Setting Up & Managing Timesheets in QuickBooks Online
Time Tracking allows you to easily track and bill customers for your time. You can track time worked by your employees and contractors. You can also assign a particular activity to a project or customer, and choose whether to bill your customers for the activity.
Because it is Internet-based, QuickBooks Online makes it easy for employees to track their time. They fill out simple time-sheets from any computer with an Internet connection and you can give them "time entry" only access to secure your privacy, and also choose whether or not to restrict them from seeing their billing rate.
Based on the rates you specify, and whether or not the time is billable, time detail will automatically appear on customer invoices. The amount of detail included on the invoice is up to you, including:
1) The employee's name.
2) The number of hours billed.
3) The hourly rate charged.
4) On the invoice, you can customize to show the following:
- Text from the Description field on the time sheet
- The name of the standard service you are using
- Custom text that you specify for time tracking charges
The Time Tracking feature is not available in QuickBooks Online Simple Start or QuickBooks Essentials. You would have to upgrade to QuickBooks Online Plus to have this feature, which would increase your monthly subscription rate a bit. However, you must ensure that this feature you need to use will work effectively for you before you upgrade your subscription. Once you upgrade, you will not be able to downgrade again!
You are allowed unlimited number of users for Time Tracking, and it will not count toward the number or users or the price of the subscription. (Big plus!)
Turning on the time tracking preference in QuickBooks Online
1) Go to the Gear icon (your company name at top right of page) and select Company settings.
2) Click Advanced on left side menu.
3) Click the pencil to the right of Time Tracking
4) Check the Add Service field to timesheets or Add Customer field to timesheets. (When either of these are checked, employees and contractors who fill out time sheets can specify if activities should be billed to a customer.)
5) (Optional) Check the Show billing rate to users entering time.
6) To select the first day of the work week, use the dropdown and select the day to begin each work week. Setting the first day of your work week affects how employees and contractors view Weekly Time Sheets.
7) Click Save.
8) Click Done at bottom right.
Now that you have setup time tracking, you may access the time sheets by going to Employee and selecting Single Activity Time Sheet or Weekly Time Sheet depending on your needs.
Adding, Deleting, or Changing Users for Time Tracking
In order to add a new user, delete a user or change a user's access, you must be a Master Administrator or a Company Administrator. You can set up different types of users for QuickBooks Online Essentials and QuickBooks Online Plus.
Adding a New Time Tracking User:
(available only in QuickBooks Online Plus)1) Click the Gear icon (your company name at top right of page) and select Manage Users.
2) Click the New button
3) Select Time Tracking, and then click Next
4) Select the Employee or Vendor name that you're inviting to fill out their timesheet.
5) Enter in the new user's e-mail address and name. Click Next, and then click Finish.
An email will be sent to this new user, with a link that will finish the set up process. If they already have QuickBooks Online, they can use their sign-in name and password. If they do not, they can create a sign-in name and Password. (Please note that the user will not be able to accept this invitation from the mobile app; they have to accept the invitation through the email link.
Deleting an Existing User:
1) Choose Gear Icon (your company name at top right of page) then Manage Users.
2) Highlight the name of the user you wish to delete.
3) On the bottom right of that field, click Delete.
4) You will get this message: Are you sure you want to delete?
5) Click Yes.
Note: If you delete a user, the history in the activity log for the user will remain.
Changing a User's Access Rights
1) Choose Gear icon (your company name at top right of page) Manage Users.
2) Highlight the user's name whose access rights you're changing.
3) On the bottom right, click Edit.
4) On the top right, click Change.
5) Read through the user types and select the type of access you'd like this user to have, click Next.
6) Click Finish when complete.
7) Click Save.
8) Sign out and back in for the access rights change to appear.
Timesheet Tracking Options
- Invoicing Customers from Timesheets in QuickBooks Online
- Paying Vendors and Contractors from Timesheet in QuickBooks Online
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