QuickBooks Online Integration

The initial integration of QuickBooks and Acctivate requires granting permissions for Acctivate to access your QuickBooks company. Once permission has been granted, Acctivate will do an initial import of data that you will review and map prior to the import of data.

  1. Launch Acctivate.
  2. In the Company menu, choose New company... and click Create.
  3. Select the QuickBooks company type, QuickBooks Online, in the popup window and click Start.
  4. The Acctivate Migration Wizard will appear. Follow the on-screen guide (see below) to complete the initial integration.
Note

The creation company process includes mapping and configuration options, outlined below.

Once you have reviewed the integration process in its entirety and are ready to proceed, contact your Onboarding Specialist to schedule the creation of your model or live company.

Connect to QuickBooks

On the Connect to QuickBooks page, click the Connect to QuickBooks button.

This will open up browser where you will be asked to sign into your Intuit account.

After signing in, select your QuickBooks Online company from the company list and click Next. Once completed, the browser will instruct you to return to the Acctivate.

Create Acctivate Company

The Create Acctivate Company screen allows you to enter the Company name. This Company name is limited to 118 characters and should not include spaces. The text entered in the Company field will appear as the Company name in the login screen of Acctivate; the name will also be used for the SQL Database name with the prefix "Acctivate$" added (e.g., Acctivate$MyCompany). This is not the name that will appear on reports generated from Acctivate.

Database Source
If multiple Data Sources have been previously configured for Acctivate, you will see an option to select which database sources should be used, the authentication type (Windows Authentication or SQL Authentication) and the connection credentials (if using SQL Authentication). If you do not see this option, the then default Acctivate Data Source is being used. Setting up multiple data sources is advanced and would be likely handled by your IT team; check with them if you have any questions.

Options

  • Import items from QuickBooks:
    • When checked, the item list from QuickBooks Online will be imported into Acctivate.
    • When unchecked, the item list will not be imported. Since the item list won't be imported, some of the create company steps are no longer required. Instead, you can skip to the Defaults section. After the Acctivate company has been created you can use the Product import tool. Regardless of the selection, the inventoried items in QuickBooks will be zeroed out and made inactive (unless you're creating a Model company, see below).
  • Acctivate Company Type:

    • Model: When Model is selected, a one time read-only import from QuickBooks Online is performed. The inventoried items will not be made inactive. This option allows you to use your real data in a test Acctivate environment. After the initial sync, Acctivate will not perform any more syncs with your QuickBooks Online company.

    • Production: When Production is selected, Acctivate will perform an initial import from QuickBooks and zero out the inventoried items. A Production Acctivate company will sync with QuickBooks Online. View the Sync Documentation for more information on the QuickBooks Online sync.

      You will have the option to choose which item types should be made inactive in QuickBooks Online, though it is recommended that at least the Inventory items are made inactive since Acctivate will take over inventory management functions.

When finished, click Next.

Acctivate will begin creating the database structure and import in some initial information that will be used on the following screens.

Product Classes from QuickBooks Sales Accounts

Before we can import your products from QuickBooks, you must create Acctivate product classes. Rather than associating a COGS and Sales account to each product like QuickBooks, Acctivate assigns each product a product class, and each product class is assigned a COGS and Sales account. In the below grid, there is one line for each COGS and Sales account combination in your QuickBooks Item List. Please enter in a Product Class ID and Product Class Description for each line.

Normally, you would create one Product Class per COGS and Sales account combination. However, if you have any accounts you no longer wish to use for future transactions, you may choose to enter identical Product Class IDs on multiple lines. In that case, select which account combination you wish to use for future transactions for each Product Class by checking the Primary Account Combination box on one of the lines for each of the unique product classes to be created. This action will not immediately affect account balances but will affect future inventory transactions.

As the informational message indicates, each combination of income and COGS accounts in QuickBooks is converted into a unique Product Class given an arbitrary Product Class ID (e.g. PC0, PC1, PC2, etc.).

In QuickBooks, only Inventoried products have both an income and COGS account associated with them, however other item types such as Non-inventoried, Service and Other Charge only have an income account associated with them. For those, you either need to select a COGS Account or combine that Product Class with another that has the (presumably) same income account by giving them the same ProductClassID and checking the Primary For checkbox on the row you want to keep.

