Vehicle expenses split into two methods: standard mileage (a single per-mile rate that covers gas, depreciation, and maintenance) or actual expense (every cost tracked separately). The choice in year one usually locks in the rest.
Undeposited Funds is the QBO holding account where customer payments sit between receipt and bank deposit. It exists so a single bank statement deposit can match multiple customer payments. Here's how to use it correctly and clear stuck balances.
Uncategorized Expense is QuickBooks Online's catchall for transactions imported but never assigned to a real category. A clean book has $0 in this account. Here's how to recategorize what's there and prevent new ones from landing.
The trial balance lists every GL account with its debit or credit balance, proving total debits equal total credits. Here's how to read it, and the troubleshooting framework for when it doesn't balance.
Travel covers airfare, hotels, rental cars, and ground transit while away from your tax home for business. Meals belong in Meals (50% deductible). Mileage belongs in Vehicle Expense. The commute is never deductible at all.
Training and education go to Training & Education Expense, but the deductibility test is sharper than most articles admit. Owner career-change tuition isn't deductible; CPE for licensed pros always is; conferences split across three accounts.
Shipping splits between COGS and Operating Expense based on whether it ties directly to revenue. E-commerce fulfillment is COGS; mailing checks is OpEx. Misclassifying distorts gross margin, sometimes by 10+ points.
Office Supplies are consumables used up in months: paper, pens, coffee, toner. Office Expenses are recurring operational costs like internet, small repairs, and sub-threshold equipment. The consumption test settles it in five seconds.
The income statement (P&L) reports revenue, expenses, and net income for a period. Here's how to read each section, what it reveals about the business, and how to set up class- and location-based custom P&L views in QBO.
The general ledger is the master record of every transaction posted to every account. It feeds the trial balance, which feeds the financial statements. Here's how the GL actually works in QBO and why bookkeepers care about it.
Employee benefits go to Employee Benefits Expense, but the employer portion and employee portion hit different accounts. The employer match is expense; the employee deferral is a liability. S-corp owner-employees follow special rules.
Double-entry bookkeeping records every transaction with two equal sides (debits and credits) that must always balance.
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