[Step 2] Account Setup
Once an account in connected, you'll be presented with the Account Setup screen. You can also navigate back to this screen by click on an Account Setup button on the Accounts page. The Account Setup page consists of the following areas:
- Nickname
- Shortcode
- Base Account
- Uncategorized Action
- Data Start
Nickname & Shortcode
Both the Nickname and Shortcode are used for identification purposes. If you use internal tracking codes for clients, feel free to setup them up as Shortcodes. Nicknames can be helpful if the QuickBooks Online account name does not align with the client account. This sometimes occurs with numbered companies as well as companies with a DBA name. Both Nickname & Shortcode can be left blank if you prefer.
Base Account
The Base Account is one of the most important settings in Agnes. The Base Account drop-down will pull all the expense account names in QuickBooks. We generally recommending setting up a new account and using it only for transactions that you would like categorized by Agnes. You can setup a new account by navigating to Transactions > Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks Online and click the New button. The Account Type must be set to Expenses.
Agnes will only categorize expenses in this account. Other transaction types like deposits and transfers will not be touched by Agnes if they inadvertently end up in the Base Account.
TIP (Consistency)
It can be helpful to use a consistent name across all connected accounts so that you don't have to check which base account was used each time you push transactions in QuickBooks.
Uncategorized Action
The Uncategorized Action setting determines what Agnes will do with any transactions that are not Categorized during the Ponder process. If Base Account is selected then any uncategorized transactions will be left in the Base Account. If Bank Feed is selected then any uncategorized transactions will be deleted after the Ponder process and pushed back to the Bank Feed. This feature may be sunset in Version 2.0.
Data Start
Another super important setting is the Data Start setting. When Agnes is completing her Analysis and Ponder Process, only data with a transaction date past the Data Start will be analyzed. This setting is most applicable when you're taking over a bookkeeping file. If you're not sure about the consistency of the data before takeover, we recommend setting the Data Start for a data after the Takeover. Any prior inconsistencies in the data may result in accurate but unintended categorizations.
TIP (The Right Amount of Data)
How much data is enough? Generally at least six months of data is sufficient; however, a year of data will usually result in higher initial categorization rates. We have found that anything beyond 18 months of data does not increase the initial categorization rate and will slow down the Ponder process.
You're now ready to move over to QuickBooks Online and begin pushing data over to Agnes [Step 3] Pushing to the Base Account