> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://learn.withessential.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://learn.withessential.com/reporting-and-integrations/accounting/connecting-quickbooks-online.md). # Connecting QuickBooks Online You connect QuickBooks Online from Settings -> Invoicing, in the Accounting section. Click Connect QuickBooks Online and you'll be sent to Intuit to sign in and authorize your company; when you're returned to Essential the card shows Connected, along with your company and the chart of accounts pulled from QuickBooks. Before anything posts, you complete Account Mapping: for each scenario in Essential - Accounts Receivable, Revenue, processing fees, the bank and clearing accounts, each mark-as-paid payment method, sales tax, bad debt, and refunds - you pick the matching QuickBooks account. Essential won't post until every required mapping is filled in, and the card confirms when mapping is complete. What syncs: Essential posts your financial activity to QuickBooks as journal entries - not as individual QuickBooks invoices or customers - grouped under a single placeholder customer named after your business. Entries are created automatically as events happen: invoices are finalized, payments are received, payouts land, and refunds or write-offs occur. With QuickBooks Online these post immediately. One nuance worth knowing: if your business uses accrual accounting, invoice-level entries post; if you're on cash accounting, the invoice entries are skipped while payments and payouts still post. Essential only reads your chart of accounts from QuickBooks - it never pulls your QuickBooks invoices or customers back into Essential. You can connect one accounting provider at a time. Setting this up requires invoicing to be enabled and a role with permission to set up integrations. If Connect QuickBooks Online or Account Mapping is missing but you need to manage accounting setup, contact your business's administrator to review your role. > **Where to find it:** Settings -> Invoicing -> scroll to the Accounting section -> Connect QuickBooks Online, then complete Account Mapping. ## Related guides * [Account mapping for QuickBooks](/reporting-and-integrations/accounting/account-mapping-for-quickbooks.md) * [What syncs to QuickBooks](/reporting-and-integrations/accounting/what-syncs-to-quickbooks.md) * [Connecting QuickBooks Desktop (Web Connector)](/reporting-and-integrations/accounting/connecting-quickbooks-desktop-web-connector.md) --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://learn.withessential.com/reporting-and-integrations/accounting/connecting-quickbooks-online.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.