Earmark CPE

Earn CPE Anytime, Anywhere

QuickBooks Online

Navigating QuickBooks Online’s Interface Changes: From Frustration to Opportunity

· ·

QuickBooks Online’s latest interface changes have left many accounting professionals feeling like the ground is shifting beneath them. Just when you get the hang of one workflow, the layout moves, the buttons change, and suddenly everything takes twice as long. 

In episode 106 of The Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast, titled “Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes: Navigating QuickBooks Online’s New Interface,” host Alicia Katz Pollock, MAT, dives into what these updates mean in practice. She acknowledges the frustration many users feel without brushing it aside.

Understanding the Real Disruption

“I am not minimizing your experience when I’m talking about this stuff. I am not discounting your turmoil in any way,” Katz Pollock emphasizes early in the episode. What she’s trying to do is provide perspective and practical solutions.

The productivity hit is real. Two weeks before recording, Katz Pollock’s screens were loading so slowly, she’d “literally click to open a sales receipt and the framework would come up and literally nothing would load.” She’d start chugging water and get “six or eight sips in” before the transaction appeared. While performance has improved since then, the delays remind us we’re not just learning new workflows. We’re doing it while the platform struggles with its own growing pains.

Katz Pollock frames this challenge through a lens every accountant understands: onboarding time. “When I bring on a new hire, I don’t actually expect them to be productive out of the gate,” she explains. The same applies here. Build in grace periods over the next month or two. Communicate with clients about timeline adjustments if needed. This isn’t making excuses, it’s acknowledging reality.

Practical Solutions You Can Use Today

Instead of dwelling on what’s changed, Katz Pollock offers concrete navigation solutions that work right now.

First, she shares a few helpful navigation tricks:

  • Right-click links to open them in new tabs (two clicks instead of hunting for the missing “New Window” option)
  • Drag menu items up to your tab bar to create new tabs instantly
  • Bookmark frequently used pages like the Reminders list (which requires three clicks to reach otherwise)
  • Customize your menu using the pinned section in the bottom left corner

Katz Pollock strongly recommends RightTool by Hector Garcia and Mark Corum. “For me, it’s essential equipment,” she says. This browser extension adds shortcuts and automations, like copying classes down entire journal entry columns with one click.

Other interface changes accountants need to know about include:

  • The Transactions menu is now called Accounting
  • Sales is now Sales and Get Paid (highlighting the underused payment links feature)
  • Apps moved to Integrations in the upper right corner
  • Accountant Tools briefcase became My Menu in the upper left

The new sticky second-tier menus actually improve navigation once you get used to them. When doing customer work, all the customer links stay accessible without constant back-and-forth clicking.

Hidden Features Worth Exploring

While everyone’s focused on what’s different, Katz Pollock discovered several improvements that solve long-standing problems.

The Tasks feature (clipboard icon in upper right) now lets you link directly to specific transactions. “When you click “link a record,” you can actually pick an invoice or a bill or almost any kind of transaction,” Katz Pollock explains. You can attach backup documents, assign priorities, and even create recurring tasks in QBO Advanced to outline your entire workflow.

Inventory improvements are coming. New QBO files now offer FIFO or Moving Cost Average valuation methods. The development team is working on assemblies and units of measure—features that previously required third-party apps.

The Sales Tax Center has its own menu section with a product grid where you can assign tax settings to all products at once, instead of editing each individually. You can even turn sales tax off now, which wasn’t possible before.

For bookkeepers managing client billing, you can now transfer wholesale billing rates directly to another accountant user without losing discounts. This means no more calling Intuit support.

The AI Reality Check

Here’s where Katz Pollock puts the tough realities on the table. While we complain about AI pop-ups in QuickBooks, the entire industry is racing in a different direction.

“The new general ledgers that are generating all the buzz are like Digits and Puzzle,” she notes. “Their entire general ledger is built on AI first. The manual work is the secondary thought.”

This is a fundamental change rather than a gentle evolution. The choice isn’t whether to accept AI in accounting software. It’s whether to work with AI that still respects manual oversight (like QuickBooks) or jump to platforms where human input is treated as an afterthought.

Turning Disruption into Opportunity

Rather than just updating her QuickBooks courses piecemeal, Katz Pollock is seizing this moment for a complete overhaul. Starting September, she’s teaching her entire Royalwise OWLS curriculum in sequence, all in the new interface, at an accelerated pace: one class per week through June,  progressing from basics through advanced features

Annual membership is $1,500. This includes more than 35 classes, 81 hours of CPE credit, plus monthly Q&A sessions. There’s also a business membership option covering fundamentals through December—perfect for clients who need training. Her “Great QBO Refresh” opportunity can be found at http://royl.ws/QBO-Refresh?affiliate=5393907.

“Investing a little bit of time in direct education,” Katz Pollock explains, “means you don’t have to spend all that time spinning your wheels down the road.”

