Maximize your productivity with QuickBooks Online shortcuts

As accountants, our time is our most valuable asset. The faster and more accurately I can move through the software I use every day, the more energy I have left to do what really matters: advising my clients and helping them make better financial decisions. 

That’s why I put a lot of effort into learning not just the basics, but also the hidden efficiencies, and the “ins and outs” of QuickBooks Online and the other tools I rely on.

However, mastering the latest features and shortcuts isn’t just about speed; it’s about creating the space to deliver higher-value work. Our profession is mostly branded as “overly busy individuals,” precisely because we spend way too much time clicking on things.

In this article, I’ll share some of the most important shortcuts I use to make QuickBooks Online feel less like data entry and more like a true productivity platform. These shortcuts fall into four categories:

1. Miscellaneous shortcuts inside QuickBooks Online itself, including formulas and date tricks most people overlook.
2. Built-in keyboard shortcuts that can save you clicks on Windows and Mac.
3. Google Chrome shortcuts that pair perfectly with QuickBooks Online.
4. RightTool shortcuts: Expanded functionality made possible through one of my favorite productivity extensions.

Each of these categories has its own way of cutting through wasted motion and keeping me focused on the work that matters. And at the end, I’ll share two short videos: one that walks through all these keyboard shortcuts in detail, and another that demonstrates how a customizable keyboard setup can take your efficiency even further.

Let’s dive in.

Miscellaneous important shortcuts in QuickBooks Online

One of the most underrated shortcuts in QuickBooks Online is using standard +, -, *, / operators inside any amount filed and have it automatically calculate after you hit TAB or click out of the field:

Keep in mind a few things:

• You do not need to start with a “=” sign like in Excel.
• The formula doesn’t save; it just resolves the end value on the spot.
• It uses PEMDAS rules for orders of operations.

My all time favorite shortcut is using single key shortcuts for dates, just put your cursor on any date picker.

And press any of these BOLDED letters:

Today

WeeK

MontH

YeaR

And they are super easy to remember. Think of the first letter for the beginning of that period and last letter for the end. But there are also lesser known ones:

+ - goes up and down a day.

[ ] goes up and down a week (leaving the same weekday).

; ‘ goes up and down a month (leaving the same numerical day).

It is also worth mentioning that if you enter a date manually, you do not have to enter the slashes “/” or the four digit year. For example, if you want to enter October 15, 2025, you just enter 101525 and then tab … and if the transaction is the current year, you can skip the year; just enter 1015 tab and it knows to automatically fill the rest!

One of QuickBooks Online’s biggest weaknesses has been the lack of being able to copy/paste any data into grids. However, QuickBooks Online recently added two little icons on the top right of most expense/vendor related transaction grids—both on the Category and Items—where you can export the current grid’s data into Excel, and even make changes in Excel and copy/paste those line-item details back into the transaction! See Video demo on this below.

Note: This is only in vendor/expense transactions at the moment.  If you need this to work on Sales transactions or on Journal Entries, you need an app such as RightTool PRO.

KEYBOARD shortcuts

The first and most important Shortcut is CTRL ALT ? on a PC or CTRL OPTION ? on a Mac, because it opens up your shortcuts cheat sheet , which also includes your company ID number, which is useful:

To use a shortcut, press and hold ctrl/control and alt/option (Mac) at the same time. Then press one of the keys below.

On main pages, such as the dashboard or customers:

i → Invoice

w → Check

e → Estimate

x → Expense

r → Receive payment

j → Journal entry

c → Customers

u → Run payroll

v → Vendors

a → Chart of accounts

l → Lists

h → Help

f → Global search

d → Focus the left menu

ctrl/cmd + . → Toggle ZenMode or Full Screen Mode

On transactions, such as an invoice or expense

x → Exit transaction view (ESC key works as well)

c → Cancel out

s → Save and new

d → Save and close

m → Save and send

p → Print

“Zen Mode” is my favorite. Sometimes, you will see an icon on the top right of the screen that looks like this:

But when else fails, remember CTRL . (period) or COMMAND . (period) on the Mac enables and disables Full Screen Mode (aka: Zen Mode).

It’s also worth mentioning that Google Chrome has some great shortcuts that specifically work really well with Quickbooks Online. These are my favorites:

If you download and install RightTool (Free Extension), you will have access to an expanded set of shortcuts:

And a whole slew of additional navigational functionality enabled by RightTool:

There are two videos you will like related to this: