Learn about usage limits and what your best options are if you reach one.
In early 2019, usage limits were added to QuickBooks Online plans in the U.S. These affect how many user, class and location, and chart of account elements you can have.
For the first six months after we introduced these changes, you were able to stay in your current plan even if you were over those limits.
Starting in October 2019, QuickBooks Online will no longer support accounts that exceed their plan’s usage limits.
What do I need to do?
Important: Take action before your next billing date to be sure you can access your account.
First, sign in to your account to see if you're over a limit.
In QuickBooks Online:
- Go to Settings ⚙ and then select Account and Settings.
- Select the Usage tab.
In QuickBooks Online Accountant:
- Select the Go to client’s QuickBooks ▼ dropdown.
- Select a client company.
- Go to Settings ⚙ and then select Account and Settings.
You now see if your client is exceeding usage limits. To avoid any disruption, reduce your usage, or upgrade to QuickBooks Online Advanced.
Accounts that are over a limit may be suspended on your next renewal date.
For example, if you use QuickBooks Online Plus and have 251 accounts on your chart of accounts, you have a couple of options. You can either upgrade to Advanced to meet your usage needs, or reduce your data to within the limits for Plus.
Notes:
|
What are my plan’s usage limits?
These are the usage limits for QuickBooks Online. Usage limits depend on your plan. To see which plan you have:
- Go to Settings ⚙ and then select Account and Settings.
- Select the Billing and subscription tab, then check your plan details.
| QuickBooks Online plan limits | ||||
| Simple Start | Essentials | Plus | Advanced | |
| Classes and locations (combined) | 0< | 0 | 40 | No limit |
| Chart of accounts | 250 accounts | No limit | ||
| Tag groups | 10 | 20 | 40 | Unlimited |
| Billable users | 1 | 3 | 5 | 25 |
| Other user types (unbilled): | ||||
| Accountant | 2 | 3 | ||
| Reports-only | 0 | No limit | No limit | |
| Time tracking-only | 0 | No limit | ||
What are classes, locations, and chart of accounts?
Classes and locations
Location Tracking and Class Tracking lets you track your income and expenses in QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced. Class Tracking specifies a different class for each detail line of a transaction. Location Tracking allows you to assign a location to an entire transaction.
Chart of accounts
The chart of accounts is the backbone of accounting software. All assets, liabilities, income, and expenses are recorded here in an account or sub-account.
Chart of Accounts, as well as Classes and Locations, are counted towards limits when they are:
- Added by you, or someone with permissions, in your QuickBooks Online account.
- Generated by a third-party application you, or someone with permissions, has connected to your QuickBooks Online account* (these apps are allowed to add above the usage limits).
They do not count towards limits when they are:
- Generated by QuickBooks Online at sign up or from usage of services such as:
- Sales tax
- Shipping
- Multi-Currency
- Etc.
- Generated by QuickBooks Services that you, or someone with permissions, has connected to your QuickBooks Online account, such as:
- Intuit Payroll
- QuickBooks Online Payroll
- Etc.
- Imported into QuickBooks Online from QuickBooks Desktop
Third-party apps can continue to add to your chart of accounts above the usage limit but you won’t be able to manually add to your chart of accounts or classes and locations beyond the usage limit, and you will have to upgrade to QuickBooks Online Advanced or reduce lists in these areas.
Notes:
- Only active accounts, classes, and locations count toward the limit.
- The user limits also count pending invites you’ve sent (until they're automatically removed in 90 days).
- Billable users are admin, standard, and custom users. Learn more about user types.
How do I know if I’m over the limit
There are a few different ways to check if you’re below or above the limit:
List view
To help you understand which items count toward limits, we are introducing a new filter in the Lists view for Chart of Accounts, Classes, and Locations. This will show a list of all the items that count toward the limit:
- Go to Settings ⚙ and then select All Lists.
- Select either Chart of Accounts, Classes, or Locations.
- Select the▼ icon next to the Filter by name or number field.
- Select Counts toward limits.
Limit indicator banner
If you’re in the Chart of Accounts, Classes, or Locations page, an indicator banner at the top of the page will tell you if you’re below limit or exceeding your limit.
Usage Limits dashboard
Your usage limits dashboard will show you how many items you have for each usage limit. To open the dashboard:
- Sign in to QuickBooks Online.
- Select Settings ⚙ and then Account and Settings.
- Select the Usage tab.
Note: If you don’t see the Usage tab, contact the admin user.
What happens if my account is suspended?
To reactivate your account after it’s been suspended, you’ll need to call us.
While your account is suspended:
- You'll be able to see your QuickBooks data and transactions for a year, but you won't be able to add new transactions or change anything.
- You can’t reduce your usage.
- You can export data to Excel or a desktop version of QuickBooks.
- If you signed up for QuickBooks Online Payroll through your QuickBooks subscription, your Payroll subscription will also be suspended.
How do I upgrade?
If you’re ready, follow the instructions here.
If you'd like more info, you can find out about QuickBooks Advanced features and pricing, or if you're curious about what QuickBooks Advanced looks like and can do, you can always test it out for free in Test Drive.
If you upgrade then downgrade back to QuickBooks Plus, Essentials, or Simple Start, you’ll need to reduce everything to their usage limits when you downgrade.
How do I get below the limits?
See these articles for steps.
- You can manage classes and locations. Or if you're using classes to track projects, now you can use the Projects feature instead.
- Make an account inactive for the chart of accounts.
- You can also manage account users.
