QuickBooks Enterprise 2021 – What are the New Features?

QuickBooks Enterprise 2021 includes several new and improved features to benefit businesses with more complex needs.

In this article, we’re providing a detailed explanation of these new features, as well as an overview of some of the best improvements users will get when they upgrade to QuickBooks Enterprise 2021.

New Features

Here’s a quick overview of the new features available in QuickBooks Enterprise 2021.

Sales Prices on Barcode Labels

QuickBooks Enterprise 2021’s Platinum and Diamond subscription levels now allow users to automatically include the sales price on printed barcode labels in addition to the item name and description.

While this sounds like a simple enhancement, it’s one that QBE users have been requesting for a while. Printing the sales price on barcode labels used to only be possible by using a third-party app that integrated with QuickBooks. Adding this feature makes it easier for customers and employees to access pricing information on inventory items.

To access this feature, from the menu bar, select File, Print Forms, the Labels.

Automated Receipt Management

Entering expense receipts is easier and faster in QuickBooks Enterprise 2021. With the proper access, an employee can upload expense receipts to QuickBooks via either the mobile app or a computer. All they have to do is snap a picture of the receipt with a smartphone, import it into QBE, and the software will automatically create and categorize the transaction.

The system will also attach the digital receipt image to expense transactions, creating a solid audit trail.

To use automated receipt management:

1. From the menu bar, select Vendors and Receipt Management
2. Click on Manage Users to give certain employees either desktop and mobile access to receipt uploading or mobile access alone

Customer Groups

QuickBooks Enterprise 2021 now allows users to create rule-based customer groups, making it easy to find all customers that match certain criteria, such as location, customer type, balance, sales rep, or status.

Once you’ve created a customer group, you can send payment reminders, create automated statements, or create mailing lists for specific groups. You can also use customer groups when defining user permissions. This new feature will help users of QBE 2021 improve customer insight, management and communication.

To create a new Customer Group:

1. Go to the Lists menu, then select Manage groups
2. Select Create customer group
3. Add a Name and Description, then select Next
4. Select the Fields, Operator, and Values to define the group, then select Add

Automated Statements & Payment Reminders

Nobody likes to spend hours chasing down past-due payments, but collecting receivables is crucial for maintaining healthy cash flow. QuickBooks Enterprise 2021 makes reminding customers of their overdue balances a little easier by allowing users to automate statements and payment reminder emails.

You can create different reminder emails and statements for different customer groups and select scheduled statement timing. At the designated day and time, a pop-up will notify users that there are statements or reminder emails to be sent.

To set up payment reminders, from the menu bar, select Customers, Create Statements, and select “Go to Payment Reminders.”

Customized Payment Receipts & Other Forms

Having a consistent look across all of your customer communications makes your business look polished and professional. Now, QuickBooks Enterprise 2021 allows you to customize payment receipts, invoices, estimates, purchase orders and statements. You can add your logo and changing the color scheme and font.

You can also create and customize multiple form templates for use with different customers, controlling the look and what information is included on each form.

To customize your payment receipts’ look, from the menu bar, select Lists, Templates, and Payment Receipt. If this is your first time customizing payment receipts, the system will prompt you to make a copy of the default payment receipt before you begin.

Data Level Permissions

QuickBooks Enterprise 2021 allows admins greater control over creating and customizing different data level permissions for users’ job roles. With this feature, admins can give users access to only the areas of QuickBooks needed to do their job and no more.

For example, you can give a sales rep access to create invoices or email customers only within their area’s customer group or access only the vendors a certain employee works with. By enabling more granular security for accessing and editing specific customer and vendor records, you can ensure greater security and control over your QuickBooks company file.

To implement improved data level permissions, you will need to log in to your company file as the Admin user. Then:

1. From the menu, select Company, Users, Setup Users and Roles
2. Select the Role List tab and either add a new role or edit an existing one
   1. If you create a new role, you’ll need to enter a role name with an optional description that details the restrictions
3. In the Role Access area, select the areas and activities that role can access
4. For each area or activity, you can choose to give the user no access, full access, or partial access.
5. If granting partial access, click the checkboxes to indicate whether the user can view, create, modify, delete, print, and view balance.

