Quick answer
QuickBooks Self-Employed is now sold as QuickBooks Solopreneur and runs on the QuickBooks Online platform, while the legacy Self-Employed app remains available for existing subscribers at selfemployed.intuit.com. Setup comes down to four tasks: connect your bank and cards, categorize transactions, turn on mileage tracking, and keep tax categories current. This guide covers the current product, the legacy app, and the migration path between them.
What QuickBooks Self-Employed is in 2026
The name on the box has changed, so start by confirming which product you actually have. Intuit introduced QuickBooks Solopreneur as the successor to QuickBooks Self-Employed, and the current self-employed landing page now positions it on the QuickBooks Online platform with plans including Free, Lite, Simple Start and higher tiers. The Solopreneur sign-in runs through app.qbo.intuit.com.
The legacy Self-Employed app has not vanished. Intuit still lists a QuickBooks Self-Employed sign-in at selfemployed.intuit.com/login for existing subscribers, and the official help articles for the app were updated in August 2026. If your account still lives there, keep using it and follow the same setup order below with the legacy menu names noted in each step.
Naming note. When a guide, bank, or video says "QuickBooks Self-Employed" and another says "QuickBooks Solopreneur," they are describing the same line of product for one-person businesses. The current purchase path is QuickBooks Solopreneur or a QuickBooks Online self-employed plan; the legacy app is for existing accounts.
Before you start
- Your Intuit account email and password, and access to that email inbox for verification codes.
- Online banking credentials ready, but never typed into anything other than the Intuit bank connection screen.
- Your phone with the QuickBooks mobile app installed for mileage and receipts, and location services available.
- Your business details: legal name, industry, and how the business files taxes.
- 20 to 40 minutes for a clean setup, plus a few weeks of light review while categorization learns your habits.
How to set up QuickBooks Self-Employed or QuickBooks Solopreneur
Sign in to the right product for your account
New self-employed customers sign in through the Solopreneur entry point on the QuickBooks Online platform. Existing subscribers sign in at selfemployed.intuit.com/login and should not create a second account. If you are unsure, sign in to the legacy address first: if the account exists there, you will see your books. If you are starting fresh, begin from the current self-employed plans page so your account is created on the supported platform.
Complete the business and tax profile
Answer the setup questions about your business name, industry, and how you file. This profile drives the categories and tax views you see later, so do not rush it. For a sole proprietor or single-member LLC filing Schedule C, choose the self-employed or sole-proprietor path. If you also use TurboTax, sign in with the same Intuit account you plan to use at tax time so the records connect later.
Protect your banking credentials. Connect only through the bank connection screen inside your QuickBooks product. No legitimate support agent, bookkeeper, or third-party app needs your online banking password, and sharing it can violate your bank's terms. Review the imported transactions for the first 90 days so a bad feed does not quietly distort your tax numbers.
Connect your bank and credit card accounts
Open the banking area of the product and add each business checking, savings, and credit card account you use. Search for your financial institution, sign in on the bank's own page, and choose how far back to import. On the QuickBooks Free plan you can connect one bank account; paid self-employed plans allow more.
For accounts that fail to connect, work through the Self-Employed bank connection fixes or the general bank feed setup guide before you manually import anything.
Review and categorize the first batch of transactions
Open the transactions list and work through every downloaded item. Assign a business category, or mark the transaction as personal so it does not affect your books. In the legacy Self-Employed app you can add entries by hand from Transactions → Add Transaction on the web, or with the plus icon in the mobile app, including a receipt image. In the current product, use the same transaction list and set up rules for repeating vendors so future imports categorize themselves.
Set tax categories and review the estimated tax view
Each expense category should map to a Schedule C line, and income should be separated from owner draws and transfers. The legacy Self-Employed app shows tax tags on categories plus an estimated federal and self-employment tax view; the current Solopreneur and QuickBooks Online self-employed plans present the same information as tax categories and tax reports. Treat the estimate as a planning number, not a filing, and confirm major decisions with a tax professional. Our categorization and tax tag guide covers fixing a category that was filed wrong.
Turn on mileage tracking
Open the QuickBooks mobile app, go to the Miles tab, and switch on automatic tracking, then allow location services when the phone asks. The app uses your phone's GPS to log drives: swipe left on a trip for business miles and right for personal trips. When automatic detection misses a drive, add it manually with the plus icon and enter the date, distance, and purpose. The IRS standard rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents per business mile, and the app calculates the deduction from your classified trips.
