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Writer's pictureSusan Cook

What can the QuickBooks Online mobile app do to improve your accounting process? Plenty.

Updated: Dec 15, 2023

If you aren't leveraging QuickBooks Online's free mobile app to manage your business's accounting, you're missing an opportunity to add much more convenience to your workflow.


In our modern business world, workdays have become much more fluid than the typical 9-to-5, in part thanks to technological advancements. The best example is the cloud, which has made data access possible anywhere there's an internet connection. Having your business infrastructure at your fingertips is especially revolutionary for business owners, mainly because they can act immediately on new information.


QuickBooks Online provides an excellent opportunity to stay informed about your business. Its mobile app takes very little time to learn how to navigate, and individual working screens are clean, attractive, and understandable. In addition, the app has a myriad of features that add convenience when you're on the go. Let's dive into its functionalities together.


When Should You Use the Apps?

There are a few key reasons you should be using the QuickBooks Online mobile app. First, you can automatically track mileage. Second, you can upload receipts on the spot before you have a chance to lose them. You also have the ability to create (and send!) a sales receipt or invoice for a customer in person, add basic contact details for a new customer or vendor, and check your account balances. Of course, it'll still be more convenient to accomplish the bulk of your accounting work on your computer, but these functionalities make it possible for you to capture information the moment you receive it.


Navigation Icons

The apps open to a screen called Today, which is their version of the web browser application’s Dashboard. There are links to actions like creating an invoice and looking up a customer, a to-do list, the QB Assistant (a support tool), your account balances, a link to recent transactions, and real-time information about the status of your invoices and bills.

The other three icons at the bottom of the screen serve as navigation tools. The one on the far right labeled Menu opens two screens that can be toggled back and forth. One is Shortcuts, pictured below, a series of links to everyday actions. The other, All, opens a more traditional, comprehensive menu of links to individual app functions, like a Profit and loss report, Sales receipts, and Products & services.



The QuickBooks Online app’s Shortcuts screen


Besides those functions, there are links to other financial activities on the All screen. The ones you’d be most likely to use remotely are:

  • Transactions. The ones you’ve imported from your banks are available via this shortcut, as well as any you’ve entered manually on your desktop or phone. You can also get to the list by clicking on an account name on the Today screen.

  • Receipt snap. Using your phone’s camera, you can take a picture of a receipt. The app's AI can extract some of its data and deposit it on an expense form accessible on the app and the desktop version, where you can fill in the blanks and see the picture.

  • Invoices and Estimates. View, modify, and add them. You can even collect payment in real time.

  • Customers and Vendors. Abbreviated versions of your records.

  • Expenses and Bill Pay.

  • Mileage. Enter trip data manually or automatically through your phone’s location services.

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2. Data entry on the mobile app is as easy as on the browser-based version of QuickBooks Online.


About Your Business

Another bottom-of-screen icon takes you to My business, which provides an update (charts and numbers) of your income, expenses, and profitability. And another is Cash flow. Cash flow is a pretty complex accounting concept that can’t be fully absorbed on a mobile phone screen, but it’s imperative that you have a good understanding of how your company’s doing. So, if you're unfamiliar with analyzing your cash flow data, reach out to us!


Give It A Try

January is always a good time to develop new habits. We’ll be talking about some of these next month, but in the meantime, we strongly recommend you download and explore QuickBooks Online’s mobile app. You probably won’t need our help learning to use it, but we’re always happy to step in and assist when you’re having trouble with the app or the full version of QuickBooks Online!


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