Learn about usage limits in QuickBooks Online

QuickBooksHelp · ‎January 23, 2019

Usage limits are the maximum number of things, like accounts or users, you can have at one time in QuickBooks. Depending on your subscription, you have a specific usage limit. These limits apply to how many billable users, chart of accounts, classes, locations, and tags you can add to QuickBooks. Here's how to view and manage usage limits and what to do when you reach your limits.

Usage limits by subscription

In QuickBooks Online, usage limits vary by subscription. Only active (or invited) users, accounts, classes, locations and tags, count toward the limit.

Note: Some user types like reports only and time tracking only don't count toward the user limit. Make sure each user in QuickBooks has the access that's right for them.

QuickBooks Online Simple Start

Billable users: 1 user.
Non-billable users: 2 accountant firm users. Reports-only and time tracking-only users are not available for this subscription.
Classes and locations (combined): Not available for this subscription.
Chart of accounts: Maximum of 250 accounts.
Tag groups: Maximum of 40 groups.
QuickBooks Commerce Accounting: Maximum of 1 sales channel connected.

QuickBooks Online Essentials

Billable users: 3 users.
Non-billable users: 2 accountant firm users. Unlimited time tracking only users. Reports-only users are not available for this subscription.
Classes and locations (combined): Not available for this subscription.
Chart of accounts: Maximum of 250 accounts.
Tag groups: Maximum of 40 groups.
QuickBooks Commerce Accounting: Maximum of 3 sales channels connected

QuickBooks Online Plus

Billable users: 5 users.
Non-billable users: 2 accountant firm users. Unlimited time tracking-only and reports-only users.
Classes and locations (combined): 40 combined classes and locations.
Chart of accounts: Maximum of 250 accounts.
Tag groups: Maximum of 40 groups.
QuickBooks Commerce Accounting: unlimited sales channels can be connected

QuickBooks Online Advanced

Billable users: 25 users
Non-billable users: 3 accountant firm users. Unlimited time tracking-only, and reports-only users.
Classes and locations: Unlimited classes and locations.
Chart of accounts: Unlimited accounts
Tag groups: Unlimited groups
QuickBooks Commerce Accounting: unlimited sales channels can be connected

QuickBooks Online Payroll Core, Premium, and Elite

If you have both a payroll subscription and a QuickBooks Online subscription, all your usage limits are determined by your QuickBooks Online subscription.

If you have a payroll subscription without a QuickBooks Online accounting subscription, you have 5 billable users available.

How to check usage limits

Your usage limits dashboard shows you how many items you have for each usage limit. If you’re an accountant, sign in directly to your client’s account to see the most up-to-date usage limits.

Sign in to QuickBooks Online as an admin.
Go to Settings ⚙ and select Account and settings.
Select the Usage tab.

See list limits only

In list view, you have an option to see limits on list items.

Note: There are no usage limits for list items in QuickBooks Online Advanced.

Select Settings ⚙. Then select All Lists.
Select the list item you want to view. Note: You can’t see users in the list view.
Select the▼ icon next to the Filter by name field.
Select Counts toward limits.

This shows you the items that count toward usage limits.

What happens when I reach my limit?

When you reach your usage limits and can’t add any more items like users or accounts, don’t worry. You can either upgrade your subscription, or reduce your usage. If you have more than one company, you’ll need to check usage for each one.

To reduce usage, you can do the following:

Delete an account user if you have too many users in your account.
Make an account inactive to reduce your usage in chart of accounts.
Delete classes or delete locations if you go over your limits for class and location. (only available in QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced).
Delete a tag if you go over your tags limit.
Disconnect a sales channel if you've closed stores or have unneeded channels.

Note: If your accountant manages your QuickBooks account, contact them to update your subscription.