QuickBooks Online for Contractors (Udemy.com)
Everything A Contractor Could Need When Using QuickBooks Online
Created by: Mark Smolen
Last updated February 2026
Our take
Based on the ratings of 288 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in February 2026. No course pays to be reviewed.
Mark Smolen's course is a narrow, practical walkthrough of QuickBooks Online for construction and other job-based businesses. The syllabus shows estimates turned into invoices, progress invoicing, change orders, retention withholdings, time billing and profit by job, plus A.I.A. billing for large contracts. It runs about 6.4 hours across 33 lectures, and nearly all of that sits in one long first section. No QuickBooks or bookkeeping background is required, so it suits owners and new bookkeepers alike.
Reviewers like the delivery. Words that come up are clear, concise, step by step and straight to the point, and one student said a question in an early lesson was answered almost immediately. Another says it beats the other QuickBooks courses they tried for construction work because it starts teaching right away. The complaints are small. One reviewer found it slow and wanted their own business set up instead of an example company. Another struggled because the QuickBooks version on screen differed from theirs.
Of 288 ratings, 182 are five stars and only 8 are one or two stars, which fits the 4.6 average. About 1,574 students have enrolled, so this is a niche course, and that is the point. It was last updated in February 2026. If you do job-based work and want exactly these features, it is a solid pick. A general bookkeeping learner will find it too specialized.
Pros
- Covers progress invoicing, change orders and retention billing in one contractor-focused course
- Reviewers call the teaching clear, concise and step by step, with no padding
- Includes A.I.A. billing and budget versus actual by job for larger contracts
- Instructor reportedly answers student questions quickly, per one reviewer
Cons
- Uses one example company, and one reviewer wanted to see their own business set up
- QuickBooks version on screen is not stated, so some students could not match their screens
- Pace felt slow to at least one reviewer, and almost everything is in one long section
This is no nonsense, straight to the point, and clear. Totally worth it if your trying to get your bearings on how to start the books.
Listed for all levels with no prerequisites. Best for QuickBooks beginners who already know how a contractor job runs.
What you will learn
- Everything In QuickBooks Online That Any Contractor Could Possible Need
- Choose What Type Of QuickBooks Online Account To Use
- Input The Specific Chart of Accounts That A Contractor Would Need In QuickBooks
- Navigate The QuickBooks Online Interface
- Set Up And Manage The QuickBooks Online Items List For Contractor Use
- Set The QuickBooks Online Account Settings And Options That Contractors Need
- Create Estimates From Contracts, Create Invoices From Estimates
- Use "Progress Invoicing", To Track The Progress Of Jobs
- Create And Manage Change Orders
- Record Receiving Deposits From Customers / Clients
- Find Everything Input In To The QuickBooks Online Account
- Determine Profit Or Loss By Job
- Bill Customers For Reimbursable Expenses
- Track Workers Time
- Bill Clients For Workers Timesheets And Time Slips
- Record Retention Withholdings and Bill For Retention Payments
- Cost Per Item Unit For Materials Used
- How To Bill For Retention And Record Retention Payments
- Anyone Who Needs To Make A Budget By Job And See Budget V.S. Actual Transactions
- How To Find Vendors Bills By Job Invoice And Find Job Invoice By Vendor's Bills
- Use Complex Items And Description Fields For Progress Invoicing Precision
- Use American Institute Of Architecht's Items List For Multi-Million-Dollar Contracts
- Use A.I.A. Billing In Conjunction With QuickBooks
- Anyone Who Needs To Make A Budget By Job And See Budget V.S. Actual Transactions
Course content
4 sections · 33 lectures · 6.4 hours of video 1 quiz
- 1Introduction 3 free previews29 lectures · 5.8 hours
- 2Advanced Billing Issues2 lectures · 30 min
- 3Evaluation Section1 lecture · 1 quiz · 2 min
- 4Bonus Section1 lecture · 2 min
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Contractors Using QuickBooks Online
- Anyone Who Needs To Master The QuickBooks Online Contractor Features
- Any "Physical" Contractor As Well As "Office Profesional" contractor Who May Need The Features Listed Here
What you need before you start
- None
How it compares
Against the other 200 rated Udemy courses in Accounting on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.6 out of 5higher than 69% of them
- Reviews288#121 of 201 by number of reviews
- Length6.4 hoursshorter than 50% of them
- Last updatedFebruary 2026more recently than 69% of them
Course Description
Would you like to go quickly from beginner to expert for everything that contractors could need when using QuickBooks Online? This ground-breaking new course will give self-employed contractors and construction companies everything they need in QuickBooks Online. With this course, you can easily keep financial records of a company that has contracts for physical and intellectual work done over a period of time, for clients who pay as the work is done.
Self-employed contractors and their bookkeepers have unique challenges that relate to the bookkeeping and record keeping requirements. This type of company has more data to keep track of and report on than most other types of companies.
These features in QuickBooks Online can be used for any other type of company that needs to: Track time by job, allocate cost by job and use the percentage of completion method of progress invoicing, bill clients for job expenses and time of subcontractors.
This special and revolutionary QuickBooks Online video course shows each action that any contractor would need to take while servicing clients as well as tracking costs, progress and profits. You don’t need any prior knowledge of QuickBooks Online, Computers or Bookkeeping in order to start this course. Everything you learn is shown with a clear, step-by-step explanation that makes learning easy and fun.
This course starts with the most basics of the set up and builds slowly until you are an expert in QuickBooks Online regarding everything contractors could need when keeping financial records.
