QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online overview

Fishbowl integrates with QuickBooks Online Plus and QuickBooks Online Advanced.
To connect to QuickBooks Online, open the Integrations market and click the green Connect to QuickBooks button to approve the integration with your QuickBooks Online account.
After completing the integration, the QuickBooks Online module will be added to the Accounting group.
The QuickBooks Online module will display the transactions that are ready to export to QuickBooks Online as well as a history of previous exports.
To select the QuickBooks Online accounts used by Fishbowl Drive, click Account Mapping.
To export the current transactions, click the blue EXPORT button.
Transactions that are Mark As Posted will not be exported to QuickBooks Online. This should only be done after consulting with an accountant.
Fishbowl Drive supports LIFO, FIFO, Average, and Actual costing methods. For more information, see Costing Methods.

Fishbowl Drive can export transactions to QuickBooks Online. Information from Fishbowl orders is then stored in the accounting system as well in the form of invoices, bills, credit memos, etc. Adjustments are also recorded in the associated accounts, such as Cost of Goods Sold, Sales Retail, Inventory Asset, or Accounts Receivable. This page provides several examples of Fishbowl transactions and how they affect the accounts in the accounting system. If you have mapped Fishbowl to different accounts than the default settings, your journal entries may vary slightly from the examples given below.

Account mapping

The following are suggested mappings between Fishbowl Drive and QuickBooks Online. Please consult with your accountant when making these selections. There may be accounts listed below that don't exist in your QuickBooks Online database yet, in which case, a similar account can be selected, or a new account can be created. The Type Filter is optional and will filter the type of accounts that are available in the QuickBooks Accounts field.

Fishbowl Drive Account Name	QuickBooks Online Account Type Filter	QuickBooks Online Account Name	Description
Accounts Payable	Accounts Payable	Accounts Payable (A/P)	This account records outstanding bills owed by your business to another entity.
Accounts Receivable	Accounts Receivable	Accounts Receivable (A/R)	This account records money owed to your business, including invoices for which you have not yet received payment.
Cost of Goods Sold	Cost of Goods Sold	Cost of goods sold	The amount of money you paid for items you held in inventory and then sold. On a profit and loss report, QuickBooks Online subtracts the total cost of goods sold from your total income to provide a gross profit before other expenses.
Discount Expense	Other Expense	Discount Expense	This account tracks expenses associated with discounts applied to Sale type items.
Discount Income	Income	Discount Income	This account tracks the amount of money associated with discounts charged to customers (e.g., for returns or restocking fees).
Flat Rate Tax	Other Current Liability	Flat Rate Tax	This account is used to record the amounts classified as flat rate taxes.
Holding	Other Current Liability	Holding	The Holding account (commonly known as “Goods Received Not Invoiced”) is used as a clearing account when receiving inbound stock from a supplier against a purchase order. When the stock is first received, Fishbowl Drive will enter a journal entry that will debit Inventory Asset and credit the Holding account. When the received purchase order is reconciled in Fishbowl Drive (Bill entered), the allocated funds in the Holding account will be moved to Accounts Payable. For an example, see Inventory item received Previously received inventory item is reconciled
Inventory Adjustment	Cost of Goods Sold	Inventory Adjustment	This account is used to track cycle-count adjustments to inventory.
Inventory Asset	Other Current Asset	Inventory Asset	This account tracks the current value of your inventory.
Labor	Expense	Labor	This account tracks labor costs, such as payroll, bonuses, and overtime.
Miscellaneous Expense	Other Expense	Miscellaneous	All costs associated with Miscellaneous type items will be tracked in this account.
Non-Inventory	Expense	Non-Inventory	All costs associated with Non-Inventory type items will be tracked in this account.
Overhead	Other Expense	Overhead	This account tracks fixed costs, such as utilities, debt repayment, and rent.
Sales Retail	Income	Sales	This account tracks income from the resale of inventory items.
Sales Tax Payable	Other Current Liability	Sales tax to pay	This account is used to reserve funds to pay sales taxes from transactions to the appropriate tax agencies.
Scrap Inventory	Cost of Goods Sold	Scrapped Inventory	This account is used when inventory is scrapped (e.g., adjustments go down due to damage, theft, spoilage, etc.).
Service	Expense	Service	All costs associated with Service type items will be tracked in this account.
Shipping Accrual	Other Current Liability	Shipping Accrual	This account tracks your shipping expenses owed instead of showing them in Accounts Payable. The QuickBooks Online account should be a Current Liability type.
Shipping Expense	Expense	Shipping Expense	This account keeps track of vendor charges for shipping to your company.
Shipping Income	Income	Shipping Income	This account keeps track of customer charges for shipping.
Undeposited Funds	Bank	Cash	This account tracks payments made in Fishbowl that are waiting to be deposited in the bank.

