I have 4 companies owned by the same person. He's purchased items w credit card which is attached to the original company. What is the best way to show exp to each co?

The Community has you covered, @nbuckler. 

In QuickBooks Online (QBO), you can use the location tracking feature to organize data from different locations. To start, let's enable this feature in the Account and Settings menu.

Here's how:

1. Click the Settings icon, then select Account and Settings.
2. Pick Advanced.
3. In the Categories section, hit the Edit icon.
4. Check the box for Locations. 
5. You can also choose a label by clicking the Location label drop-down.
6. Tap Save, then Done. 

Next is to add a location and name it under the name of the 4 companies:

1. Navigate to the Settings icon, then click All Lists.
2. Select Locations.
3. Tap New, then add the Name of the location you want to track. Example:  Company 1, Company 2, Company 3, etc. 
4. Tick the box beside This location has a different company name when communicating with customers.
5. Select Save and close. 

Here's the article that will provide more info about the process: Set up and use location tracking. 

When finished, make sure to choose the appropriate location for each expense. This way, we can ensure that transactions such as expenses are linked to the correct company or location. 

To view the transactions under each locations, you can run a report for each:

1. Click the Settings icon.
2. Go to All Lists.
3. Select Locations.
4. Under the Action column, click the Run report to see the data. 

Please let me know if I can be of additional assistance or should you have any follow-up questions about tracking expenses for a different company. I’ll be here to help. Have a good one.  

Thank you for your reply.  Since each company has a different Tax ID #(which I forgot to mention when I asked my question), I have been warned against using locations to keep track.  Thank you for your answer.

It's nice to have you back, @nbuckler,

To add with DivinaMercy_N's answer, you can use classes to tag expenses by department. This works similarly as the locations, and will help you identify them on reports. Here's how to enable it:

1. Tap the Gear icon and choose Account and Settings.
2. Go to the Advanced tab and pick Categories.
3. Use the Track classes slider to turn on the feature in your account. 
4. Select Save and then Done.
   

Once set up, you can assign these classes your transactions. See this example:

Once you have the transactions tag, you can open any reports and filter by Class. Check out these related links for your reference:

• Set up class tracking
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Online
• Video tutorials for QuickBooks Online

Kindly post again if you have follow-up questions about tagging transactions or need help with other things with QuickBooks. I'll be more than happy to assist you anytime. Have a wonderful rest of the week!