top of page
  • Writer's pictureLaura Bedal

My Top 5 Quickbooks Tips and Tricks

As a Quickbooks ProAdvisor, I have been asked "Do I really need you? Isn't the software pretty easy?". The answer is...."Yes, it is easy. There is a lot that you can do without me." As a professional, I want a client who wants to go in and do some of their own work. If the client cares enough to run reports, books some sales receipts and just help me do the best possible job...then I want that client to be as good with the software as I am. So, here are my Top 5 Quickbooks Tips and Tricks for the everyday user.

TIP AND TRICK #5: Say "bye-bye" to Desktop and "hello" to Quickbooks Online


With the recent period of the pandemic, we have learned the value of being able to work wherever you are. The mobile app gives you the ability to create invoices, scan receipts and a variety of other tasks, right where you are. More detailed work can be done using your laptop anywhere you have an internet connection. Gone are the days of needing to go into the office to run a backup of the system. This simple change moves your company from yesterday to the future. While you are at it, make sure you are attaching copies of the documents to the records. This will save you filing space and ensure that you always have what you need, when you need it, no matter where you are. The Online platform also ensures that you always have the most current software which will, inevitably, lead to more and more trips and tricks!

TIP AND TRICK #4: Search savers!


"I thought I entered that $500" or "Who did we buy the truck from?" are the little things that requires us all to remember what we did, and which part of Quickbooks to go look for the answer. Quickbooks Online solves this with their one stop shopping for searches. Go to the magnifying glass ("find") in the top right corner. Once you click on it, it will show you a list of the most recent transactions. You can also do keyword searches. This will allow you to find things easily, even when you can't remember all of the facts. This will save lots of time clicking and searching through charts of accounts, supplier and customer records. If your accountant did the entry and you don't know whether it was an expense or a bill -- no worries. Just do the keyword search.

TIP AND TRICK #3: Take the shortcut!


If you are like me, you find it faster and easier to hit CTRL+C to copy than to get your mouse up to the top menu to click on the COPY button. Quickbooks has lots and lots of keyboard shortcuts. If you don't know what one you are looking for -- there is a keyboard shortcut to get you there! CTRL+ALT+?. Once there, you will find a list of keys that work well with a CTRL+ALT

TIP AND TRICK #2: Go Incognito


Quickbooks Online works best in Google Chrome (and Firefox). But QBO also only allows you to have one session open at a time on the same device. Need another session? Click on the 3 dots by your address bar. You will have the option to create a new "incognito tab" which will trick Quickbooks into thinking you are on another device.

TIP AND TRICK #1: Setup the Automatic items.


Whether it is the bank feed, the recurring invoices or creating rules for different transactions, all of these features are there to reduce the time spent figuring out where to classify transactions that are a regular part of your business. It is not value added for anyone to charge your receipts from a gas station to your Fuel account. Quickbooks can easily do that work for you. This leaves more time for you (or your ProAdvisor) to review the big picture and find opportunities for improvement.


Quickbooks is user-friendly. The power of the ProAdvisor is not in the processing of the transactions. I am comfortable showing any of my clients how to use the software. The value I bring to the relationship is taking the work off the hands of the business owner and giving my professional advice as a CPA on how to assess the results and find new ways to evaluate the business. A business owner who feels that their ProAdvisor is their partner and that the software is part of their business toolbox is a client who will value the relationship and, together, the partnership will help the business to grow.


Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page