QuickBooks Online is an online platform geared towards small to medium-sized businesses who are looking for real-time views into the day-to-day expenses of their business. Features include expense tracking, data entry, mobile compatibility, and accountant access for a fully rounded software experience.
Our two-way integration with QuickBooks Online builds and syncs a detailed journal entry into your QuickBooks Online Account. We can pull your chart of accounts directly from QuickBooks Online and use your customized accounts to create a journal entry. There are also options for additional levels of granularity within the entry based on earnings types, Gusto departments, and QuickBooks Online classes.
Gusto Accountant Partners who have clients with QuickBooks Online connected to Gusto can track a payroll budget using payroll to revenue ratio, and how much it will cost their client to hire a new employee with our People Analytics tool.
Follow along with the video above or the steps below to connect QuickBooks Online to Gusto.
Total wages, taxes, benefit deductions/contributions reimbursements and contractor payments will now sync to your QuickBooks Online account each time you run payroll.
When setting up your mappings you will be prompted to add:
Click here to learn more about mapping and commonly used pairings.
To properly sync over the payroll details through our integration, each of these payroll items will need to be linked to an account that is pulled directly from the Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks Online.
Once all payroll items are matched with the corresponding accounts, the building blocks are in place for the Journal Entry that Gusto will sync over into your accounting software.
The more accounts you choose when setting up your integration, the more detail there will be in the line entries on your Journal Entry. More detail in the entry results in more detailed reports in your accounting software (profit and loss report, expense reports, outstanding liability reports etc.).
If you don’t see an account you’d like to use, hop into your QuickBooks Online chart of accounts and create an account. Next, click the Refresh chart of accounts button in Gusto.
To get started:
Since Gusto does not take any money for benefits or deductions, we include a mapping for benefit/deduction liabilities. This will create line items within the journal entry and accrue an amount owed for the benefit/deduction. When the benefit/deduction is then paid to the correct party, in QuickBooks Online you can offset your liability and zero out the amount owed. For more info, check out the "Offset benefit liabilities in QuickBooks Online" section of this article.
To provide more granularity, you have the option to map your chart of accounts by employee, job, departments, or Gusto Projects (available to companies using Gusto Project Tracking). If you use QuickBooks Classes, you can also assign a class to each of the selected grouping options (optional).
Important: Review the section below related to the desired grouped mapping option before continuing. These sections contain setup information for each grouped mapping type.
The journal entries will be broken out by the grouped mapping selection the next time you sync payrolls to your accounting integration.
Note: Updating your company’s grouped mapping type will delete any overridden mappings associated with the previous journal entry consolidation type. Your company default mappings will be saved. For example, if you switch from consolidating by job to consolidating by department, any overridden mappings for your company’s jobs will not be retained. A reminder message will be displayed when you switch your journal consolidation method.
You have the option to override the default mappings for each employee, department, job, or project. This means you can assign different accounts to payroll items at the employee, department, job, or project level. Overriding your company’s default mappings is not required. The journal entries will be broken out by employee, department, job, or project regardless of whether any accounts have overrides.
You can add more granularity by mapping your accounts by employee. You can use different accounts for the different payroll items for each employee and contractor. This means you can have the earnings of each employee go to different accounts. This will expand the entry we send over into the accounting software.
As an example, say you have two employees. Before you enable employee mappings, all regular wages earned are sent to one "Salaries and Wages" expense account. After enabling employee mappings, you will see two line items for employee’s regular wages. You will have the option to use separate expense accounts for each employee. When running reports in your accounting software, you will have this additional breakdown.
If you use QuickBooks Classes, you can also map your employees to Classes. See the "QuickBooks Classes" section below.
These transactions will be exported by employee to your accounting software account. If any employees are left unmapped, they will sync based on the settings you choose under “Default Company Mappings.”
To map by employee, make sure you have already:
You can add more granularity by mapping your accounts by department. You can use different accounts for the different payroll items within a department. This means you can have the earnings of one department go to one account and the earnings of a second department go to a different account. This will expand the entry we send over into the accounting software.
As an example, say you have two departments: Design and Marketing. Before you enable department mappings, all regular wages earned are sent to one "Salaries and Wages" expense account. After enabling department mappings, you will see two line items for each department’s earnings. You can use separate expense accounts for each department. When running reports in your accounting software, you will have this additional breakdown.
If you use QuickBooks Classes, you can also map your departments to Classes. See the "QuickBooks Classes" section below.
These transactions will be exported by department to your accounting software account. If any departments are left unmapped, they will sync based on the settings you choose under “Default Company Mappings.”
To map by department, make sure you have already:
Job mapping is another way to add additional granularity. This option allows you to map accounts by each unique job title in Gusto. For employees with multiple jobs, each job can be mapped independently, and payroll costs associated with each job will be split out on the synced journal entry. This will expand the entry we send over into the accounting software.
As an example, say you employ cashiers and cooks at your business. Before you enable job mappings, all regular wages earned are sent to one "Salaries and Wages" expense account. After enabling job mappings, you will see two line items for each job’s earnings. You can use separate expense accounts for each job. When running reports in your accounting software, you will have this additional breakdown.
