Atlas Quick Start Guide for QuickBooks Users

Everything you know in QuickBooks, mapped to Atlas. Reading time: 8 minutes

---

Terminology Rosetta Stone

The biggest hurdle when switching is finding your bearings. Here's your translation table:

QuickBooks Term	Atlas Equivalent	Notes
Chart of Accounts	Chart of Accounts	Same concept — hierarchical account structure with 5 types
Classes	Dimensions	Tag transactions by department, project, location, or any custom segment
Locations	Dimensions	Atlas uses a single flexible Dimensions system for all segmentation
Items (Products & Services)	Inventory Items / Line Items	Products on invoices and bills
Sales Receipts	Invoice + Payment	Atlas separates the invoice from the payment for audit trail
Estimates / Quotes	(coming soon)	Use Invoice in draft status as a workaround
Memorized Transactions	Recurring Invoices	Auto-generated on a schedule (daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly/annually)
Delayed Charges	Draft Invoice Lines	Create invoice lines without sending
Bills	Bills	Same concept
Checks (for vendor payment)	Payments Made	Record vendor payments with check/ACH/wire method
Receive Payments	Payments Received	Apply customer payments to invoices
Deposits	Journal Entry (or Bank Transaction)	Record deposits via bank import or manual JE
Bank Rules	AI Categorization Rules	Atlas adds AI confidence scoring on top of manual rules
Reconcile	Bank Reconciliation	Same workflow — match cleared items to statement balance
Accountant Toolbox	Accounting menu	Period Close, Journal Entries, Trial Balance
Close Books / Set Closing Date	Period Close	Lock a period to prevent backdated changes
Users & Roles	Settings > Team Members	6 roles: Owner, Admin, Accountant, Bookkeeper, Viewer, Employee
Custom Reports	Report Configurations	Save column/filter/grouping presets
Apps / Integrations	Settings > Integrations	QuickBooks import, webhooks, API keys
Company File / QBO Company	Company (within Organization)	Atlas supports multiple companies per organization
1099 Contractor Tracking	Tax > 1099 Forms	Vendor-level 1099 eligibility + form generation
Payroll (add-on)	Payroll (built-in)	Full payroll with W-2, tax calc, benefits — no extra charge

---

Where Did My Stuff Go?

What You Want to Do	In QuickBooks	In Atlas
Create an invoice	+ New > Invoice	Invoices > New Invoice
Create a recurring invoice	Recurring Transactions > New	Invoices > Recurring tab
Record a customer payment	+ New > Receive Payment	Payments > New Payment
Create a credit note	+ New > Credit Memo	Credit Notes > New Credit Note
Enter a vendor bill	+ New > Bill	Bills > New Bill
Create a purchase order	+ New > Purchase Order	Purchase Orders > New PO
Pay a vendor	+ New > Pay Bills	Payments Made > New Payment
Record a journal entry	+ New > Journal Entry	Journal Entries > New Entry
Import bank transactions	Banking > Upload	Banking > [Account] > Import
Reconcile a bank account	Accounting > Reconcile	Banking > [Account] > Reconcile
View Chart of Accounts	Accounting > Chart of Accounts	Chart of Accounts (sidebar)
Run Profit & Loss	Reports > Profit and Loss	Reports > Profit & Loss
Run Balance Sheet	Reports > Balance Sheet	Reports > Balance Sheet
Run AR Aging	Reports > A/R Aging Summary	Reports > AR Aging
Run AP Aging	Reports > A/P Aging Summary	Reports > AP Aging
Run Trial Balance	Reports > Trial Balance	Reports > Trial Balance
Close the books	Accounting > Close Books	Accounting > Period Close
Manage users	Settings > Manage Users	Settings > Team Members
View audit log	None (limited history)	Settings > Audit Trail
Run payroll	Payroll tab (paid add-on)	Payroll > Runs (built-in)
File 1099s	Expenses > Vendors > Prepare 1099s	Tax > 1099 Forms
Connect bank (Plaid)	Banking > Connect Account	Banking > Add Account

---

What Atlas Does Better

1. AI-Powered Transaction Categorization

QuickBooks has basic bank rules. Atlas has a 4-tier AI engine:

• Exact match rules → Fuzzy matching → Keyword detection → LLM fallback
• Transactions with 90%+ confidence auto-post. Uncertain items go to a review queue ranked by financial impact.
• The AI learns from every correction you make.

