How to Setup and Enter DBA in QuickBooks: An Ultimate Guide on QuickBooks DBA

As a business owner, it is important to register the company for the first time and select the structure for the entity from LLCs and corporations. During this entire process, you may hear about a form in the secretary of the state’s office for the DBA. If you are wondering what QuickBooks DBA is and how to setup DBA in QuickBooks, we will enlighten you.

In this guide, we will talk about DBA, multiple DBA, the procedure of setup DBA in QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online Plus. It covers the following information:

Learn About DBA in QuickBooks

Doing Business As (DBA) is the name under which a business owner operates and markets. By using DBAs, you can operate a name other than the registered and legal name. If you use DBA under a different name than the name mentioned on file with the respective state then you have to complete one of the DBA forms.

If you are planning to run a business under a different name than the one you already have declared on a legal form then you will have to submit a DBA with the respective secretary of the state’s office. By doing so, you can make the assumed name of the business a matter of public record.

Why Should You Form a DBA?

There are a number of reasons that small business owners may need to form a Doing Business As (DBA). These reasons are as follows:

• Operate under different names: If you prefer to run a business under a name that is different than your own then you will need to form a DBA. However, if you use a personal name in your business name then you may not need to file for a DBA.

• Operate multiple websites or businesses: If you are planning to expand your service lines or product and sell the items under the alternate title, you may require to file for DBA. In addition, you have to file a DBA for each branch of a company, if you are conducting your business and sell goods on several websites.

• Credibility: If you secure a DBA name, this could give you more credibility than your personal name. A formal name for your business could make you sound more credible to your investors and customers. It also makes it easier for people to search you on Google and other search engines.

• Business banking: It is impossible to proceed with business banking unless you serve a tax ID number. The owners of general partnerships and sole proprietors do not have EIN unless they register it at the state level. So, if you are an owner of general partnerships and sole proprietorship then you may mix personal finances with your business bank account which could lead to a problem.

Hence, DBA is required. By submitting DBA, you can get an EIN which allows you to open a separate business bank account. This gives you more credibility to the company and it becomes easy to manage your business finances.

• Maintain legal protections: A DBA does not provide legal protection alone. But, it helps you maintain the corporate veil. Business entities such as Limited Liability Companies and Corporation offer liability protection to their owner. However, if an owner operates under a different company name than the registered one, they will lose personal protections.

How to Enter DBA in QuickBooks Desktop as a Class?

In QuickBooks Desktop, if you want to set up the DBA as a class, you can do that easily. As you select the class, it automatically shows up in the invoice. For that, first, you will have to enable the class tracking feature and then set up the DBA as a class.

Turn On Class Tracking

You can follow these instructions to enable class tracking for transactions:

• Click on the “Edit” menu.
• Then, select the “Preferences” option.
• Click on the “Accounting” option.
• Switch to the “Company Preferences” tab.
• From the “CLASS” section, put the checkmark for the “Use class tracking for transactions” box.
• Hit the “OK” button.

Set up the DBA

After enabling the class feature, next, you have to set up the DBA from the class list. Here are the steps for that:

• Go to the “Lists” menu.
• Click on the “Class List” option.
• Select the “Class” option.
• Click the “New” button.
• Add the name of the DBA.
• Hit the “OK” button.

Now, when you create the invoice, all you need to click on the CLASS drop-down. Thereafter, you can select any DBA.

How to Setup DBA in QuickBooks Online as a Location/Class?

With the class track feature, you can track income, location, expense by department, project, and property in QuickBooks. This class tracking feature is only available in QuickBooks Online Plus.

If you are using QuickBooks Online Plus then you can set up the DBA as a location. All you have to do is set up each location for the name of DBA, telephone, address which will be printed on your invoice after selecting the location on your invoices.

Enable Class or Location Tracking Feature

To proceed with this, first, you will have to enable the location tracking or class tracking feature in Settings. Here are the steps for that:

• Go to the “Gear” icon located in the “Toolbar”.
• Then, select the “Account Settings” or “Company Settings” option.
• From the “Categories” section, click on the “Edit” (pencil icon).
• Select the category you wish to turn on and then choose the setting for that category.
• Hit the “Save” button.

Once you enable this feature, you will see the drop-down menu for Locations or Classes on the forms.

Create the Categories

After you set up the class or location tracking, you can start creating the categories for them. For that, you can follow these steps:

• Go to the “Gear” icon.
• Then, click on the “All Lists” option from the “Lists” section.
• Select “Locations” or “Classes” options.
• Click on the “New” button located on the top.
• Add the information.
• Hit the “Save” button.

This is how you can enable the class or location feature in QuickBooks Online Plus and create categories for the same.

Learn About QuickBooks Multiple DBA

If you have one business and use different names then you can use multiple DBAs. But if the businesses are different then they need to have their own company files. In addition, each business should file its tax return. Multiple schedule C forms are also permitted.

Besides that, you can customize the templates. You can also create a class per DBA in order to track sales under each. But this should be done only when the DBA belongs to the same business.

• IRS Pub 583, Page 5 – You should keep separate books for each company.
• For the sole proprietors: IRS Pub 334, page 40 – If you have multiple businesses then you should figure the net profit or loss for each business on a separate Schedule C.
• IRS Pub 334, page 45 – It is a separate schedule C form for each business.

