Join us at Intuit Connect | October 28-30 | ARIA, Las Vegas
accounting

All Your Work, All in One Place: Communication & Collaboration with QuickBooks Online Accountant

I’d consider myself an organized person. For example, I use Microsoft Outlook – and as soon as a client request comes in, I flag for review so I don’t forget it. Through Outlook, I’m typically reviewing the “new” task list at the end of that day or first thing the next morning. When I review the task, I add a client name to it, put in a reminder time and categorize the activity. I typically don’t track start and end dates.


So, now I get my daily task list reminders, but I can’t easily identify if the task is for a client, something personal or firm-related.

I currently have a team of four, including myself, and once a week or every two weeks, I meet with each team member to go over the status of work related to their clients. I have also been evaluating third-party workflow apps. So, when “Work” or projects was announced for QuickBooks® Online Accountant, I was very excited at the prospect of having something that would help me track tasks at no extra cost to me.


The result? Implementing projects is a work in progress and getting it be a part of our regular operations is our biggest hurdle. However, the ability to easily add projects and task and assign them to a Team member or client is great. I won’t go into detail on how to do that, but here is what we’ve found to guide you:


  • While you can only add projects and tasks at the "Accountant" or "Your Practice" level, the easy work around on this is:
  • Open another Chrome User and stay at the Accountant Level
  • Open another browser
  • Open the Desktop App

As a team leader, my work is quite cluttered – I see every Payroll & Unaccepted Transaction, even if I filter to see just one Team member’s work. This can be fixed by shutting off the "From QuickBooks" switch at the top.

There are a few issues I’d love to see solved in the next revision of the "Work" feature:


  • Notifications of new tasks added by me for a Team member.
  • The ability of team members to assign me a task.
  • While there currently is no notification of completed tasks, it does show a task as being completed in the work portal.

Some unexpected benefits of the new "Work" feature:


  • Some clients respond quicker to request thru QuickBooks Online (QBO) than email.
  • There is a pop-up for clients in QBO for tasks.

In summary, while there are some ongoing issues, I think this is an excellent first pass by Intuit® to add value to QBOA, and our team is going to give it the old college try to incorporate it into our workflow.


Editor’s note: Be sure to check out the other articles in our One Place series:




Get the latest to your inbox

Get the latest product updates and certification news to help you grow your practice.

By clicking “Submit,” you agree to permit Intuit to contact you regarding QuickBooks and have read and acknowledge our Privacy Statement.

Thanks for subscribing.

Relevant resources to help start, run, and grow your business.

Looking for something else?

Get QuickBooks

Smart features made for your business. We've got you covered.

Tax Pro Center

Expert advice and resources for today’s accounting professionals.

QuickBooks Support

Get help with QuickBooks. Find articles, video tutorials, and more.

How can we help?
Talk to sales 1-800-497-1712

Monday - Friday, 5 AM to 6 PM PT

Get product support