2. Multi-Entity Consolidation

QuickBooks Online doesn't support consolidated reporting across multiple companies. Atlas provides:

• Consolidated Balance Sheet, P&L, Cash Flow, and Trial Balance
• Intercompany eliminations with proportional allocation
• ASC 830 currency translation for multi-currency entities

3. Unlimited Users at No Extra Cost

QuickBooks Online charges $35–$275/month and caps users at 1–25 depending on plan. Atlas includes unlimited users — invite your whole team without worrying about per-seat costs.

4. Database-Level Security

QuickBooks uses application-level data separation. Atlas enforces tenant isolation at the PostgreSQL database level using Row-Level Security — even a code bug can't leak data across organizations.

5. Built-In Payroll (Not a Paid Add-On)

QuickBooks charges extra for payroll. Atlas includes full payroll with:

• Tax calculations (federal, state, FICA)
• W-2 generation
• Benefits and deductions management
• Employee self-service portal

---

Migration: Import Your QuickBooks Data

QuickBooks Online is the only platform Atlas connects to directly today — the easiest migration path of any competitor. You'll find it under Settings > Integrations, alongside connectors that are on the way (Xero, Stripe, and Square are marked Coming Soon).

The Settings > Integrations screen. QuickBooks Online shows a Configure button; Xero, Stripe, and Square are marked Coming Soon.

Option A: Direct QuickBooks Online Integration (Recommended for QBO)

The native connector is a guided 5-step wizard: Connect → Select → Preview → Import → Complete.

Who can do this: connecting QuickBooks requires the Admin or Owner role. If you're an Accountant or Bookkeeper, ask an admin to set up the connection — you'll be able to run imports once it's in place.

1. Go to Settings > Integrations and click Configure on the QuickBooks Online card.
2. Connect — click Connect to QuickBooks; you'll be redirected to QuickBooks to authorize the connection via OAuth2.
3. Select — choose which data to bring over. Atlas can import up to 8 entity types:

Entity	What Gets Imported
Accounts	Your entire Chart of Accounts
Customers	Names, contacts, terms, tax info
Vendors	Names, contacts, terms, 1099 status
Invoices	Open and historical invoices with line items
Bills	Open and historical bills with line items
Payments Received	Customer payment history
Payments Made	Vendor payment history
Bank Transactions	Bank feed transaction history

4. Preview — Atlas shows what will be imported and flags potential duplicates or conflicts.
5. Import — confirm, and Atlas imports your data with progress tracking for each entity type.
6. Complete — review the import summary.

The QuickBooks Online connect wizard, showing the Connect → Select → Preview → Import → Complete steps and a notice that connecting requires the admin or owner role.

Option B: File Import (For QuickBooks Desktop)

1. In QuickBooks Desktop, go to File > Utilities > Export > Lists to IIF Files
2. Export your Chart of Accounts, Customer List, Vendor List
3. For transactions, use File > Utilities > Export > Transactions to IIF
4. In Atlas, go to Settings > Import Data and upload your IIF files
5. Atlas walks you through a 4-step wizard (Upload → Preview → Import → Complete), validating the data and showing a preview before importing

The Settings > Import Data screen. A 4-step Upload → Preview → Import → Complete wizard accepts IIF or CSV files, with downloadable CSV templates for Customers, Vendors, Chart of Accounts, Invoices, and Bills.

Option C: CSV Export

1. Run reports in QuickBooks (Customer List, Vendor List, etc.) and export each to CSV
2. In Atlas, go to Settings > Import Data — download the matching CSV template (Customers, Vendors, Chart of Accounts, Invoices, or Bills) so your columns line up
3. Upload your file; Atlas previews the data before you confirm the import

Tip: to import just your chart of accounts, use Settings > Import COA, which accepts a CSV or XLSX file (max 5 MB) and includes a downloadable template.