To create new accounts in Fishbowl Drive, go to the Chart of Accounts module.

You can map each item’s accounts for each kind of transaction it’s in under the General tab of the Items module. The Income account can be set up in the Sale Items tab of the Items module.

To change what the Account Names are called within Fishbowl Drive, go to the Account Mapping section of the Settings module. Click the EDIT button and select a different option from the dropdown menu next to each Account Name.

Waiting to export

The Waiting to Export section shows how many adjustments, credits, debits, etc. that have not yet been sent over to your QuickBooks Online file from Fishbowl Drive. They are under the following categories:

Inventory Adjustments - Increases or decreases in the number of units of items in stock. This can be the result of a cycle count, initial inventory, sale, purchase, return, and/or scrap.
Purchase Order Fulfillments - Purchase orders that have been received from vendors.
Sales Order Fulfillments - Sales orders that have been delivered to customers.
Payments - Money payable to a vendor or other entity in exchange for items, services, and more.
Credit Memos - Documents that reduce the amount of money owed from buyers with a discount.
Journal Entries - Records that balance your debits and credits in various accounts in QuickBooks Online to reflect transactions.
Vendor Credits - Money payable to your company from a vendor for a credit return purchase order.
Invoices - Records of transactions between your organization and buyers. If an invoice is unpaid, this will be added to your Accounts Receivable account.
Item Receipts - Records of incoming items that increase both your Inventory Asset and Accounts Payable accounts.

Click the red DISCONNECT button to remove the integration between your Fishbowl Drive and QuickBooks Online accounts.

Accounting basics

Accounting transactions are recorded in two columns: Debits on the left and Credits on the right. This is sometimes visualized as a large letter T.

It is important to note that debit/credit is not necessarily the same as positive/negative. Depending on the account type, a debit can increase or decrease the account balance, as can a credit.

With double-entry accounting, the total debits will always equal the total credits. A debit to any account must be offset by one or more credits to another account. The matching totals at the bottom of these charts reflect the sum of debits and credits for the transaction, which is not the same as the order total.

Click the following links for a glossary of accounting terms or a free Accounting course.

You can see adjustments to various accounts, as well as their balances, in the Chart of Accounts module.

All accounting transactions in Fishbowl Drive can be divided into three main categories:

Inventory adjustments
Sales orders
Purchase orders

Inventory adjustments

Cycle count up

The quantity is manually increased by 1 for an inventory item with a cost of $100.

Cycle count down

The quantity is manually decreased by 1 for an inventory item with a cost of $100.

Scrap inventory

The quantity is manually decreased by 1 by scrapping an inventory item with a cost of $100.

Add initial inventory

During initial setup, existing inventory is manually added (instead of purchased).

Sales orders

Inventory item sold

An inventory item with a cost of $100 is sold for $200.

Customer payment

A customer payment is received for an order.

Received credit return item

A customer returns an item, and it is received back into inventory.

Customer payment refunded

A customer payment is refunded.

Non-inventory item sold

A non-inventory item with a cost of $100 is sold for $200.

Discounted item sold

A $200 inventory item is discounted and sold for $150.

Drop ship item sold

An inventory item is purchased from a vendor for $100, sold for $200, and then drop-shipped directly to the customer.

