Setting up QuickBooks Desktop for the first time? The install is quick, but a few settings decide whether your invoices actually reach customers.
QuickBooks is accounting software from Intuit, available for Windows and Mac. Its setup wizard handles your company file. But sending invoices by email is a separate setup you do yourself.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to set up QuickBooks Desktop and its email.
QuickBooks Desktop Versions to Get
New US customers can only buy QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. Intuit stopped selling the smaller Desktop plans to new subscribers in 2024.
Here’s where each edition stands, according to Intuit’s announcement:
- Desktop Enterprise: Still sold to new customers. Windows only.
- Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, and Mac Plus: No new US subscriptions after Sept. 30, 2024. Existing subscribers can keep renewing.
- Desktop Enhanced Payroll: Same as above. Existing subscribers only.
Version 24.0 won’t follow the old 3-year cycle. Intuit says it will keep version 24.0 up to date for years to come.
Important: If you’re on QuickBooks Desktop 2023 or older, upgrade to version 24.0 first. Older versions no longer get security updates, payroll, or bank feeds.
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have:
- A computer: A Windows PC for QuickBooks Enterprise, or a Mac for QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.
- An Intuit account: You can create one during setup.
- A domain you control: You’ll add DNS records to it, so you need access to your registrar or web host.
- A SendLayer account: The free trial is enough to follow along.
How To Set Up QuickBooks Desktop
To set up QuickBooks Desktop, install the app and create a company file. Then connect an email account, add your contacts, and send a test invoice.
Intuit offers a 30-day free trial of the desktop software. This lets you try it before committing to a paid subscription.
Step 1: Download and Install QuickBooks
Go to Intuit’s QuickBooks Desktop trial page. As of October 2026, PC users should download QuickBooks Enterprise 24.0. Mac users should download QuickBooks Desktop for Mac Plus 2024.
Once the file downloads, run the installer. The process differs slightly for Mac and PC. In this tutorial, we’ll be showing the Mac version.
During installation, QuickBooks may ask you to log in to your Intuit account. If you don’t have one yet, you can create one at that step.
After you’ve installed QuickBooks, you’ll see a welcome screen. It gives you an overview of features added since the last update.
After closing the welcome screen, you’ll see your QuickBooks file browser. Since this is your first time, you’ll need a new company file for your business.
Click the Get Started button.
Click the Start Setup button to create your company file.
Enter a password to protect your QuickBooks company file.
Fill out your company address and tax information. Then click the Next button.
Next, choose your industry. Then pick the account categories that fit your business, like assets and income.
Not sure what to pick? You can leave the defaults QuickBooks selects and change them later.
When you’ve chosen your accounts, click Finish to create your company file.
Click the OK button to go to your QuickBooks dashboard.
That’s the basic setup done. Before you start invoicing, though, take a few minutes to connect your email.
Step 2: Connect Your Email to QuickBooks
QuickBooks sends a lot of important email to customers, vendors, and employees. That includes:
- Invoices
- Purchase orders
- Statements
- Payment reminders
- Payment confirmations and receipts
- Notifications of received payments
If these emails land in spam or never arrive, you get paid late. So it’s worth connecting QuickBooks to an email service you can trust.
Choose How QuickBooks Sends Email
QuickBooks Desktop gives you a few ways to send email:
- Outlook (Windows) or Apple Mail (Mac): QuickBooks hands each email to your desktop mail app.
- Webmail: QuickBooks signs in to a provider like Gmail or Yahoo and sends for you.
- Custom SMTP: QuickBooks sends straight through any SMTP server you choose.
I recommend custom SMTP with a dedicated sending service. Emails go out straight from QuickBooks, without a mail app open. And if a customer says an invoice never came, you can check the delivery log.
To connect any SMTP service, you’ll need 4 details. That’s the server, port, username, and password. Your email provider can give you these.
A transactional email service like SendLayer is built for emails your apps send automatically, like QuickBooks invoices. Here’s what it adds over a regular mailbox:
- Fast delivery: Emails go out the moment QuickBooks sends them.
- Better inbox placement: SendLayer authenticates your domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- A separate sending subdomain: SendLayer sends from a subdomain, so problems there don’t spill onto your main domain’s reputation.
