> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.presolve.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Set up QuickBooks and verify payments
> Map offices, vendors, and accounts; follow a payment; and refresh its check number.
This guide is for staff responsible for QuickBooks Online setup and payment records. Read [the integration overview](https://www.presolve.com/docs/help/integrations/quickbooks.md) first if your firm uses QuickBooks Desktop.
## What staff should check first
**Paralegals:** record the source bill and correct case. If you are only logging an expense, you do not need to choose a QuickBooks payment route. Hand payment and mapping decisions to accounting.
**Accounting:** before exporting, confirm the office, vendor, amount, and payment account. Afterward, verify the linked transaction below. **HQ or the integration administrator** connects the company and maintains child-office mappings.
Saving an expense, logging an incoming check, approving a review, and exporting a payment are separate actions. **Paid in Presolve is not proof of a successful QuickBooks export.** If required child-office mappings are missing, the export is blocked; the local record does not become a QuickBooks transaction under a generic or guessed account.
## Connect the right company
1. Open **Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks Online**.
2. Use **Connect QuickBooks Online**, sign in with an authorized Intuit account, and select the intended company.
3. Return to Presolve and confirm the connection and company before configuring accounts.
4. Select **Company accounts**. Choose the default expense and payment accounts from the searchable list, plus a credit-card account if used. The account type and ID help distinguish similar names. Select **Save Online settings**.
5. Use **Office accounts** and **Vendor matches** to finish setup, then **Open Payables** to process work. A connected badge confirms authorization; it does not mean every account and vendor is ready.
Existing demo setup screen, before connecting. Connected mapping controls may differ after the accounting update.
## Choose accounts once and reuse them
Select an account from QuickBooks rather than typing its name. New selections save the account ID, so a later QuickBooks rename keeps the link. Saving existing defaults also keeps their IDs when each name uniquely matches an available account. If a previous account is unavailable, choose a valid replacement before saving.
Use **Category overrides** only when the company's own expenses need different accounts by category. For example, Court costs can use a separate account while other costs use the default. The order is:
1. A child office's assigned cost account, for that office's expenses.
2. An explicit category override for the connection owner's expenses.
3. An existing legacy category-name mapping, if it resolves.
4. The company default expense account.
Payment routing is separate: a payment's selected account wins, followed by its funding/payment-method rule, then the office or company default. Bank payments and credit-card payments require compatible account types.
**Legacy category names and QuickBooks Desktop** is collapsed below the Online controls. Existing legacy category mappings still apply when there is no higher-priority assignment. Desktop exports remain a separate workflow.
Creating a separate QuickBooks Class for every expense is optional and off for new connections. Existing saved choices are preserved. Presolve record IDs and transaction links do not depend on Classes.
## Map each child office
From HQ, open **Suboffice QuickBooks accounts**. Search for a firm or use **Setup needed only**.
1. Confirm the client-facing firm name. Set an optional **Internal office label** here or in the HQ directory to distinguish suboffices. This label appears in the HQ directory, office selector, and QuickBooks setup; it does not change the firm name used in emails, e-sign messages, or document variables. Clear the label to show the firm name again.
2. Choose **Cost / expense account** and **Payment / check account** from the connected HQ company's accounts.
3. Choose the optional **Credit-card account** when applicable.
4. Select the **Resolution deposit accounts** that this child office is allowed to use. Leaving this selection empty exposes no inherited HQ QuickBooks deposit accounts.
5. Review **Payment routing rules**. Choose a funding source, payment method, and compatible QuickBooks account, then select **Add rule**. An account selected while paying a particular item overrides these defaults.
6. Select **Save suboffice account mappings**, then reopen and verify the choices.
An account label is a name, not proof of an external link. A label such as **Washington — Case Costs — 0403** should be checked against the selected account and connected QuickBooks company; the text alone cannot establish where it originated. Use your firm's own office and account naming conventions.
Missing required child-office mappings **block export**. Presolve does not silently assign the transaction to another firm's account. A locally logged record can exist without a QuickBooks transaction. Renaming an office does not create or rename a QuickBooks account.