Shipping expense

An inventory item is shipped, which accrues an expense paid by your company.

Purchase orders

Inventory item received

An inventory item is received for $1,000 but it hasn't been reconciled yet. The holding account sets aside $1,000 in anticipation of paying the vendor.

Previously received inventory item is reconciled

A previously received inventory item is reconciled. First, the Holding transaction shown above is undone.

Then a new transaction records the amount into your inventory asset account and your accounts payable account.

Inventory item fulfilled

An inventory item is purchased for $100, received into inventory, and fulfilled.

Inventory item returned on credit return purchase order

A $100 inventory item is shipped back to the vendor.

Non-inventory item purchased

A non-inventory item is purchased for $100 and fulfilled.

Previous export

The following information is contained in a table about the most-recent export that was attempted in this module:

Date - The month, day, and year (MM/DD/YYYY) that the most-recent export to QuickBooks Online was completed.
Time - The hour, minute, and second (HH:MM:SS AM/PM) that the most-recent export to QuickBooks Online was completed.
Details - A brief description of the ledger being exported.
Type - The category the export falls into, such as Adjustment.
Results - A brief description of the success or failure of the export.
Status - The condition of the most-recent export, whether successful or not.

History

The following information is contained in a table about every previous export that was attempted in this module:

Date - The month, day, and year (MM/DD/YYYY) that a previous export to QuickBooks Online was completed.
Time - The hour, minute, and second (HH:MM:SS AM/PM) that a previous export to QuickBooks Online was completed.
Status - The condition of a previous export, whether successful or not.

Mark As Posted

Transactions that are Mark As Posted will not export to QuickBooks Online. Transactions should only be marked as posted after consulting with an accountant as there is no way to re-post transactions that have been marked as posted. If you are planning to manually create transactions in QuickBooks Online, please ensure that you manually create all of the related journal entries as well.

Mark All Transactions As Posted - Clicking Mark As Posted at the bottom of the list will mark ALL pending transactions as posted.

Mark Selected Transactions As Posted - Fishbowl Drive also allows individual transactions to be marked as posted by clicking the > on the transaction category. Currently, you must find any related transactions and mark them as posted too.
In the example below, there are two transactions related to Sales Order 1020: An Invoice (1 debit and 1 credit) and a Journal Entry (1 debit and 1 credit). If you mark a transaction as posted, you will also need to manually find any related transactions and mark them as posted too.

Common Error Codes

QuickBooks Online publishes a list of error codes that may be returned when exporting from Fishbowl Drive to QuickBooks Online. Below are some of the most common errors we have seen, and possible solutions.

An Inventory type item already exists for item 'XXXXXX' in Quickbooks Online. Please rename or delete the item in Quickbooks Online to allow the sync to succeed.
- Solution - This is one of the most common errors, and it can cause many of the additional errors listed below. Items in QuickBooks Online need to be set to Service type for Fishbowl Drive to be able to export them. You can either open QuickBooks Online and update the status for each of your Inventory items one at a time, or you can inactivate all of your Inventory type items in bulk. Then Fishbowl Drive will be able to create new Service type items on the next export.

Error Code 2020 - Error with purchase order 'XXXX': Required param missing, need to supply the required value for the API. Required parameter Line.ItemBasedExpenseLineDetail.ItemRef is missing in the request.
- Solution - This is usually a result of a separate error with an item or vendor on the referenced order number (XXXX). Once the other error is resolved, this order error will typically resolve as well.

Error Code 2020 - SO ship for SO number: 'XXXX' Journal Entry Failure: Required param missing, need to supply the required value for the API. Required parameter EntityId.value is missing in the request.
- Solution - This is usually a result of a separate error with an item or customer on the referenced order number (XXXX). Once the other error is resolved, this order error will typically resolve as well.

Error Code 2500 - Error with item 'XXXXX': Invalid Reference Id. Something you're trying to use has been made inactive. Check the fields with accounts, customers, items, vendors or employees.
- Solution - You will need to go into your QuickBooks Online and open your inactive list of items and reactivate the item that matches the error code.