I have helped thousands of contractors with these helpful and easy to follow bookkeeping techniques. They are easy to understand and simple to execute. They will definitely work for you!! This QuickBooks Online course is guaranteed to show every possible type of transaction and situation that a construction/renovation type of company, or any tech company that bills over time-based contracts, could need to enter into QuickBooks Online. It has basic, step by step directions that are fool proof!!
This QuickBooks training course will show you every possible thing that QuickBooks can do for a contractor company. You will learn in QuickBooks how to:
Choose What Type Of QuickBooks Online Account To Use
Input The Specific Chart of Accounts That A Contractor Would Need In QuickBooks
Navigate The QuickBooks Online Interface
Set Up And Manage The QuickBooks Online Items List For Contractor Use
Set The QuickBooks Online Account Settings And Options That Contractors Need
Create Estimates From Contracts, Create Invoices From Estimates
Use "Progress Invoicing", To Track The Progress Of Jobs
Create And Manage Change Orders
Record Receiving Deposits From Customers / Clients
Find Everything Input In To The QuickBooks Online Account
Determine Profit Or Loss By Job
Bill Customers For Reimbursable Expenses
Track Workers Time
Bill Clients For Workers Timesheets And Time Slips
Record Retention Withholdings and Bill For Retention Payments
Bill Clients For Remaining Retainage Paymnet
Make A Budget By Job And See Budget V.S. Actual Transactions
Find Job Invoices By The Bills They Were Placed On
Use Expense Items And 2-Sided Items When Billing Clients
Use Billing Items From The American Institute Of Architechs
Have Options To Enter A.I.A. Billing In To QuickBooks
The most helpful part, is that you should contact me immediately to address any question, issue or concern you have about the course.
I'm right here for you if you have any questions or need support. I hope you learn well and enjoy the course!
-Mark
Instructor Details
- 4.6 Rating
288 Reviews
Mark Smolen
I have 3 decades of experience teaching Computerized Accounting. I have taught QuickBooks at A.S.A college in Manhattan New York. I have made my lessons available to certified job training schools for adult education and have helped place hundreds of students in good paying jobs using QuickBooks and other software that they learned in my class. Now, I've helped thousands of students from Udemy get great jobs or run their own business.
I am a permanently licensed teacher by the New York State Education Department. I am also a Certified QuickBooks Pro adviser for 2 decades. I have made these videos by determining what my clients needed.
I wanted to help anyone using QuickBooks be prepared for the real-life, hands-on challenges that come with mastering the bookkeeping function of any company. I will prepare you for real life QuickBooks situations that can be challenging or frustrating if nobody shows the tips and tricks that will make using QuickBooks a fun task
I enjoy helping students turn frustration in to a feeling of comfort and satisfaction with QuickBooks. I'm always available to my students when they need me.
More courses by Mark Smolen
QuickBooks Online Complex Issues And Advanced Techniques (2026)
4.6 (911 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 15.9h
$99.99
Mastering QuickBooks Desktop Beginner To Advanced (2022)
4.7 (594 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 4.3h
$74.99
QuickBooks Online Freelance, Self-Employed Bookkeeper (2026)
4.7 (576 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 12.4h
$89.99
Accounting And QuickBooks Online Comprehensive Course (2026)
4.5 (363 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 24.6h
$19.99
More Accounting courses
Bookkeeping Basics #3: QuickBooks™ Desktop Fundamentals (2025)
4.8 (998 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 4.8h
$119.99
QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2022 Made Easy for Beginners
4.8 (158 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 9.1h
$84.99
Financial Accounting & Bookkeeping: From Beginner to Pro (2026)
4.7 (5,344 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 32.5h
$22.99
Xero Online Accounting - Learn Xero in a Day 2026
4.7 (3,109 Reviews)
Provider: Udemy
Time: 4.2h
$13.99
Reviews
By Eliseo Rodriguez on 3/19/2026
This is really going to get you up to speed, for construction related business. For Someone who needs to see, what, where and why you need this to track jobs and expenses. This is no nonsense, straight to the point, and clear. Totally worth it if your trying to get your bearings on how to start the books.
By Udemy User on 6/28/2025
Slow moving. I'd prefer the teacher walk through inputting info for my own business info rather than an example business.
By Maek Gignac on 5/30/2025
If you're looking for a QuickBook course on how to run your construction business this is by far the best course I found on udemy I have gone through a bunch of them and they don't get right to the point and start teaching you right off I would highly recommend this
By Kyle Ratayczak on 3/5/2025
3rd or 4th course of mark’s I’ve taken. Worth every penny. 100x better than the QBO professional certification and training from intuit.
By Elsie Roach on 1/31/2025
Instructor has a very pleasant easy to understand voice and manner of speaking. He gives all the details of the information that is needed to learn the processes and what is available in QBO for contractors.
By Denise A on 10/3/2023
So far the course is extremely informative, explained very well, and easy to follow along. Creating a 30 day free trial was a great idea so students can have "hands on" learning experience.
By James Mix on 5/25/2022
Very Detailed, helpful, and relevant to my remodeling business. We've tried to learn as we go and it seems this is THE WAY to organize numbers for taxes, and accounting help so that everyone that looks at it can pull the information needed.
By Inc. Trusted Fire & Security on 10/12/2021
I've been working with QBO for 7 months now. This course has helped me insure I have set up our QBO properly for our business needs.
By Ivana Bunjevacki on 7/12/2020
Very practical, down-to-earth and true to real life business situations regarding contractors. Clear and easy to follow. All possible aspects of bookkeeping for contractors are covered.
By Jacqueline Kiss on 5/27/2020
Straight and to the point videos. Definitly helpful. I will be referring back to these videos often. Thank you for adding a bits of humor in them as well. It would be great to make them transcripted for note taking.
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 92 / 100












