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How to configure the QuickBooks Online integration
How to configure the QuickBooks Online integration

Configure the QuickBooks Online integration with Katana to have seamless synchronization of financial and inventory data.

Dayvid Lorbiecke avatar
Written by Dayvid Lorbiecke
Updated over 5 months ago

Setting up the QuickBooks Online integration with Katana lets you smoothly synchronize sales, purchases, and inventory data between the two platforms. The process involves linking your QuickBooks account, mapping accounts for sales, purchases, and inventory adjustments, and configuring settings to ensure accurate data flow.

Configuration is an important and necessary step to activate the integration. The configuration area allows you to choose exactly how data will be handled between Katana and QuickBooks, letting you choose what and how information is sent between the two applications.

Note: We strongly recommend that you consult with your accounting department when configuring the integration to ensure that everything is set up correctly.

Once you've connected Katana to QuickBooks Online, you'll need to configure the integration before it can become active.

There are 4 main areas in the configuration setup:

  • Accounts mapping

  • Revenue categories

  • Tax mapping

  • Data transfer

Accounts mapping

Revenue by category tab for configuring the QuickBooks integration

The Accounts mapping tab is used to map your QuickBooks accounts to different Katana orders. From this area you'll choose how purchase and sales orders are handled as well as Cost of goods sold (COGS).

Purchasing and inventory

If you want to send purchase orders to QuickBooks, you'll need to turn this toggle option on and choose your configuration.

Note: To complete configuration, you'll need to either send purchase orders or sales orders to QuickBooks (or both).

  1. Turn the toggle on for Send Katana purchase orders as bills to QuickBooks.

    Attaching a QuickBooks asset account to send bills to in the QuickBooks configuration

  2. You'll then need to choose whether you want bills to arrive in QuickBooks as an inventory asset (recommended) or as an expense.

    1. If you choose Bills as an inventory asset (recommended), you'll need to choose what QuickBooks asset account you want purchase orders sent to.

      Checkmark the option Include purchase order Additional costs in the QuickBooks bill and choose a QuickBooks expense account to send them to, if you want additional costs sent to a QuickBooks expense account.

      Including additional costs in the QuickBooks configuration

      Checkmark Send Stock adjustment value to QuickBooks and choose a QuickBooks expense account to send it to, if you want to send stock adjustment value to QuickBooks.

      Sending stock adjustment value option in the QuickBooks configuration

      Checkmark Send Manufacturing operations cost to Quickbooks and choose a QuickBooks liability account to send it to, if you want to send manufacturing operations cost to QuickBooks.

      Sending manufacturing operations cost option in the QuickBooks configuration

    2. If you choose to send Bills as an expense, choose which QuickBooks expense account you want purchase orders sent to.

      You can also include additional costs on purchase orders by checkmarking the option.

      Including additional costs for bills as an expense in the QuickBooks configuration

Cost of goods sold (COGS)

You can send COGS to a specific QuickBooks expense account by turning the toggle option on and selecting which expense account you want the information sent to.

COGS toggle in the QuickBooks configuration

Sales revenue

The final section of the Accounts mapping section allows you to send sales order to QuickBooks as invoices. Remember, you'll have to either send purchase orders or sales orders to QuickBooks (or both) in order to activate the integration.

  1. Turn the toggle on for Send Katana sales orders as invoices to QuickBooks and choose a QuickBooks income account to sent sales orders to. You can select additional income accounts from the Revenue categories tab afterward.

    1. If you want to include the sales order shipping fees in the QuickBooks invoice or sync the QuickBooks invoice payment status back to Katana, checkmark the options here.

      NOTE: A toggle switch in QuickBooks will need to be enabled. Check your QuickBooks account, Settings > Sales tab to verify that Shipping is enabled.

Sending sales orders to QuickBooks toggle in the QuickBooks configuration

Revenue categories

If you're sending sales orders from Katana to QuickBooks, you can choose to have specific Katana item categories mapped to specific QuickBooks income accounts.

Note: Any categories that aren't mapped here will default to whichever income account you chose in the Accounts mapping tab.

Tax mapping (for non-US QuickBooks accounts)

For non-US QuickBooks users, you'll need to map all of your Katana tax rates/names to to certain tax types within QuickBooks.

You'll need to map all available Katana tax types before you're able to activate the integration.

Tax mapping tab for configuring the QuickBooks integration

Data transfer

The last tab, Data transfer, allows you to import all of your suppliers and customers from QuickBooks to Katana. This includes full customer and supplier contact and address information.

You can import customers and suppliers as many times as you need from QuickBooks and you'll see a timestamp showing the last time you've performed an import.

Data transfer tab for configuring the QuickBooks integration

Activate the integration

Once you've finished all of the configuration settings, go ahead and press Activate to turn the integration on.

Activating the QuickBooks integration

Activation may take a few seconds, but if it's successful, you'll see Integration active.

Shows the QuickBooks integration as active

Now, whenever you create a sales order or purchase order in Katana and push it to QuickBooks as an invoice or bill, a new customer or a supplier will be created in QuickBooks if there's no matching profile.

Some changes you'll now see in Katana

  • A new column Invoice is added to the Sell screen. Selecting Create invoice for a sales order in Katana will create a matching invoice in QuickBooks.

  • A new column Bill is added to your Buy screen. Selecting Create bill for a purchase order in Katana will create a matching bill in QuickBooks.


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