Making Your Voice Heard

Throughout the interface, you’ll find feedback links specific to each feature. “Don’t just say, I don’t like that the pane takes up too much room,” Katz Pollock advises. “Say, ‘I would like an option to have this pane open up or not’.”

Be specific and actionable. The more people who communicate similar needs, the more likely changes will happen. Remember, Intuit uses MVP (Minimum Viable Product) philosophy. They release features to gauge interest, then develop or abandon based on user engagement. The more people who comment about a feature, the quicker the feedback will be implemented.

Looking Ahead

Katz Pollock will be at several conferences this fall, including Women Who Count in Mesa, Intuit Connect in Las Vegas, and Hector Garcia’s Reframe conference in Miami. These events offer opportunities to learn more about upcoming changes and connect with other professionals navigating the same challenges.

The bottom line? Yes, these changes are disruptive. Yes, they cost us time and cause frustration. But they also push us to evolve. As Katz Pollock reminds us, the choice isn’t whether to adapt; it’s whether to approach change strategically or reactively.

Listen to episode 106 for Katz Pollock’s complete analysis, more navigation tips, and a healthy dose of perspective on thriving in a profession where the only constant is change. Whether you’re drowning in the new interface or ready to master it, this episode provides both the validation and practical strategies you need.

Visit royalwise.com/qbo-refresh to learn more about the Great QuickBooks Refresh training program, or find the podcast at uqb.show/106.

Alicia Katz Pollock’s Royalwise OWLS (On-Demand Web-based Learning Solutions) is the industry’s premier portal for top-notch QuickBooks Online training with CPE for accounting firms, bookkeepers, and small business owners. Visit Royalwise OWLS, where learning QBO is a HOOT!

Inside QuickBooks Online’s Biggest Transformation Since Going Cloud-Based

· ·

You’re reviewing a client’s profit and loss report when you notice little sparkle icons next to several expense categories. Curious, you hover over one and get an instant explanation: “Office supplies increased 127% compared to last month due to these three transactions.” What used to require detective work across multiple screens now happens automatically, with AI explaining not just what happened, but why.

This isn’t a future vision—it’s happening right now in QuickBooks Online’s July 2025 updates. On the latest episode of The Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast, hosts Alicia Katz Pollock from Royalwise and Dan DeLong from School of Bookkeeping break down Intuit’s massive “In the Know” session, where the company unveiled what they’re calling “QuickBooks on the Intuit platform.”

The transformation goes far beyond typical software updates. AI agents now work like digital detectives, scouring your data for patterns and anomalies. Banking feeds can automatically process PDF statements. Client communication occurs directly within QuickBooks, eliminating the spreadsheet shuffle. And those sparkle icons on reports? They’re AI-powered insights flagging unusual trends before your clients notice them.

But here’s what every accounting professional needs to understand: this isn’t an optional upgrade. By September 2025, everyone will be permanently on the new platform, with no opt-out option. The window to influence the final product closes soon.

AI Agents Become Your Digital Workforce

The heart of QuickBooks’ transformation lies in what Intuit calls “Agentic AI”—intelligent agents that actively hunt through your data for insights. Alicia explains her mental image: “I always imagine an AI bot in a detective hat, because that’s how I think about the AI is looking through the data and scouring it.”

The accounting agent, available for Essentials plans and higher, represents the biggest shift in how bookkeepers handle transactions. Instead of facing a wall of uncategorized entries, the system now identifies transactions that are “data-backed and likely to be accurate” and pre-checks them for posting. When three transactions meet this criterion, a banner appears announcing “three transactions ready to post.”

The game-changer is anomaly detection. Those sparkle icons appearing next to categories on profit and loss reports identify unusual trends automatically. Dan shares his experience: “I’ve seen it on some reports where the prior month there was a specific project that was done, and it said it right there on the screen like it went down this amount of percent because these two invoices were in the prior month.”

The categorization intelligence has evolved beyond simple pattern matching. The AI now recognizes that Shell and Arco are both gas stations, suggesting similar categories across different vendors. It scrapes bank descriptions for contextual clues and provides multiple suggestions for ambiguous transactions—offering both “meals and entertainment” and “travel meals” for restaurant charges, depending on your patterns.

Perhaps most significantly, categorization history has expanded from 12 to 24 months—a change Alicia specifically requested. This ensures annual charges can reference the previous year’s categorization, eliminating frustration with recurring yearly expenses.

Platform Integration Changes Everything

What Intuit calls “QuickBooks on the Intuit platform” represents more than rebranding—it’s the breakdown of decades-old product silos. As Dan explains, “their core offerings of TurboTax, MailChimp, and QuickBooks are getting homogenized here. And they can essentially talk to each other.”