If you use QuickBooks Classes, you can also map your jobs to Classes. See the "QuickBooks Classes" section below.
Assign employees to jobs
Before you map your chart of accounts by jobs, make sure each employee is assigned to at least one job. Here's how:
Salaried employees: Edit their job title.
Hourly employees:
Hourly employees can have as many pay rates or jobs as you'd like. If an employee has multiple jobs, their paystub lists each job and its associated earnings.
For employees who have not been assigned a job title, their expenses are mapped based on the settings you choose under “Default Company Mappings.”
These transactions will be exported by job to your accounting software account. If any jobs are left unmapped, they will sync based on the default company mappings.
To map by job, make sure you've already:
Mapping by projects (as opposed to jobs or departments) is good for businesses with multiple people in the same role and when some employees work hours in one role and other hours in another role. Please note that consolidating by project is available to customers using Gusto Project Tracking.
As an example, say you have employees tracking time to two Gusto Projects. Before you enable project mappings, all regular wages earned are sent to one "Salaries and Wages" expense account. After enabling project mappings, you will see two line items for each project’s earnings. You can use separate expense accounts for each project. When running reports in your accounting software, you will have this additional breakdown.
If you use QuickBooks Classes, you can also map your projects to Classes. See the "QuickBooks Classes" section below. The same expense account can be used for each team and have an assigned QuickBooks Class—this keeps the reports in QuickBooks much cleaner and easier to understand.
These transactions will be exported by project to your accounting software account. If any projects are left unmapped, they will sync based on the settings you choose under “Default Company Mappings.”
To map by project, make sure you've already:
If you use QuickBooks Classes, you can map employees, departments, jobs, or Gusto Projects to Classes. Using Classes is optional and must be used in conjunction with the Grouped Account Mapping options. After applying your desired QuickBooks Classes, the payroll entry will tie to your dimensional reporting needs in QuickBooks Online.
Set Up QuickBooks Classes
Consolidating journal entries by employee and department are compatible with contractors.
Consolidating by job and project are not compatible with contractors. Job titles and Gusto Projects are not currently supported with contractor profiles. If your company pays contractors and uses job or project consolidation, contractor payments will be synced based on the default company mappings.
Once you've connected to QuickBooks Online from Gusto, follow these steps to manually sync any payroll or contractor payment from Gusto to QuickBooks.
The Journal Entry will post to your bank register for review and reconciliation.
Note: If you do not see the Sync button, confirm your integration is still actively set up and is not disconnected.
If a journal entry has failed to sync from your Gusto account to QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Online will send us an error code. You can use these error codes to troubleshoot the syncing failure.
Error message | Detail | Resolution |
This entry has already been synced and matched with a downloaded bank transaction. To resync, you must first unmatch the downloaded bank transaction following the steps in our Help Center. | The Journal Entry has already been reconciled and cannot be re-synced. | Unmatch the corresponding bank debits so that you manually re-sync the Journal Entry. This can be completed from within your Bank Feed in QuickBooks Online. For additional help, view this QuickBooks Help article. |
Your Gusto Account is no longer authorized to access QuickBooks Online. Please disconnect and reconnect the app in the App directory, then try again. |
We are unable to authenticate your QuickBooks account. | Disconnect and reconnect the app in the App directory. Next, manually re-sync the Journal Entry. |
Invalid Company Status | You can't add data to QuickBooks Online because your trial or subscription period ended, you canceled your subscription, or there was a billing problem. | To update your subscription, click the gear icon and view your account information. Manage billing, payment, and subscription info in QuickBooks Online. |
Your books are closed and Gusto cannot modify them. Please reopen your books by going to your advanced settings in QuickBooks Online. |
The quarter and/or year has been closed in your QuickBooks Online account. | Open the quarter and/or year to allow the Journal Entry to be manually re-synced. |
A mapped account is missing in QuickBooks Online. Please remap your accounts before syncing the Journal Entry. |
A change has been made to your Chart of Accounts which prevents the journal entry from syncing over. | Double-check your Chart of Accounts mappings to make sure each payroll item is fully mapped, or make the accounts you want to use “active” in QuickBooks Online. Then re-map in your Gusto account. If you have Department Mappings, make sure all mappings are completed for the applicable Departments as well. |
The Journal Entry is not balanced. | The credits and debits on the journal do not balance. | Contact us from the Support section of your account. |
There was an error syncing with QuickBooks Online. Please contact support. | A connection error has occurred between QuickBooks Online and Gusto. Further investigation is needed. | Contact us from the Support section of your account. |
If you have an accounting integration, you can customize the date associated with Gusto’s entry to better fit your bookkeeping needs.
The date of an entry dictates what period the expense information will fall in. For example, an entry dated Sep 30 would fall into Quarter 3 financials, while an entry dated Oct 1 would fall into Quarter 4 financials. When a pay period has a payday (or check date) that falls in a different month or quarter, this can create problems when you go to balance your books.
Entry date options
Our accounting integrations give you the ultimate flexibility for reporting, allowing you to choose from three entry date options.
