Workpapers Document Manager

QuickBooks Online Accountant includes a new tab and feature called Documents. The Documents tab of Workpapers is a convenient access point that lets accountants and bookkeepers streamline their workflow.

Accounting professionals now have an unlimited cloud-based file storage option which can house the entire range of client engagement. Accountants can use this section to collect, store, and collaborate with firm members on important documents that lead up to the clients’ fiscal year end.

In this article, you'll learn how to:

• Access the Documents feature
• Add a folder in the General section
• Create a subfolder
• Attach a file to a folder
• Document Manager carry forward
• Download a folder or file

Access the Documents feature

1. Sign in to QuickBooks Online Accountant.
2. Select the client file you wish to work on from the client dashboard.
3. Select Workpapers from Accountant Tools, from Your Books, or from Books to Tax from the left navigation menu.
4. Select the Documents tab.

Note: To know how to carry forward your documents from the current or previous tax year and push them to the next, refer to Document Manager Carry forward section below.

The Documents tab contains the following sections:

• General: This tab allows for full customization - users can add their own custom folders and associated folder names. Quickly copy your folders from other clients to your current client with no need to recreate folders each time you set up a new client.
• Accounts: This tab mimics the chart of accounts and is specifically designed to mirror the accounts you have already created in your clients file. This ensures your documents are always up-to-date.

Add a folder in the General section

Note: Folders and files added to the General section are automatically arranged in alphabetical order.

1. Select the General tab.
2. Select the +Add new folder option.
3. Enter a name for the new folder and select Save. The new folder displays in the folder list.

Create a subfolder

Subfolders can be added to existing folders to improve organization of files.

1. Select the folder you want to add a subfolder to.
2. Select Create sub folder from the Add dropdown menu.
3. Name the subfolder.
4. Select Save.

 The new sub folder displays in the folder.

Attach a file to a folder

Workpapers Document Manager supports several file types:

• PDF
• Excel (XLS, XLSX)
• JPG
• PNG
• GIF
• DOC (DOC, DOCX)
• PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX)
• TXT

Each file type is represented by a unique colour in the Document Manager for quick reference. The file capacity is a maximum of 300 MB per file. Larger files cannot be attached.

1. Select the folder to attach files to.
2. Select Add from the right dropdown menu.
3. Select the files to attach and select Open. The file attaches to the folder.

 Tip: You can drag-and-drop multiple files directly from your computer to a folder.

You can verify that the document is present by clicking on the Account tab.

If you added the supporting document to the wrong account, you can quickly amend it by dragging and dropping the document to the correct folder.

Rename a file

Users can rename a file after it has been attached to a folder.

1. Select the individual file to rename.
2. Select Rename from the Download dropdown menu, then select Rename.
3. Rename the file as required.
4. On your keyboard, press Enter to save the new name.

Document Manager carry forward

This feature allows you to mark a folder to carry forward files from one year to the next. It automatically pull the files and settings to the next tax year.

To mark or unmark a folder for carry forward, locate the folder and select Mark files for carry forward from the Add dropdown under Actions column.

To carry forward the entire directory:

1. Select the current tax year.
2. Select Books to tax actions, then select Carry forward previous year. 

This pulls all data and settings from previous tax years folders marked for carry forward. This process can take about ten minutes to complete. Feel free to jump to another section and it'll continue to process in the background. You'll receive a notification once the process completes.

Note: This process pulls all folders marked for carry forward.

Download a folder or file

You can download a folder or file from the Documents tab to a different location. Learn more about downloading a .zip file in Workpapers.

Download a folder

1. Select the folder you want to download.
2. Select Download folder from the Add dropdown menu. The folder and any sub folders contained within it downloads to your computer as a .zip file.

Download a file

1. Select the file you want to download.
2. Select Download from the Download drop-down menu. The file downloads to your computer.