Client Onboarding
Already a Client? Your QuickBooks Online Setup Guide
By Remi Matteo · Matteo Bookkeeping · Jacksonville, FL
TL;DR
- Accept the QuickBooks Online accountant invite email, that's what connects you as a client.
- Connect your bank and card feeds, plus any other apps money moves through (Stripe, Square, PayPal, payroll).
- From there, we take it from here: weekly categorization and reconciliation, monthly financials by the 10th.
If you've just signed on with us, here's exactly what happens next, in order. None of it takes long on your end, and once your accounts are connected, this is the last time you'll need to think about setup.
Accept your QuickBooks Online accountant invite
After we agree to work together, I send you an invite from QuickBooks Online Accountant to your email. Open it and accept it, this is the single step that connects your business to me as your bookkeeper. If you don't see it within a day, check spam for an email from QuickBooks and reach out if it's still missing.
Join QuickBooks Online (or connect your existing file)
If you don't already use QuickBooks Online, accepting the invite walks you through creating your company file, your business name, entity type, and industry. If you're already on QBO, the invite simply links your existing file to me as your accountant. Either way, the file is registered to your business. You own it.
Connect your bank feed
Inside QBO, link every account your business transactions run through: business checking, savings, and credit cards. Once connected, QuickBooks pulls in new transactions automatically each day. That feed is what gets categorized and reconciled, so this is the most important connection to get right before we start.
Connect any other vendor or payment connections
Bank feeds cover most businesses, but connect anything else money moves through so nothing gets missed:
- Payment processors: Stripe, Square, PayPal, or your merchant processor if you take card payments.
- E-commerce or booking platforms: Shopify, Etsy, or similar, if sales run through a platform before hitting your bank.
- Payroll: Gusto, ADP, or whoever runs your payroll, so wages and taxes post correctly instead of showing up as one unexplained withdrawal.
- Loans or lines of credit: any business loan, credit line, or equipment financing account.
Not sure if something needs to be connected? Send it my way and I'll tell you.
What to expect week to week
Once your accounts are connected, this is what happens on my end without you having to ask: new transactions get reviewed and categorized to the right account, anything unclear gets flagged directly to you by text or email (not buried in a portal notification you'll never see), and accounts get reconciled against your bank and card statements as they close out. If your books needed catch-up or clean-up work when we started, that happens in this same window.
What you get every month
By the 10th of each month, you get your prior month's Profit & Loss statement, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows, reconciled and tax-ready. No digging through QBO to find them, no chasing me for a status update.
If you're on the All-Inclusive Package
Everything above still applies, plus a few things layered on top for owners who want more than clean books:
- Weekly touchpoints. A short standing call or check-in, not a once-a-year meeting when something's already wrong.
- KPI monitoring. A simple dashboard tracking the handful of numbers that actually run your business, things like gross margin by revenue stream, cash runway, accounts receivable aging, or labor cost as a percentage of revenue, depending on what matters for your business.
- Management reporting. A short monthly write-up that translates the statements into what to actually do about them, not just the numbers themselves.
- Valuations. A periodic estimate of what your business is worth, useful before you sell, refinance, bring in a partner, or just want to know where you stand.
- System reviews & tax preparation. Your tax return, filed by someone who already knows your numbers, plus a regular look at whether your current tools and processes are still the right fit as you grow.
Stuck on a step, or didn't get an invite?
Text, call, or email and I'll walk you through it directly.
(904) 386-3642Quick Questions
Do I need to already have QuickBooks Online?
No. If you don't have a QuickBooks Online account yet, accepting the accountant invite walks you through creating one. If you already use QBO, the invite just connects your existing company file to us as your accountant, nothing gets wiped or reset.
Who owns the QuickBooks Online file?
You do. The company file is registered in your business's name. We work inside it as your accountant user. If you ever leave, the books and the file stay with you.
What if I use something other than a bank account for sales, like Stripe or Square?
Connect it. Anywhere money comes in or goes out, whether it's a bank account, a credit card, Stripe, Square, PayPal, or a payroll provider, we'll want it linked so nothing gets missed in your books.
How long does setup take?
Accepting the invite and connecting your bank feed usually takes 10 to 15 minutes. If we're also doing catch-up or clean-up work on existing books, that part happens on our end over the following days and doesn't require anything further from you.