Connect QuickBooks Online
About 25 minutes · For owners and admins · Needs Pro or Business · Last checked in v0.61.0, Oct 2026
With the connection on, Fifi sends each invoice you issue and each payment you record to your own QuickBooks Online company, and adds the payments you record in QuickBooks to the matching invoice in Fifi. This guide takes you from "not connected" to a working sync and shows what to check. It doesn't cover QuickBooks Desktop, Xero or other accounting software, or sending refunds (What Fifi doesn't do). The rules in full are in the QuickBooks sync reference. To move invoices by file instead, see Move invoices into QuickBooks with a file.
Heads up
This works once Fifi's Intuit setup is finished. Until then, Settings → Integrations says "QuickBooks sync: coming soon" and nothing is sent. After that, connecting works with Intuit's test ("sandbox") companies first; real companies follow once Intuit approves Fifi. A sandbox company shows a Sandbox: not your real books badge.
Before you start
- Who can do it: owners and admins, who must also be an admin of the QuickBooks company. Members see an invoice's QuickBooks status but can't connect.
- Needs: the Invoicing module (Pro or Business) and a US QuickBooks Online company that uses US dollars. It can't already be connected to another Fifi workspace.
- Have ready: your Intuit sign-in. Decide the product or service your invoice lines use in QuickBooks, and the account that holds payments until you deposit them ("Undeposited Funds" is the usual choice).
- Custom transaction numbers: QuickBooks keeps Fifi's invoice numbers only if this is on. Fifi can turn it on for you (below).
- Not in a sample. A sample workspace can't connect.
Steps
- Open Settings → Integrations.
- On the QuickBooks Online card, click Connect to QuickBooks. Fifi sends you to Intuit.
- Sign in to Intuit, choose the company and allow access. Fifi asks for Accounting access only.
- You come back to Fifi. The card shows the Company, Connected (by whom and when), Status and Last checked. Fifi found a default product ("Services") and account ("Undeposited Funds").
- Below the card, in the QuickBooks settings form, set Product or service. Choose another product under Other products or services for some lines (optional) if visits, stays, deals or loads should go to their own item.
- Set Deposit payments to, the account payments recorded in Fifi go to. If Stripe is connected, set Deposit Stripe payments to as well. A bank account named "Stripe", used as a clearing account, works well.
- Set Sales tax code only if your QuickBooks company doesn't work out sales tax itself. If it does, the field isn't shown.
- Choose Send invoices issued on or after. It starts the day you connected. Pick an earlier day to send older invoices too, up to two years back and 2,000 invoices, oldest first.
- Leave Bring in payments recorded in QuickBooks on, unless payments are only ever recorded in Fifi.
- Click Save settings.
- If the card says "Waiting: custom transaction numbers are off in QuickBooks", click Turn it on in QuickBooks. If QuickBooks won't allow that, the page shows where to turn it on by hand.
- Click Sync now to send what's waiting at once.
What you'll see: "Saved." and, on the card, Status "Up to date" with counts of Synced, Waiting and Needs attention.
What syncs, and when
| In Fifi | In QuickBooks |
|---|---|
| You issue an invoice (Send… or Mark as sent…) | The invoice is created within about a minute, with the same number, dates, lines and total. The customer is found by name or created. Drafts are never sent |
| An owner or admin corrects an invoice | The invoice is updated |
| An owner or admin voids an invoice | It's voided there and keeps its number |
| You record a payment, or a customer pays online | A payment is created and applied to the invoice, in the account you chose |
| You void a payment | It's voided there |
| You record a refund | Not sent. It's listed under What needs a look so you can record it in QuickBooks by hand and click Mark as done |
An example. The pest control invoice INV-1042 from the first invoice guide totals $156.53: a subtotal of $144.99 plus $11.54 of sales tax. When you send it, it appears in QuickBooks with that total. You record a $100.00 check in Fifi, and a $100.00 payment appears in QuickBooks against the invoice. Later your bookkeeper records the remaining $56.53 in QuickBooks. Fifi reads it and adds a payment of $56.53 to the invoice, labelled Recorded in QuickBooks. The invoice is Paid in both places.
Sales tax is sent as Fifi's amount, then checked. If QuickBooks works out a different total, the invoice is listed with both amounts. Each change is sent once, even if the connection drops. If QuickBooks doesn't answer, Fifi tries again after 1 minute, 5, 15, an hour, six hours and a day, then lists it with a Retry button.
Payments recorded in QuickBooks
If your bookkeeper records a check in QuickBooks against an invoice Fifi sent there, Fifi adds it to that invoice. It checks when Intuit tells it something changed, and again every hour.
- Only invoices Fifi sent. A payment on an invoice typed straight into QuickBooks is left alone.
- Never more than the balance. If a payment would take the invoice past what's owed, nothing is added and it's listed.
- Credits are listed, not guessed.
