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Managing transactions and searches in QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online offers several tools to help you manage specific transaction types, customize your workflow, and find the data you need quickly. Whether you are handling rental property accounting, searching through hundreds of invoices, or customizing forms, these tips can help you work more efficiently.

Handling rental property deposits and fees

Managing rental income requires specific accounting practices to ensure liabilities and income are recorded correctly.

• Security Deposits: Always record a security deposit as a liability, not as rental income. It is a holding amount that should be tracked in a liability account (often referred to as an escrow or holding account) until the tenant moves out. At that time, you can apply the deposit to any damages owed or refund it.
• Tenant Setup: Add your tenants as Customers in QuickBooks Online.
• Service Items: Create specific Service items to handle tenant charges. This allows you to track rent payments and fees separately on your invoices and reports.

Searching for text in memos and descriptions

If you need to locate a transaction based on specific text—such as a word in a memo, description, or invoice body—use the Advanced Search feature.

1. Select the Magnifying glass (Search) icon at the top right of QuickBooks Online.
2. Click Advanced Search.
3. In the drop-down menu, change the filter from “All Transactions” to Memo or Line Description.
4. Enter the text you are looking for and select the search icon to view the results.

This is useful for finding specific details across hundreds of invoices or transactions without needing to know the exact amount or payee.

Managing pre-filled transaction data

When writing checks or entering transactions, QuickBooks Online may automatically pull up information from the last transaction for that vendor. This happens if the automation setting for pre-filling is turned on.

To change this behavior:

1. Select the Gear icon, then Account and settings (or Company Settings).
2. Go to the Advanced tab.
3. In the Automation section, look for Prefill forms with previously entered content.
4. You can uncheck this box to stop the automatic pre-fill, or leave it checked. If it is checked, simply delete or overwrite the pre-filled data on the screen before saving.

Customizing contact info on invoices by location

If you use QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced, you can utilize Location tracking to manage different contact information for various properties or partners.

• Turn on Location Tracking: Go to the Gear icon > Account and settings > Advanced > Categories > Track locations.
• Benefits: Once enabled, you can assign a location to transactions. This allows you to filter reports by location (such as a Profit and Loss by Location) and helps organize data if you manage multiple business units or rental sites.

Note: For specific invoice customization regarding which address appears in the header, ensure the correct “Bill to” and “Ship to” information is entered in the customer record, or utilize custom fields if specific contact details need to vary per invoice.