Import Truckbase Invoices to QuickBooks Desktop with IIF files
Overview: Unlike our QuickBooks Online integration, Truckbase does not currently offer a direct real-time integration with QuickBooks Desktop because Truckbase is web-based and QuickBooks Desktop is “on premise”. However, we support the building of an .iif (Intuit Interchange Format) file for exporting invoice date from Truckbase and uploading it to QuickBooks. This doc walks through how to import invoices into QuickBooks Desktop with entries to two accounts: Accounts Receivable and Income Account (or your equivalent account names).
Background on .iif Files
Importing and exporting .iif files created by QuickBooks is simple, because QuickBooks formats the file for users. It may be easier to manually enter the data directly into QuickBooks, unless there are large amounts of data to input.
Please note, that .iif files are irreversible, and it is recommended to back up organization files before trying to import any .iif files into QuickBooks. This way, if any errors occur while importing the file, users can restore a backup of the organization's files.
Exporting invoices from Truckbase
To export invoice data from Truckbase to a CSV, navigate to the invoices page and select export to CSV. This will download a spreadsheet of all your invoice data
Creating a .IIF file
Once you have your invoices in a CSV, download one of the Truckbase IIF converter templates to an Excel file here. The first file will import the total rate. The second template will import up to 5 line items on the invoice.
Open the first tab of the converter template and copy & paste the CSV export from Truckbase directly into the first cell of this file as in the example below:
Open the second “Format converter” tab of the converter excel. This tab will convert the format of the CSV data into the two-line structure that IIF files are expected to have with debits & credits. By default, this page will support up to 167 invoices in one upload. Do not edit this tab unless you need to add >167 invoices. It should look like this:
Last, open the IIF File tab in excel. The first two rows set the configuration for the IIF file. Do not edit these rows unless you are familiar with editing IIF file formats. The first column sets up the format for the transaction. It should look like this.
Depending on the number of invoices you’re importing, you may need to lengthen or shorten the number of rows on this tab. To add rows to this tab, select three rows of the last transaction, then drag the bottom right corner down to extend the Excel formulas down until you’ve included all your invoices. Delete all excess rows below the final ENDTRNS.
While you’re still on the IIF File tab, open up the Save As menu in excel and save this tab as a Tab delimited .txt file. If you’re using Google Sheets, download the file as a .tsv file.
Find this file in Windows and edit the file extension from .txt to .iif. Depending your version of Windows and your default settings, you might need to navigate to View > Show > File name extensions in order to show the option to edit file extensions
The file is ready to be imported into QuickBooks. The exact menu for importing .iif files into QuickBooks can vary by version. However, support for importing .iif files goes back very far for QuickBooks Desktop. In more recent versions, it is available by going to File > Import > From IIF Files