Enter Time in QuickBooks Online – Instructions

Enter Time in QuickBooks Online: Overview

            You can enter time in QuickBooks Online, which provides basic time tracking for employees if you don’t subscribe to either the QuickBooks Payroll and/or QuickBooks Time service. This lesson examines the basic time tracking available in QuickBooks Online Plus.

            Alternatively, if you have a subscription to QuickBooks Time for QuickBooks Online through QuickBooks Payroll or as a separate subscription, you can enter time in QuickBooks Time to manually record your time there, if needed. However, that is a separate process.

How to Set Up Basic Time Tracking in QuickBooks Online

            To set up basic time tracking in QuickBooks Online, click the “Time” link in the Navigation Bar to open the “Overview” page to the right. Then click the “Check out pricing” button in the QuickBooks Time advertisement on this page to open yet another advertisement window. Then scroll to the very bottom of the large advertisement window and click the small “Use basic time tracking (included in your current plan)” link to continue. You then move to the “Time entries” page, where you can add time for your employees.

How to Add Employees for Time Tracking in QuickBooks Online

            After enabling basic time tracking, add the employees for whom to track time if you haven’t already. You must add the employees for whom to track time before creating the time entries in QuickBooks Online. To add an employee, click the “Overview” tab to open the “Overview” page. Then click the “Add employee” button in the “Shortcuts” button group on the page to open a new “Employee” pane at the right side of the window. Then enter the required employee data and any other optional data to record. Since you don’t have QuickBooks Payroll enabled, only the employee’s first and last names and their display name are required, as noted by the asterisks next to the field labels.

          If the employee has an hourly billable rate that is independent of the service provided to the customer, then you can enter that into the “Billing rate (/hr)” field in the “Additional info” section. However, selecting an item from your “Products and Services” list when creating their time entries will override this amount. Additionally, to make their hours billable by default, check the “Billable by default” checkbox. To save the employee record, click the “Save” button in the lower-right corner of the “Employee” pane.

How to Create a Basic Time Entry in QuickBooks Online

            To create a basic time entry for an employee in QuickBooks Online, click the “Add time entry” button on the “Overview” page to open the “Add time” pane at the right side of the window. Alternatively, to open the “Time Entries” page to add time entries, either click the “Time Entries” tab at the top of the page or hover over the “Time” link in the Navigation Bar and then click the “Time Entries” choice from the side menu that appears. In the “Time Entries” page, then click the “Add time” button in the upper-right corner to open the “Add time” pane at the right side of the window.

            In the first screen of the “Add time” pane, click to select the name of the employee for whom to enter the time. In the next screen, use the drop-down at the top to select for which week to enter time or select the “Custom” choice and then click into a week in the calendar that appears to select it. For the selected week, which then appears below, click the day for which to enter the employee’s time.

            To only enter time for an employee, enter the time duration for the employee on that day into the “Duration” field. Alternatively, to enter start and end times, click the “Start / End times” toggle switch to the left to toggle it to the “On” position. Then enter or select a start time and an end time by using the “Start time” and “End time” drop-down fields that then appear to the right to calculate the duration.

How to Enter Time and Work Details in QuickBooks Online

            Alternatively, to enter the time and work details for an employee, instead click the “Add work details” link below this section to show an “Add work details” screen. Here, enter the total duration or the start and end times, as previously mentioned, at the top of the pane. To assign that time to a customer or project, select the name of the customer or project from the “Customer / Project” drop-down. If assigning time to a project, you will need to select the customer and then the project from the drop-down in separate clicks as the drop-down menu changes based on your clicks, unlike other drop-downs.

            To select the service performed for that customer by the employee for that time if you enabled the service field in timesheets within your company file settings, select the service from the “Service” drop-down. If needed, to mark the time as billable per hour, click the “Billable (/hr)” toggle switch to ensure it is in the “On” position. Optionally, to enter any notes about the time worked, type them into the “Notes” field.

Enter Time in QuickBooks Online – Instructions: A picture of a user entering the time and work details for an employee using the basic time tracking in QuickBooks Online.

How to Finish Creating a Time Entry in QuickBooks Online

            To then finish the entry, click the “Done” button at the bottom of the pane. Alternatively, to delete the entry, click the “Delete” button and then click “Yes” in the confirmation prompt window that opens. You then return to the weekly time entry screen. If you need to add more entries for the currently selected day for the employee, click the “Add” button below the current entry and then repeat the process to record additional time in the new time entry section that appears.

            To delete a time entry from this screen, click the triple-dot icon in the upper-right corner of the entry and then choose the “Delete” command from the drop-down menu that appears. To add entries for other days, select another day in the week above and repeat the process.

            To save the entries you made for the employee, click the “Save” button in the lower-right corner of the pane. Alternatively, to save the entries and close the pane, click the drop-down arrow on the button in the lower-right corner of the pane and choose the “Save and close” command. Alternatively, to close without saving, click the “Close” button in the lower-left corner of the pane and then click “No” in the save confirmation prompt that appears.

How to Edit and Delete Time Entries in QuickBooks Online

            To edit the time entries after making them, if needed, hover over the “Time” link in the Navigation Bar and then click the “Time Entries” command to open the “Time Entries” tab at the right side of the window. Click the name of the employee whose time entries you want to edit to show them in this window. To change their billable status here, click the “Billable” toggle. Alternatively, to edit the entire time entry, click the “Edit” link in the “Action” column at the right end of the row to edit, make your changes in the “Time entry details” pane, and then click the “Save” button to save your changes.

            To delete a time entry in QuickBooks Online, click the “Delete” button in this pane or select the “Delete” action from the entry’s “Action” column drop-down. Then click the “Yes” button in the confirmation prompt that appears to confirm the deletion.

