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Transfer clients to your wholesale discount plan in QuickBooks Online

by Intuit•10• Updated 1 month ago

Learn how to take over billing for clients who currently pay for their own QuickBooks Online subscription, or transfer existing wholesale clients from another accounting firm.

If you have clients who pay for a QuickBooks Online subscription on their own or clients who are still on their previous accounting firm’s wholesale discount plan, you can transfer them to your wholesale discount plan. In this article, we’ll show you how.

Your firm will cover the costs and billing for them from now on.

Notes:

  • Payroll free trials don't apply to wholesale discount units.
  • When you add a client to a wholesale discount plan, those clients with an existing QuickBooks Online subscription will be charged at the standard wholesale discount price rates. For example, a QuickBooks Plus account will be charged at the Wholesale Discount Plus account rate instead of the standard QuickBooks Plus account rate as mentioned on the Intuit website.
  • Clients on annual billing won't be able to transfer their billing to your wholesale discount plan. To do so, they would first need to switch to a monthly billing plan.

Take over billing for a client

If you can’t move a client to the wholesale discount, check the Eligible to Transfer column. These are the most frequent messages we see.

  • No (permission needed) - The Primary Admin needs to grant permission to the Accountant to take over their billing.
  • No (different Billing system) - A service attached to the company makes it ineligible to transfer.
  • No (in progress) - Result of an incorrect address on either the client or accountant company.
  • No (annual billing) - Customers who are on annual billing payments need to switch to monthly billing.

 If none of these apply, you may need to contact support.

Step 1: Get invited to be your client's accountant

If you haven’t already, ask your client to invite you to become their accountant.

Step 2: Get permission to take over billing

Your client needs to permit you to make the transfer. Ask their primary admin to sign in to QuickBooks Online. Then they'll need to:

Note: You have to be the primary admin of the company to do this.

  1. Go to Settings ⚙.
  2. Select Subscriptions and billing.
  3. Select the Allow billing transfer to your accountant? link.
  4. Select the name of the accounting firm they want to transfer billing to.
  5. Select Allow transfer.

Once the client permits you, you have two days to finish the transfer. Let your accountant know that they can now take over your direct billing.

Cancel the transfer request

If your client changes their mind and you haven't accepted the transfer yet, they can cancel the request. Ask their primary admin to:

  1. Sign in to QuickBooks Online.
  2. Go to Settings ⚙.
  3. Select the Subscriptions and billing tab.
  4. Select the Allow billing transfer to your accountant? link.
  5. Next to your firm's name, select Cancel permission.

Step 3: Take over your client’s billing

After your client gives you permission, you can finish the transfer:

  1. In QuickBooks Online Accountant, go to Settings ⚙ and select Subscriptions and billing.
  2. Select the Client-billed subscriptions tab.
  3. Select Transfer billing to me in the Action column.
  4. Review the Subscription summary and see the estimated charges.
    Note: This will show the monthly charges for the subscription and cost per employee.
  5.  Select Transfer billing to me.
  6. Review migration confirmation summary pop-up, then select Get started.

Note: If you're unable to add the client to your subscription, try using this alternative method to move them to your wholesale discount plan.

If your client is currently part of another QuickBooks Online Accountant firm's wholesale discount plan, you can transfer them to yours.

Step 1: Remove the client from the other firm’s wholesale discount plan

Ask your client's previous accounting firm to remove them from their wholesale discount plan.

Tip: As long as you transfer your client within 60 days of being removed, they keep the same discounted rate.

Note: After the client has been removed from their former accountant's billing, be sure to put them on your wholesale discount plan as quickly as possible to avoid any service interruptions.

Step 2: Add the client to your firm

Ask your client to invite you to become their accountant.

Step 3: Get permission to take over billing

Your client needs to give you permission to make the transfer. Ask their primary admin to sign in to QuickBooks Online. Then they'll need to:

  1. Go to Settings ⚙.
  2. Select the Subscriptions and billing tab.
  3. Select the Allow billing transfer to your accountant link.
  4. Select the name of the accounting firm you want to transfer billing to.
  5. Select Allow transfer.

Once your client gives you permission, you have two days to finish the transfer.

Step 4: Transfer your client's subscription

  1. In QuickBooks Online Accountant, go to Settings ⚙ and select Subscriptions and billing.
  2. Select the Client-billed subscriptions tab.
  3. Select Transfer billing to me in the Action column.
  4. Review the Subscription summary and see the estimated charges.
  5.  Select Transfer billing to me.
  6. Review migration confirmation summary pop-up, then select Get started.

It may take about a week to update the price on your statements. If your firm's wholesale discount pricing doesn't change, reach out to our support team so we can help.

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