Last Updated on June 11, 2025
The administrator role in QuickBooks is the highest level of authority, and the user who sets up the QuickBooks account becomes the primary admin by default. The primary admin has complete access to the QB account and could manage all users and administrative tasks. Additionally, there is a secondary admin, referred to as the company admin, who has access to most aspects of the QuickBooks account, except for editing or removing the primary admin. It is necessary to set up administrator in QuickBooks Online or Desktop, as this allows you to create and manage roles and users.
The primary administrator can assign different levels of access or create custom roles with specific permissions for multiple users. The following blog provides a comprehensive guide and detailed process to set up administrator in QuickBooks.
What is the Need to Set up Administrator in QuickBooks Desktop?
There are various responsibilities of the primary administrator in the company file. Therefore, setting up administrator in QuickBooks Desktop is necessary for the given reasons:
- To assign predefined roles to a user
- Create a custom role with specific access
- To assign a role to a user
- For managing roles and users
- To see all roles and their permissions
Read the following steps to know how to set up a company administrator in QuickBooks.
Step-by-Step Process to Set up Administrator in QuickBooks Online
To set up administrator in QuickBooks for various roles, follow the procedures outlined below.
Assigning a Company Admin
You can request the primary admin to give you the necessary permissions, or as a primary admin, you can then log in to QuickBooks and assign the role by following the given steps:
- Head to the Gear icon and tap on it
- Click on Manage users
- Then, enter the user name to make the Company admin
- Click on Edit and change their role to Company admin
- Change their role to Company Admin through Assign Roles
- Tap on Save to confirm
- Lastly, sign out of QuickBooks
Once the company admin is set up, the following steps can be taken to add a user.
Adding a New User in QuickBooks Desktop
The number of users that you can have depends on your subscription level. Only admin users can add a new user or assign a role in QuickBooks Desktop by following the steps.
- Open the Company menu, and click on Users
- Choose to Set Up Users and Roles
- Use the admin password, then tap on OK
- Click on the User List tab and add a New tab
- Provide a username and a password (not mandatory)
- Then, under the Available Roles section, select a role to add
- Click on Add, then OK
This process was for QuickBooks Desktop. Read the following steps to know how to add a new user in QBO.
Adding a New User in QuickBooks Online
Admin users must follow the steps below to add a new user and provide a role in QuickBooks Online.
- Open Settings and choose Manage users
- Click on Add user, and provide a name and email for the user
- Next, choose a role from the Roles dropdown to assign to the user
- Review the access level of the selected role; each section can be expanded
- If applicable, then open the Account management settings for the role you want to manage
- Click on Send to invite the user
If you want to set a custom role for a user, then learn how to add a custom role below.
Customizing Predefined Roles
14 predefined roles are already available in QuickBooks, and these roles fulfill the basic needs for businesses. A few roles will have an asterisk (*) next to them, indicating that they have unrestricted access to view all transactions in your account for the user. Now, if you want to customize predefined roles, you can follow these steps:
- Open the Company menu, and click on Users.
- Choose Set Up Users and Roles
- Provide the admin password and then tap on OK
- Then, open the Role List tab
- Click on a role, then Edit to review its access
- You’ll see the Area Access Level of the selected role in the right column
- You can choose None, Full, or Partial, and set the access for a particular role
- After setting up the access, click on Ok to save
If you want to create a separate role from predefined roles, then follow the next step.
Creating a New Custom Role
In order to create a new role with specific access and permissions, follow the given steps:
- Navigate to the Company menu and choose Users
- Click on Set Up Users and Roles
- Provide the admin password, then click OK
- Open the Role List tab and select New
- Assign the role a name and description (do remember its permission level)
- Open the Area and Activities section
- Choose an area of your account.
- Go through each section and assign permission levels to your role as None, Full, or Partial
- Click OK to save the new role after setting the permissions
Multiple custom roles with different permissions and names can be created. Follow the next step if you need to review roles and permissions.
Reviewing Roles and Permissions
You need to provide a Permission Access by Roles report to review all roles and their permissions by following the given steps:
- Firstly, head to the Company menu and choose Users
- Choose Set Up Users and Roles
- Provide the admin password, and click on OK
- Navigate to the Role List tab and click on View Permissions
- Lastly, select the Roles to review and tap on Display
Once you follow this process, you’ll be displayed roles along with their permissions. Now, in case you need to edit a user’s role, follow the method given below.
Editing a User’s Role
You may need to change or grant additional access to a user, so follow the given process.
- Open Settings, then click on Manage users.
- Navigate to the Users tab, and select the user to edit
- Under the Action column, select Edit
- Next, choose an existing QuickBooks role or create a custom role
- Click on Save
If you assign an existing role but then edit its permissions, it must be saved as a new custom role. Provide a name and description, and save it as a new role.
