Chapter 8
Setting Up Users and Permissions
In this chapter:
• Why user logins are important
• Learn about the QuickBooks administrator
• Create QuickBooks users
• Set permissions for users
In many businesses, multiple users have access to the QuickBooks company file, either taking turns accessing the file on the same computer or accessing the file from other computers on a network. (Refer to Appendix A for help with installing QuickBooks on a network.) If this is the case with your business, you should create a user name and password for each of these users. This will help you keep track of who is making what changes to your company file. Even if you’re the only one using QuickBooks, you should make sure that you log in with a password to ensure the security of the company file.
Why User Logins Are Important
If you run QuickBooks on a network with multiple users accessing a company file from other computers on the network, QuickBooks requires user logins. What’s more, you can’t use multi-user mode, which allows simultaneous access by others in your business, until you set up users.
If you’re the only QuickBooks user, it’s tempting to avoid the extra step of logging in and remembering a password. Don’t yield to that temptation, however, because without a login and password, if anyone else wanders into your office and accesses your computer, it’s possible for him or her to open QuickBooks and view your financial information. Even worse, it’s possible for someone to create, delete, or modify transactions that you might not notice for a very long time.
If you have only one computer running QuickBooks but more than one user who shares that computer to work in QuickBooks, you may need to know who did what. Without creating and requiring separate login names, that information won’t be available to you when you need it. The QuickBooks Audit Trail report—which tracks activities with a time and date stamp—displays the name of the logged-in user for every transaction it tracks, but if you and your staff are using “Admin” as the login name each time you use QuickBooks, the value of this report will be greatly diminished. You can learn more about the Audit Trail report in Chapter 25.
User names are linked to permission levels, which means that if you choose, you can limit the parts of QuickBooks that certain users can access to create or view transactions and reports. For example, you can keep users from seeing payroll information or sensitive reports that contain information about your company’s profits, debts, and so on.
A Word About Passwords
Most of us who use computers and the Internet on a regular basis know that passwords are very important when it comes to protecting our personal and business information. You shouldn’t use passwords that are based on information that someone else may know, such as your child’s name, your dog’s name, your nickname, your license plate, or your birth date, because many computers have been attacked by hackers who have successfully guessed a password.
Creating Complex Passwords
If you’ve enabled the credit card protection feature in QuickBooks (covered in Chapter 3), you must create a complex password (also sometimes called a strong password) if you’re the Admin or a user who has permission to view customer credit card information. The rules for the complex password are
• A minimum of seven characters is required.
• At least one character must be a number.
• At least one letter must be uppercase.
However, even if you’re not using the credit card protection feature, you should still consider using a complex password; after all, if you’re going to use passwords, you might as well be serious about security.
Of course, the longer the password and the more complicated it is, the harder it is for someone else to guess. For example, Xyyu86RDa is a great password, but it would be very difficult for a user to remember. Try to strike a balance between complexity and your ability to remember the password.
The QuickBooks Admin
The person who creates the company file becomes the Admin (administrator) user automatically, because she is the first person to open the file. The Admin is in charge of all QuickBooks users and is the only user who can set up additional users, set period closing dates, and complete other sensitive activities in the company file. QuickBooks lets you change the name “Admin” to any other name without losing the administrator power.
As previously mentioned, it is never a good idea to use QuickBooks without the security of having users log in to a company file with a user name and a password. Even if you’re the only person who works in QuickBooks, and therefore you’re automatically the administrator, be sure the user named Admin has a password.
ProAdvisor Tip: The administrator’s (Admin) privileges in QuickBooks are totally unrelated to your Windows logon name and privileges. Even if you’re an ordinary user in Windows and can’t install software or manage users on the computer, you can be a QuickBooks administrator.
Adding or Changing the Administrator Password
If you didn’t create a password for the user named Admin when you set up the company file, you can create a password at any time. If you did create a password and you think the existing password may have been discovered by someone else, you can create a new password.
