Using Custom Fields in QuickBooks Online - Advanced

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General Ledger

Back in March, Insightful Accountant reported that Intuit was soon to release 'Enhanced Custom Fields' into their QuickBooks Online - Advanced offering. These would give users multiple field types for which the data could be translated into the reporting throughout the books.

Enhanced custom fields allow you to add customer and transaction details you want to track, then quickly and easily search, sort and filter the information you need based upon the custom fields, or choose the specific custom field data you specifically are interested in. For example, you might want to add a custom field to define a special attribute for each of your customers, something that uniquely identifies your customer profile types that would populate on their sales forms.

If you choose to create an enhanced custom field that is transactional based, one of the great things about those fields is what I call 'form trans-form-mation' (that's a Murphism). What I mean by that is that the custom field can 'almost magically' cross over from one form to another... well, in reality you have to actually configure your form to make certain it has been set-up to appear, but if you initially create a field for an estimate, you can 'form transform it' onto your invoices and even your purchase orders when they are created from the estimate. Isn't that neat?

Recently, Matthew Fulton wrote a Firm of the Future Blog feature titled, Custom fields in QuickBooks Online Advanced that provides a detailed explanation of the benefits and best practices for use of these enhanced custom fields. He takes you through the four (4) steps for using these fields by (1) defining 'what you should be tracking,' (2) understanding your options when using the enhanced fields and how to decide which option is best for your situation, (3) then how to make use of your custom field in your daily workflows, and (4) how to use (and optimize) the custom fields in your reporting. Whether you, or your clients, are already using QuickBooks Online-Advanced, or you are just starting to explore Intuit's newest addition to the QuickBooks offering, you really should take time to read Matthew's blog posting.

And, Matthew will be presenting a webinar taking you through the high value features of QuickBooks Online-Advanced and the benefits of those features for both accountants and mid-market clients at 2:00 PM Eastern on August 15, 2019. This Deep Dive into QuickBooks Online-Advanced will cover features like these enhanced custom fields, as well as custom user permissions, smart reporting powered by Fathom, and more. You can find more details, or register here, for the webinar.

Insightful Accountant is also hosting several other webinars featuring QuickBooks Online-Advanced as well, you will find them listed in the related links (features) listed below, be sure to check them out as well.