QuickBooks Online Tips Every Creative Professional Should Know in 2025
If you’re a creative entrepreneur—photographer, designer, content creator, artist, musician, or freelancer—you thrive on ideas, inspiration, and innovation. But when it comes to the business side of your work, especially bookkeeping, things can get overwhelming fast.
QuickBooks Online (QBO) is one of the best tools for creatives to track income, manage expenses, and stay organized for tax season—if it’s set up correctly.
Here are 4 QuickBooks ProAdvisor tips tailored for creatives who want to stay focused on creating—while still keeping their finances under control.
1. Separate Personal and Business Finances
This one’s simple but powerful: connect only your business accounts to QBO. Mixing personal and business expenses leads to messy books and missed deductions.
2. Use Projects to Track Client Work
Photographers, designers, and freelancers can use Projects in QBO to track income and expenses per job—great for seeing profit margins on each client or campaign.
3. Categorize Expenses by Creative Tools & Resources
Set up expense categories like “Subscriptions,” “Editing Software,” “Studio Supplies,” or “Creative Tools.” This helps you see where your money is going and what’s deductible.
4. Track Deposits Carefully (Especially from Platforms Like PayPal, Etsy, or Stripe)
Make sure you’re not double-counting income. When QBO pulls in a Stripe deposit, you want to record gross income and subtract processing fees—not just the net deposit.
Want Support from Other Creatives Learning QuickBooks?
Join the DBR Bookkeeping Online Community — a space for service-based entrepreneurs and creatives who want to get their finances right.
💻 Includes QBO tutorials, live training, templates, and personalized guidance.
💰 $499/year with a 7-day free trial
👉 Join today
FAQ: QuickBooks for Creatives
Q: Is QuickBooks overkill for my creative business?
A: Not at all. Even solo creatives benefit from cleaner records, easy reports, and tax-ready data.
Q: Can I track income from different platforms?
A: Yes—QBO can help you separate income from YouTube, Etsy, Patreon, clients, etc.
Q: What if I’ve never done bookkeeping before?
A: That’s exactly why the DBR community exists—to help you learn in a supportive, step-by-step way.
Keep creating. Let your books work in the background.
Let’s start Doing Business Right!
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