Connect QuickBooks Online and work the fix-it queue

Overview#

TradesWork keeps QuickBooks Online up to date automatically. When an invoice is sent, a payment comes in or a refund goes out, it's queued and posted to QuickBooks: customers are matched or created, invoices posted (and updated if they change), payments applied and refunds posted as refund receipts. Sync is one way, TradesWork to QuickBooks, and never creates duplicates. Anything QuickBooks rejects lands in the fix-it queue with a plain explanation.

Before you start#

• Seeing and working the QuickBooks page needs accounting.manage (Owner, Admin, Accounting).

• Connecting or disconnecting QuickBooks needs settings.manage (Owner, Admin). Accounting sees "An owner or admin can connect QuickBooks."

• You need QuickBooks Online admin access. QuickBooks Desktop and Xero aren't supported.

• Agree a cutover date with your bookkeeper first.

Steps#

Connect#

1. Go to Settings › Integrations › QuickBooks Online.

2. Click Connect QuickBooks, sign in to Intuit and pick the company. You'll see "QuickBooks is connected. Set your cutover date and check the mapping, then sync."

Choose what posts and how#

1. Cutover date: only sync invoices dated on or after. Earlier invoices stay with your previous system.

2. When no QuickBooks customer matches by name or email: Create the customer in QuickBooks (default) or Ask me first (fix-it queue).

3. Sales tax: Separate sales tax line (works with every company) (recommended, and works with Automated Sales Tax), or QuickBooks tax code with our amount (not for Automated Sales Tax). TradesWork always calculates the tax.

4. Items: pick the QuickBooks item for the Default, Services, Materials and Equipment, and optionally By pricebook category (wins over the kind).

5. Tax, payments and refunds: Sales tax line item, Tax code (tax code option only), Payments go to (Undeposited Funds recommended), Refunds are paid from, Refunds book against.

6. Click Save. Saving also re-queues anything that failed because of setup.

Sync#

1. Sync runs automatically every few minutes. Click Sync now to run it immediately.

2. Sync status shows Last run, Waiting, Retrying, Need attention and Posted.

3. Recent activity lists the last 25 items as Posted, Skipped, Needs attention, Waiting or Retrying.

What posts, and when#

• Invoices post when they're sent, and are updated in QuickBooks when they change afterwards. Drafts don't post.

• Payments post as they happen, applied up to the invoice's open balance in QuickBooks. Anything extra stays as a customer credit.

• Refunds post as QuickBooks refund receipts, not credit memos.

• Skipped: invoices dated before the cutover, invoices imported from your old system, and drafts.

• If Hold invoices back from QuickBooks until they pass review or are approved is on (Job costing), invoices wait for review.

• Temporary QuickBooks problems retry automatically (up to 8 tries, waiting longer each time).

Work the fix-it queue#

1. Fix-it queue lists what didn't post, such as "Invoice #1042" or "Payment of $X on invoice #N", with the reason.

2. Fix the cause (usually a mapping or a name in QuickBooks), then click Retry.

3. If you already handled it in QuickBooks yourself, click Mark handled and confirm. TradesWork won't post it.

Disconnect or reconnect#

• Disconnect stops posting; changes keep queuing and post when you reconnect.

• If QuickBooks ends the connection, the badge shows Reconnect needed. Click Reconnect QuickBooks; nothing is lost.

Settings that change this#

• Settings › Integrations › QuickBooks Online: everything above.

• Accounting › Job Costing › Invoice review: Hold invoices back from QuickBooks until they pass review or are approved.

Tips#

• Use the separate sales tax line unless your bookkeeper insists on tax codes. It avoids double tax.

• Map materials and equipment to their own income items so QuickBooks reports split revenue the way you do.

• After the first sync, open a few invoices in QuickBooks and compare totals.

Troubleshooting#

• "Choose a default QuickBooks item in Settings → Accounting (your company has no "Services" item)." → pick a Default item and save.

• "Choose a QuickBooks item for sales tax…" / "Choose the QuickBooks sales tax code…" → fill the tax mappings, or switch to a separate tax line.

• "No QuickBooks customer is named "X"…" → create or rename the customer in QuickBooks, or let TradesWork create customers, then Retry.

• "QuickBooks already has an invoice #N for a different customer." → raise where your job numbers start (Settings › Tools › Import / Export Data) or renumber in QuickBooks.

• "QuickBooks shows $X for invoice #N but TradesWork has $Y." → usually tax; check the tax setting, then retry.

• "…its date is in a closed period." → ask your bookkeeper to reopen the period in QuickBooks, then retry.

• "Invoice #N was deleted in QuickBooks." → Retry to post it again.

• "Invoice #N isn't in QuickBooks (it was imported / dated before your cutover)…" → add the invoice in QuickBooks with that number and retry, or record the payment by hand and Mark handled.

• "QuickBooks isn't connected. This server doesn't have a QuickBooks app set up yet…" → contact support.

FAQ#

Does anything come back from QuickBooks into TradesWork? No. TradesWork is the source of truth. QuickBooks only tells TradesWork when a posted record was deleted or voided there, so you can fix it.

If I edit a customer in TradesWork, does QuickBooks update? No. Customers are matched or created once and not updated afterwards.

Are bills, payroll or deposits synced? Not yet. Supplier bills, payroll and Stripe payout matching don't sync to QuickBooks.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

• Same: invoices and payments flow to QuickBooks Online with item and account mapping.

• Different: there are no export batches to run. Everything posts on its own, and failures wait in one fix-it queue.

• Where it lived: ServiceTitan's QuickBooks Online integration and accounting export; Settings › Integrations › QuickBooks Online in TradesWork.