Learn how to create a new company file.
Get started with QuickBooks Desktop and create a company file.
Your company file saves all of your financial info and grows with you. In QuickBooks, you can save multiple company files for multiple businesses. Each business should have its own company file.
Create a new company file
Use your business info to create your company file. The in-product guide takes you through the set up step-by-step.
- Open QuickBooks Desktop.
- In the No Company Open window, select Create a new company.
- At this point, you have two setup options:
- Select Express Start or Start Setup if you want to get started right away. You only need to enter your business name, industry, and business type and select Create Company File to create your company. You can enter this info later on.
- Select Detailed Start if you want to do a complete setup so all of your info is in from the start.
- Follow the onscreen steps to finish the setup.Note: If you have an existing company file in QuickBooks, give your new one a unique name. This prevents QuickBooks from accidentally overwriting your data.
- Select Start Working.
When you're done, you can start working in QuickBooks Desktop.
Next Steps: Get started in QuickBooks Desktop
Once you create your company file, you can personalize QuickBooks for your business. Here's what we recommend to get started:
- Add your company info
- Create products and services
- Add customers and vendors
- Enter your employee's info
- Create accounts on your chart of accounts
- Set up apps or subscriptions (Payments, Payroll, etc)
- Enter historical data as needed
Special cases
If you’ve recently upgraded to a new version of QuickBooks, you can still use your old company file. You don’t need to create a new one.
If your QuickBooks is running slow or you’re about to reach a list limit, learn what you can do with your existing file.
