5 QuickBooks Tips Every Therapist Should Know
As a therapist, you know that running a private practice comes with a lot of moving parts. From client sessions, notes, and scheduling to keeping up with your finances, it can sometimes feel like there’s always something competing for your attention… QuickBooks can be a huge help for managing the money side of your practice, but only if it’s set up the right way.
Whether you’re new to QuickBooks or have been using it for a while, these five simple tips will help you feel more confident and organized with your bookkeeping.
1. Connect Your Bank Feed
This is the first and most important step in QuickBooks. When you connect your bank feed, your transactions automatically flow into your account, saving you hours of manual data entry.
You can link checking, savings, and credit card accounts so every expense and payment is captured in one place. Once connected, QuickBooks will keep things updated for you, making it easier to stay on top of your finances and spot anything unusual right away.
Tip: Make sure the balance in QuickBooks matches what you see in your actual bank account. If it doesn’t, you may have duplicate or missing transactions.
2. Rename your Accounts for Clarity
QuickBooks often assigns default names to your linked accounts, which can make it difficult to tell them apart. Renaming each account creates clarity and helps you stay organized, especially if you manage more than one.
A simple naming structure works best: use your bank name, the account type, and the last four digits of the account number (for example, “South State Checking 1234”). Clear naming helps both you and your accountant keep everything organized and stress-free.
3. Customize Your Chart of accounts
Your chart of accounts is the backbone of your bookkeeping system. Think of it as the list of all the “buckets” your income and expenses fall into.
QuickBooks provides a default list, but your therapy practice is unique, so your accounts should be too. Add or adjust categories to best fit your services and inactivate any accounts you don’t use. This helps you see a clearer, more accurate picture of how your business is really performing
Reminder: Your chart of accounts should tell the story of your practice, not someone else’s.
4. Always add a payee
One detail that often gets missed in QuickBooks setup is adding payees to your expenses. This simple step brings clarity to your records and ensures you always know where your money is going. It also makes reviewing your books and preparing 1099s at tax time much smoother, giving you a clearer picture of your practice’s financial health.
When every transaction includes a vendor name, it’s much easier to confirm balances, categorize correctly, and make tax prep a smoother process.
5. Create rules for recurring transactions
If you find yourself entering the same types of transactions each month (like rent, software subscriptions, or insurance), QuickBooks can automate those for you.
Creating rules saves time and reduces the chance of error. You can tell QuickBooks to automatically categorize and assign recurring transactions to the right account. You’ll still have the option to review them before they’re finalized.
Automation helps you save time and keeps your books consistent.
Getting organized in QuickBooks doesn’t have to be complicated. With these small changes, you can make the software work for you.
💚 Let’s connect and talk about how you can bring more clarity and ease to the financial side of your practice.
Click here to learn more about how I support therapists in building calm, confident, and organized finances.
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