Students do the work in QuickBooks Online, export the report the book asks for, and upload it. The smart grader compares the file to an answer key, check by check, and scores it. You see every check, and you can change any of them.
- What students upload
- The Excel file QuickBooks exports, up to 5 MB
- Two exceptions
- The printed-check steps in chapters 5 and 10 take a PDF
- Is it AI?
- No. The same file always gets the same score
- Who has the last word
- You
What happens when a student uploads
The file is read
If it can't be read, the student is told how to export it again, and the upload lands in your Needs you tab.
Every check runs
Each check compares one value, like an account name or a total, with the answer key. Spelling and spacing are forgiven; names and numbers are not. Document numbers (check or invoice numbers) are ignored, because a student's can differ.
The score is worked out
Points earned out of points possible. Some checks are for information only and never change the score.
The student sees it, or you hold it
With Smart grading on, the student sees their score right away. With it off, the score waits in Needs you until you release it. See Hold grades and release them.
File integrity
Each upload also gets a File integrity reading: Trusted, Review or Suspect. It looks for signs the file was edited after QuickBooks exported it. It never changes the score or blocks anything. Treat it as a reason to take a look, not an accusation.
What it does not do
- It never logs in to QuickBooks Online. It only reads the uploaded file.
- It doesn't judge method. Two students who reach the same correct report both get credit.
- It doesn't hold up a student's progress. Completing a chapter doesn't depend on uploads.
Changing a grade
| If… | See |
|---|---|
| One check on a QuickBooks upload is wrong | Fix a smart grader score |
| A grade is waiting for your review | Hold grades and release them |
| A chapter exam score is wrong | Change a student's exam grade |
| You can't find a student's score | A student says their score is missing |
Download uploads, in the gear menu on the class page, gets every student's latest file as one .zip.
One student's assignments
On a student's page, open a chapter and choose View on the Smart grader card. Each assignment shows its attempts, score and status, with Download key beside it. Open one to see the student's file beside the answer key, then how it was graded: every check, what the grader found in their file, and the points. A check they missed usually has a button to the step in the book that teaches it, and one that opens the screen in QuickBooks where it is fixed, such as Invoices or the chart of accounts. That button opens the QuickBooks company you are signed in to, not the student's.
The answer key is the original key file for the assignment, the report the author exported from QuickBooks, exactly as it was uploaded. A few assignments have no key file yet, and say so. Until one is added, the same download gives you the smart grader's checklist instead: each check and the value it expects, headed as not the author's key.
Questions we get about this
- Is the grading done by AI?
- No. Each check compares a value from the file with the answer key. A student who misses the same check twice can ask for an AI explanation of it; it is labelled as AI, never changes a score, and you can switch it off under AI help in Class settings.