Are you getting the most out of QuickBooks? Many businesses set up their accounting software and never think twice about it, missing out on powerful features that could save them hours every month—and even money.
From automating repetitive tasks to tracking hidden costs, QuickBooks has tools designed to make your life easier. The best part? Most of these features require just a few simple adjustments to your setup.
These are the adjustments every business should be making—and if you’re not, it’s time to start!
1.QuickBooks Class and Location Tracking
If you’re not using class and location tracking in QuickBooks, you’re leaving critical insights on the table. Class tracking helps you label transactions (e.g., “retail” or “online sales”), while location tracking sorts data by site, such as a store or property. This allows you to see how specific segments of your business are performing, rather than lumping everything together.
Why It Matters
Let’s say you manage five rental properties. Without class tracking, you can’t tell which ones are profitable and which might be costing you money. Class tracking pinpoints where you’re succeeding—or losing—so you can make smarter decisions, like cutting unnecessary expenses or focusing on top-performing assets.
Who Benefits
Multi-location businesses: Retailers or franchises tracking performance by location.
Property managers: Seeing profitability for individual properties.
Service businesses: Tracking income and expenses by project or client.
Related Reading: Using QuickBooks Transaction Classes for Custom Reports
2. Bank Rules for Faster Reconciliation
Bank rules in QuickBooks allow you to set up automatic categorization for recurring transactions when syncing your bank accounts. For example, you can create a rule that always categorizes utility payments under “Utilities” or office supply purchases under “Office Expenses.”
Why It Matters
Imagine running an e-commerce business with hundreds of transactions per month. Without bank rules, you’d spend hours categorizing payments when QuickBooks could handle this for you automatically.
Why It’s Underused
Many users still manually review and categorize every transaction, even for predictable, recurring expenses. This not only wastes time but also increases the chance of inconsistencies across financial records.
Who Benefits
This feature is especially valuable for businesses with high transaction volumes, such as e-commerce stores, retail businesses, or anyone who deals with frequent payments and expenses.
3. Tagging (QuickBooks Online Advanced Features)
Tags are customizable labels in QuickBooks Online Advanced that allow you to track transactions outside traditional categories or classes. You can use tags to monitor events, campaigns, or specific client-related expenses, giving you additional insights into your spending and revenue.
Why It’s Underused
Tags are relatively new, and many users either don’t know about them or don’t understand their potential. Unlike classes or accounts, tags allow for flexible and creative tracking that can be applied to any type of transaction.
Who Benefits
Marketing Campaigns: Monitor ad spend by campaign.
Events: Track costs for trade shows or product launches.
Client Work: Analyze costs for specific client engagements or projects.
4. Scheduled Reports: Stop Wasting Time on Manual Reports!
Among the most underused QuickBooks features, Scheduled Reports let you automate the delivery of recurring financial reports—like Profit and Loss statements or A/R Aging reports—straight to your inbox.
Why It Matters
Imagine needing to monitor cash flow weekly to make informed decisions about upcoming expenses. Instead of pulling a Profit and Loss report manually every Friday, you could schedule it to land in your inbox automatically. This isn’t just a convenience—it ensures you’re consistently reviewing your numbers, which is crucial for making smart, timely decisions.
Why It’s Underused
We’ve worked with countless clients who didn’t even know this feature existed. Instead, they logged in, pulled reports manually, and sent them out one by one. For something so simple and effective, it’s shocking how often it’s overlooked!
Who Benefits
Owners: Get a regular snapshot of your financial health without digging into the system.
Managers: Stay on top of cash flow, overdue invoices, or team performance with up-to-date data.
Related Reading: 5 Must-Have QuickBooks Reports
5. Project Profitability Tracking
Project Profitability Tracking in QuickBooks is one of the most powerful QuickBooks features, allowing you to monitor income, expenses, and time spent on each project to calculate its profitability. This includes tracking labor, materials, and overhead costs.
Why It Matters
Imagine a construction business completing a series of home renovations. Without Project Profitability Tracking, you might assume a project was profitable because it came in under budget—but without allocating labor and material costs to the project, you wouldn’t realize it actually underperformed.
Why It’s Underused
Many users don’t realize how to properly allocate expenses or time to individual projects. Instead, they lump all costs into general categories, which means they’re missing critical insights into whether specific projects are making or losing money.
Who Benefits
Construction: Track material costs, labor hours, and project-specific overhead.
Service Businesses: See if client projects are meeting profit goals or draining resources.
