Groups and managers in QuickBooks Time: the plan limit users hit

A steady trickle of QuickBooks questions concerns one task: splitting a workforce into groups, each with a manager who can approve time and run reports. The accepted answer in the thread we reviewed does not offer a hidden setting. It names a subscription tier.

The issue users run into

Businesses running QuickBooks Online with QuickBooks Time want structure: field crews under crew leads, departments under supervisors, and clear approval chains for timesheets. On lower plans the controls for that structure are absent. Users report searching menus for role options that never appear. The symptoms are consistent: no custom roles, no way to shape what a manager can reach in banking, sales, or payroll, and no path to group-based reporting.

The resolution the thread accepted

The accepted solution is direct. Custom roles and tailored permissions arrive with QuickBooks Online Advanced. On that plan, an admin sets each user’s reach across areas such as banking, sales, and payroll. The rest of the answer, covering groups, managers, and the mobile Crew view, assumes that capability is already in place. Intuit frames groups as the organizing layer and the higher plan as the gate.

Rules the software enforces

Once groups exist, several constraints shape how they behave:

• Timesheet reports can cover the whole team or a single group.
• A member belongs to one group only. A new assignment moves them out of the previous group.
• One manager can oversee several groups.
• A manager placed inside the group they run holds managerial authority over their own entries.
• Managers get a Crew option in QuickBooks Workforce for handling the group from a phone.

How do you create a group?

Two routes lead there. The newer one starts under All apps, then Time, then Assignments, then Workers. Pick Create group, type a name unique among your groups, and choose Add workers. Search for the person. The list accepts a member of another group, who is moved upon assignment, or an active member with no group. Select Create group to finish.

The second route lives in QuickBooks Time itself: open My Team, choose Groups and Managers, then Add Group, name it, and save.

Rename, delete, or resize a group

To rename, locate the group, open the Actions menu beside View, and choose Edit group; adjust the name and save. Deletion uses the same Actions menu: pick Delete group and confirm. On the Groups and Managers screen, the edit and delete controls sit beside the group name instead.

Adding people later takes two forms. From Actions choose Assign workers, or open the group, select Assign, then Assign workers. Mark the extra workers and save. Removing one person means opening the group, finding the member, choosing View settings, then Remove worker.

Assigning managers and group leads

To hand a group to a manager, open the group and choose Managers. Search for the team member, select them, then Add. A remove icon beside a name clears that manager; close the panel when done. Group leads are assigned separately, through an Assign group leads option on the group record.

For a single member, open their profile and use the Group dropdown. Pick a group to assign them, or pick no group to unassign them, then save.

The Crew tab that fails to appear

Managers should see a Crew option under More in the Workforce app. When it is missing, the accepted answer points to setup rather than malfunction. The account admin may not have created a group yet, or may not have assigned that manager to one. Both steps done, the tab appears. From it, a manager can handle user accounts, manage and approve timesheets, manage schedules, and run reports from a phone.

The takeaway

If the goal is bespoke roles and tight permissions, the plan is the gate, and no menu tweak will open it. If the goal is simple grouping, the tools described above already work inside QuickBooks Time. Check which plan the company runs before treating the missing options as a defect.