The short answer
Give your bookkeeper their own login, never yours. In QuickBooks Online, invite an outside bookkeeper as an accountant user, or add them as a user with only the role the work needs, and keep the primary admin role with an owner or officer. For the bank, share statements or use a separate view-only user if your bank offers one. Exchange documents securely, and remove access when the work ends.
Why your bookkeeper needs a separate login
Handing over your own username and password feels quicker, and it is the step most likely to cause trouble later. With a shared login, every change looks as if you made it, you cannot limit what the other person sees, and you cannot end their access without changing your own password everywhere it is used.
The guidance from federal agencies is consistent. The FTC tells small businesses never to share passwords by phone, text or email, and to restrict sensitive information to the people who need it to do their jobs. IRS Publication 4557 says each person with access to client accounts should have a unique password and that passwords should not be shared.
QuickBooks Online is built for this. Its audit log records sign-ins and changes by user, Intuit says the log cannot be turned off, and its events stay available for two years. That record only means something if every person signs in as themselves.
Two ways to add a bookkeeper in QuickBooks Online
Invite them as an accountant user. An admin goes to Settings, then Manage users, opens the Accountants (or Accounting Firms) tab and selects Invite firm, then enters the accountant's email or firm user ID. Intuit says an accountant invited this way does not count toward your plan's user limit. Simple Start, Essentials and Plus allow two accountant firms; Advanced allows three. Intuit's Free plan does not include accountant access.
Add them as a regular user with a role. Intuit's roles range from full access to narrow ones. Standard all access covers customers, vendors, banking, reconciliation, journal entries and reports. In house accountant covers the bookkeeping and reports but not payroll or admin tasks. Bookkeeper can enter transactions but cannot view financial reports such as the profit and loss. QuickBooks Online Advanced also lets you build custom roles.
Either way, keep the primary admin role with an owner, pastor or church officer, not with the bookkeeper. Intuit says only admins can add, edit or remove admins, and transferring the primary admin role requires the current primary admin to sign in. If that person is gone, Intuit asks for a request to its account protection team with proof of ownership, which takes longer.
| Who needs access | Usual setup in QuickBooks Online | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Owner, pastor or church officer | Primary admin, plus a second admin if you want a backup | Only admins add, edit or remove users; keep this inside the organization |
| Outside bookkeeper | Accountant user invited by firm, or a named user with a fitting role | Their own login; an invited accountant does not use a billable seat |
| Staff entering bills or invoices | Accounts payable manager, accounts receivable manager or Bookkeeper role | Each person sees only their part of the work |
| Board or finance committee | View reports role (Plus and Advanced) | Sees reports, not transactions, and does not count toward the user limit |
| CPA at year end | Accountant user invitation, removed after the return | Separate login for a defined period; see the year-end handoff |
| Bank account | Statements shared securely, or a view-only bank user if offered | Nobody outside needs your bank password or the ability to move money |
Bank access: they can see it, not move it
A bookkeeper needs to see bank activity. They do not need your bank password, and they rarely need the ability to send money. Most bookkeepers work from one of these:
- Monthly statements you download and share through a secure portal or the accounting software.
- A separate view-only user in online banking, if your bank offers one. Ask the bank what that user can and cannot do before you set it up.
- The bank feed in QuickBooks, connected by an admin on your side, so transactions arrive without the bookkeeper holding bank credentials.
Turn on two-step verification
Intuit already asks for a one-time code when someone signs in from a device it does not recognize, and that protection cannot be turned off. Intuit also offers two-step verification, an opt-in setting that asks for a code at every sign-in. Turn it on in your Intuit Account under Sign in & security, and consider an authenticator app instead of text messages. The FTC recommends requiring multi-factor authentication for employees, contractors and anyone else who accesses your systems, so ask your bookkeeper to use it too.
One rule covers most phishing attempts: no one needs your one-time code. Intuit says it will never ask for your password or a one-time code by phone, email or text, and a bookkeeper with their own login has no reason to ask for yours.
Send documents through a secure channel
Statements, payroll reports and W-9s carry account numbers and Social Security numbers. IRS Publication 4557 advises sending only password-protected, encrypted documents if you must use email, or using a secure file transfer method instead. In practice, that means a client portal, a secure shared folder, or attaching documents inside the accounting software, rather than an ordinary email attachment.
Agree on the channel at the start and use the same one every month. If a message asks you to send account details somewhere new, or claims your bookkeeper's portal has changed, check it before you act. The FTC's advice is to look up the phone number for the company or person yourself, and call if you are not sure.
Remove access when the work ends
The FTC advises limiting a vendor's access to what they need, and only for the time they need it. IRS Publication 4557 says to deactivate the usernames and passwords of people who leave immediately. When an engagement ends, work through every system:
- QuickBooks Online: an admin opens Manage users, the Accounting Firms tab, and deletes the accountant. Intuit says the accountant loses access immediately. Deleting a regular user is permanent, but their history stays in the audit log.
- Bank: remove any online banking user you created for them.
- Payroll provider, giving platform and document portal: remove their users or shared folders.
- Anything shared by mistake: change the password.
How Danielson Bookkeeping handles access
The practices on how we work match this guide: named access rather than shared logins, the least access the work needs (view-only where it is enough), secure document exchange, cloud accounting software, and access removed at the end. No system is completely risk-free, so these practices are reviewed with you at the start of an engagement. Access is part of every QuickBooks services project.
Getting ready for a project? Read before you hire a QuickBooks cleanup. At year end, the same approach applies to your CPA; see the year-end handoff to your CPA. Churches changing bookkeepers can follow switching church bookkeepers.
