Short answer Set up QuickBooks Online in this order: company details, GST/QST rates, a simple chart of accounts, bank feeds and rules, opening balances, customers and vendors, payroll, accountant access, then reconcile the first month before trusting any report.
A clean QuickBooks Online setup saves hours every month and makes GST/QST filing almost automatic. These are the steps we follow for Quebec businesses.
- Set the company details. Confirm the fiscal year-end, province and sales-tax registration, and enter your GST and QST numbers.
- Turn on sales tax correctly. Use the GST (5%) and QST (9.975%) rates, and choose a filing period that matches your Revenu Québec registration.
- Build a simple chart of accounts. Start from the default and remove what you won’t use. Fewer, clearer accounts make reports easier to read.
- Connect bank and card feeds, then create rules for recurring transactions such as rent, software and fuel.
- Enter opening balances from your last statements so the books start from the same place as the bank.
- Set up customers, vendors and products with the right tax treatment, including zero-rated and exempt items.
- Connect payroll and payment tools and decide how deposits and fees will be recorded.
- Add your accountant as a user so year-end work goes smoothly.
- Reconcile the first month and review the results before you rely on any report.
Don’t skip training
A system is only as good as the habits around it. A one-hour walkthrough of invoicing, receipts and month-end saves months of cleanup. See our bookkeeping service, or read QuickBooks vs Xero if you are still choosing.