- Email logs: See whether each invoice was delivered, opened, or clicked.
Stop wondering whether your invoices arrived.
Sign Up for SendLayer
To get started, go to the SendLayer pricing page and choose a plan. You can also start with the free trial. As of October 2026, it lets you send up to 200 emails.
Once you’ve created your account, log in to your SendLayer dashboard.
Adding and Authorizing Your Domain
Next, add the domain you want to send your QuickBooks emails from. Click the Add Domain button in the top right corner.
Enter your domain and click the Add Domain button.
SendLayer will generate 5 DNS records for your domain. These records prove to inbox providers that SendLayer may send email for you.
Add them to your domain’s DNS settings at your web host or domain registrar. Our domain setup guide shows how.
Once you’ve added the records, go back to SendLayer. Check the box labeled I have added these DNS records and am ready to proceed. Then click Verify DNS Records.
To check your domain’s status, click Settings in the SendLayer sidebar. Then look at the DNS Records & Settings section.
A green checkmark in the Status column means SendLayer has verified that record.
Once your domain is active in SendLayer, you’re ready to configure QuickBooks.
Note: DNS changes can take time to spread across the internet. It can take up to 48 hours before SendLayer can verify your records.
Add SendLayer SMTP Settings to QuickBooks for Mac
In QuickBooks for Mac, open QuickBooks » Settings from the main menu. In Mac 2021 and earlier, it’s QuickBooks » Preferences.
Click Email.
Choose the option Send directly out of QuickBooks using your email account.
Choose Custom in the Email Provider dropdown. Then click the OK button.
Now grab your SendLayer details. In your SendLayer dashboard, go to Settings and open the SMTP Credentials tab.
Fill in your QuickBooks SMTP settings like this:
Email Provider: Custom
Account Name: SendLayer (or any name you like)
Full Name: The sender name your customers will see
Email Address: An address on the domain you set up in SendLayer
SMTP Server: smtp.sendlayer.net
Authentication: Password
Username: Your SendLayer SMTP username
Password: Your SendLayer SMTP password
Port: 587
Connection Type: StartTLS
Copy the username and password straight from SendLayer. They’re long, and one typo fails the test.
QuickBooks will test the connection with the credentials you entered. If the test passes, your email is set up.
Want to see what QuickBooks has sent? Click Show Email Log on the email settings screen. It lists every email with its status and any errors.
Your SendLayer dashboard keeps a log too. It’s easier to scan than the QuickBooks log. It also shows whether each email was delivered.
Add SendLayer SMTP Settings to QuickBooks for Windows
On Windows, add SendLayer under Edit » Preferences » Send Forms » Web Mail, using Others as the provider. These steps follow Intuit’s guide to connecting email in QuickBooks Desktop.
- Go to Edit » Preferences.
- Select Send Forms in the left pane.
- Select Web Mail, then click Add.
- Choose Others as the email provider.
- Enter your SendLayer details in the SMTP Server Details section.
- Click OK, then OK again to save.
Use these values:
Email address: An address on the domain you set up in SendLayer
Server name: smtp.sendlayer.net
Port: 587
SSL: On
Username: Your SendLayer SMTP username
Password: Your SendLayer SMTP password
The Webmail option also covers Gmail and Yahoo. Those providers ask you to sign in and grant Intuit access. You won’t see that sign-in step with a custom SMTP server like SendLayer.
Step 3: Add Contact Details
Before you can really use QuickBooks, you’ll need to add your customers, vendors, and employees.
You can open your contacts from the icons at the top of your dashboard.
Let’s add a new customer. Click the Customers icon.
The Customer Center shows every customer already in your database. Click the + icon to add a new customer.
Enter your customer’s details. That includes their name, customer type, billing address, phone number, and email.
Then click the OK button to save the customer.
Repeat this for your other customers. Adding vendors and employees works almost the same way.
Step 4: Send a Test Invoice
Now let’s check that your email works by sending a real invoice. Create a test customer with your own email address. That way, the invoice lands in your inbox.
Pro Tip: Use an address at a different provider than your sending domain, like a personal Gmail. It’s a more honest test of whether invoices reach outside inboxes.