Note: If you elect to have the end of the pay period as your entry date, Gusto will default to the check date for any payroll with no pay period, such as an off-cycle payroll or a contractor payment.
Change your entry date options
You can change your entry date selection anytime in Gusto.
Your payrolls will now export with entry dates based on your selection. You can retroactively sync any payrolls with these new settings.
Because Gusto does not take any money for benefits or deductions, we include a mapping for a benefit or deduction expense and a benefit or deduction liability. This will create accounts within your accounting software that accrue an amount owed for the benefit or deduction over time.
When the benefit or deduction is then paid to the requesting party, you can offset your liability account and zero out the accrued amount owed.
Benefits always have two line items on the journal entry:
Important: When money is pulled for an FSA or commuter benefit, before it is deducted through payroll make sure you don't create an expense but rather establish a receivable. It will be expensed in payroll when the amount is deducted. At that point with the deduction, then reduce the receivable.
Offset benefit liabilities
Option 1: Create an entry from the bank debit (created by paying the benefit or deduction) and assign that entry to the liability account to offset.
Option 2: Create a bill and associate the bill with the liability account.
If you pay employees by check, we recommend you print the checks from Gusto.
If you prefer to print checks from within QuickBooks Online, this can be accomplished by editing the Journal Entry in QuickBooks Online to avoid double reporting.
For any checks that will be printed from QuickBooks Online, we recommend updating the bank account line item on the Journal to a liability account. When you create the check in QuickBooks Online, you should code the line item to the same liability account, which will offset the account balance.
Edit a Gusto QuickBooks Online Journal Entry
Learn more about creating a liability check in QuickBooks Online.
If I update my mappings, can I re-sync a payroll to update the journal entry?
Yes.
Do you book the wage expense as gross wages or net wages?
Gross wages — the wage expense will include employee pay, employee taxes, and employee deductions. Employer taxes and employer contributions will have their own expense line item.
How do I break out individual employee wages?
You can change the journal consolidation method to “by employee.”
How do employee taxes and employee benefit contributions synced to QuickBooks Online?
They’re always included in Gross Wages & Salaries.
Do you break out individual taxes?
Gusto handles all of your tax payments automatically. Because of this, you do not need to track tax liabilities. When we sync entries, we record employer taxes as expenses.
You can select for employer taxes to be broken by each individual tax or lump them together. You’ll find this option on the Settings tab.
At this time, we only support one account mapping which will be used across all employer taxes.
Employee taxes are not broken out individually for mapping or in journal entries, as these values are included in Gross Wages.
Can I include employee benefit deductions on the Journal Entry?
Employee deductions are included in the gross wages amounts that are reported on the Journal Entry. These are not tracked separately because they're not an additional expense to the company on top of what's already reported for wages.
Employee deduction amounts are included in the Benefit Liability along with the Employer Contributions (see Benefits & Garnishments above).
How do contractor payments sync over?
You have two options for syncing contractor payments. See step 11 of the "Connect to QuickBooks Online from Gusto" section above for more information.
Do you support QuickBooks Classes?
Yes. Please see the “Customize Journal Entries” section above.
Can I use more than one tracking category or journal consolidation method? For example, can I consolidate my journal entries by employee and by job?
No, not at this time. You must choose to consolidate by one method (by employee, department, job, or project). Next, you may select one class for each employee, department, job, or project.
What if I want to break out each employees' payroll information?
You can change the journal consolidation method to “by employee.”
Can unique reimbursements be broken out through separate mappings?
No, all reimbursements will be pushed over as a lump sum (e.g. Cell Phone Reimbursement + Gym Reimbursement + Office Supplies Reimbursement, etc.).
What if I will not be using one of the payroll items listed?
The item will still need to be mapped to an account. If the payroll item isn't applicable, nothing will come over related to the account that is selected within your entry. Only payroll items that apply to a processed payroll will populate within the synced entry.
The chart of accounts in Gusto does not look correct. What should I do?
First, click the Refresh chart of accounts button in Gusto. If this does not resolve the issue, you may have linked the wrong QuickBooks account. Disconnect the integration and reconnect to the correct QuickBooks account.
How do I handle checks?
We recommend printing checks from your Gusto account or handwriting them. You can then reconcile the journal entry from Gusto when the checks are cashed by your employees. We do incorporate the amount of each check in our Journal entry.
Is there a way to retroactively sync all payrolls once I enable auto-sync?
Auto-sync will only work for the payrolls moving forward from the time it is set up. Any payrolls run before auto-sync was enabled will need to be manually synced.
What does the timestamp indicate?
The exact time Gusto successfully synced a payroll into the accounting software.
Can I re-sync an entry that has already been reconciled?
You will need to un-reconcile an entry before you can re-sync it. This includes unmatching any bank transactions with the Journal Entries. QuickBooks Online considers matching as partial reconciliation.
Can I sync international contractor payments to QuickBooks Online?
Yes, both US-based and non-US based contractor payments can be synced. To do so, go to the Pay section in Gusto and choose Pay history. Go to the Contractor payment history tab and select a payment to sync.
Can I sync Gusto or NEXT insurance invoices to QuickBooks Online?
Not at this time.