---

10-Minute Setup Checklist

1. Sign up and create your organization
2. Run the onboarding wizard — set your company name, country, industry
3. Chart of Accounts — select a US GAAP template (or import your QBO chart)
4. Connect QuickBooks — Settings > Integrations > QuickBooks > Configure (Admin/Owner role required)
5. Import data — accounts, customers, vendors, invoices, bills
6. Enter opening balances — or let the QBO import handle historical data
7. Add bank accounts — connect for reconciliation
8. Invite your team — assign roles (Accountant, Bookkeeper, Viewer)
9. Create a test invoice — verify your workflow
10. Run a Trial Balance — compare against QuickBooks to validate

---

Feature Comparison

Feature	QuickBooks Online	Atlas
Double-entry bookkeeping	Yes	Yes
Chart of Accounts	Yes	Yes (hierarchical, 5 types)
Invoicing	Yes	Yes + recurring + credit notes
Bills & AP	Yes	Yes + purchase orders
Bank reconciliation	Yes	Yes + AI auto-matching
AI transaction categorization	Basic rules	4-tier AI with confidence scoring
Multi-company	Separate subscriptions	Multiple companies per org
Consolidated reporting	No	Yes (BS, P&L, CF, TB)
Intercompany eliminations	No	Yes
Users	1–25 (by plan)	Unlimited
Payroll	Paid add-on	Built-in
1099 forms	Yes	Yes (NEC, MISC, K)
Schedule C	No	Yes
State sales tax	Yes	Yes
Quarterly estimates	No	Yes
Multi-currency	Plan-gated	150+ currencies
FX revaluation	No	Yes
Inventory	Basic	FIFO, LIFO, Weighted Average
Fixed assets	No	Yes (3 depreciation methods)
Project tracking	Yes	Yes + time tracking
Budgets	Yes	Yes + variance analysis
Approval workflows	Advanced plan only	Built-in (multi-step)
Audit trail	2-year retention	Unlimited, field-level changes
Custom roles	Advanced plan only	6 predefined roles, 61 permissions
Tax compliance countries	US-centric	US, UK, CA, AU, EU, PK
API	Yes	Yes (~485 endpoints)
Mobile app	Yes	Responsive web (native app planned)

---

FAQ

Q: Where are my Classes? A: Atlas uses Dimensions — a flexible tagging system that replaces Classes, Locations, and any other segmentation. Go to Settings > Dimensions to set up your segments.

Q: Can I import my QuickBooks file directly? A: Yes! For QBO, use the direct OAuth2 import at Settings > Integrations > QuickBooks (an Admin or Owner sets up the connection). For Desktop, export to IIF format and upload via Settings > Import Data.

Q: Do I need to re-enter all my transactions? A: No. The QuickBooks import brings over your accounts, customers, vendors, invoices, bills, payments, and bank transactions. For opening-balance-only migration, enter balances as of your cutover date.

Q: Where is the "+" (Plus) menu? A: Atlas doesn't have a single "+" menu. Each module has its own "New" button (e.g., Invoices > New Invoice). You can also use Cmd+K to quickly navigate to any create action.

Q: Can multiple people work at the same time? A: Yes, with no user limits. Atlas supports concurrent users with role-based permissions. Bookkeepers can enter data while Accountants review and approve.

Q: What about my bank feeds? A: Atlas supports bank statement import in CSV and Excel (.xlsx) formats, with AI-assisted auto-matching. Live Plaid bank feeds are coming soon.

Q: Is there a QuickBooks Desktop version of Atlas? A: Atlas is cloud-only. It works in any modern browser — no software to install. Your data is accessible from anywhere with internet access.

Q: What happens to my QuickBooks subscription? A: Keep it active during your parallel-run period (typically 1 month). Once you've validated Atlas matches your reports, you can cancel QuickBooks.

---

See also: Migration Checklist | Xero Guide | All Guides