Automatic Matching and Reconciliation of Merchant Payments

Automatic matching of merchant payments helps QuickBooks Enterprise 2021 users match all payments to their accounting records faster and with more accuracy than ever before.

The software will automatically assign the majority of downloaded payment transactions to the proper open invoice. With those tasks taken care of, users can focus on categorizing transactions that need more attention.

In addition, credit card payments will be deposited into the merchant’s account the next day with no extra effort required.

To work with auto-matching of merchant payments, from the menu bar, select Customer, Credit Card Processing Activities, and Record Merchant Service Deposits.

Serial/Lot Numbers Required on Transactions

QuickBooks Enterprise with Advanced Inventory already allows users to track inventory using serial or lot numbers. Now, users have the option of requiting serial or lot numbers for some transactions.

This feature helps QBE users ensure their inventory remains organized by warning users to supply the lot or serial number if the field is left blank.

(Note that this feature will only be available after the R1 release of QuickBooks Enterprise 2021.)

To apply the rule globally in your company file:

1. From the menu bar, select Edit and Preferences
2. From the menu on the left, select Items & Inventory
3. Select the Company Preferences tab, then click Advanced Inventory
4. Click the box to Enable Lot or Serial Numbers
5. Select the default setting to require serial/lot numbers

You can also choose to require serial/lot numbers only on individual inventory items. To do this,

1. From the menu bar, select Lists, then Items List
2. Select the item, then right-click to edit
3. Click on the serial or lot number button on the right-hand side and select Make it Mandatory

Improved Features

In addition to the new features listed above, QuickBooks Enterprise has improved several existing capabilities to optimize the user experience and save time. Here’s an overview of some of the most exciting enhancements.

Read more : Is QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise the Perfect Fit for Your Business?

Bank Feeds

All desktop versions of QuickBooks for 2021 will see improvements to bank feeds.

If you currently spend a lot of time entering and categorizing bank transactions every month, the improved bank feeds should save you a significant amount of time. QuickBooks Enterprise 2021 will be able to categorize those transactions automatically and with greater detail. The enhanced rules features will also allow you to quickly search for and define the criteria used to categorize transactions.

To start using advanced bank feeds, from the menu bar, select Edit, Preferences, Checking, Bank Feeds, then click on the Advanced Mode radio button.

Advanced Inventory Improvements

If you use Advanced Inventory as part of your QuickBooks Enterprise subscription, QBE 2021 will provide several enhancements to improve your warehouse inventory management.

Those improvements include:

• Better control over data level permissions, limiting users to access only the transactions, data, and reports they need to perform their jobs
• Improved landed cost features, allowing admins to set up landed costs as COGS or Other Current Assets, more accurately calculate landed costs on bills from closed accounting periods, and allowing users to print invoices with or without landed costs
• Including alternate vendors in key inventory reports, providing greater visibility and simplifying reordering

Batch Delete Sales Orders

If you work with sales orders, from time to time, you might come across a situation in which you have open sales orders that aren’t attached to an invoice and need to be deleted. In earlier versions of QuickBooks Enterprise, users could only delete a sales order by opening each order individually and selecting ‘Delete’ from a menu.

Allowing batch deletions of these items will help users manage client files more efficiently.

To access this feature, from the menu bar, select Accountant then Batch Delete/Void Transactions.

Final Word

The latest version of QuickBooks Enterprise improves and expands the already excellent functionality of QuickBooks’ most powerful product offering. If you’re interested in getting started with QBES 2021,  upgrading your existing subscription, or need any further information, please reach out to one of our Solutions Consultants at 855-270-6252 for genuine QuickBooks Enterprise licenses and QuickBooks Enterprise hosting.