{"id":531,"date":"2026-03-30T17:49:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/?p=531"},"modified":"2026-03-27T17:51:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T17:51:28","slug":"7-best-practices-you-should-be-implementing-in-quickbooks-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/7-best-practices-you-should-be-implementing-in-quickbooks-online\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Best Practices You Should Be Implementing in QuickBooks Online"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Meeting,<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re not enforceable laws, but QuickBooks Online best practices can improve productivity and keep you informed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve heard the phrase before: best practices. Human resources professionals refer to them a lot. But they definitely have a place in any line of work, including\u2014and maybe especially\u2014accounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best practices are grounded in results. That is, adhering to them will result in your business becoming healthier and more competitive. Your recordkeeping will improve. You\u2019ll be able to analyze your company\u2019s progress more effectively by running reports that provide focused views of your revenue and expenses. Your data will be safer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We abide by our own best practices, and we hope you\u2019ll take our suggestions for implementing some of your own. Here are seven we recommend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reconcile Your Accounts Regularly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it can be time-consuming and frustrating. But it\u2019s the only way you can be sure that what you\u2019re seeing in QuickBooks Online matches the records of your financial institutions. If you don\u2019t reconcile your accounts on a monthly basis, you will hit a point down the road where your financial books are no longer accurate. You\u2019ll have to reach back and try to determine where you went wrong. Untangling an unbalanced accounting system is not something you want to attempt. Hover your mouse over Transactions in the toolbar and click Reconcile. We can help you learn how to use QuickBooks Online\u2019s tools or take on the job ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Categorize Transactions Every Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you categorize transactions every day, it won\u2019t be such a time-consuming task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless you have a very small business with few transactions, you should categorize transactions every day. Accurate , thorough categorization is required so your reports and taxes are correct. Be sure to check the Billable box when it\u2019s warranted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Run aging reports every week.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hope you create reports in QuickBooks Online on a regular basis. Two that you should be running once a week are A\/R Aging Summary Report and A\/P Aging Summary Report. You need to keep a close eye on who is behind on paying you and which bills you may have missed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two other pages that provide this information quickly. Hover your mouse over Sales and click Customers to see the status of your invoices and estimates. To see an accounting of your own bills and other expenses,  hover your mouse over Expenses and click Vendors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assign User Permissions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have multiple employees working in QuickBooks Online, don\u2019t give them all full access. This is for both your protection and theirs. Set up limited user permissions for them so they can only go into certain areas and perform specific tasks. Click the gear icon in the upper right and click Your Company | Manage users. Click Add user and proceed through the wizard to assign individuals to roles like Track time only, Accounts payable manager, and Standard limited customers and vendors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set Reorder Points On Inventory Items<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your business stocks inventory, you know what a balancing act it is. Too few items and you risk running out. Too many, and you have an unnecessary amount of money tie up in inventory. You certainly don\u2019t want to run out. You\u2019ll lose sales and maybe even customers. So be sure you\u2019re entering a  Reorder point for inventory items. Just open a product record and click Edit in the Action column to add these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let QuickBooks Online keep track of when you need to order more items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep Your PC Updated and Secure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This should be your number one priority.  Windows should always be updated. Windows Defender (built in) does a good job of protecting you, but you may have your own favorite antivirus and anti-malware applications. If you get hacked and your QuickBooks Online data gets compromised or deleted, the future of your business will be in danger. If other people in your office are on a network with you, stress the importance of good PC safety protocols, like not clicking on attachments in emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use Your Ask My Accountant Expense Account<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you usually do when you can\u2019t complete an expense transaction because you\u2019re unsure of how to categorize it, for example?  If there isn\u2019t an account in your Chart of Accounts titled \u201cAsk My Accountant,\u201d you can create one. Click the gear icon in the upper right and then Your Company | Chart of Accounts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click New in the upper right and enter the title, then select Expense as the Account type and Other Business Expenses as the Detail type. This will put your transaction into a kind of holding tank to deal with later. When you meet with us, we can create a Profit and Loss report to find those transactions and deal with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Run A Profit and Loss Report at Once a Week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enough said. You need to keep a close watch on your company\u2019s overall performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let Us Handle Standard Financial Reports<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several best practices we recommend for using QuickBooks Online effectively. Many of these involve reports\u2014one of the platform\u2019s most powerful yet often underutilized features. Standard financial reports, such as the Balance Sheet and Statement of Cash Flows, provide critical insights into your business\u2019s financial health but can be challenging to analyze. These reports are essential when applying for financing or otherwise sharing financial information with third parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d like, we can generate and explain these reports for you on a monthly or quarterly basis, offering a deeper understanding of your company\u2019s financial position. Let us know how we can assist you in making the most of QuickBooks Online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re not enforceable laws, but QuickBooks Online best practices can improve productivity and keep you informed. You\u2019ve heard the phrase before: best practices. Human resources professionals refer to them a lot. But they definitely have a place in any line of work, including\u2014and maybe especially\u2014accounting. Best practices are grounded in results. That is, adhering to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-quickbooks","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":533,"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions\/533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roecpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}