To add or change the password for the user named Admin, log in to QuickBooks as Admin and choose Company | Set Up Users And Passwords | Change Your Password to open the Change QuickBooks Password dialog seen in Figure 8-1. If the Admin account is already password-protected and you’re merely changing the password, you have to enter the current password to complete the process. Enter the new password, enter it again in the Confirm New Password field, and select a challenge question (and the answer).
FIGURE 8-1 |
You can easily add or change an Admin password. |
Creating a Challenge Question for the Admin Account
If you don’t remember your Admin password, you can’t get into your company file. If Admin is the only user, that means you can’t use QuickBooks. If there are other users, they can open the company file, but they can’t perform administrative tasks in the file (many QuickBooks functions can be performed only by the Admin user). Essentially, this brings your QuickBooks work to a screeching halt.
To prevent this inconvenience, QuickBooks gives the Admin user the opportunity to create a reminder about the password.
Select a question from the drop-down list in the Challenge Question field and then enter the answer to that question in the Answer field. You cannot see what you’re typing in the Answer field, so type carefully. (QuickBooks treats this the same way it treats password entry; you see bullet characters instead of the characters you’re typing.)
Resetting the Admin Password When You Forget It
If you forget your Admin password, you can reset it using the challenge question you created. In the QuickBooks Login dialog, click the “I forgot my password” link.
The challenge question is displayed in the Reset QuickBooks Administrator Password dialog. Enter the answer you recorded in the Answer field (this time you can see what you’re typing).
When you answer the question correctly, all of your password information is removed from the company file and you can start all over with a new password (and a new challenge question and answer).
If you can’t remember your challenge question, click the “I forgot my answer” link. The Reset QuickBooks Administrator Password window opens, where you’ll have to enter your QuickBooks license number, your name, address, and e-mail. Once this information is completely filled in, Click OK. The Reset QuickBooks Administrator Password window opens, notifying you that a password reset code was sent to the e-mail address provided. Enter the reset code sent to you and click OK. In the next window, you’ll be asked to enter and confirm your new password and create a challenge question. Click OK and your password will be reset.
Add Users
Only the Admin user can add QuickBooks users. To add a new user to your company file, choose Company | Set Up Users And Passwords | Set Up Users. QuickBooks asks you to enter your Admin password to proceed, and it then opens the User List dialog. Click Add User to open the Set Up User Password And Access wizard that assists you in setting up the new user.
Use the following guidelines to create a new user:
• The user name is the name this user must type to log in to QuickBooks.
• A password is optional, but it’s much less secure to omit passwords. Enter the same password in both password fields. (Later, the user can change the password—see the section “Users Can Change Their Own Passwords” later in the chapter.)
• Assign permissions for this user to access QuickBooks features. See “Setting User Permissions” later in the chapter.
Deleting a User
If you want to remove a user from the User list, select the user name and then click the Delete User button. QuickBooks asks you to confirm your decision. Note that you can’t delete the Admin user.
Editing User Information
You can change the user settings for any user. Select the user name in the User List window and click Edit User. This launches a wizard similar to the Set Up User Password And Access Wizard, and you can change the user name, password, and permissions.
The Edit User feature is handy when one of your QuickBooks users comes to you because he cannot remember his password—and you don’t have it handy either. You can create a new password for the user, who will then have the option to change the password to something of his own liking. See the section “Users Can Change Their Own Passwords” later in this chapter for more details.
Setting User Permissions
When you’re adding a new user or editing an existing user, the wizard walks you through the steps for configuring the user’s permissions. Click Next on each wizard window after you’ve supplied the necessary information.
The first permissions window (see Figure 8-2) asks if you want this user to have access to selected areas of QuickBooks or all areas. If you give the user access to all areas of QuickBooks, or you select the option to make this user an External Accountant, when you click Next you’re asked to confirm your decision, and there’s no further work to do in the wizard. Click Finish to return to the User List window. (See Chapter 25 to learn about the External Accountant user type.)