Click Create Invoice on your dashboard home page, or Invoices in the menu.
Choose the customer you want to invoice from the dropdown.
Fill out the invoice details. When you’re ready, click the @ icon to send it.
QuickBooks creates the email for you. You can edit the text first if you like. Need ideas? See our invoice email templates.
Click Send when you’re ready.
Check your mailbox to make sure the email arrived. It should look something like this:
The invoice arrives as a PDF attachment.
That’s QuickBooks Desktop set up and sending email. From here, explore the dashboard. Try adding products, paying bills, and connecting bank feeds.
Troubleshooting QuickBooks Email Errors
Most QuickBooks email problems come from a blocked connection or a wrong setting. Here’s how to fix the common ones.
“QuickBooks Is Unable to Send Emails Due to Network Connection Failure”
This Windows error usually means something is blocking QuickBooks from reaching the internet.
Intuit’s community team recommends these fixes, in order:
- Download the QuickBooks Tool Hub from Intuit. Open it and run Network Issues.
- Restart your computer, then try sending again.
- Right-click the QuickBooks icon and open Properties » Compatibility. Uncheck Run this program as an administrator.
- Separate multiple recipients with commas, not semicolons. If it still fails, remove the spaces.
“Couldn’t Connect to Email Server”
QuickBooks reached the network but couldn’t log in to the mail server. Usually the server name, port, or password is wrong.
Go to Edit » Preferences » Send Forms, select your email account, and click Edit. Then check the SMTP Server Details section against your SendLayer credentials. Intuit’s fix for this error walks through the other options.
“Your Antivirus Has Blocked Outgoing Emails”
Some antivirus tools scan outgoing mail and block QuickBooks by mistake.
Open your antivirus app’s quarantine and allow QuickBooks. If it has an email-scanning feature, try turning that off. Intuit’s antivirus fix covers a QBW.ini setting if that doesn’t work.
The Connection Test Fails on Mac
First, re-copy your SendLayer username and password. A stray space breaks the login.
Next, check that Port is 587 and Connection Type is StartTLS. You can also test your credentials with an SMTP test tool.
Still failing? Some networks and firewalls block outgoing port 587. Ask your IT team to allow it, or contact SendLayer support.
Invoices Send but Customers Don’t Get Them
If QuickBooks says the email sent, look up the recipient in your SendLayer email log. The log tells you whether the email was delivered or bounced.
A bounce usually means a typo in the customer’s address. If the email was delivered but went missing, ask the customer to check their spam folder. Then confirm that all your DNS records show a green check in SendLayer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to common questions about QuickBooks setup and email.
Where are the email settings in QuickBooks Desktop?
On Windows, go to Edit » Preferences » Send Forms. That’s where you pick Outlook or Web Mail and add accounts. On Mac, go to QuickBooks » Settings » Email (Preferences in Mac 2021 and earlier).
QuickBooks Desktop vs. Online: what’s the difference?
QuickBooks Desktop is software you install on one computer and pay for yearly. QuickBooks Online runs in your browser, and you pay for it monthly.
Online is the better fit if your team works remotely or across several devices. Desktop Enterprise suits businesses that need advanced inventory and industry-specific tools. Prices change often, so check Intuit’s website for current plans.
Can I import data from other accounting software into QuickBooks?
Yes. You can usually import customers, vendors, your chart of accounts, and past transactions. The exact process depends on your old software’s export format and your QuickBooks version.
How do I set up payroll in QuickBooks?
You’ll need a QuickBooks Payroll subscription first. Then enter your business and employee details. Set a pay schedule and add your tax information.
Note that Intuit no longer sells Desktop Enhanced Payroll to new US subscribers.
What is the chart of accounts and how do I set it up in QuickBooks?
The chart of accounts is the list of categories QuickBooks uses to sort your transactions. To view it, go to Lists » Chart of Accounts. You can keep the default accounts or add your own.
That’s It! Now You Know How to Set Up QuickBooks Desktop
Next, want to set up a help desk for your customers too? Check out our tutorial on setting up a help desk in Help Scout.
Ready to send your emails in the fastest and most reliable way? Get started today with the most user-friendly and powerful SMTP email delivery service. SendLayer Business includes 5,000 emails a month with premium support.
