Important: Fieldwork syncs with QuickBooks Online only — not QuickBooks Desktop. (Intuit stopped offering developer support for the Desktop version, so syncing to it isn't possible.)
Summary
If you use QuickBooks Online for bookkeeping, you can connect it to Fieldwork. Once connected, your estimates, invoices, and payments are sent from Fieldwork into QuickBooks — either manually or automatically. This article walks you through connecting your account, importing your existing customers, and running your syncs.
Key Points
Import your existing customer list from QuickBooks into Fieldwork
Follow QuickBooks' name length rules so customers sync correctly
Sync manually or automatically
Know what a successful vs. failed sync looks like
The One Rule to Remember: Sync Goes One Way
Data flows from Fieldwork into QuickBooks — never the other direction.
Change an invoice in Fieldwork → it syncs correctly to QuickBooks.
Change an invoice in QuickBooks → the next sync overwrites your change with the Fieldwork version.
So always make your edits in Fieldwork, not QuickBooks. Anything you do in QuickBooks won't come back to Fieldwork.
Name Length Rules (Read This First)
QuickBooks Online has strict limits on how long customer names can be:
First name: up to 25 characters
Last name: up to 25 characters
Company name: up to 50 characters
When the QuickBooks integration is turned on, any new customer is checked against these limits, and any existing name that's too long is shortened (cut off) so it can sync.
Watch out: If two long customer names are identical except for the very end, shortening them can make them look like the same customer to QuickBooks — and only one will sync. If you have customers like that, rename them so they're clearly different within the length limits.
How to Connect
In Fieldwork, click the Settings gear icon in the upper-right corner.
Under Company Setup, click QuickBooks.
Read the note about name length and make sure your customer and company names follow the rules above.
Click the Connect to QuickBooks icon.
You'll be taken to Intuit's secure sign-in screen
Enter your email, user ID, or phone number and password to give Fieldwork permission to connect.
Note: This sign-in is handled by Intuit, not Fieldwork.
Import Your Customers
Fieldwork can import your customer list from QuickBooks Online for free. After you connect your account, let support know, and a developer will import your customers for you.
What's included for free: billing and shipping addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, billing terms, website URLs, and balances.
For an added fee, schedules and invoices can also be imported. Contact support for details.
Setting Up the Sync
When you're just starting out, choose Do not sync automatically. This lets you sync by hand and watch how it behaves. Once you're comfortable, switch to Auto Sync Last 30 Days. The very first sync takes a while and sometimes turns up a few conflicts. If that happens, contact support.
Critical: Make sure your Fieldwork invoice numbers are different from every invoice number in QuickBooks. If a number matches, the sync will overwrite your existing data. If you find matching numbers, contact support so they can bump your Fieldwork numbers above the highest number in QuickBooks.
What a Successful Sync Looks Like
On the Settings → QuickBooks page, you'll see a synchronization status log that shows your Estimates, Invoices, and Payments were synced successfully.
Note: Invoices marked Bad Debt and payments using the Credit payment method do not sync to QuickBooks Online. That's expected — not an error.
What a Failed Sync Looks Like
QuickBooks is all about exactness — everything in Fieldwork must match QuickBooks perfectly, right down to spaces and punctuation. When something doesn't match, QuickBooks blocks the sync and shows an error in the log.
For a full list of error messages and how to fix them, see the separate article "Common QuickBooks Errors."
Syncing the Last 30 Days
Once you're comfortable with how syncing works, choose Auto Sync Last 30 Days. This automatically syncs your estimates, invoices, and payments from the past 30 days.
To Sync Older Records (Beyond 30 Days)
From the Dashboard, click Sales.
Click Invoices.
Select the rows you want to sync.
Click Sync to QuickBooks Online at the top of the page.
Also, watch these videos:
Need more help? Reach out to Fieldwork support, and we'll be happy to walk you through connecting your QuickBooks account.