Help Managing your Login with QuickBooks Desktop

The average person has about 100 passwords so of course it makes sense that at some point you’re going to need to manage it. Whether it’s resetting your password, or other login help, QuickBooks Desktop users this article is for you!

I think the best place to start is with an explanation of the new QuickBooks Desktop login experience. We’re now connecting your Intuit login to Desktop to give you better security and a single user ID to access all of Intuit’s products. Think of it like the passcode to your phone, which then gives you access to all your apps and information. With One Intuit Account you have one login that gets you into all of your accounts without having to create multiple. 

This feature has already been added to regular Desktop products and most recently added to the Accountant versions. If you’re wondering about the difference between your QuickBooks login and your Intuit account login, I'd love to explain! When you sign in to your QuickBooks Company file, you get access to basic QuickBooks features. You can, for example, create invoices or pay bills. 

When you sign into your Intuit account, you have access to all Intuit services such as Payments, Payroll (Direct Deposit and Workforce), QuickBooks Time, Receipt Management (new for QuickBooks Plus 2021 and QuickBooks Enterprise 21) and more. Less work and greater efficiency is always the goal. 

Here are a couple pages to look at to explain this workflow:

• How to access QuickBooks Desktop files with One Intuit Account in Accountant Versions
• Intuit Account - Why now for QuickBooks Desktop?

Now I’d like to take a look at password requirements. Intuit does its best to ensure that your password is safe in order to protect your company information. 

For data files:

• At least 7 characters (letters, numbers, or special characters)
• At least 1 number
• At least 1 uppercase letter

For login:

• Length: 8 - 16 characters
• At least 1 uppercase character (A-Z plus all upper case characters in the Latin-1 Supplement set)
• At least 1 lowercase character (a-z plus all lower case characters in the Latin-1 Supplement set)
• At least 1 special character (! " # $ % & ‘ ( ) * + , - . / : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] ^ { | } ~)
• At least 1 number (0-9)
• Password cannot contain the username (case-sensitive)
• Username cannot contain the password (case-sensitive)
• No spaces

As you can see, there are more requirements for your login password, but that’s because that’s the first gateway to protecting your information. Now, let me walk you through your options for resetting your password.

Note: If you’re resetting an admin profile, know that you’ll need to verify information as a security step. 

QuickBooks 2020

1. On the Company Login window, select I forgot my password.
2. Select an email from the dropdown list, then Next.
3. Enter the token from your email.

QuickBooks 2019 or earlier:

1. Open QuickBooks Desktop.
2. In the login window, select I forgot my password.
3. Fill out the info on the form.
1. Your license number for QuickBooks Desktop. (Hold down F2 on your keyboard from the login window to see your license number).
2. Enter the name, email address, phone number, and ZIP code you used when you purchased the product.
4. Select OK and QuickBooks will guide you through creating your new admin password.

Always check your spam and junk folders if you don't see the email code in your inbox.

Below I’m going to drop the most helpful login articles for QuickBooks Desktop. Consider this your cheat sheet so you can always get into your account fast and efficiently:

• Use the Automated Password Reset Tool for QuickBooks Desktop
• Reset your password for QuickBooks Desktop
• Password Security for QuickBooks Desktop