Reactivating or Deactivating a User’s Role
It is also possible to activate or deactivate a user role as per your requirements, but you must assign a different role to the user before deactivating their current role.
- Open Settings and choose Manage users
- Select the role to edit under the Roles tab and
- In the Action column, click on the three dots next to Edit
- Finally, click on Deactivate or Reactivate (if the role is already deactivated)
To decrease the number of users, you can delete them by following this method.
Deleting a User
You can delete a user to prevent the usage limit from being exceeded. However, keep in mind that deleting a user is permanent and can not be reversed, although you can access their history in the audit log.
- Open Settings and click on Manage users
- Tap on more of the user to delete
- Then choose Delete
- To confirm, click on Delete user again in the pop-up window
With the above process, you can delete a user in QuickBooks. Now, in case you need to transfer the primary QuickBooks administrator rights, follow the next step.
How to Change Administrator in QuickBooks Desktop
If you need to transfer the primary company administrator of your account from Quickbooks Desktop, then you may follow these steps:
- Head to Company, and open My Company
- Click on Manage Your Account
- Sign in with your Intuit Account credentials (It should be different from company file credentials)
- Navigate to the Primary Contact section and click on Change
- Choose the new primary contact from the contacts list on the account
- Select Save and Close
Note: If the user is not listed, the admin will be required to invite or add the user. The user must accept the invite to transfer the primary contact on the account.
Transferring the Primary Intuit Account Admin in QuickBooks Desktop
Follow the given procedure to transfer the primary Intuit account administrator of your account from Quickbooks Desktop:
- Start by Opening the Company
- Head to the Users, and click on Intuit Account User Management
- Look for the secondary administrator to transfer the role of the primary admin
- Click on Edit and choose Change Primary admin
- In case the user is not on the list, you’ll be required to invite them to the account
- Provide the verification code sent to the phone number of the admin
- An admin transfer email will be sent to both the current primary admin and the secondary admin
- Once the secondary admin has accepted the transfership, they’re promoted to primary admin
- The original primary admin is demoted to a secondary admin
Note: The role of primary admin can only be transferred to secondary admins. Also, remember that only one primary admin can exist in the account.
How to Change Administrator in QuickBooks Online
It is possible to change the primary admin in QuickBooks Online, and you can assign the role to an existing QuickBooks user or add a new user via the company admin settings. Follow these steps:
- The present primary admin has to log in to QB Online
- Head to Settings and choose Manage users
- Select the user to promote to primary admin
- Ensure that the user is listed as an admin in the Role column
- If not, then tap on Edit and change their role to admin
- Tap on the three dots in Action, choose Change primary admin
- Click on Change primary admin again to confirm changes
- Then, log out of QuickBooks
An email invitation will be sent to the company administrator, who must accept it to obtain the primary QuickBooks administrator rights. Once the company admin agrees to the invitation and the primary admin role is transferred to them, the original primary admin will automatically be able to access the Company Admin role.
Conclusion
To create or assign predefined roles to a user, you need to set up administrator in QuickBooks Online and Desktop. This guide will provide you with some methods to easily and effectively set up a user as an administrator. For instance, adding a new user in QuickBooks can be a time-consuming and hectic procedure. If you feel less confident or find yourself stuck in technical difficulties, you can seek professional help. Call on this +1(855)-738-0359 to get expert guidance regarding setting up administrator in QuickBooks Online and Desktop.
Frequently Asked Questions
With the help of the given steps, you can change the administrator in QuickBooks Online. Start by opening the Settings, and select Manage users. Then, find the user you wish to set as the primary admin. Head to the Role column, followed by selecting Action. Choose the Change primary admin and select it again to confirm the change. Now, whenever the company admin signs back in, their admin rights will be transferred.
Now, if you want to set up administrator in QuickBooks Desktop, start by opening the Company menu and choosing Users, followed by selecting Set Up Users and Roles. Next, fill in the admin password and add a New tab. Now, provide the username and password (optional). Move to the Available Roles column and choose the role you wish to add. Finally, click on Add and select Ok.
In QuickBooks, you can only have one primary administrator. However, the primary admin of the Intuit Account and the company’s primary admin may differ from each other. Additionally, you should sign in as the primary admin to transfer the admin role to another user. For a company user, the primary admin can add and remove users. Additionally, the admin can edit and assign user roles. On the other side, an authorized user can only update the user’s ID and the contact information.
To add a secondary administrator in QuickBooks Desktop, navigate to the Company and choose My Company. Then, select Manage Your Account and sign in with your Intuit Account information. Next, scroll down to the Primary Contact column and choose Change. Lastly, select the new primary contact that you will find in the list of contacts and choose Save and Close.
Kate is a certified public accountant (CPA) with expertise in various accounting software. She is technically inclined and finds passion in helping businesses and self-employed people carry out bookkeeping, payroll, and taxation without worrying about errors. Every once in a while, Kate loves to travel to far-off places and relax in the lap of nature.