QuickBooks is widely used accounting software from Intuit. Many small businesses use QuickBooks to send invoices, receive payments, manage inventory, handle payroll, and prepare their taxes. Watching video tutorials online is a popular way to learn QuickBooks. Video tutorials are often free or low-cost compared to other training methods and allow you to learn QuickBooks fundamentals by following along with others’ examples. This article will cover a range of videos, explaining what they teach and where to find them.
What is QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is a widely used accounting and bookkeeping software by Intuit. Primarily used by small and medium businesses, QuickBooks helps businesses track and manage everything related to their finances. Using QuickBooks, businesses can monitor their cash flow, profits, and losses by tracking sales, expenses, customers, and payments. QuickBooks is also used to create and send invoices, manage business inventory, and handle employee payroll. It also includes budgeting, time tracking, and daily task features to keep businesses running efficiently.
QuickBooks helps businesses ensure record accuracy by directly connecting sales channels and reconciling bank transactions with the information entered. The software also has features to assist with tax preparation and can be used to collaborate and share documents with an Accountant. QuickBooks is a subscription-based service with varying payment tiers that grant access to different features. Different versions of QuickBooks cater to varying storage and employment needs, with Intuit offering basic to premium plans for its cloud-based QuickBooks Online, a desktop version called QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise for larger companies, and a version for freelancers and independent contractors called QuickBooks Solopreneur.
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What Can You Do with QuickBooks?
QuickBooks software has numerous applications and uses across various industries. Many small and medium-sized businesses use QuickBooks for its record-keeping features, as it was originally designed for businesses without a dedicated accounting department. QuickBooks allows users to track and categorize items such as expenses, sales, transactions, and customer, vendor, and inventory lists. This makes QuickBooks a great option for those needing to keep all of their business records in one place.
Additionally, many use QuickBooks to create and send invoices, manage employee payroll, prepare taxes, maintain a budget, and automate tasks. QuickBooks includes features to automate accounts payable and receivable. These features allow you to increase productivity and maintain efficient workflows, reducing the need to assign tasks to employees who QuickBooks software can handle.
Not only do businesses use QuickBooks, but it's also used by self-employed individuals such as freelancers and independent contractors. QuickBooks offers a version called QuickBooks Solopreneur (formerly QuickBooks Self-Employed or SE). Many find it easy to import transactions once their accounts are linked, with QuickBooks automatically tagging income. Self-employed users may need to categorize transactions more effectively, but QuickBooks automates much of the bookkeeping and simplifies financial tracking.
Why Are Video Tutorials Helpful When Learning QuickBooks?
One of the benefits of learning QuickBooks through video tutorials is that QuickBooks learners can see the software interface and watch someone navigate it. Videos can give QuickBooks learners a visual representation of what the QuickBooks software interface looks like and for those who are entirely unfamiliar with QuickBooks, it can be useful to watch someone else navigate through the dashboard with its various features and options before trying it out yourself. While some aspects of QuickBooks will be intuitive to learn for those with basic computer skills, QuickBooks is known for having many features and complex customization options. It can be overwhelming for beginners to know how to perform the actions they need to for this business, so watching someone else navigate QuickBooks features first can be useful.
Video tutorials are also particularly useful for those who learn by example. With video tutorials, you have the advantage of watching someone perform a specific action in QuickBooks and then being able to follow along on your own software in real-time. Because you are watching a video, rather than listening to a live lecture, you can also pause the video or rewatch certain sections until you get a hang of the skills being shown. While those watching a pre-recorded video will not be able to ask a live instructor for further examples or troubleshooting help instantaneously, they will have the benefit of being able to study and review the video tutorial as often as needed to master specific QuickBooks skills.
An additional reason why video tutorials are useful is that they are often free. Many QuickBooks tutorials are posted to YouTube, allowing anyone with internet access to watch them. Many experts who teach full courses on other platforms like Udemy or Skillshare will post free tutorials on YouTube which can not only give viewers an easy way to learn QuickBooks essentials but also provide viewers with a sense of their teaching methods. Thus, these tutorials can also point QuickBooks learners toward other classes they can take from the same or similar instructors when looking to move beyond the basics and learn advanced QuickBooks skills.
Types of QuickBooks Videos
While there are no formal prerequisites to learning QuickBooks, most people recommend that QuickBooks learners have at least a basic understanding of common accounting terms and principles. Video tutorials are one way to gain this knowledge as many accounting and QuickBooks videos will help beginners learn the basics of QuickBooks or understand the concepts upon which this accounting software is based. As part of Noble Desktop’s video series on financial modeling, their YouTube page has short explainer videos for common accounting terms like cash versus accrual accounting, balance sheet, income statement, and marginal versus effective tax rates. For those with no accounting background, these explainer videos and others of a similar sort can be a useful way to learn the necessary aspects of accounting that you will use in QuickBooks.
QuickBooks videos are also a great way for beginners to become familiar with the QuickBooks dashboard and basic QuickBooks skills. Many video tutorials provide walkthroughs or overviews of the software, compare the different available versions, and provide instruction on fundamental QuickBooks skills. These videos can guide one through installation, setting up their company’s profile, and starting to link accounts so that one can monitor expenses. QuickBooks learners can find longer videos or playlists that aim to teach comprehensive knowledge of the essential features of the software like creating and sending invoices, setting up automatic payments, managing customer, vendor, and inventory lists, or generating financial reports.
