With tax day behind you, it’s time to recharge and catch up on news and updates. We’ve got QuickBooks® Online integrations and features that can help you work smarter while bringing you closer to your business goals.
New! Share QuickBooks updates with your clients—send them this link for QuickBooks Innovations.
What’s new in April
Shared documents enhancements for accountants
Save time in ProConnect™ with Intuit Link
Spreadsheet Sync for QuickBooks Online Advanced
Boost your team’s financial wellness with QuickBooks Early Pay
Sync to Square is being discontinued
WA Unemployment Insurance (UI) rate change capability
Shared documents enhancements for accountants
In a nutshell: You can now organize documents and provide more context when working with your clients in the shared documents area of QuickBooks Online Accountant.
The existing shared documents area is a quick and secure way of sharing source-of-truth documents directly in QuickBooks. Starting this month, we’re adding the ability to move and organize documents into folders, and mark up the documents with additional useful information, so you can sort information with a quick scan. Learn more
Save time in ProConnect with Intuit Link
In a nutshell: The Intuit® ProConnect™ Tax integration for QuickBooks Online Accountant enables you to perform bookkeeping tasks and help with tax preparation. It includes features such as Intuit Link that saves you time (up to 37 minutes per tax return on average*) while collecting client data for tax prep.
Intuit Link is a secure, online portal that makes it easy to exchange client data. With illustrative instructions and a video walkthrough, it’s easy to guide your clients so they can speed up the workflow and cut down on manual entry errors. Other benefits include:
- Automatically apply tax return information when your clients take a picture of their W2 and upload it.
- Automatically identify the form types and check them off a document checklist when your clients drag and drop multiple documents at once.
- Allow clients to connect to their financial institutions, without sharing confidential passwords or waiting for their tax documents to arrive in the mail.
- Enable your clients to access their secure account through a single-use passcode synced to their phone.
*Based on an internal survey of Intuit ProConnect Tax for tax year 2019 customers that reported using the feature, in comparison to their previous method, conducted in January 2021.
To learn more and see how Link works, check out this video.
Spreadsheet Sync for QuickBooks Online Advanced
In a nutshell: Microsoft Excel now directly connects with QuickBooks Online Advanced, making data transfer and reporting a lot easier.
Spreadsheet Sync for QuickBooks Online Advanced offers two-way syncing with Excel. This enables businesses to build customized reports, analyses, budgets, forecasts, and visuals in a tool they already use, without compromising on convenience or data accuracy.
Keep your data in sync: Avoid manual errors by seamlessly connecting with Excel. Add and edit data in bulk in your spreadsheet and sync it directly into QuickBooks Online Advanced.
Dig deeper into your finances: Track your business performance by leveraging Excel to customize reports with your QuickBooks Online Advanced data. Use pre-made templates, build consolidated reports for multiple companies, and refresh your data in a single step.
Work with the tools you’re used to: No need to throw out your spreadsheets. Work with your data how you want, and create flexible workflows with familiar tools when you combine the power of Excel and Advanced.
Integrate Centage Planning Maestro, a leading financial planning and analysis solution, with QuickBooks Online Advanced
In a nutshell: Sync your QuickBooks Online Advanced with Centage Planning Maestro using the Centage Connector for better forecasting, budgeting, reporting, and analytics.
We understand how important forecasting tools are to your budgeting and planning process. With this latest integration, QuickBooks Online Advanced users can test complex scenarios from financial data and forecast results using different financial models and drivers.
Plan, forecast, and budget accurately in less time: Automatically pull actuals, run scenarios, and import reliable budgets, minimizing the risk of human error or duplicate information.
Collaborate and get approvals quickly on your budget” Gather feedback in Centage Planning Maestro for your budget and seamlessly export it to QuickBooks for approval. While Centage also integrates with QuickBooks Online Plus, exporting to QuickBooks is exclusive to Advanced users.
Make informed decisions with powerful forecasting tools: Create what-if scenarios to test potential financial impacts, so you can be confident in taking calculated risks without missing out on opportunities.
Boost your team’s financial wellness with QuickBooks Early Pay
In a nutshell: QuickBooks Early Pay gives employees instant access to money before payday.* Once employees are approved, Early Pay lets them take an advance on up to 60% of their estimated upcoming paycheck, with a maximum of up to $700 per pay cycle.
Early Pay is switched on automatically and offered as a benefit included with your payroll plan. Limits are customized for each employee to help keep repayments manageable, so employers are not responsible for handling repayments.
Employees can request an Early Pay advance from the Workforce portal, the same portal they use to view pay stubs and W-2s. Benefits include:
- Access up to 60% of estimated paycheck ($700 max)
- No credit checks
- Instant deposits at no cost
- Automatic repayment on an upcoming payday
Financial emergencies can happen to anyone, and sometimes employees’ bills don’t align with their paydays. Early Pay allows employees to request an advance at no cost between paydays. It’s included with all QuickBooks Online Payroll plans and has no impact on your books.
Get answers to FAQs and learn more about Early Pay.
*QuickBooks Payroll subscription required
Switch to the Connect to Square app
In a nutshell: The legacy Sync to Square app will be retired on May 15, 2022. The new Connect to Square app will make the transition easier for QuickBooks Online users. We recommend switching to the Connect to Square app, which can be found in the QuickBooks Online app store.
What’s changed:
- The Connect to Square app allows you to connect multiple Square locations, import item and customer details, and group sales by payout.
- Transactions brought in through the new Connect to Square app can be found on the App Transaction tab. You have the ability to review transactions before you add them to your books. Once added, the app creates sales receipts with matching deposits. Preferences can also be changed in the app settings.
Get step-by-step instructions on how to connect your Square account to QuickBooks Online.
Washington State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) rate change capability
In a nutshell: QuickBooks Payroll customers with employees in Washington state can update their State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) rates for a given tax period directly in product without the need to contact support.
The state of Washington recently released new unemployment insurance rates, which were automatically updated for relevant QuickBooks Payroll customers with automated taxes and forms turned on. Customers with automated taxes and forms turned off can now adjust their SUI rate for Washington state on their own within QuickBooks Online Payroll, with this flexibility for other states anticipated to roll out down the line as well.
Original article from the Firm of the Future Blog.
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