QuickBooks and the Intuit Account

With recent QuickBooks Desktop maintenance updates, changes and improvements have been made to the Intuit account mandate. 

This article will address those changes and attempt to answer common questions. This information is current as of the publication of this article and future changes are likely to occur.

Question: Why am I prompted to create or sign into an Intuit account? 

Answer: Signing into your Intuit account will provide you additional access to all Intuit services such as Payments, Payroll direct deposit, Payroll Workforce, TSheets time tracking, Receipt Management (new for QuickBooks 2021), and more features to come.  It is also required when creating a new QuickBooks Desktop company file, or assigning select roles, including Full Access, External Accountant or Payroll roles in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. 

Question: Is the Intuit account mandate for all years’ versions and editions of QuickBooks Desktop? 

Answer: As of January 2021, the following QuickBooks Desktop users may be prompted to create or sign into their Intuit account. This requirement is being rolled out in phases, so not all users will see the same requirement as of the date of this article. 

• QuickBooks Desktop Pro: 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 
• QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus: 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 
• QuickBooks Desktop Premier (all editions): 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 
• QuickBooks Desktop Premier Plus (all editions): 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 
• QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise (all editions): 18.0 19.0, 20.0, and 21.0 

 Note: The Intuit account mandate is not currently in place for the Desktop editions of Premier Plus Accountant 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 and Enterprise Accountant 18.0, 19.0, 20.0, and 21.0. 

Question: How can I confirm what email is currently associated as the Intuit account Primary admin for my QuickBooks Desktop company file? 

Answer: From an open QuickBooks Desktop company file, select the F2 key on a Windows keyboard. In the top right will be displayed the Intuit account associated with the file if any, as well as the last logged-in date by the Primary admin for the Intuit account. Optionally, from the menu bar, select Company > My Company and the email will display for the current user logged into the Intuit account. 

Question: Does every user that has login credentials to open a QuickBooks Desktop company file have to create or sign into an Intuit account? 

Answer: No. The mandate is only for the user that logs into a QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, or Enterprise company file as the Admin user. That user will be prompted to create or sign into an existing Intuit account. However, if the Primary admin for an Intuit account invites another user, part of that user’s acceptance of the invite is to create or sign into their own Intuit account. 

Question: I am an owner with multiple QuickBooks Desktop company files, do I have to create a different Intuit account for each entity? 

Answer: No, it is actually preferred that you create or sign into a single Intuit account and associate this account with each QuickBooks Desktop company file that you log into with Admin rights. 

Log in to your Intuit account online. If you have assigned multiple QuickBooks Desktop company files to a single Intuit account, you will be able to select a specific QuickBooks Desktop company file to manage the Intuit account users. 

Question: I initially selected the option “You’re not the admin”. I would now like to select the “You’re the admin” option. How can I get back to the screen requesting these login details? 

Answer: Log into the QuickBooks Desktop company file with the Admin credentials, and from the menu bar, select Company > My Company. Then from the top right of the My Company screen select Sign in.

Question: If I send an invitation to a user from my Intuit account, does that invitation give this user access to open my QuickBooks Desktop company file? 

Answer: No, inviting a user from within your Intuit account does not provide that same user access to the QuickBooks Desktop company file. The Intuit account user(s) are only granted privileges to connected services you specifically assign to them. 

Question: Specific to QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise: why, when I attempt to add a user with specific role(s) including Full Access, External Accountant and others, am I required to sign in as the Primary admin for the Intuit account to complete the setup for this user? 

Answer: Because it is presumed that the role(s) you selected in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise may include Payroll access. Payroll access requires the Primary admin for the Intuit account to assign payroll privileges to complete the user setup in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. 

Question: How often will the Primary admin be required to sign into the Intuit account associated with a QuickBooks Desktop company file? 

Answer: The Intuit account Primary admin for the QuickBooks Desktop company file will be required to sign into the Intuit account every 180 days. This is to maintain the association between the QuickBooks Desktop company file and the Intuit account. 

Question: How can I change/transfer the Primary admin email that is currently associated with my Intuit account? 

Answer: Log into your Intuit account using the current Intuit account Primary Admin credentials (see full article for details). Click the Add User button and invite the user with the email which you ultimately wish to be the Primary admin. After the user accepts the invitation, return to the Intuit account and in the Action column select Change primary admin and follow the instructions. 

Question: What if I do not have access to the email or phone associated with the current Intuit account, how can I change or transfer the Primary admin? 

Answer: You will be required to gather specific documents to verify that you have rightful ownership or access privileges for the Intuit account.

Question: I am an accountant using QuickBooks Desktop Accountant or QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Accountant. If I receive from my client an Accountants Copy file type (.QBX file extension) that has not had an Intuit Account associated with the file, will I be required to sign into an Intuit Account in order to convert the file using my QuickBooks Desktop Accountant software (.QBA file extension)? 

Answer: No, accountants using QuickBooks Desktop Accountant or QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Accountant will not be required to sign into an Intuit Account when converting an Accountant’s Copy of their clients’ files. 

Click here to see more information for accountants.