The logic makes sense when you consider user patterns. As Alicia notes, “a lot of people use MailChimp who have never used QuickBooks. There’s a lot of people who file their taxes with TurboTax who have never used QuickBooks. So merging them all together is a natural evolution.”

The new interface features an app carousel with customer hubs, sales hubs, accounting hubs, marketing hubs, and business tax hubs. The customer hub will integrate MailChimp directly within QuickBooks, while business tax functionality brings TurboTax capabilities to the accounting workflow.

The enhanced bank feeds represent the most visible daily change. Alicia, who has been beta testing and providing daily feedback to developers, describes the evolution: “Everything that we knew and loved about the banking feeds is still there, but they kind of changed it.” The new system allows inline transaction editing, customizable column displays, and comprehensive transaction details.

The revolutionary statement import feature can process PDF bank statements and extract transactions automatically. While currently requiring human oversight—hence the two-hour processing time, at least for now—this capability could eliminate entire businesses built around transaction import services. As Alicia explains, “there’s a human being looking at it to see if it did a good job or not, and if it didn’t do it right, it’s actually going to a human being who is fixing the programming.”

Interface changes aren’t just cosmetic. The new left navigation is “brighter, it’s lighter, it’s prettier” with collapsible sections and bookmark functionality for one-click access to frequently used screens. The transformation from “Add” to “Post” in banking feeds reflects more technically accurate accounting language.

Client Communication Gets Built-In

The context gathering system eliminates the bookkeeper’s perpetual question: “What was this transaction for?” Built directly into QuickBooks, this feature threatens third-party apps by providing client communication tools within the core platform.

Alicia explains the problem this solves: “When you don’t know what something’s for, you have to go ask. And in the old days, we used to use spreadsheets for that. More recently, we’ve been using apps like Uncat, Keeper, or Financial Cents, where you can communicate with your clients right inside the app, but now you can do it right inside QBO.”

The system creates a to-do list maintained within QuickBooks, allowing bookkeepers to ask clients questions without requiring client QBO access. Clients receive emails with magic links to respond, and “it’s always the same link. And so you can just have your clients save it and bookmark it as the place to go.”

The expense forwarding feature allows anyone to send not just expenses but also income transaction directly into the system. However, this convenience introduces new risks. Alicia warns, “If you don’t have a bill approval process, you may have somebody who just goes in and pays everything without questioning anything. You actually could wind up paying bad actors who just sent random bills into your account to see if they could.” She reminds everyone to make sure they only give these email addresses to people they can trust.

The integration of Bill Pay Basic across all plans, including Simple Start, amplifies these concerns. Firms handling bill payments may want to consider upgrading clients to QBO Advanced, which includes mandatory bill approval workflows.

The September Deadline and What It Means

The timeline carries strategic implications beyond software preference. This isn’t a typical update where holdouts can postpone adoption—it’s a mandatory migration with a hard September deadline.

July offered opt-in/opt-out flexibility. August brought automatic transitions for new brand files. Crucially, all ProAdvisors’ clients were switched simultaneously. As Dan notes, “They threw accountants a bone” by ensuring firms wouldn’t juggle clients across different interfaces. September completes the mandatory transition, and by the month’s end, the new platform becomes permanent with no opt-out option.

The current period is critical for shaping the final product. As Alicia emphasizes from her beta testing: “This is the time to make sure that the platform works for us. They need your feedback.” Her daily communication with development teams resulted in interface improvements that serve real accounting workflows.

For firms considering the timeline, the choice is clear: engage now to influence the outcome, or adapt in September to whatever system emerges. The difference between being a beta participant and a forced adopter could determine whether your practice thrives or struggles.

Training and Resources Coming

Recognizing the scope of change, Intuit announced new training opportunities. Two courses are coming in October: one about understanding Agentic AI in general, and another specifically about AI agents in QuickBooks. There’s also ongoing research about what accounting professionals want to see in ProAdvisor Academy.

Alicia is completely rebuilding her training library at Royalwise. “I’ve got over 50 different courses of over 100 hours of QuickBooks Online content. So in September we are going to start over again from scratch,” she explains. Her Community and Coaching memberships will provide free entry into all webinars as she recreates content for the new platform.

Shape the Future or Be Shaped by It

The July 2025 QuickBooks updates represent the most significant transformation since moving to the cloud. AI agents are becoming the invisible workforce handling pattern recognition and routine categorization. New communication tools eliminate constant client back-and-forth. Interface changes reflect a fundamental shift toward integrated business management.

For accounting professionals, these changes represent both opportunity and risk. Those who engage now can influence the final product through feedback. As Alicia’s daily communication with developers shows, active participants can achieve solutions that serve the profession’s real needs.

But come September’s mandatory transition, the window for input closes. Firms will adapt to whatever system emerges from this beta period. The most successful professionals will view this transition as evolution—an opportunity to eliminate tedious data entry and focus on high-value advisory work.

