Attaching documents and other files to QuickBooks
Got photos, contracts, work products, or samples that you want to attach to QuickBooks records? Now you can! We've made it easy to keep track of any kind of files and documents you generate for specific customers, jobs, and business transactions like estimates and invoices.
In QuickBooks for Mac, we call all of these kinds of files attachments or documents .
For example, Liz the Freelance Writer attaches the articles she writes to the invoices she generates--that way, she's got an instant filing system that keeps everything together.
Places where you can attach documents
Here's a list of records you can add attachments to:
- Customers
- Vendors
- Chart of Accounts
- Item List
- Employees List
- Other Names List
- Vehicles List
- Sales Reps List
- My Company Preferences
And here are the transactions you can add attachments to:
- Estimates
- Invoices
- Sales Receipts
- Receive Payments
- Enter Bills
- Write Checks
- Enter Credit Card Charges
- Credit Memos/Refunds
- Purchase Orders
- General Journal
- Make Deposits
- Reconcile
To create an attachment
- Open the transaction window (Invoices, Enter Bills...whatever you need) or record center (Customer Center or Vendor Center, that is).
-
Click
at the top right corner of the window. The Attachments window appears.
-
Click
at the bottom left corner of the Attachments window.Your Mac's folders and files appear.
- Find and select the attachment (remember, that's any kind of file you want to attach).
- Click Open. QuickBooks attaches the file you chose to the record or transaction. A box with the document's name, date, thumbnail, and keywords appears in the Attachments window.
-
Your file probably doesn't have any search keywords associated with it. Add some in the Keywords box so you can find this file later if you're searching for it.
Tip: Use commas or spaces to separate the keywords. You can't create multi-word key phrases.
-
Close the Attachments window by clicking anywhere outside of it. (Yes, really.)
That's it--you've attached a file to your transaction or record.
Important : QuickBooks doesn't move your files from their original folder. Instead, it makes a copy of the attached file and puts it into the Attached Documents Library you chose in the Attachments Preferences .
To remove an attachment from the Attachments Center
- Open the record or transaction you want to remove the attachment from.
- Open the transaction or record (for example, the invoice or the customer) you want to remove a attachment from.
-
Click
at the top right corner of the window. The Attachments window appears.
- Choose the attachment you want to remove. The attachment's title bar turns blue when it's chosen.
- Click the - at the bottom left corner of the Attachments window.
- Click OK if you're sure you want to remove this document.
QuickBooks removes the attachment from this transaction or record and deletes it from your Attached Documents Library .
To preview and open an attachment
- Choose the attachment you want to preview.
-
Click
(down at the bottom right of the Attachments window). A smallish preview of the attachment opens.
- If you want to open the attachment in its native application (or Preview if its an image), click Open with... in the preview window.
To scan an attachment
-
In the record or transaction, click
.
-
Click
(down at the second from the bottom right of the Attachments window). The scan window opens.
-
Choose the options and settings for the scan.
Tip : Give the scanned file a meaningful name now, so you can find it easily later.
-
Another Tip: If you want OCR to be able to read this scan and let you search for terms inside it later on, set the resolution to at least 300 dpi.
- Click Scan.
After your scanner's finished scanning, your new attachment shows up in the Attachments window.
Tips and tricks for attaching files in QuickBooks and using the Attached Documents Library
-
If you need other people to access attachments in QuickBooks multi-user mode, you've got to do a couple of things:
- Set up your Attached Documents Library on a shared drive.
- Grant your users access to the records and transactions that have attachments you want those users to see.
- You can set QuickBooks to back up your attachments as long as you're in single user mode. Go to QuickBooks > Preferences and check Back up attached documents library.
- After you've scanned an attachment in, you can change its name by selecting it in the Attachments window, double-clicking the name, and changing it. But there's a trick you need to know: You're only changing the name of the attachment you see in QuickBooks, not the name of the file saved on your disk.