QuickBooks Online Left Side Navigation

Written By

In this tutorial, I walk you through the left-side navigation menu of QuickBooks Online. In both Business and Accountant views.

Business Vs. Accountant View

In QuickBooks Online there are two different “views” Business and accounting. The left-side menu will look different depending on which view you’re in.

Business view versus accountant view left side nav QuickBooks online

To switch between menu types click the gear in the upper right-hand corner.

In the menu that appears you’ll see text across the bottom saying “You’re viewing QuickBooks in Business/Accounting view.” (It will tell you which one you’re in). On the bottom right corner of the menu, you’ll see a link to switch views.

Switching views from Business to Accountant in QuickBooks Online

When you create a new QuickBooks Online account you’ll often be in Business View so that’s where we’ll begin.

Business View Menu

Customizing the  Menu

You’ll notice there are two pencils in the Business View menu. One next to MENU and one next to BOOKMARKS. If you click these you get a Customize window where you can select what you want to appear in the menu.

Customizing the left navigation menu in QuickBooks Online Business View

You can check or uncheck whatever you would like to see in your menu. 

If you click the dots to the left of any of the items it allows you to drag and reposition it in the menu.

When you have your menu the way you’d like click Save.

Add Bookmarks

If there’s something you’d like to see in the menu that’s not there you can add it to Bookmarks.

To do this click the pencil next to BOOKMARKS.

The Customize pop-up window will appear with Bookmarks selected.

Customizing Bookmarks in the QuickBooks Online menu.

Click in the search box and start typing or scroll through the list until you see what you’d like added to your menu. Check it off and click Save.

Now that you know how to edit the menu let’s go through what’s in the stock QuickBooks Online menu.

Get things done

Get things done section of the QuickBooks left-side nav menu

This screen is like a roadmap of things you can do in QuickBooks Online. 

It has basic workflows for Money in and out. You can click on any of the icons and navigate to that section of QuickBooks.

Business overview

Business Overview screen in QuickBooks Online

This screen shows you an overview of your business. 

It could be really great but unfortunately, I can’t find a way to customize it besides changing the date range of some of the reports.

Banking

Banking section of the QuickBooks left-side nav menu

This is where you can sign up for QuickBooks Checking and QuickBooks Capital.

Get paid & pay

Get paid & pay section of the QuickBooks left-side nav menu

This is where you’ll find things related to you getting paid and paying others.

It shows you your Income over time and has shortcuts to creating invoices and sales receipts.

Customers & leads

Customers & leads section of the QuickBooks left-side nav menu

This is where you’ll go to add your customers to QuickBooks.

Once you’ve added customers it will look more like this:

Customers in list in QuickBooks Online

Within Customers & leads there’s also a Marketing section.

Marketing section of QuickBooks Online

Intuit owns the email marketing software Mailchimp. From this screen, you can connect your Mailchimp account so both software can share data with each other.

Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping section of the QuickBooks left-side nav menu

This is the banking section of QuickBooks. This is where you’ll connect your bank accounts. 

When you’re bank accounts are connected you’ll see a list of the transactions that you can review and categorize. It will look more like this:

Bank Transaction in QuickBooks Online

Taxes

This is where you’ll set up your sales tax:

Taxes section of the QuickBooks left-side nav menu

And, your 1099 filings:

1099 filings section of QuickBooks Online

Apps

Apps section of QuickBooks Online

This is where you’ll find apps that you can connect to QuickBooks. 

If there’s something QuickBooks doesn’t do or doesn’t do to your liking there’s probably an app for it.

Accountant View

Personally, I prefer the accountant view.

Not because I’m an accountant/bookkeeper but because I find it’s easier to work with and find things.  

A lot of this was already shown in Business View so we’ll go through it quickly.

Dashboard

Dashboard in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

This includes Get things done and the Business overview.

Banking

Banking in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

This is like the Bookkeeping section of the Business view. It includes the Banking screen, App transactions, Rules, Tags, and Receipts.

Sales

Sales in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

Here you’ll find everything for sales including an Overview, All Sales, Invoices, Estimates, Payment links, Customers, Deposits, and Products and services.

Customers & Leads

Like Business view, this will take you to your Customer list and Marketing.

