10 QuickBooks Features to Save You Time

Imagine this: You’re running a thriving small business—serving customers, brainstorming new ideas, and growing with confidence. Your books? They’re handled efficiently, giving you clear insights into your numbers without stealing your time.

Sounds ideal, right?

QuickBooks is packed with features that can help you achieve exactly that—streamlined systems, automated tasks, and financial clarity that frees you to focus on what truly matters. Today, we’re sharing 10 hidden QuickBooks features to save you time and elevate your business operations, save hours of work, and keep you organized.

1. Automate Recurring Transactions

Think of a monthly bill you always forget to send or an invoice you manually recreate each time. Automating recurring transactions in QuickBooks ensures these tasks happen seamlessly and will save you time.

How to Do It:

• Go to the transaction you want to automate (like a bill or invoice).
• Click “Make Recurring” and set the frequency.

What You Gain:

• Fewer repetitive tasks.
• Improved consistency for monthly invoices or bills.

Quick Tip: Use this for fixed expenses like rent, utilities, or subscription services. Set it and forget it—just like autopay for your financial tasks.

2. Customize Reports to Get the Insights You Need

Standard reports are helpful, but every business is unique. QuickBooks’ custom reports let you track the metrics that matter most to your goals.

Steps to Customize:

• Go to Reports > choose a report > click Customize.
• Filter by customer, location, or project. Add or remove columns for a cleaner view.

Take It Further: Schedule reports to automatically hit your inbox weekly or monthly. Imagine getting your key numbers delivered while sipping your Monday coffee.

Real-Life Impact: For a growing construction business, customizing reports to track job costs and profit by project can be game-changing.

3. Use Bank Feeds for Real-Time Accuracy

Manual entry is yesterday’s news. QuickBooks syncs your bank feeds automatically, so your financial data is always current.

How to Set Up:

• Go to Banking > Link Account. Follow the prompts to securely connect your bank or credit card.

Why This Matters:

• Real-time syncing gives you instant insights into your cash flow.
• Fewer errors mean you spend less time hunting for missing transactions.

Efficiency Hack: Categorize transactions as they come in to save even more time at month-end.

4. Save Hours with QuickBooks Keyboard Shortcuts

Your mouse is great, but keyboard shortcuts are faster. Mastering them helps you navigate tasks in seconds.

Top Shortcuts You’ll Love:

• Ctrl + I: Create a new invoice.
• Ctrl + R: Run a report.
• Ctrl + E: Edit a transaction.

Pro Tip: Stick a shortcut cheat sheet near your desk for easy reference. Before you know it, these commands will be second nature.

5. Monitor Changes with the Audit Log

Keeping your finances clean and transparent is essential, especially when multiple team members are involved. QuickBooks’ Audit Log keeps a record of every change made to your books.

How to Access It:

• Go to Settings ⚙️ > Audit Log.

What It Shows:

• Who made changes.
• What was changed.
• When it happened.

Why You’ll Love It: Peace of mind. You’ll always know who’s done what, making collaboration clear and accountable.

6. Leverage Class and Location Tracking

If your business has multiple income streams, projects, or departments, tracking them separately is a game-changer.

How to Use It:

• Turn on Track Classes and Track Locations in Settings > Advanced.

Benefits:

• Clear insights into which parts of your business are most profitable.
• Better decision-making for future growth.

Example: A retail business can separate income for each location to identify the highest-performing store.

7. Automate Invoice Reminders

No one loves chasing payments. QuickBooks’ automated reminders ensure customers pay on time without awkward follow-ups.

How to Set It Up:

• Go to Settings > Sales > Invoice Reminders.
• Customize the timing, content, and tone.

Why This Works: It’s professional and proactive. Clients appreciate the nudge, and you get paid faster—win-win.

8. Simplify On-the-Go Management with the Mobile App

The QuickBooks mobile app lets you manage your finances wherever you are.

Key Features:

• Snap photos of receipts for instant expense tracking.
• Send invoices from your phone.
• Check cash flow at a glance.

Real-Life Example: Imagine finishing a job, snapping a photo of a receipt, and sending an invoice—all before leaving the client’s office.

9. Integrate Apps to Do More

QuickBooks integrates with hundreds of apps to make your life easier. Whether it’s project management, inventory tracking, or CRM tools, there’s an app for that. These are examples, please be sure to do your homework in deciding if these apps are right for your specific small business needs.

Examples:

• Trello for project tracking.
• Shopify for e-commerce management.
• Bill.com for automating accounts payable.

Why It’s Powerful: Integration saves time, reduces manual entry, and gives you a central hub for all your operations.

10. Secure Your Work with Automatic Backups

Losing financial data is rare, but it happens. QuickBooks lets you schedule regular backups, so you never lose progress.

How to Do It:

• For QuickBooks Online: Backups happen automatically in the cloud.
• For QuickBooks Desktop: Go to File > Back Up Company > Create Local Backup.

Peace of Mind: With backups in place, you can work confidently, knowing your records are protected.

Elevate Your QuickBooks Experience

These features aren’t just tools—they’re opportunities. Opportunities to simplify your bookkeeping, save time, and give yourself the clarity you need to grow with confidence.

At Perlinger Consulting, we help small businesses unlock the full potential of QuickBooks. Whether you’re looking for setup, training, or optimization, we’ll show you how to get the most out of your software—so you can focus on what matters most. We also offer special pricing on QuickBooks subscriptions. Why pay more?

Additional Resources to Optimize Your QuickBooks Experience

To help you streamline your financial management and explore more tools that work seamlessly with QuickBooks, check out these trusted resources:

• Explore QuickBooks Online training to master the software and improve your efficiency.
• Discover the QuickBooks App Marketplace for integrations that fit your business needs.
• Get guidance on customizing financial reports in QuickBooks for actionable insights.
• Find out how to secure your financial data with automatic backups to protect your hard work.

Ready to make QuickBooks work for you? Let’s get started today!

📞 Contact Us: 720.290.4389
🌐 Website: perlingerconsulting.com

Disclosure:
This blog is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, accounting, or legal advice. Every business is unique, and we recommend consulting with a qualified professional, like our team at Perlinger Consulting, to address your specific needs.