There are several incredible 3rd party apps that are specifically designed to work seamlessly with QuickBooks Online.

If you want to start with an app that will create the greatest impact on your bookkeeping efficiency, try an accounts payable app. The workflow in these apps start with automatically uploading the invoice sent directly from the vendor with OCR (optical character recognition) technology to sending the payment to the vendor with a push of a button.

The bill moves to an assigned approver:

• If it is approved it moves directly to a signer and payment is released or denied.
• If it’s denied it automatically returns to the staff to research and resubmit.

If it’s approved payment can be initiated. Payment can be set up for check, ACH or credit card depending on the vendors preference.

Many of these apps sync with your QuickBooks in real time eliminating double entry.

If you use QuickBooks Online, there is a feature that you can use to upload a copy of your bank statement and credit card statements. 

After you have reconciled your account, a window will pop up to let you know you have completed the reconcile and it will give you an option to upload the statement. Just click the button and you can drag and drop your statement.

This is a great way to keep a digital copy of your statement if you ever need to reference it in the future.

If you use petty cash, remember to treat it like a bank account. Recording petty cash transactions can be tricky since there is no digital trail like a credit card or bank account.

Create an accounting procedure for your staff that includes an expense report submitted monthly with the receipts. This can be a physical or a digital copy. There are many expense templates in excel that you can use and easily customize.

Create a petty cash account in your accounting software like QuickBooks, and record all purchases. As with any bank account, be sure to reconcile the account monthly.

QuickBooks give you a broad range of options to customize your invoices. Using your logo and selecting a color palette on your invoices can keep your branding consistent with your customers.

In the upper right-hand corner of the invoice window, click the ‘Formatting’ tab. From there you can click ‘download templates’ and you will find an array of different types of templates to choose from.

Or you can choose ‘customize data layout’ and you can adjust the current template however you choose.

Technology moves quickly and it can be daunting where we should put our focus. You may hear from your customers do you accept Zelle or Venmo? It seems like daily, new apps are introduced that make our lives more efficient.

With any new technology, finding the time to research and then deciding if it’s worthwhile can be overwhelming. Making it easy for your customers to pay is always a great idea. If you notice your customers consistently requesting easier payment methods, you may want to invest the time to review a new payment option.

By adding the new payment option, you may discover how quickly your cash flow improves and that may be motivation alone to research and add new technology in the future.