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Learn about the QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping service

by Intuit22 Updated 2 months ago

Use the QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping service to make sure your books are up-to-date, accurate, and ready for tax time. With QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping, you have access to a dedicated QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper who works with you to understand your business and supports you along with their team. They categorize transactions, reconcile accounts, and are available to meet with you to go over updated reports or answer any questions you have.

Learn more about the costs and pricing tiers for QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping.

Who are the Bookkeepers?

The team of QuickBooks Live Bookkeepers includes professionals from many industries. When you sign up for Live Bookkeeping, we match you to a bookkeeper with experience in your industry.

The bookkeepers are available for a set number of hours per week M-F, 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM, PT. Each bookkeeper’s available hours vary. We match you with a bookkeeper whose availability best matches yours.

  • All QuickBooks Live Bookkeepers have at least one of the following credentials:
    • Active certified public accountant
    • Active certified public bookkeeper
    • Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance
    • 3+ years managing the books for a small business
  • All QuickBooks Live Bookkeepers have active QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor certification.
  • All QuickBooks Live Bookkeepers have a minimum of one year of experience working with QuickBooks Online.

Who can use the service?

QuickBooks Live is available to businesses who use QuickBooks Online and have filed taxes in the last calendar year. You might not qualify for this service if:

  • your business is extremely complex
  • you deal in foreign or cryptocurrency
  • your business and personal expenses are heavily mingled
  • your business is legal at the state level, but not necessarily the federal level

Note: You can't sign up for QuickBooks Live if you're on a trial period of QuickBooks Online.

If you have historical records for your business, we’ll review your books during your first appointment to see if you’re eligible.

What's included and not included with the service?

The QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping service is split into two phases: cleanup and monthly bookkeeping.

During your first appointment, your bookkeeper gives you a quick tour of QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping and helps you set up your chart of accounts, connect your banks, and upload your documents. Once they have all the required information, they’ll start cleanup, which include categorizing transactions and reconciling accounts. Cleanup takes about 30 days from the time they receive everything they need from you.

Each month, your bookkeeper categorizes your transactions and reconciles your accounts. Categorizing transactions records each transaction under the right account so you have clear records of how much the business made and where the money went.

QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping does not include the following services:

  • Sending invoices or paying bills
  • Managing inventory, accounts receivable, or accounts payable
  • Financial or tax advice
  • Filing income or sales tax returns, or creating and sending 1099s
  • Managing payroll
    Note: QuickBooks Online offers Payroll for an additional cost.
  • While your bookkeeper can answer questions and help you manage transactions correctly, they don’t provide training on how to use QuickBooks Online. Instead, look at our options for QuickBooks Online training to help you learn.

What bookkeeping work am I responsible for?

You’ll still need to manage tasks for your business like sending invoices, paying bills, and managing inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable.

Each month, your bookkeeper will request information about your bank accounts, transaction details, and financial records like account statements. You’ll also need to give them descriptions of any established capitalization or accounting policies for your business.

How much does QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping cost?

If you have at least 2 months of data in QuickBooks, there’s a flat fee for cleanup and setup for the first month of service. After the first month, pricing for QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping is based on your company’s average expenses in QuickBooks. Every three months, QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping automatically adjusts to the needs of your business by reevaluating your average expenses and pricing tier.

Learn more about the costs and pricing tiers for QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping.

How do I subscribe or unsubscribe from QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping?

Learn how to start or cancel your QuickBooks Live subscription.

How do I contact my bookkeeper?

Learn more about options for contacting your bookkeeper and scheduling meetings.

QuickBooks Live Full Service Bookkeeping CleanupQuickBooks Online AdvancedQuickBooks Online EssentialsQuickBooks Online PlusQuickBooks Online Simple StartQuickBooks Solopreneur

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