In case you want to set up several DBAs under one business account in QuickBooks then you can use the class feature. Do the following:

• Click on the “Gear” icon located on the top right.
• Click on the “Company settings” option.
• Now, select the “Advanced” option.

Here, you can classify each transaction. But remember that you can also run the separate P&L for DBA also known as class.

How to Show Company Name on the Email Message?

The default name of your company appears on the sales forms such as purchase order and invoice depending on the Account and Settings you have made. If you are sending an email with an invoice, you can show the name of your company on that.

To do so, you can follow the steps as a workaround where you can edit the information before you send your email with the invoices. Thereafter, you can change it again to the correct company name.

To be more specific, you can pursue the following steps:

• Click on the “Gear” icon located on the top right.
• Click on the “Account and Settings” option.
• Now, select the “Company” from the left pane.
• Click on the “Company name” section.
• Here, edit the details in the “Company name” field.
• Hit the “Save” button.
• Click the “Done” button.

This way you can change the details for your company name. Remember that after you send the email with the company name, you change it back to the correct name.

What If the DBA Names Do Not Appear on the Invoices?

There can be a scenario when the DBA names or classes cannot be visible on invoices that you have sent to the customers. In such cases, you can go to the settings and enter the DBA manually as a class so that it can show up on the invoices.

This is a workaround to enter the names manually. Follow these steps to understand better:

• Click on the “Gear” icon located on the top right.
• Then, select the “Custom Form Styles” option.
• Go to the “New Style”.
• Select the “Invoice” button.
• From the “Content” tab, click on the template header.
• Now, go to the “custom field” link located at the bottom.
• Place the checkmark for the box and “Custom name” depending on your preference. For example DBA.
• Hit the “Done” button.

After following these steps, you can create a dummy invoice. Then, send an email to yourself with an invoice to check if you can view the DBA names on the invoice.

Tip: To track the profit and loss report for each class, you can click on the class under the CLASS column.

How to Record Transactions for Multiple DBAs?

Most users have this concern about whether they should have separate line items or companies for two different DBAs. If you want to record the transaction for multiple DBAs, you can use the Location or Class tracking feature to manage and classify the transactions.

All you have to turn on this feature so that you can assign a location or class for the transactions. Here is how you can do that:

• Go to the “Gear” icon.
• Then, click on the “Accounts and Settings” option.
• Click on the “Advanced” menu.
• Choose the “Categories” option.
• Select “Track Locations” or “Track Classes” options.
• Select your preferences for how you can manage them.
• Hit the “Save” button.
• Click the “Done” button.

When you are done implementing these steps, you can try opening a transaction. This way you can check if you can track the location as a whole transaction. Even for classes, you can either use the entire transaction or use it for each line item. If required, you can use Reports so that you can track how you are doing with location and class tracking.

How to Set Up a New Vendor Who is a DBA?

Adding a new vendor in QuickBooks is quite easy. If a vendor is a sole proprietor or a DBA and has an EIN then you can simply add a new vendor in the Vendor Center. Let us show you how to set up a new vendor in QuickBooks Desktop.

• Click on the “Vendors” menu.
• Then, select the “Vendor Center” option.
• Click on the “New Vendor” drop-down menu.
• Select the “New Vendor” option.
• Here, add the vendor name that you want to display on the vendor list.
• Click on the “Company Name” section for your DBA name.
• Click on the “Tax Settings” tab in order to enter the “Tax ID”.
• Enter the details in each tab as required.
• Click the “OK” button.

This is how you can add a new vendor to the Vendors List in QuickBooks Desktop. All you have to make sure that the vendor is a sole proprietor or a DBA and has an EIN.

How to Add a DBA Name on the 1099-MISC?

If you want to add the DBA under the name of a vendor for the 1099-MISC form then you can do that easily. The details on the three fields in QuickBooks occupy the 1099-MISC forms.

Vendors’ profile shows these three name fields:

• Vendor Name
• Company Name
• Full Name: First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name

To enter the DBA under the name of a vendor, you can enter the Company Name field. Thereafter, you can add the Vendor Name in the Full Name field. As you do so, the Company Name and the Full name will show up on your 1099-MISC forms.

How to Add a DBA on the 1099 NEC in QuickBooks Online?

DBA can also be added on the 1099 MEC second line in QBO. All you have to do is go to the Payroll, select your contractor name, and enter the DBA under the Business name. Thereafter, you can fill in the required details.

You can follow these steps to add a DBA on 1099 NEC.

• Click on the “Payroll” menu.
• Select the “Contractors” option.
• Click on the contractor name.
• Add the “DBA” under the “Business name”.
• Fill in the required details.
• Hit the “Save” button.

As you follow these steps, the name of DBA will be added under the business name on the 1099 NEC form.

In a Nutshell

Using and setting up QuickBooks for your small business can make a huge difference in the record’s accuracy. If you are using QuickBooks multiple DBA for your business then you should organize each one in your QuickBooks account to stay organized.

In this detailed guide, we have taught you how to setup DBA in QuickBooks Desktop and Online. Along with this, we have provided the best information related to the DBA filing procedure. I hope you find this guide useful.
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