In addition to videos for novices, there are also more specific and specialized QuickBooks videos. One can find videos that offer aid in learning specific features of QuickBooks, like adding items to expenses or synching Excel spreadsheets. Additionally, one can often find industry-specific videos. Those in manufacturing, for instance, might use vendor lists more than someone in legal services who uses QuickBooks to track open legal cases and pro bono work. QuickBooks also does have industry-specific features and it can be useful to locate videos that will help walk you through what features to use for your specific industry.
Why Learn QuickBooks?
Whether for one’s own finances or to manage the finances of another small business, it can be useful to learn how to use QuickBooks. QuickBooks is an easy-to-use accounting and bookkeeping tool, so many people learn how to use it to track and monitor finances for their business or act as a Bookkeeper, Financial Manager, or Accountant for other businesses. Regardless of the size of one’s business, it is important to keep track of when and where one spends and makes money. QuickBooks will allow someone to monitor transactions, sales, and expenses. QuickBooks users can also use the software as a central place to store information about customers, vendors, inventory, employees, and orders and automate tasks like sending invoices and payments.
While the user interface for QuickBooks is designed to be easy for users to navigate, it is still important to learn the optimal techniques and strategies for using QuickBooks’s various features. Many need some initial guidance on setting up their business profile, linking accounts, integrating their sales channels, and using other important features of QuickBooks. However, once everything is set up it is fairly easy to operate. Learning QuickBooks can also be an entry point into learning more about accounting or financial management, for those who are interested in pursuing a career as a Bookkeeper, Accountant, or Financial Manager. Even those within these professional roles might need to have familiarity with QuickBooks, given its global popularity as a financial management software that is used across a wide variety of industries.
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How Difficult is It to Learn QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is not considered too challenging to learn, though beginners can run into difficulties mastering the variety of features that the software provides. QuickBooks is comprehensive accounting software and many features have both basic and advanced, customizable uses. For instance, while beginning learners can quickly figure out basic bank reconciliation, it can be harder to reconcile accounts when one is dealing with complex transactions and multiple bank accounts. Using QuickBooks also requires some financial literacy and those without knowledge of common accounting terms and principles can find using QuickBooks difficult. Most QuickBooks learners can become proficient in QuickBooks in two to four weeks, though it will take longer to master the more complex or industry-specific features of QuickBooks.
There are no formal prerequisites to learning QuickBooks. To use the software, one will need basic computer skills like knowing how to install software, navigate an interactive application interface, and input data. Knowing common accounting terms and principles is also recommended, which includes understanding terms such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash versus accrual accounting, income, assets, liabilities, and deductibles. It will also be useful to know how to interpret financial data and reports to make full use of QuickBooks. Before using QuickBooks, one should also know which version to use and which features will be necessary for their business.
Small businesses will most likely use a version of QuickBooks Online, which has tiered pricing for different features and ranges in cost from $30-200 a month. The lowest-cost option for QuickBooks Online is Simple Start which includes one user, one linked sales channel, and most features except for things like bill pay, inventory tracking, employee management, and support services. QuickBooks Online Plus is the next tier up and includes up to five users, all sales channels, and adds things like multi-currency transactions, bill pay, and inventory tracking that the Simple Start excludes. QuickBooks Online Advanced is the most expensive plan and has all features, including payroll, employee management services, support services, and more customization and automation options. Accounting professionals can use QuickBooks Online Accountant for free and this version also provides access to free training materials.
Read about how difficult it is to learn QuickBooks.
Learn QuickBooks with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop
Noble Desktop offers expert in-person and live online training for those interested in learning QuickBooks. Noble Desktop’s classes all include expert, hands-on guidance, small class sizes, and free retake options and many classes offer both part-time and full-time options so that one can find the QuickBooks or finance class that works best for their schedule. For fast and comprehensive training in QuickBooks, consider enrolling in Noble Desktop’s QuickBooks Bootcamp which teaches students everything they need to know about how to use QuickBooks to track and manage a business’s finances. This bootcamp uses hands-on training to teach students the basics of QuickBooks like configuring a company profile, working with customer, vendor, and inventory lists, and invoicing and processing payments as well as the more advanced management and customization features. Noble Desktop offers this bootcamp live online from any location and it can be taken in-person at Noble Desktop’s training facility in New York City.
Noble Desktop also has accounting classes and bootcamps which are a great option for anyone interested in developing their skills or learning more about finance and accounting. The Intro to Financial Accounting & Financial Statements class uses hands-on exercises to teach students the fundamentals of analyzing financial statements and reports. After completing this introductory class, students can progress to the Intermediate Financial Accounting class which teaches more complex topics like earnings per share and deferred taxes. For those who want a comprehensive, accelerated class that tackles both beginner and intermediate topics of accounting, consider the Financial Accounting Bootcamp which teaches everything students need to know in two class sessions.
Noble’s finance and accounting classes are great for those who want to grow their financial literacy beyond learning about QuickBooks. These classes are also useful for those interested in turning their knowledge of QuickBooks into the first step to becoming a Bookkeeper or Accountant. If this is something that interests you, you can learn more about the career path of an Accountant by reading Noble Desktop’s comprehensive guide to accounting, a free resource that covers essential information about accounting and how to learn the skills necessary to make this one’s career. For those who want to work in finance in some capacity but are not entirely sure which direction they want to go in yet, Noble Desktop’s guide to finance is a useful way to read about different career options.