Schedule recurring transactions created with a template in QuickBooks Online

Learn how to schedule recurring transactions created with a template using QuickBooks Online Essentials and Plus.

You can set the timing for your recurring transaction templates. In this article, we'll explain the feature and show you how to set it up.

Set your schedule for "Days in advance"

You can take advantage of the Days in advance to create option on scheduled recurring templates. This gives you visibility into future cash flow as well as the ability to send reminders to clients before the transaction date. You can enter the value for this field when editing the schedule of a recurring template.

You can create transactions (from scheduled recurring templates) for a specified number of days before the actual transaction date.

• The values for Previous Date and Next Date that appear on the Recurring Transaction List and on reports are based on the transaction date, not the date when the transactions were created.
• We also have a Reminder type of recurring template that you can schedule. This will send a reminder to your home page, where you can look at the templates and decide which to use and then edit them beforehand.

Example: If your transactions are scheduled on the 15th of every month, but you want to send customers a reminder 10 days in advance, enter 10 in Days in advance to create. QuickBooks Online will create transactions on the 5th of the month. On the 5th, you can print invoices and send reminders, but the transaction date remains on the 15th.

Changing the value of this field does not change any existing transaction. If you leave the field blank, QuickBooks Online creates the transaction on the transaction date.

Enable Start date

Recurring transactions are created on the day scheduled typically between 12:00 am and 5:00 am depending on your time zone. From time to time, depending on volume, it may be created a little later.

Anything scheduled prior to or on the day the transaction is created won't occur until the next appropriate date based on the schedule.

Example: If you created the template to start on the first of each month, and today is the first, the template will start on the first of the following month.

Use an existing recurring template before the scheduled date

If you need to use an existing recurring template, before its scheduled date, you can utilize the Use feature to do so.

1. Go to Settings .
2. Under Lists, select Recurring Transactions.
3. Highlight the template you would like to use.
4. From the Action ▼ dropdown menu, select Use. 
5. Edit the transaction as necessary, then select Save.

If you manually use a recurring template, it won't stop the system from automatically using it as scheduled. If you no longer want the next transaction to happen, you will need to reset the schedule or delete the duplicate transaction when the system enters it.

1. Go back to the Recurring Transaction List.
2. Select the transaction you manually used.
3. From the Action ▼ dropdown menu, select Edit.
4. For Template Type, switch from Scheduled to Reminder. (This will save most of your schedule information, but the system will give you a reminder instead of automatically entering the transaction).
5. Select Save template.

When you receive the reminder to enter this transaction, delete the reminder and then return to the Recurring Transaction List and set the transaction back to Scheduled.