Create recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online

Learn how to create templates for recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus, and Advanced.

In QuickBooks Online, you can create templates for recurring transactions like recurring expenses. You can do this for any transaction, including invoices and estimates, except for bill payments and time activities.

Note: You can automate credit card payments with a recurring sales receipt.

Prerequisites

These instructions apply to the new QuickBooks Online experience.

Create a new recurring transaction from scratch

Here's how you can create a new recurring transaction from scratch.

1. Go to Transactions and select Recurring transactions (Take me there).
2. Select New.
3. Select the type of transaction to create, and then select OK.
4. Enter a Template name.
5. Select a Type: Scheduled, Reminder, or Unscheduled.
   1. Use Scheduled transactions when you want to send the transactions out automatically. Use for when schedule and payment amounts don’t change, such as rent payments, loan payments, and depreciation.
   2. Use Reminder when you want to schedule transactions, but send them manually. Use for transactions with a fixed schedule that need to be edited before they're created, such as utility bills.
   3. Use Unscheduled when you want to create transactions but not schedule them for any specific point. Use this when you’ve created a complicated transaction you don’t want to retype, but only don’t issue on any particular schedule. 
6. If you create a scheduled or reminder type of recurring template and you use Merchant Services, decide if your customer can pay you online. To do this, select or uncheck the checkboxes for Cards and Bank transfer in the Online Payment section.
7. If creating a Scheduled or Reminder invoice recurring transaction, verify if these invoices should include unbilled charges and automatically send emails.
8. Complete the fields and select Save template.

Note: Invoices created by a recurring transaction are first saved as draft invoices. You can finalize them once you've reviewed them.

Use an unscheduled recurring transaction

You need to manually create each instance of an unscheduled recurring transaction, such as if you want to use it as a template.

1. Go to Transactions and select Recurring transactions.
2. For the template you want to use, in the Action column, select Use.
3. Fill out the rest of the transaction normally.
4. Select Save or Save and close.

Make any transaction a base template for a recurring transaction

Make an existing non invoice and estimate transaction to recurring

1. Open an existing transaction.
2. In the footer of the form, select Make recurring to create a template.
3. Complete the fields and select Save template.

Note: You can’t convert an existing estimate into a recurring estimate, but you can schedule a new recurring estimate transaction.

Make an existing invoice a recurring transaction

1. Create or open an existing invoice.
2. Select Manage ⚙, select Scheduling ▼ dropdown.
3. Turn on Make invoice recurring.
4. Fill out the details of the recurring invoice. 
5. Select Save template.

Duplicate an existing template

Create templates more quickly by duplicating existing templates.

1. Go to Settings .
2. In the Lists column, select Recurring transactions.
3. In the Action column, select Duplicate from the Edit ▼ dropdown. All settings except the title will be in the duplicate copy.

Edit a recurring template

You can edit recurring templates for any changes in invoices, expenses, and other tasks you do regularly.

Related links

• Edit a recurring template in QuickBooks Online
• Set up a recurring sales receipt in QuickBooks Online