Connect QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online (QBO) is the deepest integration in Service Buddy. It keeps your clients, items, invoices, and payments aligned across both systems so your bookkeeper isn’t double-entering anything.

This guide walks through the full setup and explains exactly what syncs which way — including the QuickBooks-side configuration most teams miss.

Before you start

You need:

• An active QuickBooks Online subscription (Desktop is not supported).
• Admin access in Service Buddy.
• Admin access in QuickBooks (you’ll be granting permission to Service Buddy and editing company settings).
• 30–45 minutes the first time — most of it is on the QuickBooks side, configuring the fields and rates you want synced.

Connect QuickBooks to Service Buddy

1. Go to Settings → Integrations.
2. Find QuickBooks Online and click Connect.
3. Sign in to QuickBooks and authorize Service Buddy when prompted.
4. You’ll be redirected back to Service Buddy with a green Connected badge.

Once connected, the integration page shows your sync option toggles, account mapping, manual sync, and logs.

Choose what to sync

In the QuickBooks integration panel, toggle each sync you want on:

• Sync clients — clients and properties ↔ QuickBooks customers and sub-customers.
• Sync products & services — your item catalog ↔ QuickBooks items.
• Sync invoices — push invoices from Service Buddy to QuickBooks.
• Sync payments — push payment records alongside their invoices (only takes effect when invoice sync is on).

You can change these toggles any time without breaking existing links.

Map QuickBooks accounts

Service Buddy needs to know which accounts in your QuickBooks chart of accounts to use:

Mapping	What it’s for
Income Account	Revenue line for each invoice line item
Discount Account	Where invoice discounts are booked
Tax Account	Where collected tax is booked

1. In the integration panel, click Setup Account to open the QuickBooks Account Setup dialog.
2. Click Refresh (top right) to pull the latest accounts from QuickBooks.
3. Pick the right account for each mapping.
4. Click Save.

If you reorganize your chart of accounts in QuickBooks later, open the dialog again and click Refresh before re-mapping.

Configure QuickBooks (one-time setup)

A few settings live on the QuickBooks side. If you skip these, syncing will fail or skip values silently. Do all four before your first sync.

1. Enable the Deposit field on invoices

Required if you collect deposits on invoices.

1. In QuickBooks, click the ⚙ Settings (gear icon) → Sales (under “Your Company”).
2. In Sales form content, click Edit (pencil icon).
3. Turn ON the Deposit field.
4. Click Save, then Done.

2. Create custom fields with matching names

If you want any of your Service Buddy invoice custom fields to flow through to QuickBooks, the field has to exist on both sides with the exact same name.

1. In QuickBooks, click ⚙ Settings → Custom fields (under “Lists”).
2. Click Add field.
3. Name the field exactly as it’s named in Service Buddy (case and spelling matter).
4. Mark the field as Internal and Active.
5. Click Save.

Repeat for every custom field you want synced.

3. Enable class tracking (optional, for class codes)

If you use class codes to categorize revenue (by location, service line, salesperson), enable class tracking in QuickBooks and add a matching field in Service Buddy.

1. In QuickBooks, click ⚙ Settings → Account and settings → Advanced tab.
2. In Categories, click Edit and check Track classes.
3. Choose how you want classes assigned (per transaction or per row).
4. Click Save, then Done.
5. In Service Buddy, go to Settings → Custom Fields → Invoice and create a custom field literally named class code (lowercase, with the space — must match exactly).

4. Match tax rates

Every tax rate that touches a synced invoice must exist in both Service Buddy and QuickBooks with the same name and the same percentage. Mismatches cause invoices to fail to sync.

1. In QuickBooks, go to Taxes → Sales Tax → Tax Rates and Agencies.
2. Note each rate’s name and percentage.
3. In Service Buddy, go to Settings → Company Settings → Tax Settings tab and create or edit rates so name and percentage match exactly.

If you add a new tax rate later, add it on both sides before using it on a synced invoice.

What syncs which way

Entity	Service Buddy → QuickBooks	QuickBooks → Service Buddy	Notes
Clients / Customers	✅ Both archived and active	✅ Active only	Two-way, ongoing
Properties	✅ As QuickBooks sub-customers	✅ One level deep — nested sub-customers are skipped	Two-way
Products & Services	✅ Always sync as services	✅ Active only — QBO inventory items become products, services/non-inventory become services	Bundles do not sync
Invoices	✅ Ongoing (manual push)	⚠️ First-time sync only	After first sync, edits don’t flow back
Payments	✅ When “Sync payments” is on	⚠️ First-time sync only	Cannot sync payments on zero-amount invoices

Clients and properties

• A Service Buddy client = a QuickBooks customer.
• A Service Buddy property = a QuickBooks sub-customer under that client.
• Sub-customers nested under sub-customers in QuickBooks are not pulled — Service Buddy syncs one level only.
• Archived clients in Service Buddy push up; only active customers come down from QuickBooks.

Products and services

• Everything in your Service Buddy catalog pushes up to QuickBooks as services, regardless of how it’s classified internally.
• A line item you type freehand on an invoice (not picked from the catalog) is recorded as a service in both systems.
• Bundles in QuickBooks do not come over to Service Buddy.
• If a product is set as inventory in QuickBooks, using it on a synced invoice decrements your QuickBooks inventory automatically.

