QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting platforms for small businesses, offering a wide range of features that can streamline financial tasks. However, maximizing its potential requires more than just the basics. With the right tips and optimizations, you can save time, avoid errors, and enhance your business’s financial health.

Below, we break down 11 essential QuickBooks tips and hacks that will help you optimize your accounting process and keep your business running smoothly.

1. Automate recurring transactions

If you have regular expenses or invoices, automating these transactions can save you hours each month. QuickBooks allows you to set up recurring transactions, such as monthly subscriptions or rent payments, so they automatically populate on your due dates. This reduces the chance of missing payments or incorrectly entering data.

In a 2024 poll by Accounting Today, 60% of accountants in the U.S. and the U.K. admitted that they are already using AI to automate or enhance financial processes. In using AI-powered applications, they have managed to reduce their manual workload by 30 hours per week in doing so.

2. Customize your invoices

QuickBooks gives businesses the freedom to create customized invoices that reflect their branding, making them look more professional. When your invoices align with your company’s identity, you can increase your brand trust and establish credibility.

Business owners who sent personalized invoices claim to have received payments faster than they did when using generic templates. Your clients get a clear, professional impression thanks to the customization features in QuickBooks.

3. Connect your bank accounts

Linking your bank accounts to QuickBooks streamlines the process of reconciling transactions. Once connected, your transactions are automatically imported, eliminating the need for manual entry and reducing errors.

A recent QuickBooks survey found that 72% of users who connected their accounts saw a 30% reduction in reconciliation errors. This feature also makes it easier to stay up-to-date with your finances, as your books will reflect real-time account balances.

4. Use classes for better tracking

QuickBooks Classes help you categorize your expenses by department, project, or location. This feature is useful for companies with multiple revenue streams or large departments. You can run reports to see exactly where your money is going, and can assign transactions to specific classes and more. QuickBooks also has improved financial tracking, making it easier to budget and allocate resources effectively.

5. Optimize chart of accounts

An organized Chart of Accounts makes your financial reports more accurate and easy to understand. Customize your chart by creating specific accounts for different types of income, expenses, and liabilities.

Businesses with a well-optimized Chart of Accounts can improve their financial report accuracy. Above all, however, keeping your accounts streamlined helps avoid confusion and allows for easier tax preparation.

6. Take advantage of the mobile app

QuickBooks’ mobile app offers on-the-go functionality for business owners who need flexibility. The app gives you the ability to snap pictures of receipts, send invoices, and check financial reports directly from your phone. Small business owners have found that the mobile app improved their productivity by allowing them to manage finances during non-office hours.

With the mobile app, you can access your financial data from any time at any location.

7. Set up payment reminders

Late payments can disrupt your cash flow, but QuickBooks can help you address any stress related to reminders thanks to their automated payment reminder feature. You can choose to send reminder emails at preset intervals, such as a week before or after the due date. Business owners who send regular payment reminders have experienced a notable drop in overdue payments.

Automating this process reduces the need to chase down payments manually.

8. Batch invoicing for time efficiency

If you frequently bill multiple clients for the same service, we have good news for you. It’s possible to create batch invoices in QuickBooks instead of manually creating them one-by-one. This time-saving feature helps you remain consistent and keeps your books accurate. In fact, companies that use batch invoicing can save several hours every month on billing. This makes a significant difference for businesses with a high volume of monthly invoices.

9. Use reports for better decision making

QuickBooks also has robust reporting features that help you analyze your financial data. These insights allow you to make informed business decisions by automating reports such as profit and loss statements to cash flow reports.

Regularly reviewing your QuickBooks reports gives you the opportunity to identify trends, forecast revenue, and make necessary adjustments.

10. Sync with payroll

QuickBooks also seamlessly integrates with payroll services, so your employee compensation data is accurately recorded in your accounting system. That way you can reduce any errors related to manual payroll entries while simplifying tax calculations. Integrating payroll into your accounting system can also bring a sharp decrease in payroll-related errors.

Syncing payroll to your books helps you stay balanced while making it easier to manage employee payments.

11. Regularly back up your data

Maintaining regular backups of your QuickBooks data protects your business from data loss. Losing financial data can be catastrophic—no matter how it happens. That’s why QuickBooks has an automatic backup feature to help you avoid these issues.

In 2023, a whopping 73% of small business owners and leaders reported experiencing data breaches, according to the Business Impact Report. Fortunately, the QuickBooks backup feature ensures that you have access to all your financial records if something goes wrong.

Trust an industry staple like QuickBooks

There are reasons why QuickBooks boasts a market share of 81%. It can do wonders for your financial management, save a great deal of time, and reduce errors to an absolute minimum.

Intuit, QuickBooks, and David’s Family CPA have enabled many small businesses to become smarter through data-driven decision making. Contact us today if you would like more advice on how to stay on top of your finances.