Professional Documents
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Topic 1
Learning Outcomes
● The key tools and workflows to use when setting up clients in QuickBooks Online
Handy tool that lists the onboarding tasks you need in any of these situations:
➔ The first step is to meet the client and gather the information you need.
➔ Once you and the client have signed the contract and agreed on payment arrangements,
you can provide a detailed onboarding plan and introduce the client to the onboarding
team.
➔ The New Client Checklist will help you do this. It’s a handy resource for getting to know
new clients and gathering the information you need to set them up with the most
appropriate QuickBooks Online solution.
➔ By using the New Client Checklist and asking the right questions, you can more
accurately scope the client’s requirements, set expectations, and build a stronger
collaborative relationship for the upcoming onboarding process. Getting this right
reassures the client that they’re getting expert advice.
➔ Completing the New Client Checklist with the client ensures you get the information you
need to recommend the best QuickBooks Online solution for their business. You can
then work out:
● Which product they need (such as QuickBooks Self-Employed or QuickBooks Online)
● Which QuickBooks Online subscription level is best for them. You can learn more about
subscription levels in the lesson on identifying the right QuickBooks Online
subscription for a client’s needs
● Whether they’d benefit from adding QuickBooks Online Payroll and/or QuickBooks Time,
and if so, which subscription level
➔ Once you’ve added a new client and signed them up to QuickBooks Online, you
can continue the onboarding process by setting up and configuring their company
file appropriately. You can also provide ongoing support and guidance to help the
client become familiar with their new product.
You can use a Setup Wizard to help configure the client’s new QuickBooks Online company to
help ensure they’re set up for success.
The wizard is responsive: Each time you answer a question, it begins to customize the setup to
meet your client’s needs.
To activate the wizard, select the qb icon next to your new client’s name in the Client
dashboard. Note that you can do this while waiting for your client to finalize their account setup.
The wizard takes you through several stages, where you’ll be asked to enter the following
information:
● Your client’s legal name and industry
● What kind of business your client runs, whether they’re a sole proprietor, a partnership, a
corporation, or a nonprofit
● How the client’s business makes money and whether they offer products or services
● What activities the client will need to do in QuickBooks Online, such as sending and
tracking invoices, organizing expenses, and managing inventory
● If there are any other options your client requires, such as online payments, sales tax, or
multicurrency features
Clients with established businesses will undoubtedly use some other bookkeeping tool
(Excel or more comprehensive accountancy software). They could be using QuickBooks
Desktop, for instance. Onboarding these clients will involve importing and/or migrating
their data into QuickBooks Online.
● Importing lists into QuickBooks Online is explained in the Importing the chart of
accounts, products and services, customers, and vendors lesson
● Converting files from QuickBooks Desktop is a complex procedure that should
only be carried out by experienced ProAdvisors. You can find out more in our
comprehensive training on QuickBooks Desktop Migration
Remember to use the Client onboarding template to help you define the correct
workflow for setting up these clients and adding them to your books.
If you’re taking on a client who’s already using QuickBooks Online, they’ll need to invite
you to the company as an accounting firm. When you accept their invitation, they’ll be
added to your Client List.
Watch the video to see how it’s done. The individual steps are below for you to
follow.
First, your client needs to invite you to their QuickBooks Online as an accountant user.
To do this:
1. From their QuickBooks Online company, your client needs to select Manage
users from the Gear icon
2. Next, they need to select the Accounting firms tab
3. They then have to enter your email and select Invite
4. To complete the process, they need to follow the on-screen verification steps
Once your client has sent the invite, you need to accept it. To do this:
1. Check the inbox associated with your QuickBooks Online Accountant and find
the email with the subject line: [Company Name] has invited you to use
QuickBooks Accountant
2. Select the Accept Invitation link from the email
3. Sign in to your Intuit account and select Accept Invitation again
If you have more than one Intuit ID under your email address, choose the
accountant company you wish to associate with that client.
Note that the member of your team who accepts the client’s invitation first will be
the lead for that client. Lead accountants act as the primary contact for the client
and handle their bookkeeping within your firm. If the team member’s access is
revoked in the future, the lead can be assigned to someone else.
4. Select Continue and your Client List will appear
Now you have access to the client’s company data and you’re ready to get to work.
Once you add a client who’s already using QuickBooks Online, you should start by reviewing
their existing books because they may need cleaning up.
It would take a long time to do this manually, and any errors you miss during your review could
lead you to underestimate the amount of work and underprice your services. The Client
overview screen in QuickBooks Online is designed to give you a snapshot of a client’s books
and helps you price your services with confidence and win the client’s business.
You’ll find the Client overview screen by signing in via QuickBooks Online Accountant and
selecting Overview from the left-hand navigation. There are four sections for you to review, as
you can see here:
1. Company setup
The Company Setup section indicates the complexity of the client’s QuickBooks Online
company. It shows the client’s subscription level, whether they subscribe to a Payroll product,
and whether they have sales tax enabled.
This section also shows how many apps the client has connected to their QuickBooks Online
company. You need to know which apps the client uses to fully understand their workflows.
You’ll want to review this regularly.
2. Banking Activity
The Banking Activity section displays the client’s cash on hand, checking, merchant, credit
card, and payroll checking accounts.
The Bank Balance comes from the Banking center and shows the balance reported the last
time the bank connected to QuickBooks. By selecting the account name, you can view the
transactions in the bank register.
The In QuickBooks figure is the QuickBooks balance from the end date of the register, which
could include transactions dated in the future.
The Unreconciled and Reconciled Through columns give details about the account’s
reconciliation status. Using the Reconcile tool in QuickBooks Online, you can see the number of
unreconciled transactions and the date the books were reconciled.
3. Common issues
The Common Issues section is where you’ll see some diagnostic information about the
condition of the client’s data in QuickBooks Online.
Here, you can check:
The number of uncleared transactions in the Undeposited funds account register
The balance in the Opening balance equity account
Any transactions that QuickBooks Online has automatically categorized into the
Uncategorized asset, Uncategorized income, and Uncategorized expense accounts
4. Transaction Volume
The Transaction Volume section shows a grouped overview of the number of transactions for
the client for the last 30 days. However, you can change the date range to view the volume of
transactions for periods longer than 30 days.
This tab offers you a clear view of the client’s workload.
Question:
Lesson 2
Learning Outcomes:
To identify the most suitable subscription for your client, you’ll need to explore
their current and future business needs. We’ll look at this next.
Lesson 3