## Map vendors without creating duplicates
Open **Vendor Review**. Search for the Presolve contact and review QuickBooks candidates. Confirm the intended existing vendor after checking its identity and active status. Search alternate names before creating a new vendor. Creating and linking a vendor writes a new vendor to the connected QuickBooks company.
**If search fails:** use **Retry vendor search**. A failed search does not mean the vendor is missing; creating a new vendor is unavailable until the search succeeds. A failed contact list has its own **Retry vendor list** button.
Review ambiguous matches with accounting. Similar names alone are not enough, especially when offices use the same vendors. For company-side vendor maintenance, use Intuit's [vendor guide](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/vendor-management/add-vendor-quickbooks-online/L29cgm4Ag_US_en_US).
## Preview the destination before confirming payment
In **Mark paid** or **Export and mark paid**, choose the funding source and payment method. The dialog loads the saved QuickBooks handling and resolves the payment account automatically. You do not need to select the same account again for each payment.
Read the office, QuickBooks company ID, payment account, and the line showing where that choice came from: a selection, routing rule, office default, or company default. Expense coding is shown separately. If an account is missing or incompatible, select an available account or have the administrator correct setup.
**Account setup** opens in another tab so the payment form stays open. After correcting mappings, return and use **Recheck setup**; your entered funding source, method, and reference remain. If setup cannot be checked, retry or deliberately choose **Record without QuickBooks**. Confirmation waits for setup to finish so a slow connection cannot silently change the payment route.
Recording payment does not transfer money. After confirming, check the result and linked transaction as described below.
## Know what is sent
| Chosen route | QuickBooks record | What to inspect |
| - | - | - |
| Record locally only | No transaction created through that action | Local Paid status and payment evidence |
| Create payment/check directly | A direct payment represented by a Purchase, with the selected payment type | Vendor, account, amount, payment type, and reference |
| Create Bill, then pay it | Bill followed by BillPayment | The payment applies to the existing Bill |
Several Presolve expenses can belong to the same QuickBooks payment. Local expense IDs, local check IDs, QuickBooks transaction IDs, and printed check numbers are different identifiers. A payment reference is not a permanent transaction ID.
Do not create a separate Check/Expense to pay a Bill that already exists. See Intuit's [Bill versus Check/Expense explanation](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/accounts-payable/learn-difference-bills-checks-expenses-quickbooks/L0ZtL2TYI_US_en_US).
## Identify the record before making a correction
| Identifier | Where to find it | What it identifies |
| - | - | - |
| Expense ID | Open the expense → **Record IDs & QuickBooks** | The specific expense stored in Presolve. Use **Copy ID** when reporting a problem. |
| Displayed Check ID | Checks list | A readable check sequence label. Use the office and case with it. |
| Stored Check ID | Open an existing check for editing; inspect **Check ID** | The underlying Presolve receipt record. It differs from the readable sequence label. |
| Check / payment reference | Expense sync details or the check's number field | The printed check number or other payment reference. It can repeat and is not a unique record ID. |
| QuickBooks type and ID | Expense → **Record IDs & QuickBooks**, when linked | The external transaction. Check its company ID too; another company can use the same transaction number. |
### Example: two expenses, one QuickBooks payment
In this illustrative example, two expenses link to one QuickBooks payment. Each expense keeps its own Presolve ID.
```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart TD
A["Presolve expense A · $125
Its own Expense ID"] --> C["One linked QuickBooks payment · $200
Company + transaction type + QuickBooks ID"]
B["Presolve expense B · $75
A different Expense ID"] --> C
C --- D["Check / payment reference: 1042
The printed number, not the transaction ID"]
```
Use the **Expense ID** to discuss one charge. Use the **QuickBooks type, ID, and company** to identify the shared payment. Correcting that payment's reference affects the shared transaction.
For example, a source check number **1042** is not enough to identify a receipt or expense. Send your accounting owner the office, client/case, full Presolve ID, and—if shown—the QuickBooks type, ID, and company. Confirm the client on the record before changing it.
