Learning Center
We keep you up to date on the latest tax changes and news in the industry.

How Does QuickBooks Online Handle Mobile Expenses?

If you purchase several items and services away from the office, QuickBooks Online can help you record them while you’re out and about.

QuickBooks Online’s mobile app, available at the Apple App Store and Google Play, can do many of the same tasks that it performs on your office desktop. You can, for example:
  • Check account balances. 
  • Add and edit estimates, invoices, and sales receipts. 
  • Add and edit customers, vendors, products, and services. 
  • Record invoice payments. 
One of the most common uses of the app, though, is the recording of expenses. Rather than coming home from a trip with your briefcase stuffed full of receipts and notes about purchases you made, you can document them on the road using your mobile device. When you get back to the office and log on to QuickBooks Online, they’ll all be there.

How It Works


You can snap a photo of a receipt with your smartphone and attach it to an expense you record in QuickBooks Online’s mobile app.

Open your QuickBooks Online mobile app and click the plus (+) sign at the bottom, then tap the Expense icon. The New Expense screen will open. If you have a paper receipt, lay it flat on a table in a well-lighted area. Click the camera icon and then the Take Photo link. If you took the picture outside of QuickBooks Online for some reason, you’d select the Choose Existing link. Your device’s camera will open, and you’ll see four squared corners on the edges of the screen.

Hover your device over the receipt. You’ll need to position the camera so the receipt area that you want captured appears within the four corners. QuickBooks Online will provide advice along the way to help you do this. When you’re in the right place, you’ll see the phrase, Great! Snap the pic. Click the shutter icon below, and your device will snap the photo and display it. If you want to use it, click Use this photo (if you want to try again, click the X in the upper left of the screen).

QuickBooks Online will open the New Expense

screen. You’ll see a miniature version of your receipt in the upper left corner. Looking at your original version—it will be too small to see here—fill in the blanks with the data from the purchase. Be sure to click the Billable button if you can bill someone else for it. Make any notes you’ll need in order to remind yourself of the transaction, and Add a Split if you need to divide the transaction between categories, customers or vendors, or billable status. Click Save when you’re done.

Automatic Synchronization


Once you’ve entered an expense in QuickBooks Online’s mobile app, it will be synchronized with your desktop, browser-based version.

Of course, no duplicate data entry is required once you’ve entered a receipt in the QuickBooks Online mobile app - the two versions always update each other.

Once you’re back at your desktop, on the browser-based version of QuickBooks Online, click Expenses in the toolbar to open the Expense Transactions screen. You should see the transaction you just created on your mobile device first in line on the list that displays. Click View/Edit at the end of that line to see it. Look toward the bottom under Item Details to see the link to an attachment that contains the photo you snapped of the receipt.


The record of the expense you entered on your mobile device will contain a link to an attachment that contains the photo of your receipt.

Of course, you don’t have to take a picture of your receipt with your mobile device. You can simply enter the details of your expense and Save the record.

QuickBooks Online’s mobile app can help you save time and improve the accuracy of your work done away from the office. As we mentioned earlier, the app is capable of doing much more than simply recording receipts. We’d be happy to run you through its pieces to make sure your remote accounting work is done correctly.

Share this article...

Want tax & business tips and insights?

Sign up for our newsletter.

I confirm this is a service inquiry and not an advertising message or solicitation. By clicking “Submit”, I acknowledge and agree to the creation of an account and to the and .

Social Media

Location

205 Main St.
Hackettstown, NJ 07840

Disclaimer:

The information presented in our website is intended for general use to inform our clients, colleagues and friends about our firm and the services we offer. We have made every effort to provide accurate information, however it is important to recognize that individual and business circumstances are never alike. It is not intended nor should it be used as a substitute for tax, audit, investment, consulting, legal or other professional advice. You should seek advice directly from a Jericho Tax Service professional before making any decision or taking any action on tax, financial and consulting related matters and issues.


The information provided at this site is subject to change without notice. All information in this site is provided 'as is.' In addition, this website may contain hyperlinks to websites and servers maintained by third parties. We do not control, evaluate, endorse or guarantee content found in third party sites. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the actions, products, services and content of these sites or the parties that operate them. Your use of such sites is entirely at your own risk.

Jericho Tax Service We love to chat!
Please feel free to use our Ai chat assistant or use the button to contact us.
Please fill out the form and our team will get back to you shortly The form was sent successfully