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Your Get Things Done page (refer to Figure 3-5) contains links to options you can use to set up features in QBO that are important to you. You can use those links and set up those options now, or you can wait until later.

The navigation bar runs down the left side of the screen. You use this bar the same way you’d use a menu; click an item to navigate to that part of QBO. You can click Sales on the navigation bar, for example, to see existing sales transactions in QBO and to create a new Sales transaction.

Descriptions on the navigation bar sometimes vary, based on your version of QBO and the preferences that you’ve set. In place of Sales, for example, you may see Sales & Expenses or Invoicing. Regardless, the highlighted entry in the navigation bar helps you identify the section of QBO that you’re using.

On the navigation bar, the option below Get Things Done is Business Overview, which serves as a dashboard for your business (see Figure 3-6).

FIGURE 3-6: The Business Overview dashboard.

On the right side of the dashboard page is a list of the bank accounts you’ve set up. If you scroll to the bottom of the list, you find options to connect your accounts to their banks, open an account’s register, and review transactions that have been imported into QuickBooks. The dashboard also displays a summary of expenses and sales for periods extending as far back as the last fiscal year.

Over to the left hand side of the screen, you’ll see the New button on the navigation bar, shown in Figure 3-7, which is the starting point for creating most but not all transactions in QuickBooks. If the list of options feels overwhelming, click Show Less in the bottom right-hand corner to collapse the list down to the basics: Invoice, Estimate, Expense, and Check. You can then click Show More to get the full list of transactions back again. The commands are grouped into four columns: Customers, Vendors, Employees, and Other. When you click any choice on the menu the corresponding transaction window will open in QuickBooks.

FIGURE 3-7: Click the New button to create a new transaction.

At the top of the screen you can click the Help button to display a task pane with two tabs:

 Assistant: A bot offering answers to common questions

 Search: A searchable menu of common topics that might be of interest to you (see Figure 3-8)

From time to time you may also need to search through prior transactions in QuickBooks. The Search command looks like a magnifying glass and appears to the right of the Help command. Figure 3-9 shows that you’ll be presented with a list of recent transactions — click any transaction in the list to open that transaction — as well as a Search field. You can also click Advanced Search if you want to search based on multiple filters.

The second button from the top right, known as the Settings button, is shown in the margin. Clicking it displays the menu shown in Figure 3-10. From here, you can review and change QuickBooks settings; view lists; work with tools such as import and export, reconciliation, and budgeting tools; and view information about your QuickBooks account. Note that the Settings menu is divided into four columns that organize related commands.

FIGURE 3-8: The Search tab of the Help pane.

FIGURE 3-9: Click the Search button to search for previously entered transactions.

Although I couldn’t fit it into Figure 3-10, the bottom right-hand corner of the Settings menu contains a link that will either display Accountant View or Business View that controls how the navigation bar in QuickBooks is displayed. Business View groups things into fewer categories, whereas Accountant View is more detailed. You can toggle between these modes to find what feels most comfortable for you. For the record, I used Accountant View for most of the images in this book, because as an accountant myself, that view resonates with me more than the Business View.

FIGURE 3-10: Use the Settings menu to work with settings, lists, tools, and your QBO account.