Project Overview Setting

The project feature in QB is very limited. Should you need more feature (e.g activity management, milestone tracking, project tracking, progress report), consider using a PM app and integrate it with your QBO.

I am surprised the answer is always the same, are this really people or just a  answer system, not I'll not use any PM, just make an accounting software work like an accounting software.

---

@dajja wrote:

I am surprised the answer is always the same, are this really people or just a  answer system, not I'll not use any PM, just make an accounting software work like an accounting software.

---

which answer is always the same?

Hi dajja,

We recognize how you want QuickBooks to work the way you want it to be. Let me provide you more information and help you with the project overview settings.

We want to organize all the moving pieces of your project, including transactions. That's why we created the Transactions tab where you can track your open invoices and bills in QuickBooks Online (QBO). That's the very main reason why it's unavailable in your Overview tab. 

On the other hand, QuickBooks is an accrual-based accounting. Once you run the Projects report, they always default to an accrual basis. This is because this accounting basis shows income regardless of whether your customers have paid their invoices and expenses regardless of whether you have paid all your bills.

So every time you'll want to run a report, you can manually select if you want to show it as accrual or cash. But, I'll pass this along to our product team to let them know of your business needs. 

To give you more information about the Projects feature, here's an article that you can check: Set Up And Use The Projects Feature.

Reach out to us if you need further assistance. We'll always be glad to help.

Hi,

I'm running into the same issues. Are there any tools you know that integrate with Quickbooks Online that you could recommend. It seems many have to be managed manually

Hi chiaracammarata,

If there is an app, I think it will still adopt the Accounting method you chose in QuickBooks.

The Overview tab of a project is just the summary and the graphical representation of your Project profitability report. Therefore, it will still show the details based on the Accounting method you chose, which is Cash basis in this case. You can temporarily change it to Accrual to include the cost and the income from your unpaid transactions.

On the other hand, we've rolled out new features in QuickBooks Online this month. Find out which one is very useful for your business.

If you have other questions about the reports on Projects, feel free to reply to this thread. Have a good night!

Hi,

The real issue is to see the budgeted project vs. actual. So the estimate doesn't reflect or there isn't a way I know of that you can see the overview of the project and then the milestones that were billed against it to see where the project stands currently. Am I missing something in which you can do this currently?

Thanks for coming back for more support. @chiaracammarata. I understand the need to have the ability to show milestones that were billed against it so you can see where the project stands in the Project Overview or Budget vs. Actual reports. 

For now, we're unable to create one report with that information. In the meantime, you'll want to pull up Estimates & Progress Invoicing Summary by Customer report. This will show the pending and closed estimates per customer as well as if it's been invoiced. 

For future reference, I've included these articles to learn more about how to use the project feature in QuickBooks Online:

• Projects FAQ
• Set up and create projects in QuickBooks Online
• Track income, costs, and profitability by project

Let me know if you have additional questions. We're always here to be of your service. 

---

@chiaracammarata wrote:

Hi,

 

I'm running into the same issues. Are there any tools you know that integrate with Quickbooks Online that you could recommend. It seems many have to be managed manually

---

@chiaracammarata 

Explore these project management apps to intergate with your QBO.

https:// paymo.grsm.io/quickbooks

https:// fiatlux.teamwork.com/

I'm new to projects and realized that the Project Overview and reports default to cash basis. This provides inaccurate information regarding project profitability. This should always default to accrual mode regardless of a company's accounting method. I've spent hours of time with customer service, who knows very little about the project feature, trying to locate a specific, permanent setting to allow the Project Overview and reports to default to an accrual basis. I see this initial post is from 2019 - If Quickbooks is listening, please add this customizable feature to save your users time and provide us with accurate "Overview" information.

You'd got me here, dburke1. 

We can modify your company setting and change from a cash basis to an accrual basis in your accounting method. Please follow the steps below: 

1. Click the Gear icon, then select Account and Settings.
2. Go to the Advanced tab.
3. In the Accounting section, tap pencil icon.
4. Choose the Accounting method, and drop down arrow select Accrual.
5. Press Save, then Done.

Screenshots when I change it to cash basis in Accounting method. 

You can use this article for more detailed steps: Change your accounting method. 

I'm always at your side if you still need my help. Stay safe!

Thank you, Ailene. I know how to change my company setting but that's not the problem nor the solution. The problem is that the job cost report and customer project overview both default to a cash basis - not that I have the company set up on a cash basis for bookkeeping purposes. These are 2 completely different things.

Glad to have you here, @dburke1,

I have set up my account under Accrual Basis and the Project reports displays Accrual for the Accounting Method by default. In the meantime, you can switch the accounting method manually or toggle it in the Account and Settings page.

You can also try this is a private browser. Unexpected issues in QuickBooks are sometimes affected by the amount of data stored in the cache. This is because a regular browser will constantly overwrite itself and will not remove history unless done manually.

Private browsing will not save any history, so it's a great place to identify issues in the browser. Use these keyboard shortcuts to launch a new private window:

• Google Chrome: press Ctrl + Shift + N  
• Mozilla Firefox: press Ctrl + Shift + P
• Safari: press Command + Shift + N

If it works, clear the cache to resolve browser issues in QBO. Using a different browser can also help.

If you need additional help with this banking concern, let me know in the comment below. I'll be right here to help you further. Have a good one!

I would like to re-up this complaint as it appears Intuit has still not fixed the problem.

We are a Cash based business. In order for the Projects dashboard to function properly for businesses such as ours, Quickbooks Online should either do one of the following:

• Show project Income & Costs using Accrual based accounting (or at least allow toggling between Cash and Accrual in this section only)
• Include an Open Bills box at the top like it currently does for Open Invoices

As the Projects sections exists now for Cash based businesses, it is useless. Earlier responses have suggested changing the accounting method in the business settings in order to solve this problem, but that is obviously impractical and not a reasonable solution.

Hi there, OnHoldAgain! Thanks for joining the thread. We hear your sentiments and understand that there are specific activities you want to have within your program.

When using the Cash accounting method, you record income and expenses at the time you actually receive a payment or pay a bill. On the other hand, the Accrual accounting method is when you record income and expenses when you send the invoice or receive the bill.

The options you want to perform in the Projects section are not available in QuickBooks Online. We would be glad if you could send feature requests to our software engineers so they may include them in future product enhancements. 

To send feedback:

1. Click the Gear icon, then select Feedback.
2. Type in your feature request.
3. Click Next to submit.

You'll want to read these articles to learn more about the accounting method and how to handle projects moving forward:

• Choose between cash and accrual accounting methods in QuickBooks Online
• Differentiate Cash and Accrual basis
• Cash vs. Accrual Accounting: What’s Best for Your Small Business
• Create and manage projects in QuickBooks Online

Please don't hesitate to drop by again if you need assistance with any QuickBooks-related concerns. We're available 24/7 to help you. Keep safe!