.

and view all activity, which is the audit log in QBO. The audit log lists every transaction created, changed, or deleted in QBO, as well as every instance of someone logging in to and out of QBO.

When you click the Help button, you see a menu of common topics QBO thinks might be of interest to you, and you can type in the Search box to find help on a particular topic (see Figure 3-7).

      FIGURE 3-7: The Help menu.

For example, when you click the Create a New QuickBooks Online Company or Companies (US Only) link, QBO displays the How to Create a New QuickBooks Online Company or Companies page, which provides instructions for that topic (see Figure 3-8).

At the top-left corner of the screen, you see the New button you can use to work with transactions. Figure 3-9 shows the New menu that appears when you click the New button.

      FIGURE 3-8: A sample Help topic.

      FIGURE 3-9: Click the New button to create a new transaction.

Figure 3-10 shows what you see when you click the Search button, which appears as a magnifying glass to the right of the Help button. You see a list of recently entered transactions; you can click any transaction in the list to open that transaction. Or, you can use the Search Transactions box to search for a transaction.

      FIGURE 3-10: Click the Search button to search for previously entered transactions.

Click the second button from the top-right corner, the Gear button, to display the menu shown in Figure 3-11. From here, you can look at and change QBO company settings; view lists; work with tools such as import and export, reconciliation, and budgeting tools; and view information about your QBO account. Note that the Gear menu is divided into four columns that organize related commands.

      FIGURE 3-11: Use the Gear menu to work with settings, lists, tools, and your QBO account.

Establishing Company Settings

      After you set up your company, you should review the default settings Intuit established and make changes as appropriate. To examine and make changes to payroll settings, see Chapter 9.

      Examining company preferences

Choose Gear ⇒ Account and Settings to display the Company tab of the Account and Settings dialog box (see Figure 3-12).

      FIGURE 3-12: Review company settings.

      On this tab, you can make changes to your company name, address, and contact information and your preferences for communication with Intuit.

      To change any setting, click anywhere in the group where the setting appears. When you finish making changes, click the Save button that appears in the group of settings. You can then move on to other settings on the page.

      When you finish working with Account and Settings, click Done in the lower-right corner of the screen.

      Examining billing and subscription settings and usage limits

      To review the settings related to your QBO billing and subscription, click the Gear icon and select the appropriate option. QBO users, choose Gear ⇒ Account and Settings to display the Account and Settings dialog box. Then, click Billing & Subscription in the pane on the left. QBOA users choose Gear ⇒ Your Account.

You won’t see the Billing & Subscription pane if the QBO company is being managed by an accountant who is part of the Wholesale Billing program.

This page, shown in Figure 3-13, shows you the status of your QBO, Payroll, and Payments subscriptions. From this page, you can convert your trial version of QBO and of the QBO Payroll product to a regular subscription; converting cancels your trial. You also can use this page to order checks and supplies, should you need them.

      FIGURE 3-13: Review QBO billing and subscription settings.

      

The subscription-based Payments product that Intuit offers enables you to receive online payments from your customers. If you already have a subscription to the Payments product, you can connect it to QBO from the Billing & Subscription page of the Account and Settings dialog box. If you don’t have a subscription, you can subscribe from the Apps page on the Navigation bar or from the Payments page of the Account and Settings dialog box.

      When you click the Usage pane on the left side of the Account and Settings dialog box, QBO displays the usage limits applied to your QBO company based on the version of QBO you selected when you created your company (Simple Start, Essential, Plus, or Advanced).

      Setting sales preferences

      To review the Sales preferences of your QBO company, choose Gear ⇒ Account and Settings to display the Account and Settings dialog box. Then, click Sales in the pane on the left.

At the top of the page that appears (see Figure 3-14), you can click the Customize Look and Feel button to customize the appearance of the invoice you send to customers. We return to the customization process at the end of this section; first, we’ll examine the settings available to you.

      FIGURE 3-14: The Sales page of the Account and Settings dialog box.

      Examining sales settings

      You can set a variety of options related to sales:

       In the Sales Form Content section, you can define the fields that appear on the form you complete to prepare invoices, sales receipts, and other sales forms.

       In the Products and Services section, you can make changes