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Accounting | How To

QuickBooks Online Multiple Users Setup

Tim Yoder

REVIEWED BY: Tim Yoder

Tim is a Certified QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) Pro, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and CPA with 25 years of experience. He brings his expertise to Fit Small Business’s accounting content.

 

WRITTEN BY: Mark Calatrava

Published May 19, 2022

Mark has researched and reviewed accounting software at Fit Small Business since 2019 and has developed an extensive knowledge of accounting software features and how unique business needs determine the best accounting software.

Published May 19, 2022

This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.

Learn More With Our QuickBooks Online Course
Explore the chapters in the guide.
  1. How to Set Up QuickBooks Online
  2. Part 1: Setting Up QuickBooks
    1. How to Set Up Company Information
    2. How to Customize Invoices, Sales Receipts & Estimates
    3. How to Set Up Invoices, Sales Receipts & Estimates
    4. How to Set Up Products and Services
    5. How to Set Up Messages
    6. How to Set Up Statements
    7. How to Set Up Expenses
    8. How to Set Up Advanced Settings
  3. Part 1: Setting Up QuickBooks (Cont.)
    1. How to Import Bank Transactions
    2. How to Import Credit Card Transactions
    3. How to Set Up Multiple Users
    4. How to Set Up the Chart of Accounts
    5. How to Set Up the Products and Services List
    6. How to Set Up Customers
    7. How to Set Up Vendors
  4. Part 2: Managing Sales and Income
    1. How to Create Estimates (Quotes or Bids)
    2. How to Create and Send Invoices
    3. How to Receive Payments
    4. How to Create & Send Sales Receipts
  5. Part 3: Managing Bills and Expenses
    1. How to Write & Print Checks
    2. How to Enter Bills
    3. How to Pay Bills
  6. Part 4: Managing Banking Transactions
    1. How to Enter Banking Transactions Manually
    2. How to Manage Downloaded Banking Transactions
    3. How to Record Bank Deposits
    4. How to Transfer Funds Between Bank Accounts
    5. How to Handle Bounced Checks From Customers
    6. How to Process Bank Reconciliation
  7. Part 5: Managing Business Credit Card Transactions
    1. How to Enter Business Credit Card Transactions Manually
    2. How to Manage Downloaded Business Credit Card Transactions
    3. How to Enter a Credit Card Refund
    4. How to Reconcile Business Credit Card Accounts
  8. Part 6: Managing Credit Card Sales
    1. How to Manage Credit Card Sales With QuickBooks Payments
    2. How to Manage Credit Card Sales With a Third-party Credit Card Processor
  9. Part 7: Set Up and Manage Payroll
    1. How Set Up and Run Payroll
    2. How to Manage Payroll Tax
    3. How to Add Historical Payroll Data
    4. How to Set Up Automatic Deposits
    5. How to Print Payroll Checks
    6. How to Run Payroll Reports
    7. How to Reconcile Payroll Liabilities
  10. Part 8: Reporting in QuickBooks Online
    1. How to Run a Profit and Loss Statement
    2. How to Run a Balance Sheet Report
    3. How to Run a Statement of Cash Flows
    4. How to Run an A/R Aging Report
    5. How to Run an A/P Aging Report

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to add standard users, company administrators, reports-only users, and time-tracking-only users in QuickBooks Online. You’ll also learn how to invite your accountant to your QuickBooks account so that they have real-time access to your most current data.

This free tutorial is designed to help you get the most out of QuickBooks Online, our best overall small business accounting software. It’s easier if you follow along in your own QuickBooks account. If you don’t have an account with QuickBooks yet, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial or 50% off for the first three months before you commit.

Visit QuickBooks Online

This tutorial is one of our series of free QuickBooks tutorials. You can watch the video below or follow the step-by-step illustrated instructions that follow.

How To Give QuickBooks Online Access to Multiple Users

Step 1: Navigate to Manage Users

Click on the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of the QuickBooks Online screen and then select Manage users under the first column, as shown below.

Navigating to Manage users in QuickBooks Online,

Navigate to Manage users in QuickBooks Online


Step 2: Create a New User

Click on the Users tab in the Manage users screen, as shown below.

Navigating to the Users tab in QuickBooks Online.

Navigate to the Users tab in QuickBooks Online

If this is the first user you’re adding, you’ll be taken to the add a new user screen automatically. If you’ve already added users, you’ll see a list of users and need to click the green Add user button.


Step 3: Select User Type

There are four types of users to choose from when granting someone access to your QuickBooks Online company (labeled below).

User types in QuickBooks Online.

User types in QuickBooks Online

A. Standard user: Most QuickBooks users should be set up as Standard users. You’ll be able to customize their access in the next step.

B. Company admin: The QuickBooks Online master administrator is the person that purchased the subscription to QuickBooks. If that’s the company owner, then they probably want to give their controller or head bookkeeper Company admin rights so that they can manage QuickBooks users and the QuickBooks account.

Tip:

Company employees that will be participating in the bookkeeping process should be granted either Standard user or Company admin access.

C. Reports only: Reports only users can view all QuickBooks reports except for payroll or employee contact information. This user type is great for employees that aren’t involved in inputting data into QuickBooks but are interested in tracking data like cost reports for projects they’re managing.

