Intuit released QuickBooks 2020 Desktop last week, and QuickBooks ProAdvisors (for Desktop), Enterprise Users, and QuickBooks Pro/Premier 'Plus' subscribers have been notified about the availability of the initial release of the software. Sometime soon QuickBooks Desktop 2020 versions will begin appearing on retailers' shelves.
Insightful Accountant was privy to various pre-release versions of these products for months, and had multiple communications with Intuit personnel, including product managers and developers, so we could help you learn about the new products. This article takes a closer look at one or more of the features released as part of the QuickBooks Desktop 2020 (and associated) product updates.
If case you haven't read my article summarizing the Desktop Products then the chart below, courtesy of Intuit, reflects which new features are available in which QuickBooks releases. Of course, I would encourage you to read 'My QuickBooks Desktop 2020 Summary article'.
Source: Intuit
QBDT-2020_Feature-summary-table
Be certain to tune in for the September edition of QB Talks scheduled for 2 PM Eastern on September 18, 2019 to hear about QuickBooks 2020, there will be more information about that webinar outlined in a future article. You can register HERE.
Horizontally Collapse Report Columns
This is one feature that QuickBooks users have been asking for ever since the beginning of QuickBooks-time. If you have ever run a report that displayed data by columns, like jobs or classes, you had to scroll through all those columns to find the displayed total columns, or export the report to Excel so that you could hide the columns and just display the appropriate total columns. Well now, QuickBooks 2020 gives you the ability to view the totals of data displayed by columns like job and class without having to scroll through large reports, or spend time exporting the data to Excel.
To accomplish these most needed of reporting capabilities either select the Collapse Columns button on the top right (shown in the red box below) of any displayed multi-column report to collapse all of the columns other than the total columns. Or, you can click the ( -- ) or ( + ) symbol next to a specific column to collapse or expand that specific set of columns related to that column (as shown in the blue box below).
The new Collapse Columns feature makes it easy to quickly collapse a report by columns, hiding or unhiding columns, to see the information you want.
QBDT-2020_Horiz-collaps-columns
If you used the Collapse Columns button in the report ribbon you can easily restore all the column because QuickBooks changes the Collapse button to a Expand Columns button while the report is in the collapsed state.
When you 'Collapse (all) Columns' the button changes dynamically to 'Expand Columns' allowing you to set all the columns back to their normal state.
QBDT-2020_collapse-columns_02
Simply click the Expand Columns button and all your report columns will once again be displayed (as shown below).
Columns are restored to their normal (unhidden) appearance when you use the Expand Columns button.
QBDT-2020_collapse-columns_03
QuickBooks 2020 makes it easy to quickly collapse a report to view data displayed by columns like customer:job and class. You can easily hide or unhide columns enabling you to see only totals when you want or see all the information when you need it. And best of all, you can do all of this without having to export the report to Excel.
The ability to 'horizontally collapse report columns' is a great new feature and one that many users have requested for years, but it's not the only new feature which is why you should head over to my QuickBooks Desktop (for Windows) 2020 Summary here for a full review, and also check out my companion QuickBooks for Mac 2020 Summary which can be found here. I am still continuing my series covering the individual QuickBooks 2020 features so be certain to check the Insightful Accountant headlines every day for the next week or so for each of those features along with the summary.
Editor's Acknowledgements
By the way, my very special thanks go out to Laura Madeira who helped cross-check my work with her own to make certain that we were consistent in providing accurate information regarding this 2020 release. For the official Intuit version of “QuickBooks Desktop 2020 – What’s New and Improved” you will find Laura Madeira's article posted at this Firm of the Future blog website.
I also want to thank the following Intuit personnel for their dedication not only in providing information, briefings and responding to questions, but in guiding the actual product developments within QuickBooks Desktop and this release: Chetana Arakanakere, Rachna Arya, Nipun Bhatia, Aditya Dixit, Varshitha Gokari, Sumit Poddar, Raman Verma. Of course there are entire teams, composed of hundreds of Intuit personnel, behind these people that make the magic happen and too often we forget to say, thank you, to them as well; so to all involved, "THANK YOU"!