FIGURE 8-2 |
The Set Up User Password And Access window gives you control over a user’s access to your QuickBooks data. |
If you want to limit the user’s access to selected areas of QuickBooks, select that option and click Next. The windows that follow take you through all the QuickBooks features (Sales and Accounts Receivable, Check Writing, Payroll, and so on) so you can establish permissions on a feature-by-feature basis for this user. You should configure permissions for every component of QuickBooks. Any component not configured is set as No Access for this user (which means the user cannot work in that part of QuickBooks). For each QuickBooks component, you can select one of the following permission options:
• No Access The user is denied permission to open any windows in that section of QuickBooks.
• Full Access The user can open all windows and perform all tasks in that section of QuickBooks.
• Selective Access The user will be permitted to perform tasks as you see fit.
If you choose to give selective access permissions, you’re asked to specify the rights this user should have. Those rights vary slightly from component to component, but generally you’re asked to choose one of these permission levels:
• Create transactions only
• Create and print transactions
• Create transactions and create reports
You can select only one of the three levels, so if you need to give the user rights to more than one of these choices, you must select Full Access instead of configuring Selective Access.
Special Permissions Needed for Customer Credit Card Data
If you provide Full or Selective Access permissions to a user for the Sales And Accounts Receivable area, by default, the user is not able to view customer credit card data. A separate option for this permission appears on the wizard window.
• If you’ve enabled the Customer Credit Card Security feature (explained in Chapter 3), the next time this user logs in to the company file, he will be asked to create a strong password.
• If you haven’t enabled the Customer Credit Card Security feature, this user, and any other user you configure to have access to customer credit card information, does not have to set up a strong password and can view credit card numbers you store in your customers’ records.
Configuring Special Areas of QuickBooks
Two wizard windows are used for setting permissions that are not directly related to any specific area of the software: sensitive accounting activities and sensitive accounting reports.
Sensitive accounting activities are those tasks that aren’t directly related to QuickBooks transactions, such as the following:
• Making changes to the chart of accounts
• Manipulating the register for any balance sheet account
• Using online banking
• Transferring funds between banks
• Reconciling bank accounts
• Creating journal entries
• Working with budgets
Sensitive financial reporting provides important financial information about your company, such as the following:
• Profit & Loss reports
• Balance Sheet reports
• Budget reports
• Cash flow reports
• Income tax reports
• Trial balance reports
• Audit trail reports
Configuring Rights for Existing Transactions
If a user has permissions for certain areas of QuickBooks, you can limit her ability to manipulate existing transactions within those areas. This means the user can’t change or delete a transaction, even if she created it in the first place.
You can also prevent the user from changing transactions that occurred prior to the closing date you set (even if the user knows the password to access transactions that were created before the closing date). See Chapter 18 to learn about setting a closing date and password-protecting access to transactions that predate the closing date.
When you have finished configuring user permissions, the last wizard page presents a list of the permissions you’ve granted and refused. If everything is correct, click Finish. If there’s something you want to change, use the Back button to return to the appropriate page.
Users Can Change Their Own Passwords
Any user can change her password by choosing Company | Set Up Users And Passwords | Change Your Password to open the Change QuickBooks Password dialog. The dialog opens with the name of the current logged in user in the User Name field, and that text cannot be changed.
To change the password, the user must enter the old password and then enter the new password (twice). That’s an excellent security device, because it prevents other users from changing a user’s password (which can happen if a user leaves the computer without logging out of QuickBooks).
Theoretically, it’s a good idea for the QuickBooks administrator to know all user passwords and to ask users to notify the administrator when a password is changed. However, tracking passwords can be burdensome if more than just a couple of users are involved. It’s perfectly acceptable to decide that you don’t want to know user passwords, because if a user forgets a password, you can edit the user’s record to create a new one (as described earlier in this chapter) and tell the user her new password.
QuickBooks Login Dialog
The QuickBooks Login dialog appears whenever you open a company file, unless you have not configured any users in addition to the built-in administrator named Admin, and the Admin user has not been assigned a password.
The Login dialog displays the name of the last user who logged in to this company file on this computer. If the same user is opening the file, entering the correct password opens the file.
If a different user is opening the file, replace the text in the User Name field with the login name of the new user, enter the password, and click OK.
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