View QuickBooks Online in Multiple Windows

Viewing two or more screens at the same time increases productivity dramatically in QuickBooks Online, and diminishes stress from constantly switching back and forth between transactions and reports.  Multi-windows are a given in QB desktop products (and in fact too many can open after a while) but this is a new feature in QBO.

This feature can be leveraged much further by using multiple monitors.  I always use at least 3 monitors at once, allowing simultaneous viewing of, say, a QBO reconciliation screen, the check register, and a pdf of the bank statement all at the same time.  It’s great to see all of this at once, without switching back and forth.

The QuickBooks Online QBO Desktop App

Regular browsers can be used for viewing QBO screens however Intuit recommends using the QuickBooks Online QBO Desktop App (QuickBooksInstall.exe); just Google it to get this download from the QB app store.  This is actually a specialized browser tuned just for QBO –  a thin client that installs on your PC or Mac just like any other program, and when started it goes directly to your QBO instance.  No messing around with distractions from your favorite web sites and it runs fast for sure since it’s not bloated with features irrelevant to QuickBooks Online.  Perhaps one downside is that it doesn’t allow varied zooming and font sizes, but the multiple window function is compelling and especially useful in that each open window automatically refreshes in real-time with updates.

Here’s how to get this going:

  • Google “qb online desktop app” and click through to the Intuit app store.
  • Download and then install QuickBooksInstall.exe for PC or Mac.
  • Start the program, then log-in to QBO.
  • When presented with a list of clients, choose the name of your QBOA Firm from the company selection list (unclear why they present other client links that lead to nowhere).
  • Start using the new multiple windows feature as needed by right clicking on any link, or do File > New Window from the File Menu or click on the Accountant Briefcase and from the drop-down choose New Window.

Now you’ve got two windows open from the same QuickBooks Online client.  It’s best if you size them to be seen on one screen at once, or better yet, have the two windows opened at once on two monitors.

Win 10 users must be wary of SmartScreen Filter settings before installing the app.  If settings are incorrect a run-time error message will appear. The correct settings must be obtained from the Microsoft www site.

Note that in any QBO session, multiple client files cannot be opened at the same time – multiple windows of one particular client file are okay, but not multiple clients.  There are ways around this but be careful – it’s easy to get confused on who you are working on!

Here are three ways to work two QBO clients at once:

  1. Open two instances of your favorite browser (QBO prefers Chrome) and log-in to each one as a different user.  QBO will then not realize that it’s just little old you behind both sessions and will think it’s talking to two different users on different PC’s.
  2. Another way is to open an incognito (aka private) window and then log-in to QBO to open the second company.
  3. A third method is to open and log-in from two different browsers (such as Chrome and Microsoft Edge, or Firefox).  This is my favorite since it somehow seems simpler.

 

If QBO thinks badly of your approach, it will bounce you from one of the QBO windows with a curt message saying “To ensure security, only one QuickBooks company can be opened at a time in this browser.”

Give this new feature a try and you’ll use it often.  Especially with multiple monitors.

Hopefully these tips will help you work faster and more comfortably in QBO.

 

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