QuickBooks Link
Overview
Using the Commit-QuickBooks Link you can run your computer services business more efficiently. It was designed to simplify routine business, accounting and financial management tasks. With the Commit-QuickBooks Link, you only need to enter data once and it will appear in both Commit and QuickBooks. This feature not only saves you the time of manually entering data, but it also minimizes the problems of duplicate, redundant and wrong data common to manual data entry. Now you can synchronize your data between Commit and QuickBooks and ensure data accuracy, enhance your flexibility, and increase your control over your bottom line.
This user manual will help you use the features included in the Commit-QuickBooks Link module.
The Commit-QuickBooks Link includes the following features:
Customers
- Import all your QuickBooks Customers into Commit
- Changes made to QuickBooks Customers can be synchronized with Commit
- Create a new Customer in QuickBooks based on a selected Commit Account
- Create links between existing Commit Accounts and QuickBooks Customers to automate synchronization between them
- Send and receive updates for selected Accounts/Customers
Vendors
- Import all your QuickBooks Vendors into Commit
- Changes made to QuickBooks Vendors can be synchronized with Commit
- Create a new Account in Commit based on a selected QuickBooks Vendor
- Create a new Vendor in QuickBooks based on a selected Commit Account
- Create links between existing Commit Accounts and QuickBooks Vendors to automate synchronization between them
- Send and receive updates for selected Accounts/Vendors
Items
- Import any/all of the following QuickBooks Items into Commit:
- Service Items => Labor Items in Commit
- Inventory Parts => Products/Parts in Commit
- Non-Inventory Parts => Products/Parts in Commit
- Inventory Assembly Items => Products/Parts in Commit
- Other Charge Items => Expenses in Commit
- Changes made to QuickBooks Items can be synchronized with Commit
- Create a new Item in Commit based on a selected QuickBooks Item
- Create a new Item in QuickBooks based on a selected Commit Item
- Create links between existing Commit Items and QuickBooks Items to automate synchronization between them
- Send and receive updates for selected Items
Invoices
- Generate QuickBooks invoices based on charges entered in Commit
- Generate invoices at different levels:
- Account - Invoices generated at the Account level may include any charges linked to this account, its contracts and tickets.
- Contract - Generating an invoice at the Contract level may include only charges which are linked to this specific contract
- Ticket - Generating an invoice at the Ticket level may include only charges which are linked to this specific ticket
- See total unbilled pending charges according to Account, Contract and Ticket
- Select which charges to include in the invoice
- Create a QuickBooks invoice directly from the Account, Contract, or Ticket windows
- View all charges included in a QuickBooks invoice by filtering charges by the invoice reference value
Getting Started
To enjoy the benefits of the Commit-QuickBooks Link you first need to set it up. The setup is a user-friendly process that walks you through all the necessary steps to completion.
Supported Editions
Please note that currently Commit synchronizes with the following versions and editions of QuickBooks:
The following US versions of QuickBooks are supported:
- QuickBooks Pro 2009
- QuickBooks Premier 2009
- QuickBooks Enterprise 2009
- QuickBooks Pro 2008
- QuickBooks Premier 2008
- QuickBooks Enterprise 2008
- QuickBooks Pro 2007
- QuickBooks Premier 2007
- QuickBooks Enterprise 2007
- QuickBooks Pro 2006
- QuickBooks Premier 2006
- QuickBooks Enterprise 2006
- QuickBooks Pro 2005 - QuickBooks Premier 2005
- QuickBooks Enterprise 2005 - QuickBooks Pro 2004
- QuickBooks Premier 2004
Note for QuickBooks 2009 users:
CommitCRM 4.5, or above, is required to integrate with QuickBooks 2009.
Commit-QuickBooks Link uses a single currency. Multi-currency is not supported.
The following Canadian versions of QuickBooks are supported:
- QuickBooks Canada Pro 2008
- QuickBooks Canada Premier 2008
- QuickBooks Canada Pro 2007
- QuickBooks Canada Premier 2007
- QuickBooks Canada Pro 2006
- QuickBooks Canada Premier 2006
- QuickBooks Canada Pro 2005
- QuickBooks Canada Premier 2005
- QuickBooks Canada Pro 2004
- QuickBooks Canada Premier 2004
The following UK versions of QuickBooks are supported:
- QuickBooks UK Pro 2008
- QuickBooks UK Pro 2006
- QuickBooks UK Pro 2005
- QuickBooks UK Pro 2004
The following Australian versions of QuickBooks are supported (*):
- QuickBooks Pro 2008/09
- QuickBooks Premier 2008/09
The integration with QuickBooks Australia was tested and works in US compatibility mode.
