The QuickBooks Online (QBO) dashboard that you land on after logging in provides a centralized hub to manage your business finances. It displays key snapshots of your financial situation and links to access the main areas of QBO. Here’s a comprehensive guide on navigating the powerful QBO dashboard:
Overview of the Dashboard Layout
The default dashboard view shows various reports and charts summarizing your finances:
- Chart of Accounts – Review real-time balances across your connected bank and credit accounts. Easily see where your cash is held.
- Income/Expenses – Track month-to-date or year-to-date earnings and costs broken down by department.
- Profit & Loss Statement – Evaluate income, expenses, and overall profitability over custom date ranges like last quarter or last year.
- Balance Sheet – View assets, liabilities, and equity balances at any specified point in time.
- Budget Overview – See performance against budgets for accounts, departments, programs, or projects.
- Trend Graphs – Visually track trends over time for revenue, expenses, profit, account balances, and KPIs.
- Upcoming – See upcoming transactions and activities like recurring invoices, payments, reminders, and more.
Customizing the Dashboard to Your Needs
You can customize the QuickBooks Online dashboard reports and layout to focus on what’s most relevant for your business:
- Click the gear icon settings to open dashboard settings.
- Choose which default reports to display or hide on your dashboard. Select the ones most useful for your work.
- Rearrange reports by dragging and dropping them into your preferred order.
- Add visual charts like line or bar graphs for key report data and metrics.
- Adjust date range comparisons for reports to see trends over custom time periods.
- Name and save customized dashboard layouts to easily switch between configurations.
- Share saved dashboard layouts with other users in your QuickBooks Online account.
Key Navigation Options at the Top
Helpful links and shortcuts located at the top of the dashboard:
- Search – Quickly find transactions, contacts, reports, settings options, and help articles.
- Apps – Access apps and integrations like PayPal, Bill.com, or Google Workspace connected to your QBO account.
- Notifications – View account alerts, approval requests, and messages from Intuit.
- Help – Open support resources, community forums, guided tours, and tutorial videos.
- Settings – Manage all account, user, billing, integration, and personalization settings.
Menu Bar Provides Access to All Sections
The vertical menu bar on the left side provides quick navigation to all major sections of QuickBooks Online:
- Dashboard – Return to the main dashboard hub.
- Banking – Connect financial accounts, make deposits, enter expenses, and reconcile transactions.
- Invoices – Create, customize, send, and track sales invoices and customer payments.
- Expenses – Add bills, payable vendors, expense claims, and track reimbursements.
- Projects – Manage jobs and track associated project financials.
- Payroll – Run payroll including payroll taxes, payments, and generating pay stubs.
- Accounting – Categorize transactions, create and run custom reports, and manage budgets.
- Taxes – Estimate quarterly taxes, file returns, remit tax payments, and access tax resources (USA only).
Collaboration with Accounting Team
You can collaborate with others in your organization directly within QuickBooks Online:
- Set user permissions to control access to sensitive financial data and tools.
- Message your accounting teammates directly in QBO to discuss transactions.
- @mention colleagues in transaction names/memos when requesting review or approval.
- Share customized dashboard views to provide broader financial visibility.
- Your QB Tax Advisor can also access your QBO file to provide expert assistance and advice.
Getting familiar with navigating the QuickBooks Online dashboard is crucial for easily accessing the tools you need to efficiently manage your business finances day-to-day. Use it as your go-to starting point after signing in.