Don’t let this transformation happen to you—be part of shaping it. The September deadline isn’t just about software—it’s about the future of the accounting profession itself.

Alicia Katz Pollock’s Royalwise OWLS (On-Demand Web-based Learning Solutions) is the industry’s premier portal for top-notch QuickBooks Online training with CPE for accounting firms, bookkeepers, and small business owners. Visit Royalwise OWLS, where learning QBO is a HOOT!

June 2025 QuickBooks Updates: Inventory, Square Integration, and What’s Coming

· ·

Picture this: You’re an accounting professional starting your Tuesday morning routine, coffee in hand, ready to tackle your client’s monthly reconciliation. But when you log into QuickBooks Online, something’s different. The familiar black navigation bar that’s guided your workflows for years has vanished, replaced by sleek gray buttons and flyout menus. Your muscle memory falters for a moment as you hover over unfamiliar icons, wondering if this change will derail your carefully orchestrated productivity schedule.

This scenario is the reality facing thousands of accounting professionals as QuickBooks Online undergoes its most significant transformation in years. In this episode of The Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast, host Alicia Katz Pollock and guest host Matthew “Spot” Fulton from Parkway Business Solutions broke down the latest “Now You Know” updates, revealing what’s new and why these changes matter for the future of accounting technology.

The Big News: Inventory Module Goes Standalone

The most significant announcement buried deep in a Firm of the Future article is a complete restructuring of how QuickBooks Online offers inventory features. After years of forcing users into QuickBooks Plus for inventory capabilities, Intuit is finally separating the inventory module into a standalone $40-per-month add-on.

“Until now, if you wanted inventory, you would subscribe to Plus,” Katz Pollock explains. “But they had users who were using Simple Start or Essentials, where they have their inventory in other places. They don’t need everything in Plus, but they do need QuickBooks inventory.”

This change eliminates a long-standing barrier for businesses running Simple Start ($30/month) or Essentials ($65/month) who needed inventory capabilities but couldn’t justify the cost of jumping to Plus. Instead of making that expensive leap, they can add inventory functionality for $40 monthly.

The thinking behind this move connects to QuickBooks’ broader Commerce Center strategy. “They’re doing this because of the commerce tools they’re building out,” Katz Pollock notes. “They have the Commerce Center, which is designed to be a one-stop shop, your single point of truth for integrations with shopping carts like Shopify, or your own website, or eBay or Etsy.”

But there’s a catch. Intuit is also wrapping the shipping label feature into the inventory module, sunsetting it as a standalone option. This means if you currently use shipping labels without inventory, you’ll need to either upgrade to Plus or add the inventory module to maintain that functionality.

The shipping integration actually works quite well, according to Katz Pollock’s testing. “The shipping module adds tracking right inside the invoice,” she explains. “You have those fields for the shipping address and then the tracking number. This auto-populates the tracking for you.”

Square Connector Gets a Major Upgrade

While inventory restructuring grabbed headlines, the Square connector improvements might have a more immediate impact on many practices. The previous “Connect to Square” integration had limitations that frustrated accountants and clients.

“The transactions were slow to appear. There was not a lot of transaction detail. The matching was limited,” Katz Pollock summarizes. “The way Square manages its holds and its adjustments, kind of like PayPal, it can be really confusing.”

The new Square connector addresses these pain points systematically:

  • Faster transaction processing. Sales now appear within hours instead of days, dramatically improving cash flow visibility.
  • Better transaction detail. You can now see net amounts, fees, tips, and taxes all broken out separately within each payout batch.
  • Improved matching. The system better recognizes and matches transactions, reducing manual reconciliation work.
  • Sales tax integration. Perhaps most importantly, the connector now imports and tracks sales tax automatically.

However, the new system imports individual transactions rather than daily batch summaries, which could create challenges for high-volume businesses. Katz Pollock shared concerns about a cornfield maze client who processes hundreds of daily transactions. “This integration right now looks like it’s individual sales. So that would import all hundreds of them every day, which is not going to be ideal for us.”

Intuit acknowledges this limitation, with batch summary imports planned for “version two” of the connector. The new system supports classes and locations, works with all QuickBooks Online versions, and remains free to use.

Interface Revolution: The New Dashboard Arrives

The most visible change coming to QuickBooks Online is the complete interface redesign, and it’s closer than you might think. The new dashboard represents QuickBooks’ most significant user experience transformation in years, but it’s designed to minimize disruption to existing workflows.

“Intuit has done a really good job of not making something so drastically different that we have to start over again,” Katz Pollock observes from her beta testing experience. “All of the windows, all of the transaction screens they’ve already been updating over the last two years. And so once you go into a transaction, there’s literally nothing different.”

The visual transformation is dramatic. The familiar black navigation bar disappears, replaced by a two-level system with light gray buttons and flyout menus. But beneath this aesthetic change, all core functionality remains intact.

