Are you scared that you might make a mess in QuickBooks Online? You are not alone. Every new QBO user is concerned that they might mess things up. Related blog post: http://5minutebookkeeping.com/how-to-avoid-making-a-mess-in-quickbooks-online/

1. Are you scared that you might make a mess in
QuickBooks Online? You are not alone. Every new QBO
user is concerned that they might mess things up.

2. Here are the top things
you should know so
that you can get off to
a good start with QBO.

3. HERE ARE SOME
INSIDER TIPS!!!

4. 1
PRACTICE FIRST
AND GET
TRAINING

5. QBO is an accounting and
small business management
software application – You
should avoid jumping in and
playing around in your own
company file.

6. Try it out first in a sample
company. You’ll be able to
practice on it without
worrying about messing up
your own company file.

7. Here’s the link!
https://qbo.intuit.com/
redir/testdrive

8. You do not need an account
to sign in to access the
sample company. Complete
the security validation and
click Continue.

10. This sample company is
designed to test QBO. It
is not designed to retain
any changes made.

12. Check out my free QuickBooks
Online tutorials page for all the
QBO training we have available.
We continue to add in-depth
training each week.
Check out also my YouTube
channel for video tutorials.

13. 2
BUILD A SOLID
FOUNDATION

14. The Chart of accounts and the
products and services list are the
foundation of everything in QBO.
They control how most
transactions are recorded and
where they show up on reports.

15. If you want meaningful reports,
I recommend that you focus
on customizing the chart of
accounts and the products and
services list.

16. THE CHART OF
ACCOUNTS

17. The chart of accounts is the
foundation of every small
business accounting system.
It is used to organize and
categorize your business
transactions.

18. Thankfully, with QBO you don’t
need to know how to set up a
chart of accounts.
QBO makes it easy to set up a
chart of accounts in just a few
simple steps.

20. When you first set up QBO, your
answers in the Startup
Interview will help QBO set up
the chart of accounts for you,
based on your industry and
company.

21. Watch these videos to learn
how to customize and work
with the chart of accounts:
 Chart of Accounts – Part 1
 Chart of Accounts – Part 2

22. 3
THE PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES LIST

23. The products and services list
represents the list of products
and/or services that you sell.
You should set it up after you
customize the chart of accounts.

24. Watch this video to learn how to
work with the products and
services list.
You will use items from the
products and services list when
you create customer invoices.

25. Watch this video to learn how to
work with the products and
services list.
You will use items from the
products and services list when
you create customer invoices.

26. 4
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE
BANK
(AND CREDIT CARD)
STATEMENT

27. Money in and money out
transactions in QBO should
mirror your bank and credit
card transactions.

28. Ideally, you want to enter money
in/money out transactions in QBO
that match your bank and credit
card activity (or statements).
This is a simple concept that will save
you hours of time spent correcting
entries.

29. Here is an example:
 If your bank shows that you deposited
$500, then QBO should show a deposit
for the same amount.
 If your bank shows that you paid a
vendor $1000, then QBO should show a
payment for the same amount.

30. Your bank and credit card statements
should act as your compass.
Each and every transaction on your
bank and credit card statements
should be reflected in QuickBooks
Online.

31. 5
LEARN HOW TO WORK
WITH DOWNLOADED
BANKING
TRANSACTIONS

32. Downloading transactions is easy but
you need to know a few key things
before getting started.
Here is a link to my video showing
you how to work with downloaded
banking transactions.

33. Here are the 2
most important
tips you should
keep in mind:

34.  Downloaded transactions do not replace
bookkeeping – it’s only a tool to help you
save data entry time – this is a common
misconception among new QBO users.
They think that bookkeeping is only about
downloading banking transactions. There
is a lot more to doing proper
bookkeeping for your business.

35.  Each and every downloaded transaction
should have the correct vendor/company
name and the Category (an account from the
chart of accounts) assigned to it.
The #1 mistake I see new QBO users make is
that they start accepting transactions into
QBO without verifying that each transactions
has a name and category assigned.

37. I know that working with QBO can be
overwhelming at first. Take time to
read this and watch the videos so that
you learn how to avoid making a mess
in QuickBooks Online. Be patient with
yourself and you’ll get there.

38. If you want to learn more about
QuickBooks Online please sign up
and download our free eBook
“The Simple Guide to Getting Started
with QuickBooks Online and Avoiding
the Common Mistakes New Users
Make”.

39. THANKS FOR
READING! 