QuickBooks makes small-business accounting fast and easy. But your day-to-day business bookkeeping will go even more smoothly if you employ a handful of QuickBooks user interface tricks, editing tricks, and keyboard shortcuts.
User interface tricks for QuickBooks
Here are some techniques that you can use to navigate the QuickBooks software faster:
- To move quickly to a specific list-box entry, press the letter. Press the S key to move to the first list entry that begins with the letter s, for example.
- To select a list-box entry shown within a dialog box and simultaneously choose a suggested command button for the active dialog box (probably the OK button), double-click the entry.
- To move the insertion point to the beginning of a field, press Home.
- To move the insertion point to the end of a field, press End.
- QuickBooks can display a list of open windows in its Open Window list. To display the Open Window list, choose View → Open Window List. To move to a listed window, just click it.
- To tell QuickBooks to use windows the same way every other program does, choose View → Multiple Windows. Alternatively, to tell QuickBooks to display just the active window, choose View→One Window.
Keyboard shortcuts for QuickBooks
Use the QuickBooks keyboard shortcuts shown in the following table to make your day-to-day small-business accounting easier and faster.
| PC Shortcut |
QuickBooks Does This |
| Alt+S | Saves a transaction |
| Alt+N | Saves a transaction and goes to a new transaction |
| Alt+Down | Displays drop-down lists |
| Ctrl+A | Displays the Chart of Accounts window |
| Ctrl+C | Copies your selection to the Clipboard |
| Ctrl+D | Deletes check, invoice, transaction, or item from the list |
| Ctrl+E | Edits transaction selected in the register |
| Ctrl+F | Displays the Find window |
| Ctrl+G | Goes to the other side of a transfer transaction |
| Ctrl+I | Displays the Create Invoice window |
| Ctrl+J | Displays the Customer:Job List window |
| Ctrl+M | Memorizes a transaction |
| Ctrl+N | Creates a new <fill in the blank> where <fill in the blank> is whatever is active at the time |
| Ctrl+P | Almost always prints the currently active register, list, or form |
| Ctrl+Q | Creates and displays a QuickReport on the selected transaction |
| Ctrl+R | Displays the Register window |
| Crtl+T | Displays the memorized transaction list |
| Ctrl+V | Pastes the contents of the Clipboard |
| Ctrl+W | Displays the Write Checks window |
| Ctrl+X | Moves your selection to the Clipboard |
| Ctrl+Z | Undoes your last action — usually |
| Ctrl+Enter | Saves the changes |
| Ctrl+Insert | Inserts a line into a list of items or expenses |
| Ctrl+Delete | Deletes the selected line from a list of items or expenses |
| Esc | Closes the active window |
How to perform common QuickBooks tasks
To perform a common accounting or bookkeeping task in QuickBooks, use these commands. When QuickBooks displays the commands window, you just fill in the boxes and press Enter.
| To Do This |
Choose This QuickBooks Command |
| Deal with customers | |
| Invoice a customer | Customers → Create Invoices |
| Record a cash sale | Customers → Enter Sales Receipts |
| Issue a credit memo | Customers → Create Credit Memo/Refunds |
| Record a customer payment | Customers → Receive Payments |
| Handle banking activities | |
| Pay a bill with a check | Banking → Write Checks |
| Buy inventory with a check | Banking → Write Checks |
| Move money between bank accounts | Banking → Transfer Funds |
| Deposit money in a bank account | Banking → Make Deposits |
| See a bank account’s transactions | Banking → Use Register |
| Reconcile a bank account | Banking → Reconcile |
| Work with vendors | |
| Prepare a purchase order | Vendors → Create Purchase Orders |
| Record when items are received | Vendors → Receive Items or Vendors → Receive Items and Enter Bill |
| Record an accounts-payable amount | Vendors → Enter Bills or Vendors → Enter Bill for Received Items |
| Manage employees | |
| Prepare employee payroll | Employees → Pay Employees |
| Pay tax deposits | Employees → Payroll Taxes and Liabilities → Pay Scheduled Liabilities |
| Get financial information | |
| Accounts | Lists → Chart of Accounts |
| Customers | Customers → Customer Center |
| Inventory | Lists → Item List or Vendors → Inventory Activities → Inventory Center |
| Vendors | Vendors → Vendor Center |
| Employees | Employees → Employee Center |
| Profit and loss | Reports → Company & Financial → Profit & Loss Standard or one of the other profit & loss reports on Company & Financial submenu |
| Net worth | Reports → Company & Financial → Balance Sheet Standard or one of the other balance sheet reports on the Company & Financial submenu |
| Manage the QuickBooks system | |
| Set up a new company | File → New Company |
| Reset company information | Company → Company Information |
| Back up a data file | File → Back Up Company |
| Restore a data file | File → Open or Restore Company |
| Customize QuickBooks | Edit → Preferences |
| Adjust accounting data | Company → Make Journal Entries |
Right-click for common QuickBooks tasks
To perform a common QuickBooks task related to a window, right-click to display a shortcut menu. In a register, select and right-click a specific transaction; in a list, right-click an item; in a form, display a transaction and right-click a blank area of the form.
QuickBooks displays a shortcut menu of common commands for each particular transaction, item, or window. It often displays commands for memorizing or voiding a transaction, for example, or for creating a QuickReport on a transaction. The commands differ based on the type of transaction you select.
