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Save Time with QuickBooks Online Automation

Routine bookkeeping can quickly become time-consuming. You might log in to your accounting software to record a customer payment, only to discover invoices that need to be sent, bank transactions waiting to be categorized or estimates that are ready to be converted into projects.

QuickBooks Online offers a variety of automation features that can help streamline these routine tasks and improve efficiency for both newer and experienced users.

Import Financial Transactions

Rather than entering bank and credit card transactions manually, you can connect most bank accounts, credit cards and payment processors so eligible transactions are downloaded automatically for review and approval. This can save significant time, particularly for businesses with a high volume of transactions, while also reducing the risk of manual data-entry errors.

Intuit uses multiple layers of security, including encryption and authentication technologies, to help protect your data. You can further protect your account by using strong, unique passwords, enabling multifactor authentication if available, keeping your devices secure and avoiding public Wi-Fi when accessing sensitive financial information.

Create Bank Rules

If you regularly record similar transactions, QuickBooks Online allows you to set up Bank Rules for them. From the home page, click the Accounting App, then Rules, then New rule in the upper right corner. In the panel that opens, define your rule. For example, if you want every expense whose Bank text contains Staples to be automatically categorized as Office supplies, you’d fill it out as shown in the image below.

Upload Receipts Immediately

Do you have piles of paper receipts on your desk or in an envelope somewhere? It’s important to be able to match receipts to expense transactions so you’ll have them stored safely for tax prep time. You need to know why you spent the money and whether it can be claimed as a business expense.

Using the QuickBooks Online mobile app, you can snap photos of receipts. The app will extract key information and attach the image to the transaction. You can add or edit anything that gets lost in translation.

Set Up Recurring Transactions

If you routinely send invoices or pay bills that are identical or very similar, you can create Recurring Transactions. These can be transactions such as:

Rent payments,
Loan payments,
Monthly service invoices,
Subscription fees, and
Membership dues.

QuickBooks will either remind you when it’s time to dispatch them and allow you to review/edit them or send them through automatically. (Be careful with the latter.) You can do this by creating a transaction and clicking Make recurring at the bottom of the page or by opening the Accounting App and clicking Recurring transactions.

Reconcile Weekly

Consider reconciling your accounts weekly rather than monthly. Regular reconciliations can help identify discrepancies sooner, reduce the time required for each reconciliation and make it easier to categorize recent transactions accurately. To get started, open the Accounting App and click Reconcile. If you’ve never reconciled accounts using accounting software, you may need some guidance first.

Schedule Frequent Checkups

Consider scheduling a regular time each week to complete routine bookkeeping tasks. While these activities can be performed as needed, handling them during a dedicated session may improve efficiency and help identify potential issues before they become more difficult to resolve. A weekly checklist might include these to-dos:

Review imported transactions and categorize any that require attention.
Run accounts receivable and accounts payable reports.
Reconcile your bank accounts.
Review your profit and loss report.
Upload any outstanding receipts.

If your review identifies discrepancies or other issues, address them promptly to help keep your financial records accurate and up to date.

If you encounter a bookkeeping issue or are unsure how to complete a task in QuickBooks Online, contact the office for assistance. If you’re new to the software, a training session can help you become familiar with its features and common tasks. Addressing questions or resolving issues early is often simpler than correcting problems after they’ve grown more complex.

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