Capture receipts and match them to transactions
Photograph receipts as you receive them and attach each one to its transaction. In the legacy app you can drag a receipt onto the transaction form online or attach it from the mobile app. In the current product, receipt capture lives in the mobile app and the transaction list. Matching receipts to bank charges takes minutes each week and prevents the two classic audit problems: uncategorized meals and deductions with no documentation.
Share access with your accountant or export your records
If you work with a tax preparer, invite them from the product so they see the books directly, or give them the reports they ask for. The legacy app exports tax details from the Reports menu as a Tax details report for a chosen tax year, which you can download and hand over or enter into TurboTax. Set a quarterly reminder to review the books with the same person, not just in April.
QuickBooks Solopreneur vs QuickBooks Online: what changes
The self-employed product is deliberately narrow. QuickBooks Online is the fuller platform. The setup steps above are nearly identical, but the limits and available features differ.
| Area | Self-Employed / Solopreneur | QuickBooks Online |
|---|---|---|
| Designed for | One-person, self-employed businesses | Small businesses with teams and multiple users |
| Bank connections | Included; the Free plan connects 1 account | Multiple accounts on paid plans |
| Invoicing | Included; the Free plan allows 2 per month | Full invoicing and estimates workflow |
| Mileage tracking | Built in; the Free plan allows 5 trips per month | Built in on paid plans |
| Tax features | Schedule C categories, tax tags in the legacy app, estimated tax view | Tax center with accountant collaboration |
| Accountant access | Not on the Free or basic self-employed tiers | Simple Start and higher plans |
| Inventory, payroll, projects | Not included | Available on higher plans and add-ons |
If your Self-Employed account changed: your migration path
If you were moved from the legacy app to a QuickBooks Online self-employed plan, your first job is to confirm where your data landed before you cancel or resubscribe. Intuit documents that current mileage can transfer from QuickBooks Self-Employed to QuickBooks Online: after you sign in and switch plans, select the option to bring your data over and the miles appear in the new account. For everything else, download a Tax details report for each open tax year from the legacy Reports menu and keep the files before any subscription ends.
Do not run the legacy app and a new QuickBooks Online subscription side by side for months; two sets of books create reconciliation problems at tax time. Verify the new account has your categories, mileage and receipts, then close the old one. The full order of operations, including what to check before you cancel, is in the Self-Employed migration guide.
Verify your setup
- Compare the bank feed balance for one account with the bank's own balance for the same date.
- Open a sample of ten transactions and confirm each has the right category and personal or business flag.
- Take one drive with automatic mileage tracking on, then confirm the trip appears and classify it as business.
- Attach one receipt and confirm it is linked to the matching transaction.
- Run the profit and loss report, or the Schedule C tax summary, and confirm the totals look like your business.
- Confirm your accountant can see the books, or that you can export the Tax details report.
Ongoing habits that keep self-employed books clean
- Review new transactions weekly; uncategorized items pile up fastest during your busiest months.
- Reconnect bank feeds the moment a refresh fails, because missing weeks are hard to reconstruct later.
- Classify mileage within a few days, while you still remember which drives were business.
- Reconcile the accounts monthly against statements, not just at year end.
- Export a backup copy of your tax details report after each quarter closes.
- Use a dedicated business card and account so personal spending never mixes into your Schedule C numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Is QuickBooks Self-Employed discontinued?
The brand was replaced by QuickBooks Solopreneur, which now runs on the QuickBooks Online platform. The legacy Self-Employed app still appears in Intuit's sign-in menu for existing subscribers, and its help articles are still maintained. New customers start with Solopreneur or a QuickBooks Online self-employed plan instead.
Can I still use the QuickBooks Self-Employed mobile app?
If you have an existing Self-Employed subscription, yes. The mobile app still tracks mileage, captures receipts, and categorizes transactions for legacy accounts. New accounts use the QuickBooks mobile app that comes with the current self-employed and QuickBooks Online plans.
Where did tax tags and the estimated taxes view go?
They belonged to the legacy Self-Employed interface. The current product presents the same ideas as tax categories and tax reports built around Schedule C lines. Your historical data is not lost; the labels and location changed with the platform.
Does QuickBooks Solopreneur include accountant access?
Not on every tier. The Free and basic self-employed plans are single-user without accountant access, while paid QuickBooks Online plans from Simple Start upward allow accountant collaboration. If your preparer needs direct access, choose a plan that includes it.
Can I move my mileage and transactions to QuickBooks Online?
Intuit supports transferring current mileage from QuickBooks Self-Employed to QuickBooks Online when you switch plans inside the product. For transactions and reports, download the Tax details report for each tax year first so you have a permanent copy regardless of what transfers.