Invoices

• Invoice sync is one-way ongoing (Service Buddy → QuickBooks). Invoices created in QuickBooks come into Service Buddy only on the first sync.
• After the first sync, any edits you make in either system have to be made in both to keep them aligned.
• The one exception: when an invoice is fully paid in Service Buddy, the Paid status updates in QuickBooks automatically.
• Invoices sync to the parent customer in QuickBooks, not to a sub-customer (because properties don’t have an active live sync).
• A tax used on the invoice must exist with matching name and percentage in QuickBooks, or that invoice won’t sync.

Payments

• Payment sync is one-way (Service Buddy → QuickBooks).
• Requires both Sync invoices and Sync payments to be on.
• Zero-amount invoices can sync, but payments on zero-amount invoices cannot — that’s a QuickBooks limitation, not a Service Buddy one.

Push an invoice to QuickBooks

For day-to-day use, the typical flow is:

1. Open the invoice you want to sync.
2. Click More Actions in the top-right and select Push To QuickBooks.
3. Repeat for any other invoices you want to send.
4. Go to Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks Online.
5. Click Manual Sync.

All queued invoices push at once. There’s no need to push each one individually if you’re queuing up several.

See Sync invoices to QuickBooks for the day-to-day invoice workflow.

Check sync status and logs

• Each invoice and client carries a QuickBooks status badge (Pushed / Not Pushed) on its list view.
• You can filter the invoice list by Pushed to QuickBooks or Not pushed to find what’s outstanding.
• Click Show Logs in the integration panel to see results from the most recent manual sync — successes and errors per record.

Troubleshooting

An invoice failed to sync

The most common reasons, in order:

1. Tax mismatch. A tax rate on the invoice doesn’t exist in QuickBooks with the same name and percentage. Fix the rate in QuickBooks, then run Manual Sync again.
2. Duplicate or near-duplicate client name in QuickBooks. “Smith Family” vs “Smith Family Trust” can stall the match. Clean up duplicates in QuickBooks, then retry.
3. Custom field name mismatch. A field on the Service Buddy invoice doesn’t have an exact-match field in QuickBooks. Create the matching field in QuickBooks (Internal, Active) or rename the Service Buddy field.
4. Class code missing. If you’re using class codes, the Service Buddy invoice has a class code custom field but the value doesn’t exist as a class in QuickBooks. Add the class in QuickBooks, then retry.

A QuickBooks customer didn’t pull into Service Buddy

• Only active QuickBooks customers come over. Check that the customer isn’t archived in QuickBooks.
• Nested sub-customers (sub-customer of a sub-customer) are skipped. Move them up to one level deep if you want them.

A QuickBooks bundle didn’t pull into Service Buddy

Bundles don’t sync. Replace the bundle with the underlying items in QuickBooks if you want them in Service Buddy, or recreate the bundle as a single service item.

Payments aren’t appearing in QuickBooks

• Confirm Sync payments is toggled on in the integration settings.
• Confirm the parent invoice has already pushed to QuickBooks — payments only push alongside their invoice.
• Zero-amount invoices can’t have synced payments — that’s a QuickBooks limitation.

Edits I made in QuickBooks aren’t showing up in Service Buddy

After the first sync, invoice and payment edits made in QuickBooks don’t flow back to Service Buddy. Make the edit in both systems, or treat one system as the master for edits.

Disconnect QuickBooks

1. Go to Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks Online.
2. Click Disconnect.

Disconnecting:

• Stops new sync immediately.
• Leaves all previously synced data intact in both systems.
• Preserves the QuickBooks links on existing records, so reconnecting later resumes mappings without re-pushing everything.

FAQ

Does Service Buddy support QuickBooks Desktop?

No — only QuickBooks Online. Desktop users would need to migrate to QuickBooks Online to use this integration.

Can I push quotes (estimates) to QuickBooks?

Day-to-day, retailers push invoices, not quotes. Quotes stay in Service Buddy until they’re approved and converted into a job and an invoice.

Will the integration overwrite work I’ve already done in QuickBooks?

No. Service Buddy creates new records in QuickBooks. It doesn’t edit existing QuickBooks records that weren’t created from a Service Buddy push (other than updating Paid status on previously-synced invoices).

How often does sync run?

Manual — you control when. Click Manual Sync in the integration panel, or queue individual invoices using More Actions → Push To QuickBooks and then run Manual Sync to send them.

Can multiple staff members push to QuickBooks?

Yes — anyone with permission to edit invoices can push them. Only Admin can connect, disconnect, or change the integration settings.

What happens if my QuickBooks login expires?

You’ll see a warning badge on the integration page. Click Reconnect, sign in again, and sync resumes. Existing record links are preserved.

Can I undo a push?

Not directly. Delete the unwanted invoice or customer in QuickBooks. The Service Buddy side keeps its push timestamp; pushing again creates a fresh record in QuickBooks.

Related articles

• See available integrations
• Sync invoices to QuickBooks (day-to-day workflow)