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How to Integrate with QuickBooks Online

Step-by-step instructions on how to set up and use the QuickBooks Online integration

Rachel avatar
Written by Rachel
Updated today

Overview: The QuickBooks Online integration is a direct integration meaning you can send employee work hours to QuickBooks Online when needed and with only a few clicks.

Instructions:


Connect QuickBooks Online

Important: The QuickBooks Online integration requires an Essentials, Plus, or Advanced subscription. You can find your version from within your QuickBooks Online account by:

  • Logging into QuickBooks Online.

  • Choose the Gear icon in the top right.

  • Select Account and Settings.

  • Choose Billing & Subscription.

  • You should see your chosen subscription.

We cannot support the Australian or UK versions of QuickBooks Online.

1. To connect and integrate with QuickBooks Online, you'll want to start by going to Settings --> Integrations:

2. Search for QuickBooks and click the Integrate with QuickBooks Online button:

3. Once on the integration page, click Connect to QuickBooks:

4. You'll be asked to sign in to your QuickBooks Online account if not already. After signing in, you'll then be prompted to connect to Buddy Punch by clicking the Connect button:

5. Once connected, you'll be taken back to the integration page where you'll see a green message stating You are connected to QuickBooks Online with the option to Disconnect:


Find Employee IDs

Important: We can only send time to QuickBooks Online for those marked as Employees in their system. We cannot send time to QuickBooks for Vendors, Contractors/1099 workers, or other non-employees.

Once you're connected to QuickBooks Online, you need to find the Employee ID in QuickBooks for each employee and enter that information into Buddy Punch.

1. To find the Employee ID in QuickBooks, start by clicking Payroll from the left-hand menu followed by Employees:


2. Click an employee name to enter their profile:


3. Scroll down to the Employment details section. If an Employee ID has already been entered, you'll see it listed here. If the field is blank, you can add an Employee ID by choosing Edit and following QuickBooks steps from there:


4. You'll then want to take that Employee ID and visit the profile for the user in Buddy Punch by clicking Employees in the top navigation:

5. And then View next to an employee name:


6. Once in the employee profile click Edit in the top right-hand corner:

7. Find the Employee ID field, enter the Employee ID you gathered from QuickBooks, and Save when done:

Important: You need to repeat this process for every employee for which you need to sync time.


Sync Employees

After connecting to QuickBooks Online and finding and entering employee IDs, you'll then need to sync your employees.

1. To sync employees, you'll want to start by going to Settings --> Integrations:

2. Search for QuickBooks and click the Integrate with QuickBooks Online button:

3. From the QuickBooks Online page, you will then want to click Sync Employees:

4. Doing so will sync any employees with an Employee ID in our system that matches an Employee ID in QuickBooks:

Important: Employees not being synced? Double-check that their Employee ID in our system matches what's shown in QuickBooks Online as outlined here.


Export Employee Time

Important: We can only export time activities to QuickBooks Online in one lump sum. We cannot export the hours by different categories like Reg, OT, or by time off. To help you quickly determine how to split the time, we recommend using the Payroll Export.

After having connected to QuickBooks, finding/entering Employee IDs, and syncing employees, you can then export their time to QuickBooks Online.

1. To export employee time to QuickBooks Online, you'll want to start by going to Settings --> Integrations:

2. Search for QuickBooks and click the Integrate with QuickBooks Online button:

3. And then click the Export to QuickBooks Online option:


4. Select the date range for the time entries you want to transfer to QuickBooks Online and then click Search:

5. If there's any time to send to QuickBooks Online for the date range selected it will populate below along with:

  • Employee names

  • Status (if they have any punches pending approval)

  • Total Hours to be Exported by Employee

  • Total Hours to be Exported Overall

6. After reviewing hours, you can export them to QuickBooks by clicking the Export to QuickBooks Online button:

Important: Once you Export to QuickBooks Online, you cannot export the same time again. It's recommended to ensure all work hours are accurate before exporting to QuickBooks Online.

7. Once the transfer is completed, you'll be taken back to the QuickBooks Integration page and will receive a confirmation message:


8. To review the time that was transferred, click the View Export History button:


View Employee Time

1. To view transferred time in QuickBooks, start by clicking Reports from the left-hand menu.

2. On the Reports page, you'll want to use the search bar in the top right to find the Time Activities by Employee Detail report:


3. At the top left of the report, you can enter which dates you want to view. These dates should align with your pay period dates in Buddy Punch. Click Run report when you've made your selections:

4. You should then see all employee time that has been transferred from Buddy Punch:

Important: If you find that time is missing in QuickBooks Online, please double-check that the dates you ran the report for match those you entered when exporting from Buddy Punch to QuickBooks.


QuickBooks Online Limitations

Subscription:

The QuickBooks Online integration requires an Essentials, Plus, or Advanced subscription. You can find your version from within your QuickBooks Online account by:

  • Logging into QuickBooks Online.

  • Choose the Gear icon in the top right.

  • Select Account and Settings.

  • Choose Billing & Subscription.

  • You should see your chosen subscription.

Country Versions:
We are not able to support the Australian or UK versions of QuickBooks Online.

Notes:

Employees can leave a note when tracking time or time off. The notes included with these entries will not be sent to QuickBooks Online.

Workers:

We can only send time to QuickBooks Online for those set up as Employees in their system. We cannot send time to QuickBooks for Vendors, Contractors/1099 workers, or other non-employees.

Time Activities:

We can only send time activities to QuickBooks Online in one lump sum. We cannot export the hours into Regular, Overtime, or separate time off hours. To help you quickly determine how to split the time, we recommend using the Payroll Export.

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