Connect QuickBooks Online to LMN. Follow the steps below to sync your invoices, payments, and customer details so your books stay up to date without double entry. Need a hand along the way? Our Support team is here to help.
Feature Overview
A rebuilt QuickBooks Online integration, owned inside LMN. Connection, setup, mapping, sync status, and retries live in LMN Pro, customers no longer need a separate sync app to finish accounting work.
Lightning-fast, guided onboarding. New QBO users confirm their default accounts, link tax codes, choose what to import from QuickBooks, and link classes (if they use them) before they land on the Accounting page. Tax codes and classes can be skipped, and users can leave and resume without restarting.
Smart defaults, less accounting jargon. Default A/R and deposit accounts auto-select when only one option exists. Tax codes and classes with the same name are selected for you, and cost codes link to QuickBooks service items with the same name during import. If QuickBooks uses a different name, or more than one item could fit, the customer chooses.
Invoice and payment sync first. Our MVP focuses on one-way LMN → QBO sync for invoices, payments– the entities that matter most for folks sending invoices in LMN. Timesheets, vendor bills, and estimates are excluded.
Before You Start
This article is for beta accounts using QuickBooks Online, including accounts moving over from the old QuickBooks Sync Tool.
QuickBooks Online only. QuickBooks Desktop is not included in this setup process.
One QuickBooks company per LMN account. If your Intuit login has more than one company, pick the company for this LMN account when you connect. We cannot sync one LMN account to multiple QuickBooks companies.
Invoices, payments. Estimates, timesheets, and vendor bills cannot sync. If you sync timesheets or vendor bills today, see the FAQs below for what to do instead.
One-way and create-only. LMN creates the record in QuickBooks. Edits you make in LMN after a sync do not update QuickBooks, and edits in QuickBooks do not come back to LMN.
Sync is manual. Invoices do not send to QuickBooks automatically.
Processing fees do sync. With LMN Pay, any invoice that has been paid with a Processing Fee will sync over to QuickBooks Online when you sync over that paid invoice. We accomplish this by creating a Processing Fee Cost Code to link to a Service item in QB. If an invoice has been synced over before it has been paid with a Processing Fee, you will need to update the invoice in QBO by adding a Line item called Processing Fees and the Fee amount to bring up the invoice total before syncing the payment over from LMN. Automated updates are coming in Phase II
Class mapping appears only if you use classes in QuickBooks (Plus or Advanced). LMN puts a class on each invoice line, so set Track classes to One to each row in transaction before you start. If QuickBooks assigns one class to each transaction, invoices still sync, but without a class.
We recommend Custom transaction numbers On in QuickBooks. That lets LMN send your LMN invoice number so both systems show the same number. See more in the section below
Connect & Complete QBO Sync Setup
Anyone with Accounting permissions in LMN can connect, complete setup, and manage the integration. That's the same access that opens the QuickBooks tab today, there is no new permission to assign.
In LMN, open the new Accounting tab (you may still see this labeled QuickBooks).
Click Connect to QuickBooks Online
Sign in to Intuit and allow LMN to access your QuickBooks Online company. Allow pop-ups if your browser blocks the Intuit window. Be sure to connect the company you use for this business.
Complete QuickBooks Setup. You can leave and come back, the setup resumes where you left off. Setup walks you through these steps in order: Account Defaults, Link Tax Codes, Link Service Items, Link Classes (only if you track classes in QuickBooks), and Import Customers.
Select Account defaults. Confirm the A/R Quickbooks account for invoices and the deposit account for payments. If only one option exists, LMN selects it for you.
A/R (accounts receivable) is the QuickBooks account that tracks what customers owe you. An invoice is added to A/R once it syncs to QuickBooks, and a payment reduces A/R once it syncs. Invoices and payments that haven't synced yet don't affect A/R in QuickBooks.
The deposit account is where synced payments land. We recommend Undeposited Funds (called Payments to deposit in some QuickBooks companies) so you can match payments to the bank deposits you actually receive when you reconcile.
⚠️ Multiple A/R accounts are not supported at this time.
Taxes
Match each LMN tax group to the QuickBooks sales tax code with the same rate. Tax codes with the same name as a tax group are selected for you, and you can change or clear any pick. Match as many as you can now, then click Confirm. If you don't charge sales tax, click Skip (I don't charge sales tax). You can finish or change them anytime in the Linking tab of QuickBooks Online Settings (under Tax groups), which you open from the Accounting page. An invoice that uses a tax group without a match won't sync until you match it.