Error Code 6000 - Error with sale item 'XXXX': A business validation error has occurred while processing your request. Business Validation Error: An unexpected error occurred while accessing or saving your data. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists, contact customer support.
- Solution - Go into QuickBooks Online and change the item to be a Service type item and then run the export again.

Error Code 6000 - Error with sale item 'XXXX': A business validation error has occurred while processing your request. Business Validation Error: Do you also want to update memorized sales transactions to use the new sales price?
- Solution - Items in QuickBooks Online need to be set to Service type for Fishbowl Drive to be able to export them. You can either open QuickBooks Online and update the status for each of your Inventory items one at a time, or you can inactivate all of your Inventory type items in bulk. Then Fishbowl Drive will be able to create new Service type items on the next export. If the item is on a memorized transaction it would need be removed first before the status can be changed and then it would need to be re-added to the memorized transactions afterwards.

Error Code 6000 - Error with item 'XXXXXX': A business validation error has occurred while processing your request. Business Validation Error: Do you also want to update existing sales transactions to use the new sales account?
- Solution - Ensure that the default income account in Fishbowl Drive (or the account specifically mapped to the item in Fishbowl Drive) matches the the item account in QuickBooks Online.

Error Code 6000 - Error with customer 'XXXXXXXX': A business validation error has occurred while processing your request. Business Validation Error: Tax Exemption Reason should be specified incase customer is marked as not taxable.
- Solution - If you have sales tax turned on in QuickBooks Online then all of your customers will need to be assigned a tax in the Customers module of Fishbowl Drive.

Error Code 6130 - Error with customer 'Child XXXXXXXX': Cannot Change Who Customer Bills With. You cannot change who this customer bills with because there are invoices for the parent that include charges for this customer, or there are payments from the parent that pay off invoices for this customer. Delete all payments or invoices to this customer's parent which link to this customer.
- Solution - Open this customer in Fishbowl Drive. Remove the parent customer and then click Save. Re-add the parent customer and click Save. This will allow the customer to import successfully. This is caused by importing your customers via a CSV file and populating the field Customer-BillWithParent with TRUE or FALSE.

Error Code 6210 - Error with item 'XXXXX': Account Period Closed, Cannot Update Through Services API. The account period has closed and the account books cannot be updated through through the QuickBooks Online Services API. Please use the QuickBooks Online website to make these changes.
- Solution - You can either open the closed period in QuickBooks Online or you can mark the transaction as posted in Fishbowl Drive and manually create the entries needed directly in QuickBooks Online to account for the details.

Error Code 6240 - Error with vendor 'XXXXXXXX': Duplicate Name Exists Error. The name supplied already exists. Another customer, vendor, or employee is already using this name. Please use a different name.
- Solution - QuickBooks Online doesn't allow for a customer, vendor, or employee to have the same name. You can edit the vendor in Fishbowl Drive to add a - so that the name is unique.

Error Code 6240 - Error with customer 'XXXXXXXX': Duplicate Name Exists Error. The name supplied already exists. Another customer, vendor, or employee is already using this name. Please use a different name.
- Solution - QuickBooks Online doesn't allow for a customer, vendor, or employee to have the same name. You can edit the customer in Fishbowl Drive to add a - so that the name is unique.

Error Code 6430 - Error with item 'FBO Flat Rate Tax': Invalid account type used. Invalid account type: You can't associate a product or service with accounts of certain types (such as Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable). If the product or service is something you sell, use an income account. If the the product or service is something you buy, use an expense account.
- Solution - Update the account mapping for 'FBO Flat Rate Tax' to be an expense account type.

Error Code 10000 - Error with sales order 'XXXXXX': An application error has occurred while processing your request. System Failure Error: java.lang.NumberFormatException: null
- Solution - This is usually a result of a separate error with an item or customer on the referenced order number (XXXX). Once the other error is resolved, this order error will typically resolve as well.