Client cannot add accountant under My Accountant Tab or Manage Users>Accounting Firms

I appreciate the details, Elcapital—they’ve helped shed light on the issue with your client inviting an accountant. The error occurs if the company being accessed is cancelled or inactive, which can be fixed by resubscribing. I'll explain more below.

When a QuickBooks Online (QBO) subscription ends, you'll be granted read-only access for a year to your data. Within this period, performing certain actions, including inviting an accountant, is no longer an option.

To resubscribe, here's how:

1. Open the QBO account.
2. Click the Gear icon, then Subscriptions and billing.
3. Select Resubscribe.

After that, review the next charge date to prevent back-billed charges by referring to Step 2 in this article: Resubscribe to QuickBooks Online.

On the other hand, given that their previous subscriptions have been canceled, it's also worth verifying that they are adding you to the correct company. This ensures they're not navigating the inactive one.

With the steps provided, your client should be able to invite you as their accountant in QuickBooks Online. If you have more questions or need help, feel free to visit the Community forum—I’m here to assist. Wishing you smooth sailing moving forward!

Hi Kimberly,

Thank you for the response! I still have another question I forgot to include in my original post:

How can I add my client Quickbooks Ledger subscription + contractor payments with ProAdvisor discount, this is the most ideal for his type of business.

How can he achieve this if he needs to re-subscribe again to Quickbooks Simple start in order to add an accountant? He wants to avoid getting charged multiple times.

Again our goal is for my firm to have access to his books with the new Quickbooks Ledger subscription + contractor payments.

Thank you!

Thank you for following up, @elcapital! I appreciate your patience, and I’m happy to clarify how to set up the new QuickBooks Ledger subscription alongside contractor payments while ensuring your client avoids duplicate charges and has seamless access to their books.

Key Details to Note

1. Client Becomes the Primary Admin on the Ledger Plan: During the “Add Client” process in your QuickBooks Online Accountant account, ensure the checkbox labeled “Make me the primary admin” is not selected. By default, your client will automatically become the primary admin when they log in for the first time. Until they log in, you will temporarily hold the primary admin role, allowing you to finalize the setup process.
2. Dual Setup for Ledger and Contractor Payments: To meet your client’s needs for managing their books and processing contractor payments, you’ll need to set up two plans:
   • The QuickBooks Ledger Plan (accessible under the QuickBooks Online dropdown).
   • The Contractor Payments Plan (accessible under the QuickBooks Online Payroll dropdown).

To Ensure Smooth Billing and Setup

• Purchase Both Plans Using the ProAdvisor Discount: As a ProAdvisor, you’ll gain access to discounted rates for both plans when purchasing through your QuickBooks Online Accountant account. This ensures your client avoids unnecessary charges while getting the tools they need for their business. Here's how:

1. Head to the Clients menu and then select Add client.
2. Enter basic client information indicated in asterisk (*) by choosing either a Business or an Individual.
3. From the Product subscription section, select Yes, add a subscription, and then hit Next.
4. Tick the ProAdvisor Discount button from the Bill My Firm section.
5. Click QuickBooks Online and click Select under QuickBooks Ledger, then hit Next.
6. Go to QuickBooks Online Payroll and click Select under Contractor Payments & 1099 filing, then Next.
7. Hit Next.
8. Click Add a payment method and then choose the Make my client the primary admin option.
9. Select Place order.

• No Need for Simple Start or Duplicate Subscriptions: Since your goal is to access their books with the new QuickBooks Ledger account and Contractor Payments, your client doesn't need to re-subscribe to Simple Start or any other plan separately. The Ledger subscription, combined with the Contractor Payments plan, will provide comprehensive support for their bookkeeping and contractor payment needs.
• Client Access and Collaboration: After setup, your client will take over as primary admin once they log in for the first time. QuickBooks will send them an email invitation to access both their Ledger and Contractor Payments accounts. From there, they’ll have complete control over their books, while your firm continues to provide accounting support via your ProAdvisor access.