- If the amount or day changes in QuickBooks, Fifi voids its copy and records the new one. If it's deleted there, Fifi voids its copy.
- You change these payments in QuickBooks, not in Fifi. Void is hidden on them.
Turn off Bring in payments recorded in QuickBooks to stop this. Turning it on again brings in what was recorded while it was off, once.
Reading the status
- On an invoice, the chip says QuickBooks: Synced · Open in QuickBooks, Waiting to sync or Needs attention.
- On the card, Status says "Up to date", "Syncing", "Needs attention", or why it's stuck: "Paused: needs a product and a deposit account", "Waiting: custom transaction numbers are off in QuickBooks" or "Needs reconnecting".
- Last sent and Last checked say when Fifi last sent changes and last read QuickBooks.
- The Invoices list has a Needs attention in QuickBooks filter.
What needs a look
Under the card, What needs a look lists every change QuickBooks refused or that couldn't be sent, in plain words. Each has what you can do: Retry, Send it again, Mark as done or Open in QuickBooks. "No problems. Everything's in QuickBooks." means the list is empty. Mark as done means you looked; it won't come back unless QuickBooks changes.
If you contact Intuit about a problem, the row shows QuickBooks' numeric code and a request ID they ask for.
If it says "needs reconnecting"
Intuit's key stopped working: someone removed Fifi from QuickBooks' connected apps, or the company's access changed. Owners and admins see a banner on Invoices and on the card. Everything waits, nothing is lost. Click Reconnect and sign in to the same company. Waiting changes go out in order, with no duplicates.
Disconnecting
Click Disconnect and confirm "Disconnect QuickBooks?". Fifi stops sending and deletes its key. What's already in QuickBooks stays there. Settings and the record of which invoice is which are kept, so connecting the same company again carries on without duplicates.
Tick Also forget QuickBooks links to delete that record too. Use it for a data-deletion request, or before connecting a different company.
What Fifi shares with Intuit
For each invoice from your start date: its number, dates, the bill-to name, email and address, lines, sales tax, total and notes. For each payment: amount, date and reference. Fifi reads your company's name, country and settings, its products, accounts and tax codes for the pick lists, and the payments and invoices that changed. Data in QuickBooks is covered by your agreement with Intuit. Never paste an Intuit secret into an email to Fifi support.
Check your work
- To do: Status says "Up to date", or you know why it doesn't.
- To do: A recently sent invoice shows QuickBooks: Synced, and Open in QuickBooks shows the same number and total.
- To do: A payment recorded in Fifi appears in QuickBooks in the account you chose.
- To do: What needs a look is empty, or you've read each row.
- To do: You decided whether refunds will be recorded in QuickBooks by hand.
- To do: You aren't also importing the same invoices from a file.
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "QuickBooks sync: coming soon" | Fifi's Intuit setup isn't finished | Use the file export until it is |
| "QuickBooks already has a different invoice with this number. Check it in QuickBooks." | An older invoice in QuickBooks has Fifi's number | Rename or delete it in QuickBooks, then Retry |
| "The product or service chosen for this invoice isn't in QuickBooks any more. Pick another in the QuickBooks settings, then retry." | The item was deleted or renamed | Pick another under QuickBooks settings, then Retry |
| "The deposit account chosen for this payment isn't in QuickBooks any more. Pick another in the QuickBooks settings, then retry." | The account was deleted or renamed | Pick another Deposit payments to, then Retry |
| "This invoice has sales tax, but no sales tax code is chosen. Pick one in the QuickBooks settings, then retry." | QuickBooks doesn't work out tax itself and no code is set | Choose a Sales tax code, then Retry |
| "This invoice has sales tax, but sales tax is turned off in QuickBooks. Turn it on there, then retry." | The company's sales tax setting is off | Turn it on in QuickBooks, then Retry |
| "QuickBooks worked out a different total than Fifi's invoice. Check the customer's sales tax settings in QuickBooks." | QuickBooks taxed the customer differently | Check the customer's tax settings in QuickBooks, then Mark as done |
| "QuickBooks isn't keeping Fifi's invoice numbers yet. Turn on custom transaction numbers, then retry." | Custom transaction numbers is off | Click Turn it on in QuickBooks |
| "Fifi doesn't send refunds to QuickBooks. Record this refund in QuickBooks, then mark it done." | Refunds aren't sent | Record it in QuickBooks, then Mark as done |
| "QuickBooks didn't answer after several tries. Retry, and if it keeps happening, check QuickBooks' status page." | Intuit didn't answer | Retry later |
The full list of messages is in Invoicing troubleshooting.
Related
- QuickBooks sync reference: every rule and message.
- Move invoices into QuickBooks with a file: the other way, for Desktop and Online.
- Take card payments with Stripe: Stripe payments sync to QuickBooks too.
- Choose how you'll invoice: sync or file.
- Invoices: payments recorded in QuickBooks, labelled Recorded in QuickBooks.
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