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QuickBooks for Mac Wiki

***Considering MAC OSX Snow Leopard (10.6)? Click here for the latest compatibility news for QuickBooks for Mac 2009 or earlier.***

Intuit QuickBooks 2009 for Mac. Built for Mac users by Mac users. It gives you easy access to your finances, so you can focus on your business. Here are a few features that make it the accounting software of choice for Mac users:
  • Backs up to MobileMe.
  • Synchronizes contacts with Mac OS X Address Book.
  • Adds reminders to iCal.
  • Share data with your accountant or other Windows users.
  • Organize data in one place with Customer, Vendor, and Transaction Center.

Want to contribute? Not sure where to start? Here is a list of articles just waiting to be written...

Troubleshooting data damage and reading the QuickBooks.log file
Working with your PC accountant - Best practices
Average Cost and Inventory in QuickBooks
Layout Designer-Tips and Tricks
Troubleshooting and editing accounts once they are tied to 1099 features

If you are visiting and want to add other topics of interest, just click the EasyEdit button and add a line below the last topic!

Payroll options with Intuit QuickBooks for Mac

Currently there are several options if you need to report payroll and are using QuickBooks for Mac. Each option has its pros and cons.

Prepackaged third party payroll services
You can access third party payroll servicesPaycycleandAatrixdirectly from QuickBooks for Mac. Both services are subscription based.

Intuit Payroll is not presently available for use with QuickBooks for Mac. If this is a priority feature that you would like to see become available in a future release please be sure to provide feedback from within the QuickBooks for Mac application by clicking on the QuickBooks menu item and selecting "QuickBooks Feedback".

Manual payroll
Manual payroll is possible with QuickBooks for Mac. In this process, you calculate and submit all tax payments and fillings. The article Tracking Payroll expenses, liabilities, and generating paychecks discusses steps and what you need to consider.

Third party human resource services
Several small and large human resource/payroll companies now offer support to QuickBooks for Mac users, upon request. In most cases they provide an importable file for each payroll cycle.

If you have additional questions about payroll services available with QuickBooks for Mac, please post this in the Quickbooks for Mac forum. If you have a specific payroll question, please visit our payroll forums.
Understanding the difference between Web Connect and Direct Connect bank downloads.

One of the key features of any quickbooks product, is the ability to download bank transactions directly into your company file. This can save time and the risk of duplication or error. Importing this information into your file can vary, depending on what your bank has set up. The following explanation by one of our community AllStars, JEGL, clarifies the difference.
Direct Connect: Basically you setup download parameters in the software and QB behind the scenes connects to your bank/credit card company and pulls the information automatically into QB. This feature is available in Quicken and QB for Windows only. Unfortunately some financial institutions only offer this option.

Web Connect: You go into the bank's website, choose the dates, and download a file into your computer. You then have to go into QB and import that file manually into the application. After that the process is the same as Direct Connect. This is the only method available in QB for Mac and that's Web Connect. What you need to do is call your bank. Ask them to let you talk with the on-line banking group (not customer service). Tell the rep that you have QB for the Mac and that you need to know if they support web connect. Most will know what that means. If for any reason the rep doesn't know then explain web connect above. If the rep starts telling you about going into the QB software and setting up parameters then you know that the rep is talking about Direct Connect and you are out of luck. If they have a demo of the on-line app take a quick look at it and see how the QB feature works. If there is an option to create a QB file (as explained above) then you are good to go.

For detailed instructions on importing bank transactions in to your QuickBooks for Mac company, read Importing the QBO online banking web connect file into QuickBooks for Mac. If you have additional questions about online banking in QuickBooks for Mac, please visit the QuickBooks for Mac forum. If you have general online banking questions, visit the Online Banking forum.