Fulton, also beta-testing the interface, emphasizes this continuity: “Nothing’s actually changing behind it. You have pretty little icons on the far left instead of just words. And then those pretty little icons fly out to more menus, and then guess what? It’s exactly the same when you’re in that.”

QuickBooks carefully orchestrated the rollout timeline:

  • July 1st: Manual opt-in becomes available (with opt-out option)
  • August 1-30: Automatic enrollment begins (opt-out still available)
  • September: Mandatory transition (no opt-out option)
  • September 22nd: Final cutover date

This phased approach gives users multiple opportunities to adapt while providing safety nets for those who need more time. The timing also ensures completion before the next QuickBooks Connect conference, where QuickBooks will likely showcase new features built for the updated interface.

Key improvements in the new interface include:

  • Enhanced bookmarks. Favorite reports and frequently used screens are now accessible at the main level, eliminating menu navigation for common tasks.
  • Customizable dashboard. Users can hide or rearrange dashboard components to match their workflow preferences.
  • Intuitive navigation. The “silo buttons” (accounting, expenses, sales, customers, payroll) are actually easier to understand than the previous system.
  • Hover menus. Flyout menus respond to cursor hover, eliminating unnecessary clicks.

Supporting the Transition: Training and Resources

Recognizing that interface changes require comprehensive support, training providers are mobilizing resources to help professionals maintain productivity during the transition.

Royalwise is undertaking a massive curriculum overhaul. “Everything I have has to be rerecorded,” Katz Pollock explains, referring to her library of over 50 QuickBooks classes. “So, you’ve got me here for the next 15 years.”

Starting in September, Royalwise will re-teach its entire curriculum in the new interface through bi-weekly sessions. Silver and Gold members get automatic enrollment at no additional cost—a commitment that demonstrates the scale of change management required.

The training approach extends beyond just explaining new buttons and menus. They’re developing a new book series specifically for the new interface, with comprehensive volumes and specialized guides for daily workflows, inventory, project management, and payroll. A practice set with real business scenarios will help users gain hands-on experience. Preorder your copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FDX859WD

Fulton’s ongoing QB Power Hour sessions with Dan DeLong provide another support pillar. These live streams every other Tuesday (9 AM Pacific, 12 PM Eastern) offer continuing education that adapts to current challenges and allows real-time interaction with experts.

What’s Coming Next: AI Agents and Beyond

July’s “In the Know” session will focus heavily on AI agents—automated assistants designed to handle routine tasks like sending invoices, tracking payments, reconciling books, and managing customer leads.

Intuit is developing four types of AI agents:

  • Accounting agents to handle routine bookkeeping tasks
  • Payments agents to manage payment processing and tracking
  • Customer agents to oversee customer relationship management
  • Finance agents to provide financial analysis and insights

These agents will integrate with the new dashboard and existing workflows, representing the next phase of QuickBooks’ evolution toward more automated, intelligent accounting processes.

Other developments on the horizon include expanded CRM tools, deeper MailChimp integration, and enhanced mineral HR features for payroll Premium and Elite users. The Mineral HR platform, available since 2019, includes law alert libraries, wage calculators, employee handbook builders, and safety training courses—resources many users don’t realize they already have access to.

The Path Forward

QuickBooks understands the critical balance between innovation and disruption in professional environments. The modular approach to inventory, careful interface preservation, and comprehensive training support show enterprise software evolution can enhance rather than disrupt existing workflows.

For accounting professionals, this blueprint suggests future changes will follow similar patterns: gradual, well-supported, and designed to amplify rather than replace professional expertise. The phased rollout timelines, preserved functionality, and extensive educational resources show a commitment to maintaining productivity during technological transformation.

As these changes roll out over the coming months, they’ll provide valuable insights into how the accounting profession adapts to technological evolution. The strategies demonstrated here offer a roadmap for future innovations that prioritize professional continuity alongside technological advancement.

Ready to dive deeper into these game-changing updates? Listen to the complete episode of The Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast where Alicia Katz Pollock and Matthew “Spot” Fulton provide their full analysis of these developments and discuss how these changes will affect your practice and your clients’ businesses.

Alicia Katz Pollock’s Royalwise OWLS (On-Demand Web-based Learning Solutions) is the industry’s premier portal for top-notch QuickBooks Online training with CPE for accounting firms, bookkeepers, and small business owners. Visit Royalwise OWLS, where learning QBO is a HOOT!

QuickBooks Online Tags Retiring May 15: How to Migrate Your Data Now

· ·

QuickBooks Online users who rely on the Tags feature are facing a critical deadline. After May 15th, 2025, you’ll no longer be able to add new tags to transactions. This underused but flexible feature is being replaced by a modified Custom Fields alternative that comes with both benefits and limitations.

