Can I give my external Accountant read only access%3F

Welcome to the Community, Lynne!

Yes, the read only access feature when adding an accountant is unavailable in the current offering in QBO. In-house accountant users have access to all reports, bookkeeping, and accounting tools, but they cannot access payroll or perform admin tasks such as managing users.

QuickBooks Online (QBO) has the ability to add multiple user types to be able to give different access, limiting each user to what he or she can view and change. With that said, we'll need to add a user in QuickBooks Online to manage their roles and limit their access to specific tasks.

I also personally sent feedback about the option of being able to set users to view specific parts of your company. You can also send one by following these steps:

1. Log in to your QuickBooks Online account.
2. Click the Gear icon and click Feedback.
3. Enter your suggestion and click Next.

If you need more help in accomplishing your other QBO tasks, please let me know by adding a comment below. Have a good day!
 

Hi Sheila

Thanks for your response. 

"QuickBooks Online (QBO) has the ability to add multiple user types to be able to give different access, limiting each user to what he or she can view and change. With that said, we'll need to add a user in QuickBooks Online to manage their roles and limit their access to specific tasks."

Whilst I can add another user, I am not able to either add multiple user types nor select anything other than Company admin, which gives them the ability to modify/change everything in the file. There is no option either to manage roles.   Perhaps it has something to do with the subscription as we only have the very basic QBO subscription?  Either way, I am not able to add a user with read only access either as an accountant or additional user.

Thanks for getting back to us, Lynne.

We can add 2 in-house accountant in every QBO subscription plan. Here's the user limits for each subscription version:

QuickBooks Online Simple Start : 1 billable user + 2 accounting firms

QuickBooks Online Essentials     : 2 billable user + 2 accounting firms

QuickBooks Online Plus                : 5  billable user + 2 accounting firms

QuickBooks Online Advanced      : 25 billable user + 2 accounting firms

Since your plan is the basic or the Simple Start version, you're unable to add another user on file since it is a single user file only. If you need to add a new user, you need to upgrade the subscription to higher tier level.

Here's how you can add an accountant user in your QBO file:

1. Click on the Settings icon.
2. Click on Manage users.
3. Click on Accountants tab.
4. Enter your accountants email address and click on Invite.

As for the feature you are looking to be able to add read-only access to the accountant in QBO is not yet available at the moment.

Check this link to learn more about: Add accountant users in QuickBooks Online.

Post again in the Community if you have other questions about QuickBooks. 

Thanks Sheila.

I understand that I can invite multiple Accountants but not as "read only" access.

As we have simple start QBO, this is a single user file, so no option to add another user and define roles.

So in short, I guess answer is no - we cannot add our Accountant as a user in any way with "read only" access.

Thanks for your assistance.

what access would I give external bookkeeper so they cannot add accounts, make payments, or do admin work.

You can give them the Standard No-Access, Gordon. Allow me to share further details about what they access using this role.

If you're using QuickBooks Online Plus, Simple Start, or Essentials, you can add your external bookkeeper as a standard no-access. This level of access prevents them from utilizing any of the accounting features in QuickBooks Online but allows them to submit timesheets only.

For a deeper understanding of user roles and access permissions, please check out this article: User Roles and Access Rights in QuickBooks Online.

However, if you're using QuickBooks Online Advanced, you can utilize the custom roles feature to create a new role and choose what they can access. To learn more, please refer to this article: Add and manage custom roles in QuickBooks Online Advanced.

You can also check out this article if you'd like to learn how to delete a user: Add, manage, or delete users in QuickBooks Online.

This should help you configure the appropriate access for your external bookkeeper. If you need more info on user roles or any QuickBooks features, feel free to get in touch. We're here to help ensure your setup operates seamlessly.