[multi user mode is supported]
Installation Instructions
The Commit-QuickBooks Link setup uses a step-by-step wizard. In the installation instructions below, only the main steps of the installation process are covered. You can find complete installation instructions in the Advanced Topics section.
The Commit-QuickBooks Link needs to be set up once, after the initial setup you simply use the various options available to you from the QuickBooks menus.
Depending on your current system installation you may be asked to download an Intuit setup file. If you are asked to download the Intuit file, follow the download instructions that will be displayed.
Before running the setup make sure QuickBooks is installed on your computer, it is working properly and includes the latest patches and updates, and that you are logged in as a Windows Administrator.
Installing the Commit-QuickBooks Link
From the Main menu, select Tools > Options... and then navigate to the QuickBooks tab.
The Options dialog box appears.
Select the country your edition of QuickBooks belongs to, and click on Run Setup Wizard.
To integrate with QuickBooks, CommitCRM uses the latest direct API technologies offered by Intuit/QuickBooks, known as QBFC. QBFC should be installed on every PC on your network which will be using the Commit-QuickBooks Link.
If QBFC is not installed on your PC, you will be asked to install it.
Click 'Yes'. QBFC must be installed in order to use Commit-QuickBooks Link.
If you do not have the QBFC installation file, you may download it from the CommitCRM web site. Instructions for downloading the file from the CommitCRM site will appear. Follow these instructions, and then continue with the setup process.
The entire synchronization process takes place between CommitCRM and a QuickBooks company file which you select.
Continue with the wizard until you are asked to select the QuickBooks company file you wish to synchronize with CommitCRM.
Click on 'Click to Select' button to select your QuickBooks company file.
After selecting the company file continue with the setup process.
In the following screen, you will be asked to run QuickBooks and open the selected QuickBooks company file as a QuickBooks Administrator user and in Single User mode. Follow these instructions carefully to ensure a smooth installation of the Commit-QuickBooks Link.
Please follow the instructions in the screen shot above.
After logging into QuickBooks as an Administrator and in a single user mode, click 'Next'
CommitCRM will now try to access the selected QuickBooks company file. QuickBooks will display a window requesting permission to allow access to the file. Grant CommitCRM all the relevant permissions.
Make sure you select the following settings as illustrated above:
- Always allow access even if QuickBooks is not running
- Login as user with Admin privileges.
Note: The dialog box you see may slightly differ from the one above depending on your version/edition of QuickBooks.
Click Continue. QuickBooks will then ask you to confirm that you grant the permissions to CommitCRM. Click Yes.
When the permissions are granted to CommitCRM the setup is complete.
You will be returned to the Options window. Confirm by clicking OK.
Done! The Commit-QuickBooks Link setup is now complete.
To view complete installation instructions including all the steps, go to the Advanced Topics section.
Importing Customers/Vendors from QuickBooks into CommitCRM for the First Time
his section will show you how to import your Customers into CommitCRM.
Important note: If all your Customers are already in CommitCRM, do not use this import feature until you have created links between existing records in CommitCRM and their related records in QuickBooks. To learn more about how to create these links, click here.
Note that before performing a batch import, it is recommended that you first back up all your CommitCRM data. The CommitCRM data is stored in <server>Commit\DB.
After backing up your data, follow the instructions below to import Customers/Vendors from QuickBooks into CommitCRM:
In the Accounts window, go to the QuickBooks drop down toolbar menu and select Import New Records/Update Linked Records from QuickBooks.
If you have backed up your CommitCRM Data, click OK to continue with the import process.
The import wizard will ask you to select the QuickBooks records you would like to import into CommitCRM. By default, only active Customers are imported. If you want to import your vendors as well, follow the import wizard again once you have completed importing your Customers, and select Vendors.
Select the type of QuickBooks records you want to import, and click Next.
Click Finish.
Click Yes to begin importing the data.
The import process will begin.
Wait till the records are imported from QuickBooks to CommitCRM:
Click OK.
The import has finished. You can now see all the imported records in CommitCRM in the Accounts window:
Please note that QuickBooks Jobs are not imported in batch imports from QuickBooks. You can import jobs on one by one basis using the 'New Account in CommitCRM Based on QuickBooks' menu option.
Importing Items from QuickBooks into CommitCRM
This section will show you how to import your QuickBooks Items into CommitCRM.