In a recent episode of The Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast,  hosts Alicia Katz Pollock and Dan DeLong discussed this major transition and explained what you need to know and do before the deadline.

Why Tags Are Going Away (And Why Some Users Will Miss Them)

According to Alicia and Dan, about three-quarters of QuickBooks users never used Tags at all. As Dan explains, “When they roll out a new feature, if it doesn’t get used, it could stand to be discontinued. When I worked there, typically we wouldn’t find out who used it until we stopped it… and then people would call in droves, like, ‘What are you doing? I was using that!’

But for those who discovered Tags’ flexibility, this retirement is a significant loss. Alicia shares several creative ways professionals used Tags:

  • Marking transactions that needed review: “I would use a tag that said ‘for review.’ And then I could pull up all the transactions that needed review, and boom, they were all right there.”
  • Weather tracking at a gas station: “They used tags to say what the weather was… Is it sunny? Is it raining? Because their business is lower on rainy days, and that helped them filter out weather anomalies.”
  • Animal categorization at a veterinary practice: “They would tag transactions with cats, dogs, birds, rodents and reptiles and then they could see who they were providing their services for.”

Tags were particularly valuable for users on lower-tier QuickBooks plans who didn’t have access to Classes or Locations features. “If you didn’t need any of the other features in Plus,” Alicia explains, “Tags allowed you to get flexible about it.”

The Migration Timeline: Act Now

The retirement process follows this timeline:

  • March 17, 2025: Custom Fields was expanded across all QuickBooks Online subscription levels
  • May 15, 2025: CRITICAL DEADLINE – After this date, Tags become read-only
  • May 16, 2025 – May 14, 2028: During this period, you can view historical Tags and run reports but can’t add new tags
  • May 15, 2028: Complete removal of Tags functionality and all historical data

How to Migrate Your Tags to Custom Fields

If you’re using Tags, here’s what you need to do before May 15th:

Step 1: Make sure all your transactions are properly tagged. Go to the gear icon, select Tags, and click “see all untagged transactions” to catch any missed items.

Step 2: Click the “migrate tags to custom fields” button in the Tags section.

Step 3: During migration, you’ll need to:

  • Choose which tags to include (uncheck any you don’t want to migrate)
  • Name your new Custom Field (it defaults to “Tags”)
  • Specify that the field applies to transactions (recommended)
  • Select which transaction types should display the field
  • Decide whether the field should print on customer-facing forms

Step 4: Complete the migration. Your Tags will convert to a dropdown Custom Field with up to 100 options. If you have grouped tags, they’ll appear as “Group Name: Tag Name” in the dropdown list.

Dan notes an important distinction: “The historical transactions still have the tags on them. The new transactions won’t have the tag field – they will have the custom field available to choose.”

Critical Step: Preserve Your Historical Data

This migration doesn’t transfer your historical tag data to the new Custom Field – it only creates the structure for future transactions. Your 2025 reports will be split between the two systems.

“Run your reports on all of your tags so that you have that history permanently,” Alicia emphasizes. “When you’re looking at the Tags list, every single tag group or ungroup tag has a ‘run report’ link to the right of it.”

Save these reports as PDFs with multiple date ranges. “This is the very last time you are ever going to see a P&L related to this data,” Alicia warns.

What’s Better and What’s Worse in the New System

Improvements:

  • Universal Availability: Custom Fields are now available across all subscription tiers.
  • Increased Fields: Simple Start and Essentials now have one custom field, Plus gets four, and Advanced continues with twelve.
  • Dropdown Functionality: The new custom field is a dropdown, which “helps eliminate data entry errors,” as Dan points out.
  • Form Flexibility: Unlike standard custom fields, this new one works on both sales forms AND expense forms.
  • Printing Options: You can choose whether to display the field on customer-facing documents.

Limitations:

  • No P&L Reporting: “The big heartache is that you cannot do a profit and loss report by custom field,” Alicia explains. This is a major functional loss for many users.
  • Banking Feed Limitations: “You cannot apply this new custom field from the banking feed,” notes Alicia. You’ll need to edit transactions after they’re created.
  • No Multiple Values: Unlike Tags, you can only select one value per Custom Field on a transaction.
  • No Bulk Assignment: Currently, there’s no way to apply Custom Fields to multiple transactions at once, though Intuit has said this feature is coming.

Recommendations for Moving Forward

If the Custom Fields approach doesn’t meet your needs, consider these options:

Consider Upgrading: “If you’re angry because your tags are gone, you probably need to be using the right tool for the job anyway,” suggests Alicia. “Classes are way more reportable… It might be worth upgrading to Plus.”

Use Multiple Custom Fields: If you’re on Plus or Advanced, you have access to more custom fields and can create separate fields for different tracking needs.

Spreadsheet Sync: Advanced users can leverage Spreadsheet Sync to manage custom field data, including retroactively applying values to past transactions.

