your expensing.
• Consider adding spellcheck : You can toggle QuickBooks' spellcheck by navigating to: Edit > Preferences > Speller .
• Change physical payments to electronic payments: If possible, stop cutting physical checks for business expenses, since digital payments can be automated more easily.

Paperwork can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be if you use the right tools. QuickBooks Online is one of the most feature-rich, but easy-to-use accounting solutions on the market, and can help to make the process infinitely smoother.

Once you've set everything up and learned how the process works, it's just a matter of checking in on a daily or weekly basis to make sure it's all running smoothly.

Our research team has crunched the numbers, testing eight software brands across eight research subcategories to confirm that QuickBooks offers the best service with a top overall score of 4.7/5 points. QuickBooks has the best payroll software as well, although we offer a quick quiz that can pair you with all the top payroll options for your industry . If you'd like to try other great accounting software, we have you covered as well, with deals on FreshBooks , Xero, and others.

Is a QuickBooks Certification worth it?

How long does it take to learn quickbooks, how do i get the most out of quickbooks online, is quickbooks online difficult to learn, what are the disadvantages of quickbooks online.

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