Bookkeeping basics
The plain-English guide to how the books work — accounts, debits and credits, reconciliation — before any software training.
OpenIllinois · QuickBooks Training
QuickBooks training for your Illinois team, done your way.
Live, remote sessions on your own QuickBooks file for the people who invoice, run payroll and close the month in Illinois: groceries off the state rate since January 2026, the August 2026 transit-area increase, the 4.95% withholding rate and IDES wages, and Chicago’s lease tax kept apart. Not a classroom course. Fixed-fee, all 102 counties.
If your file needs our paid diagnostic first, its fee is credited in full against the cleanup. Either way, you get a fixed fee in writing before any work starts.
State rule
Illinois rule: a sale sourced inside Illinois uses the rate of that Illinois location, and a sale to an Illinois buyer sourced outside Illinois uses the destination rate; each invoice needs the location its order shipped from. Source: Illinois Department of Revenue, FY 2026-12.
§ The short version
Illinois QuickBooks training is live, remote, role-by-role sessions in your own file for the people who invoice, run payroll and close the month. They learn what Illinois adds: the sourcing location behind each sale’s rate, groceries off the state rate since January 2026, 4.95% withholding with IDES wages, and Chicago’s lease tax kept apart.
They took something that felt overwhelming to me as a first-year business owner and made it simple.
What stood out the most was TechBrot Inc’s attention to detail.
Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 2 and QuickBooks Workforce Certification,
§ 01 · What Illinois makes your team record
What an Illinois team has to record correctly.
Each row is a published Illinois or Chicago rule, the entry it asks of your team, and the check they learn to run before a report goes to your CPA.
| Item | The Illinois rule | What the team records | The check they learn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales tax on each invoice | 6.25% for general merchandise plus local taxes; in-state-sourced sales at that location’s rate, out-of-state-sourced sales at the destination rate. FY 2026-12 | The location the order is fulfilled from, the ship-to address, and the item’s tax category | “See the math” on the invoice shows the state and local lines (Intuit); the Sales Tax Liability report agrees with Sales Tax Payable |
| Groceries and drugs | The state’s 1% grocery tax ended January 1, 2026; a city or county may levy its own 1%. Qualifying drugs and medical appliances stay at 1%. FY 2026-03, PIO-101 | Grocery items and drug items on their own tax categories, never on general merchandise | Grocery sales total for the new ST-1 line |
| Transit-area rate change | From August 1, 2026, NITA 1.25% for general merchandise in Cook and 1.00% in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will. FY 2026-34 | Invoices dated from August 1 at the new rate | A July and an August invoice to the same address show different local lines |
| Payroll: Illinois withholding | 4.95% from January 1, 2026, by allowances on Form IL-W-4; payments monthly by the 15th or semi-weekly above $12,000. IL-700-T, Pub-131 | The Illinois withholding item with each employee’s IL-W-4 allowances | Withholding liability ties to the payments and to the IL-941 |
| Payroll: IDES unemployment | Only the first $14,250 per worker in 2026; reports and contributions due April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31. EA-50, IDES | The IDES rate on the state unemployment item; wages past $14,250 stop being taxed for the year | The quarter’s unemployment liability matches the payroll report |
| Chicago lease tax | 15% of the lease or rental price for all leases, from January 2026. City of Chicago | A separate City liability account, never inside Sales Tax Payable | The City liability shows on the balance sheet apart from state sales tax |
Rates as published by the Illinois Department of Revenue, IDES and the City of Chicago. Which items are taxable, and how a channel is sourced, are your CPA’s call.
§ 02 · What we make sure your team gets right
Three Illinois habits good training builds in.
Each habit answers a published Illinois or Chicago rule, and each is cheaper to build in at entry than to correct at filing time.
