Home / Guides / What is QuickBooks Online?
What is QuickBooks Online?
QuickBooks Online (QBO) is cloud accounting software from Intuit, used by many small businesses in the United States to run their books. If you want to work in US bookkeeping or accounting from India, it is usually the first software you will be asked to use. Here is what it is and what it does, in simple English.
Updated · By the Talenta Pros team
7-day free trial · Module 1 unlocked · No card needed · Plans from ₹999 + GST, one-time
In short
QuickBooks Online is Intuit's cloud accounting software. It runs in a web browser on a monthly subscription, so a business owner, their bookkeeper and their CPA can all work in the same company file from anywhere. In QBO you record sales and invoices, bills and expenses, bring in transactions from the bank, reconcile accounts, run payroll (with a payroll subscription) and produce reports such as the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet.
What you do in QuickBooks Online
- Sales: create invoices, sales receipts and estimates, and record customer payments. Unpaid invoices show up in Accounts Receivable.
- Expenses: record bills you will pay later and expenses already paid, and pay bills on time. Unpaid bills show up in Accounts Payable.
- Banking: connect bank and credit card accounts so transactions flow in as a bank feed, then match or categorise each line and reconcile against the statement. See how to reconcile in QuickBooks Online.
- Contractors and payroll: track 1099 contractors and, with QuickBooks Online Payroll, pay employees and handle payroll taxes and forms.
- Reports: Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, AR and AP aging, cash flow and more, which owners and CPAs use for decisions and taxes.
Who uses QuickBooks Online?
- Small business owners in the US who record their own sales and expenses, or who invite a bookkeeper to do it for them.
- Bookkeepers and accountants, including outsourced teams in India, who keep the books for many US clients from one QuickBooks Online Accountant login.
- CPAs and Enrolled Agents who review the books at month-end and year-end and use the reports to prepare tax returns.
Intuit sells QuickBooks Online in several plan levels (for example Simple Start, Essentials, Plus and Advanced). Higher plans add more users and features such as bill management, projects and inventory, but the daily bookkeeping work is the same in every plan.
How QuickBooks Online works, step by step
- Set up the company: business details, the chart of accounts, customers, vendors and products or services.
- Record daily activity: invoices and payments on the sales side, bills and expenses on the purchase side. Each form posts a debit and a credit to the chart of accounts for you.
- Match the bank: transactions from the bank feed are matched to what you recorded, or added and categorised if they are new.
- Reconcile: at month-end, tick off each bank and credit card account against its statement until the difference is $0.00.
- Report: run the Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and AR/AP aging reports and share them with the owner or the CPA.
In short, QuickBooks Online is double-entry accounting software that hides the journal entries behind simple forms, which is why someone who knows accounting basics, for example from Tally, can learn it quickly.
Key QuickBooks Online terms
- Company file: one business's books in QBO. A bookkeeper often works in many client company files.
- Chart of accounts: the list of accounts (assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses) every transaction is posted to.
- Bank feed: transactions downloaded from the bank, waiting in For review until you match, add or categorise them.
- Reconciliation: checking that QBO agrees with the bank or card statement, down to a $0.00 difference.
- QuickBooks Online Accountant (QBOA): the free workspace accountants and bookkeepers use to open and manage many client files from one login.
QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop
| QuickBooks Online | QuickBooks Desktop | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | In a web browser (and mobile app), stored in the cloud | Installed on a computer, file stored locally or on a server |
| Payment | Monthly or yearly subscription | Licence or subscription, depending on the edition |
| Working with a remote bookkeeper | Easy: invite the accountant as a user | Needs file sharing or remote access |
| Bank feeds and apps | Built in, with many app integrations | Available, but more setup |
Because the client, the bookkeeper and the CPA can all log in from anywhere, QuickBooks Online is the version most remote US bookkeeping work is done in.
Why Indian accountants learn QuickBooks Online
Indian businesses mostly use Tally, but US small businesses commonly use QuickBooks Online, and US-process accounting teams in India do bookkeeping inside their clients' QBO files. That makes QBO skill useful for roles such as US bookkeeper, AR/AP executive and reconciliation executive. If you already know Tally, your debit and credit basics carry over; read QuickBooks vs Tally and how to get a US bookkeeping job from India.
How to learn QuickBooks Online
Learn one task at a time, then practise it until you can do it without notes: invoices and payments, bills, bank feeds, reconciliation, AR and AP, payroll basics and month-end reports. Intuit's QuickBooks Online Certification exam is free and is a good goal once you are comfortable.
The Talenta Pros course starts exactly here: lesson 1 of Module 1 is "What QuickBooks Online is". It has 12 modules and 94 lessons in English, Hindi or Telugu, practice in Talenta Practice Books (a QuickBooks-style practice company inside the portal), the Zena AI tutor, and a final exam with a verifiable certificate. Module 11 prepares you for Intuit's certification. See the full curriculum.
| Plan | Price (one-time, + GST) | Lesson languages | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Pros | ₹999 | English | 1 year |
| Successful Pros | ₹1,499 launch offer (regular ₹1,999) | English + Hindi or Telugu | 1 year |
| Advanced Pros | ₹2,999 | All languages | Lifetime |
All prices exclude 18% GST. Try Module 1 free for 7 days. QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online are trademarks of Intuit Inc. Talenta Pros is an independent training provider, not affiliated with Intuit. It provides training and job support; it does not guarantee or offer jobs.
Common questions
What is QuickBooks Online used for?
Small businesses and their bookkeepers use it to record sales, invoices, bills and expenses, bring in bank transactions, reconcile accounts, run payroll with a payroll subscription, and produce reports like the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet.
Is QuickBooks Online accounting software?
Yes. QuickBooks Online is double-entry accounting software for small businesses. Every invoice, bill, expense and payment you enter posts to the chart of accounts, and QBO builds the Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and other reports from those entries.
Who uses QuickBooks Online?
Mainly US small businesses, their in-house or outsourced bookkeepers, and the CPAs and Enrolled Agents who prepare their taxes. Many accounting teams in India work inside US clients' QuickBooks Online files.
Is QuickBooks Online the same as QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is Intuit's family of accounting products. QuickBooks Online is the cloud version that runs in a web browser; QuickBooks Desktop is the version installed on a computer.
Is QuickBooks Online hard to learn?
No, if you learn it step by step. Someone with basic accounting knowledge can learn the daily tasks in a few weeks with regular practice. No accounting background is needed for the Talenta Pros course.
Do I need to buy QuickBooks Online to learn it?
Not with Talenta Pros. You practise in Talenta Practice Books, a QuickBooks-style practice company built into the portal, so you can try every task without paying for a QuickBooks subscription.
Can I learn QuickBooks Online in Telugu or Hindi?
Yes. Talenta Pros lessons are available in English, Hindi and Telugu, with Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada coming soon. Module 1 is free for 7 days.
More free guides
- QuickBooks Online tips: Short, practical QBO tips for beginners, added regularly.
- How to reconcile in QuickBooks Online: Reconcile bank, credit card and loan accounts step by step, and fix a non-zero difference.
- 1099 vs W-2 explained: Contractor vs employee, Forms 1099-NEC and W-2, deadlines and how QBO handles both.
- US bookkeeping jobs from India: Roles, the QuickBooks skills employers test, and a step-by-step plan.
Try Module 1 free for 7 days
Lessons, practice and class notes unlocked. No card needed.