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diane_raber
Level 1

Basic Time Tracking with Quickbooks Online Plus

Hello Quickbooks US Community,

 

Is anyone using Quickbooks Online Plus basic time tracking (without QB Time) for tracking and invoicing billable time? According to the following links this is a feature of the product, but it is not working for one of my clients. Quickbooks Support has not been able to resolve the issue and finally resorted to "you need Quickbooks Time." My interpretation of the documentation is QBT is clearly NOT a requirement. I'm also not confident in the answer because they first said I need Quickbooks Payroll which I'm certain isn't the case because I have another client using this feature without Payroll today.

 

If anyone is using this feature without QBT, I would love to understand if there are specific settings that I'm missing or any tips/tricks you can share. Thanks so much in advance!

 

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/time-tracking/turn-set-time-tracking-...

 

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/time-tracking/use-basic-time-tracking...

 

 

7 Comments 7
MirriamM
Moderator

Basic Time Tracking with Quickbooks Online Plus

Hello there, Diane. I want to ensure you can utilize the time-tracking feature.

 

You're correct that time-tracking can be set up in QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. To get started, you'll need to customize your time tracking preferences and allow time to be billable. Here's how to do it:

 

  1. Go to the Gear icon at the top.
  2. Choose Account and settings.
  3. In the left menu, select Time.
  4. Click the Timesheet section, and toggle on Allow time to be billable.
  5. Put a checkmark on Show billing rate to users entering time if you want your team members to see the billable rates. 
  6. Choose Save, then Done.

 

After you've completed these steps, try entering a single-time activity or a weekly timesheet again. Check if the time is billed to the Customer/Project. If not, we can try some basic troubleshooting steps like using the Incognito or Private mode to access your QBO account using the following keyboard shortcuts to see if the issue is related to your browser:

 

  • Press Ctrl Shift (Google Chrome)
  • Ctrl Shift (Firefox)
  • Control Option (Safari)

 

If the issue persists, switch to a different browser such as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari. Your current browser might be experiencing a temporary problem with QuickBooks, and using a new browser might help you get back to work.

 

If you need further assistance with managing your QuickBooks account, feel free to leave a comment below, and I'd be happy to help, Diane.

diane_raber
Level 1

Basic Time Tracking with Quickbooks Online Plus

Thank you for your response, I appreciate it! I've followed the troubleshooting steps, but the billable time still isn't available to invoice or visible in the project. I've also spent multiple hours on the phone with support to no avail. I believe (but could be mistaken) they looked at the data on the backend and there is an issue there somewhere. I'm curious if it could be related to migration from QB Desktop. I've noticed when you migrate multiple times, the time entries aren't cleared and the people who track time are duplicated.

RhoiceW
QuickBooks Team

Basic Time Tracking with Quickbooks Online Plus

Thanks for coming back, Diane. I'm here to help you apply your billable time entries to your QuickBooks Online (QBO) Plus account.

 

I understand that you've followed the time tracking steps in your QBO Plus account through the QuickBooks articles you attached in your original post. If you've performed the browser troubleshooting steps and the issue persists, I encourage checking again if the time entries are associated with the correct customer/project and ensuring they're marked as billable so they show as suggested transactions when you create an invoice.

 

Here's how:

 

Here's how:

 

  1. Go to the +New icon, then select Time entry.
  2. On the Time entries field, click Add time.
  3. Choose an employee or contractor to add a time entry.
  4. Once completed, choose This week or Last week for the time entry schedule. Make sure to include the Duration hours for the upcoming weeks.
  5. Click Add work details, then choose the Customer/Project name on the dropdown button.
  6. Ensure to tick the Billable hour to make it billable.
  7. Once finished, click Done.
  8. Repeat the steps for the following days.

 

After creating the time entry, proceed to create the invoice and mark it as paid.

 

Here's how:

 

  1. Go to the +New icon, then select Invoice.
  2. Select the customer on the dropdown button. Note that the customer should be the same as who the time entry is under.
  3. On the right side panel, a Suggested transactions pop-up will appear. Click Add to enter the transactions on the Invoice.
  4. Once added, click Save and close. If you want to send it to your customer, select Review and send.

 

Furthermore, migrating from QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) to QBO won't affect your time-tracking options in QBO. Refer to this article to learn how features and data move from QBDT to QBO: Learn how features and data move from QBDT to QBO.

 

I've also added a couple of screenshots for your visual reference.

image.pngimage.pngimage.png

 

In addition, you might want to subscribe to QuickBooks Time to manage your employees and payroll quickly in QBO:

 

 

Comment on the post if you still have concerns about time entries and projects in QBO. I'm always available to help you.

diane_raber
Level 1

Basic Time Tracking with Quickbooks Online Plus

These are the same steps outlined in the links I posted and what I've walked through with support multiple times. The issue is when following these steps the time does not show up in the project or as billable (suggested transactions) when invoicing. 

Candice C
QuickBooks Team

Basic Time Tracking with Quickbooks Online Plus

Hey there, @diane_raber

 

Welcome back! 

 

Since the steps my colleague gave isn't helping resolve the issue, I recommend contacting our Customer Support Team to escalate this issue further. Let them know that you chatted with the QuickBooks Community about the problem as well. Here's how: 

 

  1. Go to the Help icon in the top right-hand corner. 
  2. Tap the Contact Us button. 
  3. Enter your question and hit Let's talk
  4. Scroll down and choose to Get a callback

 

Keep us updated on how the call goes. We want to ensure that you get this taken care of as soon as possible. Have a wonderful day! 

diane_raber
Level 1

Basic Time Tracking with Quickbooks Online Plus

As mentioned in my initial post, I have already contacted support multiple times. My question is to users of Quickbooks, not the Quickbooks team, because I am fairly certain the information from support is incorrect. I don't mean to be rude, but Quickbooks has been unable and unwilling to resolve my issue so I am looking for support from the community of users.

diane_raber
Level 1

Basic Time Tracking with Quickbooks Online Plus

As mentioned in the thread, I have contacted the support team multiple times. I am fairly certain the answer they gave me is incorrect. My question is to the user community, not the Quickbooks team. Sadly, Quickbooks has been unable and unwilling to resolve my issue.

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