User Interface Changes in QuickBooks Online

User Interface Changes in QuickBooks Online: Video Lesson

        This video lesson, titled “User Interface Changes in QuickBooks Online,” discusses the changes to the user interface in QuickBooks Online.

What Happened to My Dashboard in QuickBooks Online?

            If you sign into QuickBooks Online recently, you may be asking yourself “What Happened to My Dashboard?” The answer is that QuickBooks Online rolled out a new version of its user interface to new and existing customers. However, it’s currently only provided to a small number of users. This video shows you how to switch back to the old QuickBooks Online user interface. For users interested in testing the new versions of the QuickBooks Online interface, it also shows you where the tools and buttons have moved. However, note that these new interfaces may also change in the future, as Intuit is still seeking feedback from users.

How to Switch Back to the Classic QuickBooks Online Interface:

            If you want to switch back to the classic version of the QuickBooks Online interface, click the “Settings” button in the QuickBooks Online toolbar. Then click the large “Switch” button at the bottom of the menu that appears. A new window then opens, where you can provide optional feedback to Intuit about why you are switching back to the classic interface. After closing this window, QuickBooks Online then returns to its classic interface. If desired, to switch to the new version of the QuickBooks Online interface if you switch back, repeat the same process again.

A picture showing how to switch back to the classic user interface in QuickBooks Online.

The Versions of the New QuickBooks Online Interface:

            There are two versions of the new user interface available in QuickBooks Online. So, depending on which version you see, you’ll need to look in slightly different places to find the buttons you use to navigate the software application. Here is a picture of version A of the new QuickBooks Online interface.

Here is a picture of version B of the new QuickBooks Online interface.

Now let’s review where the locations of the major onscreen navigation tools have moved in both versions of the new QuickBooks Online user interface.

The “+ New” Button or the “+ Create” Button:

            The “+ New” button now appears as the “+ Create” button in the new QuickBooks Online interface. In Version A of the new QuickBooks Online interface, it still appears towards the top of the left side of the screen, by default. You can click it to see the menu of transactions you can create in QuickBooks Online, as usual. Additionally, you can now also create new customers, vendors, contractors, employees, and products and services by selecting choices in this menu.

            In Version B of the new QuickBooks Online interface, this button instead appears within the QuickBooks Online toolbar towards the upper-right corner of the screen. You can click it in this location to access this same menu of commands.

The Bookmarks Button:

            Bookmarks appear at the top of the Navigation Bar at the left side of the page in the classic QuickBooks Online interface. If using Version A of the new QuickBooks Online interface, then they appear in roughly the same location. However, you need to hover over the new Bookmarks button to show them. Alternatively, if using Version B of the new QuickBooks Online interface, the Bookmarks button appears in the QuickBooks Online toolbar, next to the “+ Create” button.

The Navigation Bar:

            Probably the biggest change to the QuickBooks Online interface is the Navigation Bar. The Navigation Bar in the classic QuickBooks Online interface appears at the left side of the application and contains the links you use to access different pages and lists in the application.

            If using Version A of the new QuickBooks Online interface, you access the links from the old Navigation Bar by hovering over the “My apps” button at the left side of the screen. At this point, it then works the same as the classic Navigation Bar and shows side menus of additional choices. You simply hover over the desired choices and click the one to view to then open it in the window to the right.

            If using Version B of the new QuickBooks Online interface, you don’t need to hover over the “My apps” button, as the app choices simply appear in the bar at the left side of the screen. You use this the same way by simply hovering over the app choices to show the side menus and then clicking the desired link to open the page content to the right.

Reports:

            While “Reports” used to be a choice available in the Navigation Bar’s list of commands in the classic QuickBooks Online interface. It now appears as a separate button in the bar at the left side of the screen for both versions of the new QuickBooks Online interface. You hover over the button to show the side menu of report commands, which have not changed. Then click the one you want to view.