Enter Time in QuickBooks Online: Instructions

Instructions on How to Set Up Basic Time Tracking in QuickBooks Online

1. To set up basic time tracking in QuickBooks Online, click the “Time” link in the Navigation Bar to open the “Overview” page to the right.
2. Then click the “Check out pricing” button in the QuickBooks Time advertisement on this page to open yet another advertisement window.
3. Then scroll to the very bottom of the large advertisement window and click the small “Use basic time tracking (included in your current plan)” link to continue.
4. You then move to the “Time entries” page, where you can add time for your employees.
5. After enabling basic time tracking, add the employees for whom to track time if you haven’t already. You must add the employees for whom to track time before creating the time entries in QuickBooks Online.

Instructions on How to Add Employees for Time Tracking in QuickBooks Online

1. To add an employee, click the “Overview” tab to open the “Overview” page.
2. Then click the “Add employee” button in the “Shortcuts” button group on the page to open a new “Employee” pane at the right side of the window.
3. Then enter the required employee data and any other optional data to record. Since you don’t have QuickBooks Payroll enabled, only the employee’s first and last names and their display name are required, as noted by the asterisks next to the field labels.
4. If the employee has an hourly billable rate independent of the service provided to the customer, then you can enter that into the “Billing rate (/hr)” field in the “Additional info” section. However, selecting an item from your “Products and Services” list when creating their time entries will override this amount.
5. Additionally, to make their hours billable by default, check the “Billable by default” checkbox
6. To save the employee record, click the “Save” button in the lower-right corner of the “Employee” pane.

Instructions on How to Create a Basic Time Entry in QuickBooks Online

1. To create a basic time entry for an employee in QuickBooks Online, click the “Add time entry” button on the “Overview” page to open the “Add time” pane at the right side of the window.
2. Alternatively, to open the “Time Entries” page to add time entries, either click the “Time Entries” tab at the top of the page or hover over the “Time” link in the Navigation Bar and then click the “Time Entries” choice from the side menu that appears.
3. In the “Time Entries” page, then click the “Add time” button in the upper-right corner to open the “Add time” pane at the right side of the window.
4. In the first screen of the “Add time” pane, click to select the name of the employee for whom to enter the time.
5. In the next screen, use the drop-down at the top to select for which week to enter time or select the “Custom” choice and then click into a week in the calendar that appears to select it.
6. For the selected week, which then appears below, click the day for which to enter the employee’s time.
7. To only enter time for an employee, enter the time duration for the employee on that day into the “Duration” field.
8. Alternatively, to enter start and end times, click the “Start / End times” toggle switch to the left to toggle it to the “On” position.
9. Then enter or select a start time and an end time by using the “Start time” and “End time” drop-down fields that then appear to the right to calculate the duration.
10. Alternatively, to enter the time and work details for an employee, instead click the “Add work details” link below this section to show an “Add work details” screen.
11. Here, enter the total duration or the start and end times, as previously mentioned, at the top of the pane.
12. To assign that time to a customer or project, select the name of the customer or project from the “Customer / Project” drop-down.
13. If assigning time to a project, you will need to select the customer and then the project from the drop-down in separate clicks as the drop-down menu changes based on your clicks, unlike other drop-downs.
14. To select the service performed for that customer by the employee for that time if you enabled the service field in timesheets within your company file settings, select the service from the “Service” drop-down.
15. If needed, to mark the time as billable per hour, click the “Billable (/hr)” toggle switch to ensure it is in the “On” position.
16. Optionally, to enter any notes about the time worked, type them into the “Notes” field.
17. To then finish the entry, click the “Done” button at the bottom of the pane.
18. Alternatively, to delete the entry, click the “Delete” button and then click “Yes” in the confirmation prompt window that opens.
19. You then return to the weekly time entry screen.
20. If you need to add more entries for the currently selected day for the employee, click the “Add” button below the current entry and then repeat the process to record additional time in the new time entry section that appears.
21. To delete a time entry from this screen, click the triple-dot icon in the upper-right corner of the entry and then choose the “Delete” command from the drop-down menu that appears.
22. To add time entries for other days, select another day in the week above and repeat the process.
23. To save the time entries you made, click the “Save” button in the lower-right corner of the pane.
24. Alternatively, to save the time entries and close the pane, click the drop-down arrow on the button in the lower-right corner of the pane and choose the “Save and close” command.
25. Alternatively, to close without saving, click the “Close” button in the lower-left corner of the pane and then click “No” in the save confirmation prompt that appears.

Instructions on How to Edit and Delete Time Entries in QuickBooks Online

1. To edit the time entries after making them in QuickBooks Online, if needed, hover over the “Time” link in the Navigation Bar and then click the “Time Entries” command to open the “Time Entries” tab at the right side of the window.
2. Click the name of the employee whose time entries you want to edit to show them in this window.
3. To change their billable status here, click the “Billable” toggle.
4. Alternatively, to edit the entire time entry, click the “Edit” link in the “Action” column at the right end of the row to edit, make your changes in the “Time entry details” pane, and then click the “Save” button to save your changes.
5. To delete a time entry in QuickBooks Online, click the “Delete” button in this pane or select the “Delete” action from the entry’s “Action” column drop-down.
6. Then click the “Yes” button in the confirmation prompt that appears to confirm the deletion.

Enter Time in QuickBooks Online: Video Lesson

            The following video lesson, titled “Basic Time Tracking,” shows how to set up and create basic time entries in QuickBooks Online Plus. This video on how to enter time in QuickBooks Online is from our complete QuickBooks Online tutorial, titled “Mastering QuickBooks Online Made Easy.”