Cash Flow

Cash Flow in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

Under Cash Flow, you’ll find a cash flow Overview, QuickBooks Checking, and a cash flow Planner.

Expenses

Expenses in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

From here you’ll find your Expense transactions and your list of Vendors.

Payroll

Payroll in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

Under Payroll you’ll find Employees, Contractors, and Workers’ comp.

Time

This is where you’ll find your time tracking, it includes an Overview and Time entries.

Taxes

Taxes in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

Just like in Business view this will take you to your Sales tax and 1099 filings.

Mileage

Mileage in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

Mileage wasn’t included in Business view. If you use your vehicle for business and you’re not already using a tracking app the QuickBooks app is a great option.

Accounting

Accounting in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

Under accounting, you’ll find the Chart of accounts and Reconcile.

Capital

Capital in QuickBooks Online left-side nav menu

This is like Banking in Business view. From here you’ll find Capital and the PPP Center.

Commerce

Commerce in QuickBooks Online Accountant view left-side nav.

In Commerce, you can connect sales channels like Shopify, eBay, and Amazon. From the menu, you can see Overview, Orders, and Payouts.

Apps

Apps in the QuickBooks Online Accountant view left-side nav

Like Business view, from here you can Find apps to connect to QuickBooks and view the apps you have installed under My apps.

+New

+New button navigation in QuickBooks Online

Both Business and Accountant view have a +New button above the left-side nav.

I LOVE the +New button. I refer to this as the “I want to do something button.” It’s a quick way to navigate to where you can do things like creating an invoice, writing a check, recording a time entry, creating a journal entry, etc.

If I want to “do something” in QuickBooks this is where I go.

You’ve now seen what’s in the left-side navigation in QuickBooks Online.

☕ If you found this helpful you can say “thanks” by buying me a coffee…
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/gentlefrog

Below is a video if you prefer to watch a walkthrough.

If you have any questions about the navigation, where to find something in QuickBooks or just QuickBooks Online in general. Click the green button below to schedule a free consultation.

Need some one-on-one QuickBooks assistance?
Share Now

This content is for information purposes only and should not be considered legal, accounting, or tax advice, or a substitute for obtaining such advice specific to your business. Additional information and exceptions may apply. Applicable laws may vary by state or locality. No assurance is given that the information is comprehensive in its coverage or that it is suitable in dealing with a customer’s particular situation. Gentle Frog, LLC does not have any responsibility for updating or revising any information presented herein. Accordingly, the information provided should not be relied upon as a substitute for independent research. Gentle Frog, LLC does not warrant that the material contained herein will continue to be accurate, nor that it is completely free of errors when published. Readers and viewers should verify statements before relying on them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read similar articles

How to Use the New QuickBooks Online Invoice Layout (2024)

Learn how to Use the new QuickBooks Online invoice layout.

Have a QuickBooks / Bookkeeping Question?

Let me know what you’d like to see in future videos, blog posts, and courses.

Review Your QuickBooks

Are you a small business owner struggling to make sense of your QuickBooks data?

  • Discover how to spot costly mistakes in your bookkeeping and fix them quickly and easily.

  • Save time and money by streamlining your bookkeeping process and reducing errors.

  • Learn how to identify trends in your financial data so you can make smarter business decisions.

  • Get organized and stay on top of your finances by tracking expenses, managing receipts, and closing your books effectively.

Sign up now for this free mini-course and start mastering the essential bookkeeping skills that every small business owner needs to succeed!

FREE Mini Course

Sign up now and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your bookkeeping is accurate, up-to-date, and free from costly errors.

We won’t send spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

Review Your QuickBooks

Are you a small business owner struggling to make sense of your QuickBooks data?

  • Discover how to spot costly mistakes in your bookkeeping and fix them quickly and easily.

  • Save time and money by streamlining your bookkeeping process and reducing errors.

  • Learn how to identify trends in your financial data so you can make smarter business decisions.

  • Get organized and stay on top of your finances by tracking expenses, managing receipts, and closing your books effectively.

Sign up now for this free mini-course and start mastering the essential bookkeeping skills that every small business owner needs to succeed!

FREE Mini Course

Sign up now and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your bookkeeping is accurate, up-to-date, and free from costly errors.

We won’t send spam. Unsubscribe at any time.