QuickBooks sync: what syncs and what doesn't

The QuickBooks integration syncs one way: from OneTool to QuickBooks. Records you create and update in OneTool are pushed to QuickBooks automatically, usually within a couple of minutes. Changes made inside QuickBooks are never pulled back into OneTool, and the next time a synced record changes in OneTool it is pushed again, replacing edits made on the QuickBooks side.

• Clients become QuickBooks customers. They sync when created and again whenever their details change.
• Invoices sync when you send them (or when created, if the owner changes the timing on the Integrations tab), and edits to an already synced invoice sync again. Cancelling a synced invoice voids it in QuickBooks.
• Payments are recorded against the matching QuickBooks invoice when they are paid, if payment sync is turned on.
• Refunds post as a QuickBooks refund receipt against the customer once Stripe reports the refund as succeeded, if payment sync is turned on.
• SKUs become QuickBooks items the first time they are invoiced, posting to the income account chosen during setup. Lines without a SKU use the fallback OneTool Service item.

• Quotes and estimates. Only invoices and their payments reach QuickBooks.
• Deletes. Nothing you delete in OneTool is deleted in QuickBooks. An invoice that has synced, has an export queued or running, or has Stripe payment history is cancelled instead of deleted, and the cancel voids it in QuickBooks. Other records simply stop updating.
• Disputes. A chargeback is never exported. Record it in QuickBooks directly.
• Card processing fees and payouts. Stripe fees and payout deposits are not broken out in QuickBooks.
• History from before you connected. Older invoices and payments are not backfilled. Editing an older invoice after connecting does sync it.

While QuickBooks is connected, invoices and clients show a QuickBooks row in the detail sidebar and in the quick-look drawer. A record that has reached QuickBooks reads Synced with how long ago that happened. One that has not gone across yet reads Not synced yet, and one whose latest change was rejected reads Sync failed with a pointer to Sync issues, even if an earlier version had synced. A warning icon on a synced row means the record reached QuickBooks but came back different, most often because QuickBooks Automated Sales Tax adjusted the tax amount based on the addresses involved.

When a record cannot reach QuickBooks at all, it appears under Sync issues on the Integrations tab with the reason QuickBooks gave, and admins get an in-app notification the first time something fails. Fix the cause, then use Retry; the notification clears once the list is empty.

The QuickBooks card on the Integrations tab summarizes the connection. Its status line reads No sync issues when nothing is failing, or gives the number of records that failed to sync, and the card picks up a Needs attention badge until those are cleared. When the connection itself has stopped working, the badge reads Reconnect needed instead.

Intuit limits every QuickBooks connection to five years, after which OneTool can no longer refresh its access. In the last 30 days before that date the QuickBooks card shows the date and a Reconnect button. Reconnecting the same company keeps every sync link, so nothing re-syncs or duplicates; it only resets the clock. If the date passes without a reconnect, the card switches to Reconnect needed and syncing pauses until the owner reconnects.

• Duplicate name. QuickBooks requires customer names to be unique across customers, vendors, and employees. OneTool links to an exact customer match automatically; otherwise it adds a numeric suffix when Auto-resolve duplicate names is on, or reports the conflict under Sync issues when it is off.
• Missing Undeposited Funds account. Payments are recorded to your Undeposited Funds account. If your QuickBooks company does not have one, payment syncs fail under Sync issues until it exists; invoices still sync.
• Closed accounting period. QuickBooks rejects changes to a period your accountant has closed. Reopen the period or ignore the item.