Get started with class tracking in QuickBooks Online

Learn how to use classes to track income, expenses, or profitability by business segment. You can do this in QuickBooks Online Plus.

Get specific insights you need to plan ahead. Use classes to track your transactions by departments, product lines, or any other meaningful segments in your business. So when it’s time to run reports, you have a clear picture of each segment’s financial health. Then, you can use this info to set a budget goal for each class. We’ll show you how.

In this article, you'll learn how to:

• Pick the tool that's right for you
• Turn on class tracking
• Set up your class list
• Track your transactions by class
• Run reports by class
• Create a budget for each class

Note: Don’t have QuickBooks Plus? It’s easy to upgrade your plan once you’re ready to use class tracking.

Pick the tool that’s right for you

Think about what you want to track and what kind of insights you want to see. Class tracking is a flexible organizational tool. However, QuickBooks also has other features that might be more specific for your tracking and reporting needs:

• If you do business in multiple locations, you can use location tracking instead. This is a more specific way of tracking your sales, purchases, and profitability by business location.
• If you work on projects, use the Projects feature to track your job costs and income. You can manage your work and see your progress from a single dashboard.
• If you need to classify the things you sell, group them into different categories. This way of grouping gives you a clearer picture of your sales.

It’s also a good idea to ask your accountant’s professional opinion about using classes. If you don’t have an accountant, we can help you find a ProAdvisor near you.

Turn on class tracking

When you're ready, here's how to turn on class tracking.

Set up your class list

Once your settings are in order, here's how to set up your class list. Remember, it's best to keep it simple. Too many classes can be time consuming to work with. And the more straightforward your classes are, the easier it is to understand your reports.

Track your transactions by class

After you set up your classes, you can start to organize your customer and supplier transactions by class.

Run reports by class

Run reports to check sales, expenses, or profitability by business segment. Learn how to run reports by class.

Create a budget for each class

Plan ahead and set a goal for each segment in your company. Learn how to set budget targets for each class.