> 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/what-syncs-to-quickbooks.md). # What syncs to QuickBooks Essential keeps your QuickBooks books in step by posting your financial activity as journal entries. It does not push your individual invoices or customer records into QuickBooks. Instead, every entry is booked against a single placeholder customer that Essential creates and reuses, named after your business (for example, EssentialCustomer - Your Business). For QuickBooks Desktop, longer names use the shorter prefix Essential - Your Business. If the name still exceeds QuickBooks' customer-name limit, Essential shortens it and adds a short identifying suffix. Essential reuses that customer on subsequent syncs. This keeps the accounting accurate without cluttering your QuickBooks customer list. What posts depends on your accounting method, set on your business. If you're on accrual, invoice-level entries post: finalizing an invoice records Accounts Receivable, Revenue, and any sales tax; voiding an invoice reverses that; writing off an uncollectable invoice books bad debt; and starting a refund records the refund obligation. If you're on cash, those invoice-level entries are skipped, because cash-basis books recognize income when money moves, not when an invoice is created. Payments, payouts, and refund disbursements post either way, on both cash and accrual. An accrual payment records cash and clears the receivable. A cash-basis payment records cash, revenue, and the applicable tax portion, including for partial payments. Processor payouts move funds from the clearing account to your operating bank. Cash refunds reverse the original receipt’s recognition; accrual refunds clear the refund obligation. Revenue can be split among income accounts using [conditional rules, item mappings, and invoice line overrides](/reporting-and-integrations/accounting/account-mapping-for-quickbooks.md#route-revenue-using-custom-fields). Each line uses its manual override first, then the first matching active rule when rules are enabled, then its pricebook account when item mappings are enabled, then the business fallback. Configure the independent **Use revenue mapping rules** and **Map pricebook items to different revenue accounts** toggles in **Settings → Invoicing → Accounting**, then click **Save Account Mappings**. Turning rules off retains their definitions and does not change revenue already recorded. Rules can read Job and Invoice custom fields and restrict matching to selected items or categories. Discounts are spread proportionally across the revenue accounts, and refunds retain the accounts used for the original revenue. These mappings do not create inventory asset or COGS postings. [Change your accounting method](/reporting-and-integrations/accounting/change-accounting-method.md) with Save and confirmation in Accounting settings. Changes apply prospectively: outstanding transactions keep their established treatment, and posted entries are not rewritten. A payment's entry is net of the fee Stripe kept on that charge (booked to Fees Expense), with any processing fee you billed the customer booked to Processing Fee Revenue. Stripe also bills a few account-level fees that are not tied to any one charge - Radar fraud screening and Stripe Tax calculations, for example - and deducts them from the payout that sweeps them. The payout entry books those to Fees Expense too, so the amount that leaves the clearing account always equals the payments received, and the bank line always equals the deposit you actually see. When a customer pays several invoices in one checkout, Essential applies a separate payment to each invoice and splits the charge's processor fees between them. The combined charge is counted once. QuickBooks receives the invoice-level accounting automatically; the payout creates one bank entry for the net deposit. Match the bank-feed deposit to that payout entry, rather than adding a second deposit or splitting it by invoice. Refunds retain each invoice's accounting allocation. New payment journal-entry memos begin with the reference entered for the payment method, such as **Check #: 1042** or **Confirmation #: Z-1042**, and the Essential invoice number. Payment notes follow the accounting details. This applies to cash and accrual entries sent to QuickBooks Online or Desktop. The saved field label and value remain unchanged when an admin later renames or removes the method. Already-posted entries are not rewritten. In QuickBooks Desktop, payment journals with a saved payment-method reference use that reference in the **No.** column of **Payments to Deposit**. When both fit, the number also includes the Essential invoice, with spaces around the slash, for example **104 / I2057**. Desktop limits this field to 11 characters, so Essential removes the spaces when needed to retain both numbers, for example **1042/I2057**. If both still do not fit, the payment reference takes priority, and longer references are shortened there. The full reference and invoice number remain in the journal memo. This applies to new and still-pending exports; journals already in QuickBooks keep their existing numbers. To collect a check number, enable the check reference field in [Manual Payment Methods](/administration/settings/customize-manual-payment-methods.md) and enter it when recording the payment. If a check has no saved reference, Essential also recognizes notes containing one numeric check number, such as **Check #1042**, **#1042**, **1042**, or **QBO Ck#1042**, optionally followed by **- in QBO** or **- posted in QBO**. The original note stays in the memo. Essential does not guess a check number from other prose, dates, amounts, or multiple checks. Eight-digit numbers that form a valid date (YYYYMMDD, MMDDYYYY, or DDMMYYYY) are excluded from this fallback; an explicitly saved check reference is still used. Without a recognized reference, Desktop keeps the existing Essential identifier. QuickBooks Online retains its unique Essential journal number, which protects against duplicate entries during sync retries. Use the memo to see the check reference and Essential invoice number together. New journal entries also identify the activity, customer, invoice number, and payment method when available. Card and bank payments include the card brand or bank name and last four digits when those details were saved. Site, job, and PO references appear when available. Refunds identify the original payment method, and payouts include the processor and payout reference. Each line still explains its accounting purpose, such as a processor fee or payment applied to an invoice. QuickBooks Online also shows a saved line description in the entry's memo. The descriptions include a time with your business's timezone and UTC offset. Processed payments use the saved processing time when available. Manual payments show **Recorded in Essential at**: the time you recorded the payment, which can differ from the payment date you entered. Other journal activities show when their journal was recorded in Essential. These details are saved when the journal is created, so later edits or sync retries do not rewrite them. They do not change the entry's amounts, account mappings, posting date, or QuickBooks customer association. Entries only reach QuickBooks once your account mapping is complete and the connection is active and verified. ## What date an entry posts on A payment you record by hand posts on the payment date you entered, not the day you entered it — so a check you deposited last week and recorded today books on last week's date and lines up with your bank statement. This applies to a single Record Payment and to Bulk Actions → Record a payment alike. See [Record a payment on an invoice](/revenue/invoices/record-a-payment-on-an-invoice.md). Card and bank payments taken through Essential post on the day they're processed. You can opt in to email and Essential notifications for QuickBooks Online invoice journal entries that remain failed after Essential's safe retry, Online failures that immediately need mapping or manual review, and QuickBooks Desktop entries that reach a terminal Web Connector failure. Configure recipients under **Settings -> Invoicing -> Accounting -> Journal sync failure alerts**. See [Connect QuickBooks to sync accounting](/administration/settings/connect-quickbooks-to-sync-accounting.md#get-notified-when-an-invoice-journal-entry-fails) for recipient behavior and troubleshooting. > **Where to find it:** Settings, then Invoicing, in the accounting integration section once QuickBooks is connected. ## Related guides * [Account mapping for QuickBooks](/reporting-and-integrations/accounting/account-mapping-for-quickbooks.md) * [Connecting QuickBooks Online](/reporting-and-integrations/accounting/connecting-quickbooks-online.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. 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