A sales tax code tells QuickBooks what rate to charge and which tax agency the tax is owed to. QuickBooks records the tax on each invoice as money you owe that agency and builds your sales tax reports and filings from those records. LMN's version is called a tax group. QuickBooks can't read LMN tax groups, so linking each one to a tax code is how QuickBooks knows which tax to apply to a synced invoice.
When an invoice syncs, LMN tells QuickBooks which lines are taxable and which tax code applies, but not the tax amount. QuickBooks calculates the tax from the rate on the linked tax code, so keep that rate the same as your LMN tax group's rate. If they differ, the invoice total in QuickBooks won't match LMN.
Match any 0%, No Tax, or Exempt tax group to NON, QuickBooks' built-in non-taxable code for US companies. QuickBooks hides NON from its own lists, so LMN adds it to yours. Don't match a tax group that charges a real rate to NON, or its invoices will reach QuickBooks with no tax. Invoices with no tax group sync with every line marked non-taxable.
Link Classes
Match each LMN cost code to a QuickBooks class, and LMN adds that class to each invoice line. This step only appears if class tracking is turned on in QuickBooks (Plus and Advanced plans). Match as many as you can now. You can finish or change them anytime in the Linking tab (under Classes). An invoice that uses a cost code without a class won't sync until you match it.
Classes are tags in QuickBooks that split your profit and loss by part of the business, such as a division, department, or location.
In QuickBooks, set Track classes to One to each row in transaction (Settings → Account and settings → Advanced → Categories). If it's set to One to each transaction, invoices sync without a class and the links you make here aren't used.
Several cost codes usually share one class. For example, Planting, Lighting, and Carpentry could all link to Installation.
Cost codes and classes do different jobs. Cost codes describe the work and decide which income account the revenue goes to. Classes describe which part of the business the work belongs to, so you can run a profit and loss by class. Use classes if you need that view and your service items don't already give it to you. Each cost code links to one class, so location-based classes only work if each location has its own cost codes.
Import Customers
Before importing, LMN shows you what will happen: how many QuickBooks customers it will import because they aren't in LMN yet, how many jobsites it will create from QuickBooks sub-customers, and how many customers it will link because they already exist in both systems. Click Import and Link to finish. The import takes about 10 seconds for every 1,000 customers.
To keep a QuickBooks customer out of LMN, make it inactive in QuickBooks before you import. QuickBooks customers that match a customer you archived in LMN aren't imported again.
LMN links a QuickBooks customer to an existing LMN customer when the names match, or when the names are close and the email and phone number match. If more than one LMN customer could be the match, such as two customers with the same name, LMN leaves it unlinked instead of guessing. You can link it yourself in the Linking tab after setup.
When the import finishes, LMN shows how many customers and jobsites were imported and how many customers were linked.
If a QuickBooks customer has no first or last name, its contact in LMN is named Unknown, which you can edit.
If the import is interrupted, click Import and Link again. Customers that were already imported are linked instead of created twice, and existing jobsites aren't duplicated.
Customers that exist only in LMN aren't sent to QuickBooks during import. The first time you sync an invoice for one of them, it shows up as an error on the Accounting page, and you can create the customer in QuickBooks right from the error.
If a customer was linked to the wrong QuickBooks record, contact Support to fix it. You can still link any customer that isn't linked yet in the Linking tab of QuickBooks Online Settings, which you open from the Accounting page.
Complete
Once setup is complete, you will be navigated to the Accounting tab. Click the settings wheel to access any of the settings you configured during setup.
Invoice Numbers
We recommend turning Custom transaction numbers On in QuickBooks, and creating your invoices in LMN.
On: LMN sends your LMN invoice number. The same number shows in both systems.
Off: QuickBooks assigns its own number, and the LMN and QuickBooks numbers will not match. LMN Invoice number will still appear as the Memo on statements for your customers, the QuickBooks invoice number will show as the Accounting ID in the invoice list and invoice detail page.
Before you turn it on: find the highest invoice number already used in QuickBooks. In LMN, set your next invoice number above that number so your first sync doesn't fail as a duplicate.
You can do this by going into LMN Settings > Invoice Settings and changing the Next Invoice Number to be the next invoice number in your QuickBooks.
Invoice in LMN, then sync
Creating invoices on the same number sequence in both systems is the usual cause of duplicate-number errors.