Checklist of Things that will not Convert from QuickBooks for Windows to QuickBooks for Mac

If you love your Mac, you will love using QuickBooks on your Mac. However; if you've been using QuickBooks for Windows, you need to be aware of the major differences between the two programs. One thing to remember, especially if you've been using QuickBooks Premier is that the Mac version is Pro. If you are using Premier specific features, these may not be available on the Mac. There are no work arounds for the things in the following checklist. Thanks to our community AllStar, Debi Calvet, for developing this list.
  • Intuit integrated payroll and payroll item lists (QuickBooks for Mac uses PayCycle, Inc. and Aatrix Top Pay for payroll services)
  • Online banking transactions that have not been accepted into a register (transactions that have been accepted will appear as payments, deposits, and transfers with associated links)
  • Online banking aliases
  • Customized settings for forms like invoices, estimates, statements, and purchase orders (forms can be customized in QuickBooks Pro 2007 and 2009 for Mac)
  • Multi-user data, such as sales representative information
  • User passwords (QuickBooks for Mac supports administrator passwords)
  • Multi-user mode is not available
  • Memorized reports
  • Business planning, expert analysis, and business optimization tools
  • Customized price levels
  • Integration with third party applications, including Microsoft Word, Outlook, and ACT!?
  • Merchant account services
  • Multiple estimates per job (In QuickBooks Pro 2007 for Mac or older. This is now available in 2009)
  • Sales order and back order tracking (available in Premier versions of QuickBooks for Windows)
  • Assembly items (available only in Premier versions of QuickBooks for Windows) will be converted into non-inventory part items
  • MPN numbers. (Can actually prevent the file from converting if you use special characters)
  • Budgets created without an associated account
  • Transaction type "transfer" (will convert into a journal entry)
  • Transaction type "EFP payroll" (will convert into a payroll liability check)
  • Workers comp list (Only available with Intuit Enhanced Payroll)
  • Vehicle list
  • Fixed asset item list
For more details, check out the Help topic "Converting a QuickBooks file from Windows to Mac" in QuickBooks 2009 for Mac.
Bless Those QB 2007 for Mac Lists

Names list "blessing"

* Open the Write Checks window.
* Click the drop-down menu arrows for the "Pay to the Order of" field, but don't select a name.
* With that list open, key in Command-L to open the Name List.
* Drag any customer name (blue dot) out of order (but don’t change its level from main to sub or vice versa).
* From the Edit menu, use the Re-sort List command.
* Click OK.

Items list "blessing"

* Open the Item List.
* If "Include Inactive" is not checked, check it.
* If "Show Sorted List" is checked on the "gear" menu, uncheck it.
* Drag any item out of order (but don’t change its level from main to sub or vice versa).
* From the Edit menu, use the Re-sort List command.
* Click OK.

Chart of Accounts "blessing"

* Open the [Company] Chart of Accounts.
* If "Include Inactive" is not checked, check it.
* If "Show Sorted List" is checked on the "gear" menu, uncheck it.
* Drag any account out of order (but don’t change its level from main to sub or vice versa).
* From the Edit menu, use the Re-sort List command.
* Click OK.
(Entered at 9:31 PM Pacific on 15-Jan-2009 by Debi Calvet, AdvantGroup LLC)
Adding legal copy to bottom of estimate and invoice

Thanks to our community AllStar, Debi Calvet, for this solution, which was voted as a best answer in our Mac forum!

Use Layout Designer (LD).

  1. From the Create Estimate or Create Invoice window, choose the Customize button (launches LD).
  2. In LD, choose New > [whichever form you want to customize].
  3. Click once on the Columns area to select it and then grab the center-bottom sizing box and pull up to shorten the Columns but not move them. (This is to make room for your legalese text.)
  4. Now click on the footer field "Customer message," depress Shift, and click on the other footer field, "Total." Either drag them upward or use the up arrow to move them up until they're reattached (visually) to the Columns area.
  5. Click on the Text Box tool and draw a new text box in the open area that you just created at the bottom of your new template.
  6. Make the line and font choices that you want for that text box.
  7. Triple-click (this is necessary right now in R4, but a future update should return this to the intended double-click) on the new text box and type in your text. (There is a character limit; when I tested this in the sample company file, I was able to enter only 505 characters, including spaces.)
  8. Choose File > Save As and give your new template a new name.


Last update: Nov 3 2009, 7:45 PM EST by Host_Paul (content history | content tools) (help)
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