Track expenses not added towards expense total

Hi @littleloggingco,

I've got your back on this query about tracking expenses. 

In QuickBooks Online (QBO), there isn't an option to tag an expense as a business, or a personal expense. It will be taken as is, simply an expense.

What you can do is create expense accounts in your Chart of Accounts, such as Personal expense and Business expense accounts. You can use these to categorize your expenses. 

Here's how:

1. Highlight the Accounting tab.
2. Select Chart of Accounts.
3. Click the New button.
4. Set the Account Type to Expenses. 
5. Set the Detail Type to the closest category, in your case Auto.
6. Enter a name, such as Personal expense. 
7. When done, hit Save and Close.

Now whenever you need to track these expenses, you simply run the Profit and Loss report.

Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. On the search box, type in Profit and Loss.
3. On the report, search for the expense account you created above. 

Your total personal expense for the given date range on the report will be reflected in it. Although, it appears that the actual product you need is QuickBooks Self-Employed. To learn more about this product, see this page: Get Started with QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Have other questions in mind? Place them in the comments below, and I'll get back to you. 

Hello Ryan, thank you for this information.

I've had a difficult time finding these answers on my own:

What does QB Self Employed offer to solve this issue that QB Online does not?

Based on the information in this topic, would it be necessary for me to purchase both products or would QB Self Employed be the better all around solution?

I am really hoping for a product that can offer all around service for a small business. There are areas QB is good for such as reconciling bank accounts but so far I feel there are too many QB products to choose from and the solutions to basic business needs become overly complicated.

Thanks for your help on this.

Hello Ryan, thank you for this information.

I've had a difficult time finding these answers on my own:

What does QB Self Employed offer to solve this issue that QB Online does not?

Based on the information in this topic, would it be necessary for me to purchase both products or would QB Self Employed be the better all around solution?

I am really hoping for a product that can offer all around service for a small business. There are areas QB Online is good for such as reconciling bank accounts but so far I feel there are too many QB products to choose from and the solutions to basic business needs become overly complicated.

Thanks for your help on this.

Hi there, @littleloggingco.

Thank you for getting back here. Each QuickBooks version is intended to address specific business needs. Let me share some insights on how QuickBooks Online (QBO) and QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) work.

QBSE is meant for self-employed individuals to track business-related matters for estimated tax calculation. For more details, please check out this link: QuickBooks Self-Employed overview.

On the other hand, QBO is an accounting software used by small business owners in managing their books of accounts. With QBO you can track income and expenses, send and track custom invoices, create and manage estimates, etc. 

To know more, please visit this article: See which version of QuickBooks is right for you. 

Also, to further discuss the QuickBooks version suits your business, I suggest reaching out to our QBO care team. This way, they can guide you on which product to choose.

Here's how:

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online account.
2. Click the Help icon.
3. Select Contact us.
4. From the What can we help you with? box, enter your concern.
5. Hit Let's talk and choose Get a callback or Message an agent.

For any updates about the latest product features and enhancements of the software, you may visit our QuickBooks blog. Here is the What’s new in QuickBooks Online: July 2020, customizable email address for receipt and bill forwarding, automating invoice approval process, new tab QuickBooks Online Advanced named Tasks, etc. 

Please let me know if you have further questions about QuickBooks. I'm always here to help. Take care always.