Sending QuickBooks Info to Accountants

Written By: Jennifer Amos

QuickBooks allows you to easily send your QuickBooks information regardless of whether you are using the online or desktop version. Below are some helpful instructions on sending Quickbooks info to accountants.

QuickBooks Online:

QuickBooks Online allows you to invite an accountant to view your QuickBooks Online file through email:

Click the Gear icon on the top left of your screen

Click Manage Users

At the very bottom of the screen you will see Accounting Firms – select Send Invitation

As a note – please check with your accountant before sending the invite to them. They may have a special email that those invitations should go to.

And you’re done! They will receive a notification that they have access and can view your QuickBooks Online file.

QuickBooks Desktop:

QuickBooks Desktop has several options for sending information over to your accountant including accountant’s copy and backup copy options.

An accountant’s copy allows your accountant to adjust and clean data for the tax return without preventing you from continuing to work in your QuickBooks file. The greatest benefit of an accountant’s copy is that once the tax return is complete, the accountant can return that copy back to you with all the changes and they will be put into your QuickBooks.

To create an accountant’s copy:

Go to File > Send Company File > Accountant’s Copy > Client Activities

Here you will have two options:

Save File – this allows you to save it to a flash drive or your computer for sending through whichever way is most secure for you

Send to Accountant – this uses the Intuit Accountant File Transfer Service to securely email the file over to your accountant

As a note – please speak with the accountant about password settings so they can access the file once received

A backup with a date after the end of the year can be used as well, but it does not allow the accountant to make changes that will convert back into your QuickBooks file. In this case, you will want to work with your accountant regarding how to get any adjusting entries from the tax returns entered into your QuickBooks file.

To create a backup:

Go to File > Back Up Company >  Create a Local Backup

Save the file

Speak with your accountant about a secure way to send the file to them or if you will be delivering a flash drive to their office.