A linked expense payment and an incoming resolution check are different records. The expense's sync controls below do not establish two-way synchronization for every inbound check.
## Verify and refresh the linked payment
1. Open the expense and find **Record IDs & QuickBooks**.
2. Note the **Expense ID**, **Check / payment reference**, QuickBooks entity type and ID, connected company ID, last-sync time, and any error.
3. If no transaction is linked or sync needs attention, use **Account setup** or **Vendor matches** to open the relevant settings without closing the expense. Follow the QuickBooks transaction link when offered. Confirm you are in the matching company, then compare the vendor, amount, and account.
4. To send an edited local payment reference, save the expense first, then select **Sync saved payment reference**.
5. To read the check number from the existing linked QuickBooks payment, select **Refresh check number from QuickBooks**. A nonblank external reference can refresh the local value. If QuickBooks has a blank reference, this explicit refresh keeps the local value and records the current QuickBooks version. Review the linked payment before retrying **Sync saved payment reference** after a conflict.
6. Read the result and reopen the record to verify it. Reconnect in integration settings if prompted.
These controls update the reference on an existing mapped payment. They do not import every QuickBooks check, create an arbitrary link by typing an ID, reconcile a bank account, or propagate every edit/void/delete. Logging an inbound resolution receipt does not imply a complete automatic trust-account settlement posting.
## Understand the result before retrying
| What you see | What to do |
| - | - |
| **Not linked to a QuickBooks transaction yet.** | Do not treat this as an exported payment. Ask accounting to check the chosen payment route and prior export outcome before creating another transaction. |
| **QuickBooks is not connected for this office.** | Ask the integration administrator to check the office's connection. Logging locally does not connect QuickBooks. |
| A QuickBooks ID and link | Open the linked transaction and verify company, vendor, amount, and account. Several expenses may share this payment. |
| **Sync needs attention**, **Pending**, or an error | Read the message and check the existing transaction before retrying. Give accounting the IDs and error text; do not enter a second payment to clear the message. |
| Reference sync succeeds | Verify the reference on that existing QuickBooks payment. This confirms the reference update, not a full resync of amounts, accounts, or allocations. |
| Reference refresh succeeds but the value is unchanged | The remote value may be unchanged or blank. A blank QuickBooks reference does not erase the local value. |
Changing the payment reference on a shared QuickBooks payment affects that payment, not just an isolated expense. Coordinate the correction with accounting. Editing an amount, deleting a local record, or voiding a payment needs separate review; these reference buttons do not carry out those operations.
## Demonstrate the QuickBooks side
Use a designated test company and fictional records. Prepare one mapped office, vendor, and expense. Follow the chosen payment route once, open its displayed QuickBooks link, and compare the vendor, amount, account, entity ID, and reference. Refresh the reference back in Presolve and verify the same expense.
For the QuickBooks printing screen, watch Intuit's official [How to record and print checks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuWe7gz9wpE). This external video teaches QuickBooks controls; it is not a recording of Presolve synchronization. When a Presolve export already created the payment, inspect/print that existing transaction rather than creating a duplicate from the video's new-check example.
Finish by reviewing [the invoice lifecycle](https://www.presolve.com/docs/help/accounting/invoice-lifecycle.md) and [troubleshooting](https://www.presolve.com/docs/help/accounting/troubleshooting.md).
## Prepare an accounting export for another system
The general expense export includes vendor name/address, Expense ID, case and invoice numbers, payment date, method, and reference. Check the intended vendor address, especially when a vendor has several locations. The saved contact address is not proof that it is the remittance address on this bill.
A QuickBooks import template may require different fields, such as Bank Account, Category, Memo, Print Later, and Customer / Project. Have Accounting map the exported columns to the chosen import tool and test a small sample before a batch. Do not assume a general CSV reproduces a firm's existing spreadsheet macro, saved export template, or Transaction Pro format. Desktop IIF exports are a separate workflow; see [export formats](https://www.presolve.com/docs/help/integrations/quickbooks.md#distinguish-export-formats).
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