First seven days
QuickBooks setup checklist, in the order that works
Most setup guides list every screen. This one is ordered by what breaks later if you skip it. Tick items off as you go — your progress is saved in this browser.
Budget 2–3 hours spread across a week, not one long afternoon. Bank feeds and category rules improve with a few days of corrections, so the work is deliberately staggered: connect, categorise, reconcile, then fix what drifted.
Your setup progress
Start the free trialDay 1 — the plumbing
Day 2–3 — the chart of accounts
Day 4–5 — customers, suppliers, invoices
Day 6–7 — prove it works
Progress is stored only in this browser (localStorage). Nothing is sent anywhere.
Avoid the rework
Five settings that cost money when they are wrong
Every one of these is a checkbox on day one and a cleanup project in month nine.
1. Sales tax turned on too early
Filing frequencies, agency registrations and rate mappings all have to be right. An incorrect setup creates liability reports nobody trusts.
2. Inventory switched on for a service business
It changes how cost of goods behaves and cannot simply be switched off later without adjusting balances.
3. Owner draws posted as an expense
Draws and distributions are equity, not deductible expenses. Miscategorising them overstates costs and understates profit.
4. Personal spending left in the business account
Every personal transaction needs an owner draw entry. Ten a month becomes a two-hour cleanup at filing time.
5. Duplicate accounts with different names
"Office supplies" and "Office Expenses" and "Supplies" all existing at once makes every report harder to read.
A starter chart of accounts that works
Twenty accounts, grouped the way a Schedule C wants them. Rename to fit your language; do not add unless something genuinely does not fit.
| Group | Accounts |
|---|---|
| Income | Sales · Service revenue · Other income |
| Cost of sales | Materials · Subcontractors · Merchant fees |
| Operating | Advertising · Software · Insurance · Rent · Phone · Professional fees |
| Vehicle | Fuel · Repairs · Insurance |
| Payroll | Wages · Payroll taxes · Contractor payments |
| Equity | Owner's equity · Owner's draw |
Do it inside the trial
Thirty days is more than enough for this checklist — and you will know by day seven whether the bank feed suits your bank.
Setup questions
Asked in the first week
How long does QuickBooks setup take?
Budget 2–3 hours over the first week, not one long day. Bank feeds and category rules get better with a few days of corrections, so the work is deliberately spread out: connect, categorize, reconcile, then fix.
Should I import my history?
Import opening balances, not years of transactions. Bring across customers, vendors, open invoices and a trial balance as of your start date, then keep the prior system read-only for reference. A clean start date makes every later report trustworthy.
What settings cause problems later?
Three: the wrong sales tax setup, inventory turned on for a business that does not hold stock, and account names that drift from your accountant's chart of accounts. All three are cheap to fix in week one and expensive to fix in month nine.