D. Time tracking only: Employees and contractors can be set up as Time tracking only users so that they can input their hours worked, service code, and customer or project. Reported employee hours flow into the payroll system. Employee and contractor hours are available to add to invoices.

Reports only and Time tracking only users have very limited access to QuickBooks and don’t count toward your company’s maximum number of users. Simple Start subscribers will need to upgrade to Essentials for time-tracking-only users or Plus for reports-only users.

Tip:

The built-in time tracking system in QuickBooks Online is very basic. QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) is a much more powerful time-tracking system that can be added to QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks Time has some amazing features like remote clock-in with facial recognition, GPS tracking, and detailed job costing with budget analysis. If your business has employees that work out of the office, we recommend adding QuickBooks Time to your QuickBooks Online subscription.


Step 4: Set User’s Access Rights

If you’re adding a standard user, you’ll need to assign them access rights in this step. If you’re adding any other type of user, you can skip to the next step. Select Standard user from the add a new user screen shown above and click the green Next button (not shown).

As you select different access levels on the left of the screen, a description of the access rights assigned to each level is given on the right of the screen.

Short video on how to set user access in QuickBooks Online.

Set user access in QuickBooks Online

  • All: These users have unlimited access to all QuickBooks data. This includes adding, editing, and deleting transactions related to all vendors, customers, sales, and purchases. If you place a checkmark next to Payroll access, they also have access to employee and payroll information. The only access not included is administrative rights, which you can assign in the next step.
  • None: The purpose of creating a user with no access rights is to allow someone to perform some administrative tasks without giving them access to the accounting features. You also have the option on the following screen to provide these users with access to input their own time.

Tip:

If a user needs to input their own timesheet but doesn’t need any administrator rights, they should be set up as a time-tracking-only user so they don’t count toward your maximum number of users. Return to Step 3 and change the user type from standard user to time tracking only.

  • Limited: You can provide limited access rights to members of the accounting team that don’t require access to everything. If you select Limited, you must then select access to Customers, Vendors, or both. Customers is appropriate for an employee that generates invoices and collects payments from customers, such as an accounts receivable (A/R) clerk. Vendors is best for an employee who inputs and pays bills, such as an accounts payable (A/P) clerk.

After you have selected the level of access rights to provide the new user, click the green Next button (not shown) to assign administrator rights.


Step 5: Select Administrator Rights

A user needing full administrator rights should be designated as a Company admin user in Step 3. However, you can assign different administrator rights to any standard user.

Assigning administrator rights to Standard users in QuickBooks Online.

Assign administrator rights to Standard users in QuickBooks Online

After deciding which administrator rights the new user should have, click the green Next button to provide the user’s contact information.


Step 6: Provide Contact Information

Provide the new user’s first name, last name, and email address, and then click the green Save button (not shown).

Providing user contact information in QuickBooks Online.

Provide user contact information in QuickBooks Online

The user will receive an email inviting them to your QuickBooks Online company. Their user ID is their email address. The new user will generally be prompted to create a password. If they aren’t prompted to create a password, then there’s already an Intuit password associated with that email address.

Tip:

Intuit (the owner of QuickBooks) requires users to use the same password across all Intuit programs and websites. For example, if the new user had previously signed up for TurboTax or Mint (other Intuit products), the password for those products must also be used for QuickBooks Online.


How To Give Your Accountant Access to Your QuickBooks Online Account

Step 1: Send Invite To Your Accountant

In the Manage users screen, click on the Accounting firms tab. Enter your accountant’s email address and click the green Invite button.

Inviting an accountant in QuickBooks Online.

Invite an accountant in QuickBooks Online

Your accountant can share their access with other bookkeepers in their firm, so there’s no need to invite two accountants from the same firm.

Tip:

Your accountant must have QuickBooks Online Accountant to access your books. If they don’t already have it, send them this link so that they can sign up for free.


Step 2: Your Accountant Is Notified and Setup Is Complete

After you send the invite:

  • Your accountant will receive an email that contains a link to sign in to your QuickBooks Online account.
  • Once your accountant signs in, their status on the Manage users page will change from Invited to Active.
  • Your accountant will be given administrator privileges to all areas of your QuickBooks Online company.

Tip:

Give your accountant a heads-up that you have sent this invitation so that they can check their spam or junk folder if the invitation doesn’t show up. You can resend the invite from the Accounting firms tab of the Manage users screen.


How Many Users Can You Set Up in QuickBooks Online

Multiple users and accountants can use QuickBooks Online at the same time for no additional cost. However, the exact number you can invite to your QuickBooks Online account varies based on your subscription level.

QuickBooks Online Maximum Users Allowed

Simple
Essentials
Plus
Advanced
Standard & Admin Users
1
3
5
25
Accountants
2
2
2
3
Time Tracking Only Users
0
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Reports Only Users
0
0
Unlimited
Unlimited

Wrap Up

Congratulations on setting up your additional users in QuickBooks Online. The next tutorial in our QuickBooks Online Training Course is How To Setup the Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks Online. Customizing the Chart of Accounts for your business is an important step to simplifying your bookkeeping and getting the most out of QuickBooks.

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About the Author

Mark Calatrava

Find Mark OnLinkedIn

Mark Calatrava

Mark Calatrava is an accounting expert for Fit Small Business. He has covered more than 50 accounting software for small businesses and niche industries and has developed an in-depth knowledge of the important features of accounting software and how the importance of these features vary by business.

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