QuickBooks Online for New Business Owners

Explore the basics of accounting to understand how QuickBooks features and cookbooks support the reports you generate for your new business.

Master the cash method and tax-basis accounting used in this course, including income recognition, expense timing, depreciation rules, and tax-return preparation.

Explore the profit and loss report, also known as the income statement, to track revenue, expenses, and net income over a chosen date range, and assess your business profitability.

Open the balance sheet from reports to view a one-day snapshot of assets, liabilities, equity, and key items like retained earnings and net income.

Explore categorizing bank feed transactions in QuickBooks Online, review dozens of common transactions, and learn to verify Cowpokes' recommended categories against the actual accounts, refining as you provide feedback.

Classify a security deposit as an asset in QuickBooks Online by creating a security deposit asset account under other assets and showing the nine hundred dollars on the balance sheet.

Set up a telephone expense account in QuickBooks Online to track Verizon's monthly business phone line payments and improve the profit and loss report with the detail type utilities.

Create rules in QuickBooks Online to assign Verizon payments to the telephone expense account. Auto add across all bank accounts and reflect in the profit and loss report.

Learn to categorize Comcast payments as internet access expense, create a recurring rule, and automatically apply it to nine transactions to enhance your profit and loss report.

Record a Capital One Arena entertainment expense in QuickBooks, split meals and entertainment into separate accounts, and create a new entertainment expense account; entertainment isn’t tax deductible, meals are.

Copy Pepco into the vendor field, save Pepco as a new vendor, and create a rule to automatically categorize recurring electric utility payments across bank accounts and nine downloaded transactions.

Create a rent rule to categorize office rent payments under the rent and lease expense account, converting uncategorized expenses into monthly recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Classify a GoDaddy payment as website expenses for domain names and web hosting, and set up a recurring rule to auto-assign future GoDaddy transactions to the website expenses account.

Record payments to Blue Cross Blue Shield for health insurance in an insurance expense account for tax returns, and set up a recurring transaction with insurance as the details type.

Track recurring software payments by creating an expense account called software subscriptions, record Google G Suite and cowpokes online subscriptions, and set bank rules with auto add for all accounts.

Record credit card payments by transferring from checking to the Chase credit card, use find match and create rule to auto-match future payments despite date delays.

Learn to record a business meal payment in QuickBooks Online, create auto-record rules for payees, separate meals and entertainment expenses, and rename meals and entertainment expense account to meals expense.

Record income deposits as sales revenue from customers using the receive column. Auto-record mobile check deposits to the sales income account across bank accounts, then review profit and loss report.

Learn how to record a gas station payment to Shell in QuickBooks Online and automate its accounting by creating a rule that assigns Shell transactions to the correct expense account.

Select the travel expense account for business travel payments to Delta for airfare and Hilton for lodging, and add the entries to record these payments.

Record a payment to Herman Miller as an office expense and create an expense account, purchases under $2,500 can be expensed rather than depreciated, with section 179 or bonus options.

Record an annual membership payment to a professional organization, classify it under dues and subscriptions, and create a new account for Civic Association in QuickBooks Online.

Identify and record a payment to a law firm by selecting the legal and professional services account, copying the vendor name, and adding the vendor.

Record the vehicle as a fixed asset in QuickBooks Online, set up a vehicles asset account, and fund with a down payment plus a long-term car loan, and depreciation later.

Record speeding and parking tickets as non-deductible expenses in QuickBooks, noting they are not tax deductible, create a non-deductible expense account, and add 'speeding ticket' in the memo for clarity.

Record a loan payment by splitting it into principal and interest, posting the principal to the Carlyn account and interest to interest expense, keeping the liability in balance.

Create a new expense account for charitable contributions, then select charitable contributions from the detail type dropdown when recording a charitable donation.

Record a payment to State Farm for general business insurance. Confirm the cowpokes account recommended is correct, then click add to save the transaction.

Record state property tax payments in QuickBooks Online by creating vendor entries, assigning the taxes and licenses expense account, and adding annual fees to stay registered.

Record a capital contribution by transferring funds from the owner's personal account to the business account, selecting the owner's investment account as the transfer destination.

Assigns Park Mobile as the vendor for a business parking payment, and creates a dedicated 'parking and tolls' expense account to properly track travel expenses.

Create a postage and shipping expense account in QuickBooks Online, categorize as shipping freight and delivery, and add USPS as a vendor to record the transaction.

Identify a check payment in QuickBooks, verify the payee via online banking, and classify it as an owner draw or distribution using an owner's drawer or distribution account.

Choose a payroll service and gather account numbers for a smooth first payroll, then record payroll transactions from bank feed with journal entries to match the profit and loss report.

Evaluate payroll service options—from Cowpokes online payroll to Gusto and full-service providers like Paycheck's and ADP—and learn setup steps, integration tradeoffs, and recommended best-fit practices, with a preference for Gusto.

Register your business with the state and obtain state unemployment insurance and state withholding accounts, then secure a federal employer ID number and stay informed on tax filing schedules.

Categorize payroll transactions from bank feed by splitting employer and employee payroll taxes into payroll taxes and salaries and wages, then record as payroll liabilities via journal entries.

Record payroll expenses through journal entries that capture gross wages and employer payroll taxes, creating a payroll liability offset by bank transactions.

Learn to reconcile bank and credit card accounts in QuickBooks Online by matching transactions with bank statements, verify ending balances, and avoid missing or duplicate entries using the reconciliation features.

Learn to reconcile a business checking account in QuickBooks by matching bank statements, handling timing differences, and finishing monthly reconciliations from December 2019 to January 2020.

Reconcile the credit card by selecting the account from the dropdown, matching transactions to zero difference, and confirming January 25, 2020 balance of $2,912.50; repeat monthly to ensure accurate books.

Review reconciliation reports by account in QuickBooks Online to identify mismatches between bank balances and statements and spot uncleared transactions before tax reporting.

Learn to print checks from QuickBooks Online using check stock, by recording payee, amount, and date, then printing and aligning for a professional look.

Change the accounting method from accrual to cash basis in QuickBooks Online via account settings, advanced tab, so balance sheet and profit and loss reports default to cash.

Learn to manage users in your QuickBooks Online account and share access with teammates or an accountant by inviting them via the accounting firms tab and email invitations.

Record business expenses paid from a personal account with a QuickBooks Online journal entry, classifying the expense, adding a memo, and crediting owners investment or owners pay in personal expenses.

Record depreciation for fixed assets with a depreciation expense debit and accumulated depreciation credit, showing reduced net income and a lower asset base on the balance sheet.

Conclude this course by rating it five stars. Contact me for a free 30-minute tax consultation to see how I can help you save on taxes as your tax accountant.