Giving your accountant access to QuickBooks the right way means they see exactly what they need to do their job, without you sharing your actual login or handing over more control than the task requires. Here is how to give your accountant access to QuickBooks safely, whether you use Online or Desktop.
Last verified: October 2026.
Never share your own login
Sharing your personal username and password with your accountant means every action they take looks like it came from you, makes it impossible to tell who changed what, and breaks the moment you change your password. QuickBooks has a dedicated way to invite an accountant with their own login, and it exists specifically so neither of you has to do this.
How to give your accountant access to QuickBooks Online
- Go to Settings, then select Manage users.
- Choose the Accountants tab.
- Enter your accountant’s email address and send the invite.
- Your accountant receives an email, creates or uses their own Intuit login, and gets accountant-level access tied to their own account.
- You can see and revoke this access at any time from the same Manage users screen.
Accountant access in QuickBooks Online comes with a special toolbox of accountant-only tools for reviewing and adjusting the books, which is more useful to them than simply being added as a regular user would be.
How to give your accountant access in QuickBooks Desktop
Desktop does not have the same live accountant-invite feature, so the approach depends on your setup.
- If the file is hosted locally and your accountant works remotely, use the Accountant’s Copy feature. Go to File, then Send Company File, then Accountant’s Copy, and create a copy they can work in while you continue working in yours. Their changes merge back in once they send it back.
- If your accountant visits in person or uses remote desktop software, create them a separate Windows user account with its own QuickBooks login, rather than sharing yours, so their activity is traceable.
- If you use a hosted Desktop setup through a third-party provider, most providers have a process for adding an accountant as a separate user with their own credentials.
How to give your accountant access without slowing yourself down
The invite process above takes a few minutes and does not require your accountant to be present while you set it up. Send the invite, let them accept it on their own schedule, and confirm with a quick message once they have access rather than waiting on a call to walk through it together. Most of the friction in this process comes from trying to share a password as a shortcut, which actually creates more work later when you need to change it.
Choosing the right level of access
Give your accountant only what the current engagement actually requires. A once-a-year tax preparer often needs read access to run reports, nothing more. A bookkeeper doing ongoing work needs enough access to categorize transactions and reconcile accounts. Someone handling payroll needs access to that specific module, and nothing beyond it unless they are also doing general bookkeeping. QuickBooks Online lets you assign these levels individually rather than giving full admin access by default.
What accountant access lets them do that a regular user cannot
Accountant-level users in QuickBooks Online get tools like batch reclassifying transactions across multiple accounts at once, a dedicated reconciliation discrepancy report, and the ability to undo a reconciliation cleanly. These tools exist because accountants often need to fix things at scale, not one transaction at a time, which is part of why the dedicated accountant invite is worth using instead of a generic user role.
Revoking access when the relationship ends
Remove access as soon as you stop working with an accountant or bookkeeper, the same way you would deactivate an employee’s access when they leave. In QuickBooks Online, this is a single click from the Manage users screen. For Desktop, remove the Windows user account you created for them, or stop sending them accountant’s copies. Leaving old access active is an unnecessary and easily avoided risk.
Common mistakes when giving access
- Sharing your own password instead of using the accountant invite feature.
- Giving full admin access by default when a lower access level would cover the actual work.
- Forgetting to revoke access after the engagement ends.
- Not confirming who has access periodically. Review your user list at least once a year, especially before closing the books at year end, when outside access tends to matter most.
What to do before granting access
Make sure your own books are in reasonably good shape first. Reconcile your accounts, as covered in our guide to bank reconciliation, and clear out obvious uncategorized transactions using the approach in our guide to categorizing transactions correctly. A cleaner starting point means your accountant spends their time on real analysis instead of basic cleanup, which usually costs less overall.
Frequently asked questions
Does my accountant need admin access to review my books?
Usually not. Most review work only needs read access to reports and transaction detail. Reserve admin-level access for an accountant actively managing the books on an ongoing basis.
Can I give access to more than one accountant or bookkeeper?
Yes. QuickBooks Online supports multiple accountant users, each with their own login and their own assigned access level.
Is the Accountant’s Copy the same as giving full access in Desktop?
No. An Accountant’s Copy lets them work on a snapshot of your file independently, with their changes merged back later. It is not the same as live, ongoing access to your working file.
What happens to my data if I revoke an accountant’s access?
Revoking access only removes their ability to log in. Any changes they already made remain in your books, exactly as if you had made them yourself.
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