Stay Alert for Improvements: Intuit has already announced that bulk assignment and adding Custom Fields to deposits are on their roadmap.

The Reality Check

As Dan puts it, “If you don’t use something, it is in jeopardy of going away,” bringing new meaning to “use it or lose it” in the software world.

For many users, Tags weren’t even on their radar. But for those who built creative workflows around them, this transition requires immediate action to preserve historical data and adapt to the new system.

If you need help with the migration process or want to discuss this change, you can reach out to Alicia and Dan at unofficialquickbookspodcast@gmail.com.

Listen to the full episode for more details and insights about this important transition in QuickBooks Online.

Alicia Katz Pollock’s Royalwise OWLS (On-Demand Web-based Learning Solutions) is the industry’s premier portal for top-notch QuickBooks Online training with CPE for accounting firms, bookkeepers, and small business owners. Visit Royalwise OWLS, where learning QBO is a HOOT!

7 Game-Changing Features in QuickBooks Modern Invoices That Save You Time

· ·

For accounting professionals who rely on QuickBooks, the invoice is arguably your most essential tool. QuickBooks’ modern invoice redesign represents one of the most significant overhauls in years, changing how you’ll create, send, and manage client billing.

In a recent episode of The Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast, hosts Alicia Katz Pollock and Dan DeLong explore these new modern invoices, which have been in development for about a year. Alicia says, “They originally drove us crazy, and now I’ve actually become quite fond of them”—a journey many accountants can relate to when facing significant software changes.

Getting Started with Modern Invoices

If you haven’t switched to modern invoices yet, you’ll need to take that first step manually. When viewing a standard invoice, look for the “Update Layout” button in the upper right corner. Clicking this will convert the invoice to the modern experience.

The new interface might initially seem to take up more screen space (Alicia notes her screenshot size has doubled), but the extra real estate serves a purpose. Let’s explore what’s changed and why it matters to your practice.

Smarter Customer Insights Without Switching Screens

One of the biggest improvements is accessing client information without leaving your invoice. Next to the customer’s name, you’ll find a small Intuit Assist icon that provides valuable context with one click.

“It actually does have contextual information about the customer that’s there,” explains Dan. “So it’s nice to have it all in one place. And you don’t have to navigate and look in the customer section to see those types of insights.”

This panel shows:

  • Payment history by method (credit card, bank transfer, PayPal)
  • Number of open invoices
  • Number of overdue invoices
  • Customer relationship length

Alicia appreciates this feature: “I’m kind of used to having to have multiple tabs open where one I’m doing my invoicing and in one I’ve got the customers open… now I can see my customer information without having to navigate away.”

You can also edit customer information directly from the invoice screen by clicking the “edit customer” link. This allows you to update addresses and contact details without interrupting your workflow, a significant time saver.

Better Communication Tools for You and Your Clients

The modern invoice includes four different communication fields, each serving a specific purpose:

  1. Customer payment options: Instructions about how to pay that appear on the invoice
  2. Note to customer: General communication that appears on the invoice
  3. Internal customer notes (hidden): Team communications that clients can’t see
  4. Memo on statement: Text that appears only on customer statements

The internal notes feature is especially valuable for team collaboration. As Alicia explains, you can use it to record important details like “Customer got a PITA discount”—information your team needs but clients shouldn’t see.

Sales Tax Management Made Easier

According to Alicia, address management in the modern invoice is “mission critical” for those working in states with complex sales tax rules.

The system now clearly shows whether sales tax is calculated based on your business location or the customer’s location. By toggling the “add shipping info” link, you control which address determines the tax calculation:

  • When shipping information is collapsed, tax is calculated based on your business location
  • When shipping information is shown, tax is calculated based on the ship-to-address

“For those of you who are having trouble with sales tax calculating incorrectly, this is your game changer,” emphasizes Alicia. “Pay attention to the bill to, the ship to, and the ship from boxes and make sure that you have the right addresses in the right places.”

Expanded Payment Options and Strategic Fee Management

The modern invoice significantly expands payment options through QuickBooks Payments. Beyond standard credit cards, your clients can now use:

  • Apple Pay
  • Bank transfers (ACH/EFT)
  • PayPal
  • Venmo

What makes this integration powerful is that all these payment methods work through QuickBooks Payments—no separate PayPal or Venmo business accounts are required. This means all payments are processed with the same automatic recording, fee allocation, and deposit reconciliation that QuickBooks Payments provides.

“All of the automagic things that QuickBooks payments does—like recording the payments, recording the deposits, allocating the fees, making the deposit reconciled in the bank feed—all of those things are done for you,” explains Dan.

Perhaps most interesting is the new option to have customers pay the processing fees. By turning off all standard payment methods, you’ll see a new option labeled “your customer pays the fees.” When selected, this gives clients the option to pay via ACH while covering the associated costs.