PPRT
Train your team to keep IL net income clean
Illinois imposes a Personal Property Replacement Income Tax on net income — 2.5% for corporations other than S corporations, 1.5% for partnerships, trusts and S corporations — so pass-throughs owe it at the entity level. We train your team to categorize cleanly so the Illinois net income your CPA works from holds up. Source: IDOR income tax rates.6.25% + local
Train invoicing to carry the combined rate by jurisdiction
General merchandise is taxed at 6.25% state plus local taxes. A sale sourced inside Illinois uses the rate of that Illinois location; a sale to an Illinois buyer sourced outside Illinois uses the destination rate. The NITA (formerly RTA) rate rose 0.25% in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties on August 1, 2026. Your team learns to let QuickBooks carry the right combined rate at entry, so the ST-1 ties. Sources: FY 2026-12, FY 2026-34.Cloud tax
Train your team to track Chicago’s cloud tax separately
Whether software or SaaS is taxable under Illinois sales tax is your CPA’s determination — but Chicago has its own tax, the Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax, at “15% of the lease or rental price for all leases” from January 2026. We train providers with Chicago customers to record that liability separately from sales tax, because it’s a City of Chicago tax, not a state tax. Source: City of Chicago Department of Finance.§ 03 · What Illinois training covers
Your team, confident on the Illinois specifics.
We train on the day-to-day actions that keep an Illinois file clean — tailored to each role.
01
Sales tax at invoice time
Train AR staff to let QuickBooks apply the correct combined rate for the location each sale is sourced to, so invoices are right at entry.Sales tax help
02
Clean books for the PPRT
Train your team to categorize cleanly and keep Illinois net income supportable, so the PPRT your CPA computes and files holds up.Replacement tax help
03
Chicago cloud tax, tracked apart
Train providers with Chicago customers to record the 15% lease/cloud tax separately from sales tax, so the City liability is never buried.Sales tax help
04
Role-specific workflows
Sessions tailored by role — owner dashboards, AR/AP, payroll entry — so each person learns exactly their part.QuickBooks accountant
05
Reporting your team can read
Train owners and managers to pull and read the reports that matter, so the books drive decisions, not just compliance.Financial statements
06
Onboarding-ready recordings
Sessions recorded in your own file so new hires can be brought up to speed without starting from scratch.QuickBooks setup
§ 04 · Worked example
One session, worked: a store order and a shipped order.
An illustrative session plan, not a client record. An Illinois retailer sells from a store in Cook County and ships some web orders to Illinois buyers from a warehouse in another state. The person who invoices practices in the company’s own file on two real draft invoices: one for an order fulfilled from the store, one for an order shipped from the warehouse to a buyer in Will County.
Under the Department’s sourcing rule the store order takes the store location’s rate and the shipped order takes the buyer’s destination rate, so the two local lines differ. The session ends only when the trainee can show why.
What the trainee does in the session
- Sets the fulfilment location and the ship-to address, and confirms each item’s tax category
- Opens “See the math” and reads the state line and each local line
- Moves a grocery item to its own tax category and sees it leave the 6.25% line
- Runs the month’s Sales Tax Liability report and matches it to Sales Tax Payable
What the trainer checks before the session ends
- The store invoice shows the store’s rate; the shipped invoice shows the buyer’s
- An invoice dated from August 1, 2026 carries the new transit-area rate
- A rate that looks wrong is traced in Intuit’s order: the address and ZIP code, then the item’s tax category, then the exempt status
- A one-page reference of the steps stays with your team
QuickBooks behaviour as described in Intuit’s help article “Learn how QuickBooks automatically calculates sales tax” (updated 8/4/2026). TechBrot is not Intuit. How a channel is sourced is your CPA’s call.
§ 05 · The scope
What we do — and what we don’t.
What TechBrot does
- Train staff to invoice the combined sales tax for the location each sale is sourced to, at entry
- Train the team to keep groceries and drugs on their own tax categories
- Train payroll staff on Illinois withholding, IL-W-4 allowances and the IDES wage base
- Train the team to categorize cleanly and keep Illinois net income supportable for the PPRT
- Train providers to track Chicago’s 15% lease/cloud tax separately from sales tax
- Tailor sessions by role and record them in your own file for onboarding
What your CPA does
- File the Illinois sales tax (ST-1), the PPRT, or income tax
- File or elect the PTE, or file Chicago city taxes (lease/cloud)
- Represent you before the Illinois Department of Revenue or the City of Chicago
- Provide legal or tax advice
- Step 1
Free scoping call
A QuickBooks ProAdvisor reviews your team’s roles and the file to scope the training. - Step 2
Written fixed-fee scope
A written scope and fixed fee within 3 business days, by number of people and sessions. - Step 3
Live, role-specific sessions
We train each role live over screen-share in your own file on the Illinois-specific entries, with practice on real data. - Step 4
Recordings & follow-up
Sessions recorded for onboarding, with follow-up support — or paired with monthly bookkeeping.
