QB 2018 is here, and Intuit continues to push aggressively by broadening the scope of this ubiquitous product and adding new features.  This includes lots of new attractions for the general user community, accountants, business owners, ProAdvisors, and technical-types.

Let’s talk about some of these.

Remain Logged-In

This is one of the best received improvements according to Intuit (the other being Multi-Monitor, next.)

All QuickBooks 2018 Desktop versions now allow users to remain logged-in to QB. This optional preference can be a big time-saver for everyone from bookkeepers to controllers who tire of typing in passwords as they continually login and out of QB files all day, but – caution!

• In multi-user environments a user must explicitly logoff before Administrators can make changes allowed only in single-user mode, such as changes to the chart-of-accounts.  In single-user environments if a user does not logoff, other users cannot login unless they somehow use the same Windows user account. In these multi-user scenarios, we recommend that the Admin does not enable this option or requires users to log in using separate Windows accounts.

• “Remain Logged In” cannot be selected if “Credit Card Protection” is invoked for a particular QB file (makes sense).  Even if Credit Card Protection is NOT enabled, we suggest that Admins DO NOT compromise customer security by choosing this option.

• When Credit Card Protection is invoked, Administrators should think out how this will affect overall security in their networks, PC’s and Windows accounts.  Consider Windows settings such as “screen timeout” and “lock screen” to ensure that access to sensitive info in QB is protected.

QB “Remain Logged In” can only be turned on when all of the following are true:

  • • Only for QBW and QBA files;
  • • Running QB Pro, QB Premier, or QB Enterprise 2018 (and some 2015 and 2016 versions);
  • • Credit Card Protection is NOT invoked;
  • • Works only in local – not hosted – environments.

“Remain Logged-In” can only be enabled by Admins and Owners and is all-or-nothing in that it applies to all users. The Admin chooses how long users can remain logged in: 1, 2, 7 30, 60, or 90 days (default is 2 days).

  • To select Remain Logged-in for Pro/Premier files do: Company > Setup Users and Passwords > Manage Login Settings.  Or Edit > Preferences > General > Company Preferences.
  • To select Remain Logged-in for Enterprise files do: Company > Users > Manage Login Settings.  Or do Edit > Preferences > General > Company Preferences.

Log off is a little different too: Do File > Log Off from Company.  And note that File > Close Company closes the Company File but does not logoff the user until the selected number of days (just above) passes.

QB Desktop Multi-Monitor Support

This is proving to be one of the most welcomed changes in quite a while.  Well, sure, just about everyone should use multiple monitors which significantly increases productivity, and decreases headaches from constantly switching around.  The best way to learn about this is to just do it: from the top horizontal QB nav bar:

  • View > Switch to Multi-monitor Mode
    .
  • Then choose which monitors will display QB: I have three monitors and have found that it’s best to just choose two, leaving one monitor for spreadsheets, pdf’s and such.

With Multi-Monitors on, users will have tools to get more done including the ability to move a QB window away from the monitor where QuickBooks normally runs.

When setting this up, an error message may appear:

“QuickBooks can’t enter Multi-Monitor Mode right now.  This is due to the following reason(s): Monitors have display scaling percentages above 100%. To enter Multi-Monitor Mode, make sure the display scaling percentage is set to 100% for each monitor from Windows Display Settings.”

This is because the Windows settings were previously changed from a “100%” display setting to something else, probably to allow better viewing when multiple monitors are used and need to be placed a little further away.  Kind of ironic in a way.

To fix this, in Windows do:

    • Settings > System > Display > Change the size of text, apps, and other items > 100% for all monitors on your system.

Note that minimizing is an all-or-nothing deal, where QB takes over all selected monitors, which may be a bit much if you need to also see an excel spreadsheet or pdf bank statement.  But then clicking to minimize the windows makes QB disappear from all monitors.  I use 3 monitors and sometimes use Multi-Monitor mode on 2.  And I often do not use this feature but it sure is popular.

Note that QB Multi-Monitor mode cannot be used in hosted QB environments.

Other 2018 QuickBooks Desktop upgrades and improvements include:

        • For QB Webmail Users – Probably not a major worry in your life but Secure Webmail uses OAuth 2.0 instead of SMTP; OAuth 2.0 is now the email industry standard.Search Chart-of-Accounts – Finally, there is a search box for the Chart-of-Accounts (which has been available for a long time in QuickBooks Online).

       

        • Enhanced Inventory Reports – Customize columns within reports such as Inventory Status by Item, Inventory Valuation Summary, and Assembly Shortage by Item.

       

        • Merge Multiple Vendors – Finally, sloppily managed legacy files can be cleaned up by combining the likes of “Home Depot,” “The Home Depot,” “Home Depot Inc.” and “The Home Depot, Inc.”  Your reports on vendors and purchases will be much more accurate.

       

        • Enterprise Advanced Inventory Users – Sales order fulfillment improvements, (portable) scanner options (and more) for order fulfillment makes life easier for inventory intensive operations with quick turnover.  There is more on this below in the QB Desktop 2018 Sales Order Improvements section.

       

        • Cash/Accrual Toggle on reports –  Nice for cash-based companies that want to see how AR and AP are looking on the balance sheet.  This toggle has always been available but is now a little more – available (easier to see).

       

        • For QB Payroll Users: Payroll Liability Reminder – A new badge alerts users 7 days before payroll tax item liability deadlines so that there is more notice and payments can be made on time.

       

        • Past Due Stamp on Invoices – Yeah.

         

      • There are a few more under-the-hood and security improvements that we won’t go into here, however note that all QuickBooks Desktop 2018 versions require Microsoft.Net 4.6.2 or higher and Internet Explorer 11 (aka IE 11) even if the Intuit preferred browser, Chrome, is selected as the default.  The QB installation process may well upgrade these programs during install so there is probably no need for user-involvement here.  If so, call customer support: this is not something for mere mortals to tinker with.

        QuickBooks 2018 Enterprise Sales Order Improvements

        There are many sales orders-type improvements, especially in QB Enterprise 2018 such as advanced inventory sales order reports (Customers > Sales Order Fulfillment Worksheet) with more detailed information (e.g. back-ordered items) or generating specially customized sales order reports and using these as a scheduling tool input.

        An example may include an Open Sales Order by Item report, sorted by customer, and with total quantity ordered, invoiced, ship date and back-ordered columns.  This allows better order fulfillment and real-time information on available inventory counts – leading to better decisions.  Much of this is new to QuickBooks.

        A final noteworthy sales orders improvement in higher-end QB versions (such as in QuickBooks Enterprise Advanced Inventory 2018) is the Mobile Sales Order Fulfillment feature, now in three flavors:

        1 Portable barcode scanner;
        2 Android smart phone or tablet device;
        3 Manual workflows and still relying upon a virtual pick list.

         

      • QuickBooks Desktop 2018 offers a plethora of new and improved features that should be considered by small business owners looking for a competitive edge.