Alicia shared a practical application: When clients’ credit cards expired, she sent invoices with the “customer pays fees” option enabled. In her email, she wrote: “You’re welcome to pay this yourself. If you want to save on the fees, give us a call with your new payment information so that we can update our systems. And then you won’t have to pay the fees; we’ll pay the fees.”

The result? Three phone calls with updated card information—problem solved.

Recurring Payments Without PCI Compliance Concerns

The modern invoice also introduces an improved approach to recurring payments that addresses security concerns. Instead of storing client credit card information (which creates potential PCI compliance issues), the system now allows clients to approve automatic future payments while maintaining control of their payment details.

“This is really replacing scheduled sales receipts,” explains Alicia. “Now you can make a recurring invoice, and the customer approves it to auto pay it in the future. So it’s kind of the best of both worlds.”

Dan adds that the system “automatically checks the auto-pay functionality so that they don’t have to find it. You don’t have to tell them where it is. It’s just preselecting that option.”

Customizing Your Invoice Experience

Nearly all customization options for the modern invoice are found in the Manage panel and can be accessed via the gear icon at the top right. These settings allow you to control what appears on your invoice without changing default settings for all clients.

Through this panel, you can:

  • Turn specific fields on or off (shipping information, service date, SKU column)
  • Manage custom fields
  • Configure payment options and tips functionality
  • Add discounts (percentage or dollar amount)
  • Control whether discounts apply before or after sales tax
  • Set up recurring invoices or payments
  • Access client reports directly from the invoice

For those who want to see exactly what clients experience, three view options are available after selecting the “modern” template:

  • Email View: How the email appears in a client’s inbox
  • Payer View: What clients see in the payment portal
  • PDF View: How the invoice looks when printed

“Rather than sending a CC or BCC to yourself to see what the customer sees, it’s nice to see it all in one place,” notes Dan.

Current Limitations and Future Development

While the modern invoice offers many improvements, some limitations exist in the current version:

  1. Design customization is limited to colors and fonts when using the modern template. To access all the modern features, you must use the standard modern layout rather than your custom templates. Intuit has indicated enhanced customization is on their roadmap.
  1. Reminders cannot be set on an invoice-by-invoice basis yet. Both hosts expressed a strong desire for this feature: “Intuit, if you’re listening, we desperately want reminders to be set up on an invoice by invoice basis. Desperately.”
  1. The Intuit Assist autofill feature is still in beta. This feature aims to create invoices automatically from files, images, or text, but accuracy varies, especially with line items. The hosts encourage users to try it despite limitations, as user feedback will help improve it.

Why These Changes Matter for Your Practice

These invoice improvements represent more than just interface changes—they’re part of a complete rewrite of QuickBooks Online’s underlying code.

“One of the things that’s really happening is they’re actually rewriting the entire code base underpinning all of QuickBooks Online because it originally started back almost 20 years ago,” explains Alicia. “The code that it was written on 20 years ago was modern back then. But things have changed on the programming side.”

This approach sometimes requires what Dan calls a “take a step back to move forward type of thing,” where short-term limitations enable long-term improvements. “They’re basically recreating the foundation so that new and cool features can actually take place,” he notes.

For accounting professionals, these changes deliver practical benefits:

  • Time savings from not switching between screens
  • Improved client experience with flexible payment options
  • Better security compliance through modern payment handling
  • Real-time visibility into invoice status, from creation through payment
  • Strategic tools for managing fees and client relationships

Most importantly, Intuit is actively seeking feedback. A prominent feedback link appears on each invoice, providing a direct channel to the development team.

“If you have a good idea, please go up to feedback and flood that feedback and let them know what you want to change,” encourages Alicia. “They are actively listening.”

Dan confirms: “Now they can act on the flood of feedback that has been coming in. They’ve been taking care of some of the more mission-critical issues. Now they’ll be able to further enhance this experience.”

Next Steps: Making the Most of Modern Invoices

To maximize the benefits of these changes, consider these practical steps:

  1. Explore the Manage panel thoroughly to understand all available customization options
  2. Try the Intuit Assist features even while in beta
  3. Review your sales tax settings in light of the new address field controls
  4. Use the view options to understand your clients’ experience
  5. Provide feedback to help shape future development

By mastering these new capabilities, you can transform what might initially seem like disruptive changes into meaningful practice advantages—delivering better client experiences while saving valuable time.

For a comprehensive demonstration of all these features, listen to Episode 80 of The Unofficial QuickBooks Accountants Podcast, “Everything You Need to Know About Modern Invoices.”

Alicia Katz Pollock’s Royalwise OWLS (On-Demand Web-based Learning Solutions) is the industry’s premier portal for top-notch QuickBooks Online training with CPE for accounting firms, bookkeepers, and small business owners. Visit Royalwise OWLS, where learning QBO is a HOOT!