QBO - Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor Managing Client and Work Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A ProAdvisor is using the Work feature in QuickBooks Online Accountant to manage their firm's projects. A client has sent an important document via email. What is the most efficient and secure way for the ProAdvisor to request this document through QuickBooks Online Accountant to ensure it's linked to the client's record and ongoing work?
- Forward the email to a generic firm address and manually upload the document to the client's shared folder.
- Reply to the client's email asking them to upload it directly into their 'My Accountant' tab.
- Create a new 'Client Request' from the Work tab, asking the client to upload the document directly through the request. (Correct answer)
- Add a task to an existing project and make a note to remind the client to send the document again through a secure portal.
Correct answer: Create a new 'Client Request' from the Work tab, asking the client to upload the document directly through the request.
Creating a 'Client Request' from the Work tab is the most integrated and secure method. This action sends a formal request to the client, which appears in their QuickBooks Online under the 'My Accountant' tab. They can then upload the document directly in response, linking it to the request and storing it securely within the system.
Question 2: When managing your team in QuickBooks Online Accountant, you need to assign a new team member access to several, but not all, of your clients. What is the proper procedure to grant this specific access?
- Give the team member 'Full Access' permissions, and then instruct them on which clients to work on.
- Go to the 'Team' tab, select the team member, and then individually assign a role for each specific client they need to access. (Correct answer)
- From the Client List, you must go into each client's file individually and add the new team member as a user.
- Add the new user under the 'Your Books' section and they will automatically inherit access to all firm clients.
Correct answer: Go to the 'Team' tab, select the team member, and then individually assign a role for each specific client they need to access.
In QuickBooks Online Accountant, user permissions are managed under the 'Team' tab. To control client access, you edit the team member's profile and in the 'Client access' section, you can assign them specific roles for each client company they are authorized to work on. This provides granular control over client data.
Question 3: A client's project requires tracking profitability, including labor costs from timesheets and specific expenses. Which QuickBooks Online feature is best suited for this purpose, offering a dedicated dashboard to view income, costs, and profit for the job?
- Using Classes to categorize all project-related transactions.
- Creating a sub-customer for the project under the main client.
- The Projects feature. (Correct answer)
- Tagging all related transactions with a specific project group.
Correct answer: The Projects feature.
The Projects feature in QuickBooks Online (available in Plus and Advanced) is specifically designed for job costing. It provides a central dashboard to track income, costs (including billable time and expenses), and profitability for each project, offering more robust tracking than using sub-customers or classes alone.
Question 4: Which of the following is a key limitation of using the 'Projects' feature for job costing compared to using sub-customers in QuickBooks Online?
- Projects do not allow for tracking billable time.
- It is not possible to assign expenses to a Project.
- Projects cannot have their own unique billing and shipping addresses separate from the parent customer. (Correct answer)
- Profitability reports are not available for Projects.
Correct answer: Projects cannot have their own unique billing and shipping addresses separate from the parent customer.
While the Projects feature offers a superior dashboard for profitability tracking, it has limitations. One significant limitation is that a Project inherits the parent customer's address. Sub-customers, on the other hand, can have unique billing and shipping addresses, which can be important for invoicing and shipping on a per-job basis.
Question 5: A ProAdvisor wants to keep internal notes about a client, such as communication logs and important reminders, that should be visible to all team members who have access to that client. Which feature within the client's profile in QuickBooks Online Accountant should be used?
- The 'To-do' list widget on the main dashboard.
- The 'Notes' tab within the client's detail screen. (Correct answer)
- A recurring task created in the 'Work' tab.
- The attachment manager in the client's books.
Correct answer: The 'Notes' tab within the client's detail screen.
The 'Notes' tab, accessible from the client list within QuickBooks Online Accountant, is the designated place for storing client-specific information. These notes are automatically stamped with the author and date, can be edited by team members with access, and important notes can be pinned for visibility.
Question 6: In the 'Work' section of QuickBooks Online Accountant, what is the fundamental difference between a 'Project' and a 'Task'?
- Projects are for billable work, while Tasks are for non-billable administrative work.
- Projects can be assigned to clients, whereas Tasks can only be assigned to internal team members.
- Projects are visible to the client in their 'My Accountant' tab, but Tasks are only visible to the firm's team.
- A Project is a larger scope of work that can contain multiple Tasks, which are the individual steps needed to complete the project. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A Project is a larger scope of work that can contain multiple Tasks, which are the individual steps needed to complete the project.
Within the QBOA workflow, a 'Project' represents the overall engagement (e.g., 'Monthly Bookkeeping'). 'Tasks' are the individual action items or steps that make up that project (e.g., 'Reconcile bank account,' 'Prepare financial statements'). Tasks are nested within projects to break down the work and are not directly visible to the client.