Creative Industries: Analyze profitability for campaigns, events, or custom work.
Related Reading: 5 QuickBooks Operational Reports to Boost Profitability
6. QuickBooks Time (Formerly TSheets)
QuickBooks Time is a time-tracking tool that integrates directly with QuickBooks. It allows employees to clock in and out via an app, and it syncs with QuickBooks for seamless payroll processing and job costing.
Why It Matters
Take a landscaping business as an example. Without QuickBooks Time, hours worked on different jobs might be tracked manually, leaving room for error. By integrating QuickBooks Time, hours can be automatically synced to payroll and allocated to specific jobs, ensuring precise job costing and saving hours of administrative work.
Why It’s Underused
Many businesses use standalone time-tracking tools or manual timesheets without integrating them into QuickBooks. This leads to inefficiencies and missed opportunities to streamline payroll and track labor costs at the project level.
Who Benefits
Businesses with Hourly Employees: Automate payroll calculations based on tracked hours.
Project-Based Businesses: Assign employee time directly to projects for accurate cost tracking.
Mobile Teams: Employees can clock in and out remotely via mobile devices.
7. Workflow Automation
Workflow automation is one of those small QuickBooks features that pays off big, freeing you to focus on growing your business instead of chasing down routine tasks. This lets you automate tasks like sending reminders for overdue invoices or approving recurring transactions.
Why It Matters
Set up automated invoice reminders or workflow rules for approvals to save time and ensure nothing slips through the cracks. A little effort upfront can make a big difference in efficiency and accuracy.
Why It’s Underused
Many users still rely on manual reminders or processes, wasting time on tasks that QuickBooks can handle automatically with just a few setup steps.
Who Benefits
Multiple team members: Ensure tasks like approvals happen on time.
High transaction volumes: Reduce the risk of missed payments or overlooked follow-ups.
8. Track Billable Expenses: Don’t Leave Money on the Table
QuickBooks allows you to mark expenses as billable to clients and link them directly to invoices. This ensures you’re reimbursed for costs like materials, travel, or other client-specific expenses.
Why It Matters
Failing to track billable expenses means you’re essentially paying out of pocket for costs that should be covered by your clients. This can eat into your profits and create confusion when reviewing project financials.
Why It’s Underused
Many businesses fail to enable billable expenses in their settings or don’t track them accurately. As a result, they miss out on recovering costs that should be billed to clients.
Who Benefits
Service-based businesses that manage project-specific expenses, like contractors, consultants, or agencies.
Related Reading: Why Accurate Project Time Tracking is Crucial for Your Business
9. Recurring Transactions: Automate the Mundane
What It Is
QuickBooks lets you automate recurring transactions, such as rent payments, subscription fees, or routine client invoices.
Why It Matters
Manually entering recurring transactions isn’t just tedious—it also opens the door to mistakes that can throw off your financials. Automating predictable entries ensures consistency, saves time, and reduces stress, allowing you to focus on growing your business instead of redoing the same tasks month after month.
Why It’s Underused
Many users manually enter predictable transactions every month, wasting time and increasing the risk of errors.
Who Benefits
Any business with regular monthly expenses or consistent client payments, such as landlords, subscription-based services, or utilities.
10. Delayed Charges and Credits
Why It Matters
Manually adding charges or credits increases the risk of errors, leading to underbilling or overbilling. Using delayed charges and credits ensures that every adjustment is accounted for at the right time, helping maintain trust with clients and keeping your records accurate.
What It Is
Delayed charges and credits in QuickBooks let you track future billable items or adjustments, like fees for additional work or pre-paid services, and apply them to invoices when the time is right.
Why It’s Underused
Many users create separate invoices or manually adjust balances, which can lead to errors and missed charges.
Who Benefits
Service businesses that frequently deal with time-and-materials projects or customer credits.
Related Reading: Everything You Need to Know About Using Quickbooks Payments
Get More Done in Less Time with QuickBooks Features
Utilizing the right QuickBooks features can save you hours of work and help you avoid costly mistakes. Simple adjustments like automating tasks, tracking billable expenses, and leveraging features like recurring transactions can streamline your workflow and boost your bottom line.
If you’re not sure where to start or want to ensure your QuickBooks is fully optimized, we’re here to help. At MISSION Accounting, we’ve helped countless businesses like yours unlock the full potential of QuickBooks. Reach out today for a free consultation, and let us take the guesswork out of managing your finances.
Related Reading: How QuickBooks Setup Services Ensure Profitability