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QuickBooks Online Integration

Hourli.ai integrates with QuickBooks Online (QBO) to sync time entries and import records. This eliminates double data entry and keeps your books accurate.

Connecting QuickBooks

  1. Go to Manage → Integrations
  2. Click Connect QuickBooks Online
  3. Sign in to your Intuit/QuickBooks account
  4. Authorize Hourli.ai
  5. You'll be redirected back and the connection status will show as Connected

Sandbox mode

If you want to test with a QuickBooks sandbox company, enable the sandbox toggle before connecting.

What Syncs Automatically

Time Entries → QuickBooks (Outbound)

New and updated time entries are pushed to QuickBooks as TimeActivity records. The sync runs every 5 minutes automatically.

Hourli.ai FieldQuickBooks Field
DateTxnDate
HoursHours + Minutes
DescriptionDescription
BillableBillableStatus
RateHourlyRate
Employee/VendorEmployeeRef / VendorRef
CustomerCustomerRef
ServiceItemRef

External IDs required

For entities (employees, vendors), customers, and services to sync correctly, they need matching external IDs linking them to QuickBooks records. Import your records from QuickBooks to set this up automatically.

Sync Statuses

Each time entry has a sync status:

StatusDescription
PendingQueued for the next sync cycle
SyncedSuccessfully created/updated in QuickBooks
FailedSync attempt failed (up to 5 retries)

Failed Syncs

If a sync fails, it's retried automatically up to 5 times. You can also:

  1. Go to the Failed Syncs page in the sidebar
  2. View the error details
  3. Click Retry on individual entries or select multiple for bulk retry

Common failure reasons:

  • Missing external ID on customer, service, or entity
  • QuickBooks entity was deleted or inactivated
  • Token expired (reconnect required)

Importing Records from QuickBooks

You can import the following from QuickBooks into Hourli.ai:

Customers, Services, Employees, Vendors

  1. Go to the respective Manage page (e.g., Manage → Customers)
  2. Click Import from QuickBooks
  3. Select the records you want to import
  4. Click Import

Imported records automatically get their QuickBooks external ID, so future sync works seamlessly.

Time Entries

  1. Go to Import Time Entries (via Integrations)
  2. Browse by month
  3. Filter by customer or employee
  4. Select entries to import
  5. Click Import

The import view highlights mismatches: entries referencing QuickBooks entities that don't exist in Hourli.ai yet, so you can import those first.

Integration Dashboard

The Integrations page shows a sync summary:

  • Synced: entries successfully in QuickBooks
  • Pending: entries waiting for next sync
  • Failed: entries that need attention

Use the Sync Now button to trigger an immediate sync instead of waiting for the next 5-minute cycle.

Disconnecting

To disconnect QuickBooks:

  1. Go to Manage → Integrations
  2. Click Disconnect

This revokes the OAuth tokens and stops all syncing. Your existing time entries and imported records are preserved.

Troubleshooting

"Token Error" or "Reconnect Required"

QuickBooks OAuth tokens expire after ~100 days if unused. If you see a token error banner:

  1. Go to Manage → Integrations
  2. Click Reconnect
  3. Re-authorize with QuickBooks

Entries Not Syncing

Check that:

  • The integration is connected and enabled
  • The entity (employee/vendor) has an external ID matching a QuickBooks record
  • The customer and service have matching external IDs
  • The entry isn't in failed status (check Failed Syncs page)

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