To turn it on in QuickBooks Online: Settings (gear icon) > Account and Settings > Sales > Sales form content > Custom transaction numbers > On > Save
How to Update Accounting Settings
To change your setup after onboarding, open Settings on the Accounting page. You don't need to repeat onboarding. Settings has three tabs.
Settings | Linking | Connection |
Your account defaults and two advanced options. Each one is explained below. | How your LMN tax groups, cost codes, customers, and jobs match up with QuickBooks. It's explained below. | Reconnect or disconnect QuickBooks. See Reconnecting to QBO below. Changes on the Settings and Linking tabs aren't saved until you click Save. Click Cancel to undo changes you haven't saved. |
Changes on the Settings and Linking tabs save as soon as you make them, and you'll see an Updated message. If a change can't be saved, LMN shows an error and puts the field back the way it was.
Settings
Accounts Receivable: the QuickBooks account that tracks what customers owe you. LMN supports only one A/R account.
Deposit Account: where synced payments are deposited in QuickBooks. We recommend Undeposited Funds (called Payments to deposit in some QuickBooks companies) so you can group payments into the bank deposits you actually receive when you reconcile.
Sync by job (under Advanced): sets the starting choice for where a new job's invoices go in QuickBooks. It's off by default.
When you sync an invoice for a job that isn't linked to QuickBooks yet, the job shows up on the Accounting page so you can choose how to bill it: to a sub-customer of its own, or to its main customer. Sync by job only decides which option is selected when that choice comes up. On selects sub-customer, and Off selects main customer.
You still decide job by job. On the Accounting page, switch the option for any job before you save it. Whatever you pick is saved on that job, so its later invoices go the same way without asking again.
Turn it on if you track jobs separately in QuickBooks, for example commercial clients with several properties, or if you want each job's invoices and balance to show on their own in QuickBooks. Leave it off if you keep one QuickBooks record per client, which is common for residential maintenance customers. Either way, pick the option you use most so you switch it less often.
Custom transaction numbers (under Advanced): shows whether custom transaction numbers are turned on in QuickBooks. You can't change it here. When it's On, LMN sends your LMN invoice number, so both systems show the same number. When it's Off, QuickBooks assigns its own number, and the LMN number goes in the invoice's statement memo. See Invoice Numbers above for how to turn it on.
Linking
The Linking tab has a section for each type of record. Switch between them with the buttons at the top: Tax Rates, Service Items, Classes (only if class tracking is on in QuickBooks), Customers, and Sub-customers. Each section lists your LMN records on the left and the QuickBooks record each one is linked to on the right. Use the search box to find a record, and Per page to show more at once.
Tax Rates: choose the QuickBooks tax code for each LMN tax group. Match 0%, No Tax, or Exempt groups to NON.
Service Items: choose the QuickBooks service item for each LMN cost code. This decides which income account the revenue from each invoice line goes to.
Classes: choose the QuickBooks class for each LMN cost code. This section only appears if class tracking is turned on in QuickBooks. If classes are turned off there, you won't see it.
Customers: link each LMN customer to its QuickBooks customer. In the dropdown, type at least two letters to search your full QuickBooks customer list.
Sub-customers: link each LMN job to a QuickBooks sub-customer under its client. Link the client in Customers first. Until then, the job shows a reminder instead of a dropdown. If you don't have any sub-customers in QuickBooks, there's nothing to pick here, so you can skip this section.
You can change tax, service item, and class links at any time: pick a different option and click Save. Customers and jobs work differently. Once a customer or job is linked, its QuickBooks match shows as text with no dropdown, and you can't change it here. If one is linked to the wrong QuickBooks record, contact Support to fix it. Customers and jobs that aren't linked yet show a dropdown, so you can link them yourself.
Changing a link only affects what you sync from then on. Invoices and payments already in QuickBooks don't change.
Reconnecting to QBO
If your QuickBooks connection expires, open Accounting→Settings and reconnect. You'll sign in to Intuit again.
If you connected the wrong QuickBooks company, disconnect, then connect the correct company and complete setup again.
Disconnecting stops new syncs on this path. It does not delete invoices already created in QuickBooks.
Customer Support
Please reach out to our LMN Support team if you need any help with the QuickBooks Online setup process.
Telephone: | 888-347-9864 |
Live Chat: | In LMN → Help & Resources → Support Chat |
When you contact us about a sync issue, have these ready:
the invoice number,
the customer name
the error text from the Accounting page
💡 That gets us to an answer much faster.
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What's next?
Need more help? Contact our Support Team by email at lmn-support@granum.com, through Live Chat, or by phone at (888) 347-9864
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