Quick Recap

• During the Add Client process, ensure the “Make me the primary admin” checkbox is unchecked to allow your client to become the primary admin upon their first login.
• Set up two plans via QuickBooks Online Accountant: one for the Ledger Plan (bookkeeping) and another for Contractor Payments (available under the Payroll dropdown).
• Use the ProAdvisor discount to save on both plans while ensuring your client has everything they need.
• There’s no need to re-subscribe to Simple Start—this dual setup will fully meet their requirements and since you can't access their QuickBooks Online Simple Start account through QuickBooks Ledger.

For additional insights about QuickBooks Ledger, including information on pricing and billing, you can refer to this comprehensive guide: A closer look at QuickBooks Ledger for less-complex clients.

If you have any further questions, feel free to reply below.

Thank you for your response, I followed the exact steps as described, he receives the invitation to accept Quickbooks Ledger, where he used his same ID and Password he used to access his company books, however it automatically created a duplicate brand new company with zero information. Now when he logs in, it ask him to select two companies with the same name.

Company #1 has his old data, transactions, and canceled subscription (Simple Start + Contractor Payments)

Company #2 has his new Ledger + Contractor Payment subscription with ProAdvisor discount but with zero information (no transaction history, etc).

Please help

Thank you for providing additional details about the issue, @elcapital. 

To clarify, the duplicate company was created because QuickBooks uses the same ID and password to create a new account when accepting an invitation to Ledger. This led to one account (Company 1) retaining the old Simple Start data and transactions, while the new account (Company 2) for QuickBooks Ledger is empty.

If your client wants to retain their old account data and transactions, they can resubscribe to regain access. Once the subscription is active, they should download the Simple Start data, including financial reports and 1099 forms and transactions. After obtaining the necessary information, they can either transition to QuickBooks Ledger or cancel the subscription once all adjustments are made.

If they prefer to proceed with Company 2 (QuickBooks Ledger) instead, you can manually transfer data from Company 1 to Company 2. Export data such as the Chart of Accounts, transactions, vendors, and reports, and then upload this data to QuickBooks Ledger using the import feature.

Take note that there are some data that aren't transferable since these two products has distinct features. Before making any changes, back up all critical data to avoid losing information when canceling the old subscription.

Feel free to utilize the comment section below if you need additional help.

Thanks for the reply @Rusimyhr

I am still confused since my client wants to keep his original account with years of transactions already categorized.

My client does not use any extra feature such as receipts, invoices, payments, etc

The only features that are being used and will be used are bank transactions, reports, and payments to contractors. Nothing else.

With that being said, my question is simple... How can I have my client join QuickBooks Ledger with ProAdvisor discount while keeping the same account he already has? (keeping all transactions, vendors, customers, etc)

Thanks for the update, Elcapital.
 

To clarify, QuickBooks Online Simple Start and QuickBooks Ledger are two separate products built on different platforms. Each has its features and billing structure. That's why when your client accepted the Ledger invitation, QuickBooks created a new company file with no data.

As my colleagues mentioned, your client can resubscribe to the original Simple Start account to regain full access. This is the best choice if your client needs to keep all their historical data (transactions, vendors, reports, etc.) and only requires basic features.
 

If your client prefers simplicity and a lower price of QuickBooks Ledger, they'll need to manually export their data from the original Simple Start account (like the Chart of Accounts, vendor list, and reports). Then, they would import that data into the new Ledger account. However, this process is limited and won't preserve transaction history.
 

There's no way to apply a Ledger subscription to an existing Simple Start account. To keep all your clients' data and still benefit from ProAdvisor pricing, the best route is to resubscribe to Simple Start with Contractor Payments. This setup meets your client’s needs without losing historical data or paying for unused features.
 

To learn more about QuickBooks Ledger, including frequently asked questions, you can check this website for detailed information: A low-cost solution for your low-transacting or non-trading clients.
 

Please let me know if you have any other questions or need a hand with the next steps. We're here to help.