How Many Assigned Roles Can a QuickBooks Online User Have?

QuickBooks Online is an accounting software that facilitates financial operations from invoicing to expense tracking. Effective management of user access is important for data security and operational efficiency. The system allows different levels of access and specific permissions for users, ensuring individuals interact only with relevant financial data and functions.

QuickBooks Online User Access Levels

QuickBooks Online categorizes users into distinct types. The Company Admin user has the highest authority, with full access to all features, reports, and settings, including managing other users and subscriptions. This user type is typically for business owners or primary financial officers.

Standard Users are a flexible category whose access can be tailored to specific operational areas. They are assigned various functional roles to limit permissions, making this user type relevant for understanding how specific roles are managed. Their access can range from broad to highly restricted, depending on assigned roles.

Accountant Users are for external accounting professionals. This user type grants comprehensive access to accounting functions like reconciling accounts, preparing tax forms, and running detailed financial reports. Their access often excludes administrative functions like subscription management or adding other users.

Two other specialized user types exist: Reports Only Users and Time Tracking Only Users. Reports Only Users can view all reports, including financial statements, sales reports, and expense summaries, but cannot create or modify transactions or data. Time Tracking Only Users are limited to entering their own time or the time of other employees for payroll or invoicing, without access to other financial data.

Details of Functional Roles

Standard Users can be assigned various functional roles, defining their permissions across different operational areas. The “Sales and Customers” role allows users to create and send invoices, record sales receipts, process customer payments, and manage customer information. Users with this permission can also create estimates and manage unbilled activity.

The “Expenses and Vendors” role permits users to create bills, record vendor payments, manage purchase orders, and update vendor details. This role is for individuals responsible for accounts payable and procurement.

For managing financial inflows and outflows, the “Banking” role allows users to connect bank accounts, download transactions, categorize expenses, and reconcile accounts. This role is often assigned to bookkeepers or those responsible for daily cash management.

If a business manages physical goods, the “Inventory” role enables users to add new inventory items, adjust inventory quantities, and track product costs. This permission ensures inventory records remain accurate for sales and financial reporting.

When QuickBooks Online Payroll is integrated, the “Payroll” role becomes available, allowing users to run payroll, manage employee information, and process tax forms related to wages. This role handles sensitive employee data and financial disbursements.

The “Reports” functional role allows Standard Users to view specific financial or operational reports, such as sales reports, expense reports, or custom reports relevant to their duties. This ensures users have necessary insights without granting them full data editing capabilities.

The “View Company and Financial Information” role provides a general overview of the business’s financial health without allowing any transactional changes. This role is often combined with other functional roles to provide broader context for a user’s specific duties.

Limits on Assigned Roles

A Standard User in QuickBooks Online can be assigned multiple functional roles across various operational areas, such as Sales, Expenses, and Banking. QuickBooks Online structures permissions to allow access to as many distinct functional areas as a business requires for a particular user.

The system offers “All” or “Limited” access within each functional category. Selecting “All” grants full control over related sub-functions, while “Limited” allows for more granular restrictions, such as viewing only or creating but not deleting. This design provides flexibility in combining permissions, allowing for a highly customized access profile based on operational requirements.

Managing User Access

Adding a new user in QuickBooks Online starts by navigating to the “Settings” gear icon, then selecting “Manage Users” under “Your Company.” From this screen, an administrator clicks “Add user” and enters the new user’s email address and name.

The next step involves selecting the initial user type, which determines their broad access level. Options include Company Admin, Standard User, Accountant User, Reports Only User, or Time Tracking Only User. For a Standard User, this is where detailed assignment of functional roles begins.

To assign and modify specific functional roles for a Standard User, the administrator proceeds to the next screen after selecting “Standard user.” Here, they choose permissions for areas like “Sales and customers,” “Expenses and vendors,” “Banking,” and “Inventory.” Within each category, options allow for “All” or “Limited” access, with further sub-options for viewing, creating, or editing specific transaction types.

Editing existing user roles or changing a user’s type follows a similar path through the “Manage Users” section. An administrator can select an existing user and choose “Edit” to modify their assigned roles or change their overall user type. This flexibility allows businesses to adapt user permissions as roles and responsibilities evolve.

Deleting a user is also performed within the “Manage Users” screen. By selecting the user and choosing “Delete,” the administrator can remove their access to the company file.