§ 07 · The advisory line
Automation handles the data entry. We handle the judgment.
The Illinois mistakes training prevents are entry mistakes: the wrong location’s rate on an invoice, groceries left on the general merchandise rate, Illinois net income left messy so the PPRT is hard to support, the Chicago lease tax buried inside sales tax instead of tracked apart. Each one is quicker to teach once than to find at filing time.
Pair training with monthly bookkeeping and your team handles day-to-day entry while a ProAdvisor keeps the close and the Illinois figures clean for your CPA. TechBrot does not prepare or file tax returns; we work with your CPA or EA.
§ 08 · Around this page
Around Illinois.
Illinois QuickBooks ProAdvisor & bookkeeping
The state page: services, industries, cities and the Illinois tax terms in one place.QuickBooks training, nationally
The national engagement this page is the Illinois version of — same scope, same written fixed fee.Also in Illinois
Illinois cities
Not sure where your file stands? Start with the free QuickBooks file review · how Illinois compares: state-by-state tax quirks.
§ 09 · Around the engagement
Before you engage anyone.
QuickBooks Online vs Desktop in 2026
Which product to run on now that Desktop is a subscription — and what the decision means for training and support.
Open§ 10 · Common questions
Illinois QuickBooks training questions.
What does Illinois QuickBooks training cover?
A QuickBooks ProAdvisor trains your team, live over screen-share and role by role in your own file, on invoicing the combined sales tax for the location each sale is sourced to, groceries and drugs on their own rates, Illinois withholding and IDES wages, keeping Illinois net income clean so the PPRT is supportable, and tracking Chicago’s 15% lease/cloud tax separately. The focus is the Illinois-specific entries that keep a file clean.
Who should attend the training?
Anyone who touches the books — owners, office managers, bookkeepers, and AR/AP staff. We tailor each session to the role: an invoicing clerk learns the combined sales-tax rate by sourcing location, a bookkeeper learns to keep Illinois net income clean for the PPRT, and an owner learns to read the reports that matter.
Is the training live or pre-recorded?
Live and interactive, over screen-share in your own QuickBooks file, so your team practices on real workflows rather than a generic demo. We can record the live sessions so you can onboard new staff with them later without paying for the training again.
How much does Illinois QuickBooks training cost?
Fixed-fee against a written scope, never hourly — scoped to the number of people and sessions. You get the exact fee in writing within 3 business days of a free discovery call and the file information needed to quote.
Can you train my team and also keep the books?
Yes — you can pair training with monthly bookkeeping, so your team handles day-to-day entry while the books are prepared by a senior bookkeeper who works in your software, or by a signed specialist practice when your books need one, with every close reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor before it reaches you. Every close is reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor before it reaches you. Training-only is also fine.
How do you teach my team to handle the Chicago cloud tax in QuickBooks?
We train providers with Chicago customers to record the Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (the “cloud tax”) — “15% of the lease or rental price for all leases” from January 2026 — as a separate liability from Illinois sales tax, because it’s a City of Chicago tax administered by the Department of Finance, not a state tax. Your team learns where it posts and how to keep it apart so the City liability is always visible; your CPA and the City handle the filing. Source: City of Chicago.
Is this an in-person QuickBooks class in Illinois?
No. Every session is live and remote, over screen-share, in your own QuickBooks file; there is no classroom and no certificate at the end. Intuit runs its own QuickBooks certification program, and TechBrot is not Intuit. The general curriculum is on the QuickBooks training page.
Checked against the Illinois Department of Revenue and the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Illinois businesses start here