In this screen you can only edit the Product Classes generated based on the income and COGS combinations found in QuickBooks. The next screen will allow you to add additional Product Classes. Click Next to move to the next screen.

Additional Product Classes

Any additional Product Classes can be added here. Or, you can add them in the Product Class section of the Configuration Manager at any time.

After you've added any additional Product Classes, click Next to move to the next screen.

Warehouse from QuickBooks

Each Inventory Asset account in QuickBooks will be automatically converted to a Warehouse. If more than one warehouse is created automatically, you can choose to Keep this warehouse, or you can select the Move inventory to warehouse... option and select which warehouse the inventory quantities and values should be moved to in Acctivate.

Later in this process when Acctivate begins the import, the inventoried items will be zeroed out in QuickBooks using a Balance Adjustment. The inventory is removed (Credited) from the Inventory GL Acct and added (Debited) to the Gain/Loss GL Acct for each warehouse. The inventory will be added into Acctivate via a Balance Adjustment to match what it was in QuickBooks. The first sync run in Acctivate after the create company process will synchronize the value of the Acctivate Balance Adjustment back to the Inventory Asset account (Debited) and Gain/Loss GL Acct (Credited) for the warehouse. It's recommended you have the correct Gain/Loss GL account selected before proceeding.

Additional Warehouses can be setup in Acctivate after the initial import. Click Next.

Branches from QuickBooks

The oldest Accounts Receivable account for each currency in QuickBooks will be automatically converted to a Branch.

This section will only show if more than one Branch is generated (i.e., you have more than one currency enabled that is used for sales transactions).

You may update Branch information now, or edit and add additional Branches after the initial import. Click Next.

Defaults

The Default screen is used to set default configuration values.

  • Default branch for customers
    This option only shows if more than one Branch detected (see Branches from QuickBooks above). New customers created in Acctivate will default to the Branch selected. This default can be changed later in the Customer section of the Configuration Manager.

  • Default product class for non-standard items
    Non-standard (see "Type" field in the "Detail Grid" section) products will use the Product Class selected here. This default can be changed later in the Inventory Options section of the Configuration Manager.

  • Cost Method
    Inventoried Products will be imported in with the cost method selected here. Lot and Serial numbered items are eligible to use "Actual" cost method, but after the initial import from QuickBooks you must identify which products are lot or serial numbered.

  • Import inventory quantities and amounts from QuickBooks or Create spreadsheet for importing inventory counts and amounts.

    • If the Import inventory quantities and amounts from QuickBooks option is selected, Acctivate will import in the Products and their inventory quantities.
    • If the Create spreadsheet for importing inventory counts and amounts option is selected, Acctivate will import in the Products, however their on hand quantities and amounts will be saved to an .xls spreadsheet. A corresponding import template (a Product import template named Initial Inventory) will be created. This allows you to modify the product information and quantities, then use the Acctivate import to update the information.
    Warning

    Certain product attributes cannot be changed for a product once there have been transactions or the product has been used. If you choose to import in the inventory quantities from QuickBooks and the product is inventoried, you will not be able to change certain attributes, such as the stocking unit, Control Type, Item Type or Cost Method.

    If you think you will need to make changes to these fields after the initial import, then it's suggested that you use the "Create spreadsheet for importing inventory counts and amounts" option to export the inventory quantities and do not import in Sales Orders. After making changes to the product attributes in Acctivate you can import in the inventory quantities.

  • Import inactive items with no stock on hand
    If checked, Acctivate will import in all active and inactive items from QuickBooks. If unchecked, Acctivate will only import in active items and inactive items that have quantity on hand.

Once you've set the defaults, click Next.

Import

When you click Next on the defaults screen, the import will begin.

Warning

There is no way to determine exactly how long the import will take. The numbers of transactions and lists will have an impact. The import process should not be stopped once started; therefore you should ensure you are prepared and take measures to prevent any interruptions (such as scheduled restarts or log offs).

Once the import is started, the data below will be imported in the following sequence (some steps have multiple sub-steps):

  • Import Products
  • Terms Codes
  • Payment Methods
  • Vendor Types
  • Employees
  • Tax Tables
  • Customers
  • Invoices
  • Payments
  • Payment Applications to Invoices

Once the import is completed the create company wizard will close and you will see the company name in the Login window. You can now Login to Acctivate.