Important Note: If all your Items are already in CommitCRM, do not use this import feature until you have created links between existing records in CommitCRM and their related records in QuickBooks. To learn more about how to create these links, click here.
Every Labor/Parts/Expense Charge in CommitCRM is based on a selected Item. This is why Items are important to the entire billing process. The Commit-QuickBooks Link enables you to import all your Items from QuickBooks, saving you from retyping Item details in CommitCRM.
Note that before performing a batch import, it is recommended that you first back up all your CommitCRM data. The CommitCRM data is stored in <server>Commit\DB.
After backing up your data follow the instructions below to import Items from QuickBooks into CommitCRM:
In the Items window, go to the QuickBooks drop down toolbar menu and select Import New Records/Update Linked Records from QuickBooks.
If you have backed up your CommitCRM Data, click OK to continue with the import process.
The import wizard will ask you to select the QuickBooks records you would like to import into CommitCRM. By default, all active Items are imported.
Select the types of Items you want to import from QuickBooks and click Next.
Click Finish.
Click Yes to begin importing the data.
The import process will begin.
Wait until the record are imported from QuickBooks to CommitCRM:
Click OK.
The import has finished. You can now see all the imported records in CommitCRM, in the Items window.
Create New Invoice
CommitCRM lets you create QuickBooks Invoices at the Account/Ticket/Contract levels.
If you create an invoice at the Account level, all Billable charges related to the Account that haven't been billed yet will be included in the invoice, including charges related to Tickets and Contracts.
If you create an invoice at the Contract level, only Billable charges that haven't been billed yet which are related to the selected Contract will be included in the invoice, including all Ticket-related charges.
If you create an invoice at the Ticket level, only Billable charges that haven't been billed yet which are related to the selected Ticket will be included in the invoice.
In all cases, you can also include not-billable charges in the invoice, which will be displayed in the invoice with a zero billable total amount. This way you can include all the charges without actually billing for not-billable charges.
There are two ways to create an invoice. The first option is creating an invoice for a specific Account, Ticket or Contract, and the second option is creating invoices for open balances in general.
Option 1: Go to the Accounts/Tickets/Contracts window, and select Create Invoice... on the QuickBooks drop down toolbar menu.
or
or
Option 2: Go to the File menu, select New and then QuickBooks Invoice.
After selecting this option the Generate QuickBooks Invoice dialog box is displayed:
Select the level at which you want to generate the invoice (either Accounts, Tickets, or Contracts).
View all the open Billable charges for the level you selected:
In the example above, the Ticket level was selected. All the Tickets with open Billable charges are displayed. Select the Ticket for which you want to create an invoice and click Select Ticket and Continue.
After selecting the Account/Contract/Ticket record for which you want to create an invoice, the following window is displayed (this window is also displayed when the Create Invoice... option has been selected from the Account/Contact/Ticket window in Option 1 above):
All Billable charges that haven't been billed yet and are related to the selected Account, Contract or Ticket record (Ticket in the example above) are displayed and by default are selected (using the check mark) to be included in the invoice. In addition, you can include Not-billable charges in the invoice. Not-Billable charges are displayed in the invoice, however, they do not affect the invoice total.
To include or exclude the not-billable charges click the Include Not-Billable Charge/Exclude Not-Billable Charges button. Note that Administrators can set the system to always include the Not-Billable charges from Tools > Options > QuickBooks.
In the charge list you can select which charges will be included in the invoice by selecting or unselecting them by clicking on the checkbox to the left of the record.
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At this stage you can also set different parameters for the invoice itself. The following options are located at the top of the Generate QuickBooks Invoice window:
- Bill To - This is the invoice billing address. By default it is taken from the Bill To data defined for the customer in QuickBooks. You can enter a different address in this box if necessary.
If you have modified this information by mistake and want to use the QuickBooks defaults, right-click above the field and select Set by QuickBooks. - Ship To - This is the invoice shipping address. By default it is taken from the Ship To data set defined for the customer in QuickBooks. You can enter a different address in this box if necessary.
If you have modified this information by mistake and want to use the QuickBooks defaults, right-click above the field and select Set by QuickBooks. - Date - This is the invoice date. By default, the date used is today's date. You can modify the date if necessary by typing an alternate date in this field.
- Reference - This is the invoice Reference number. This number is set by default by QuickBooks. You can modify this number if necessary by typing an alternate Reference number in the field.
- Due Date - This is the invoice Due Date. By default, the date is one month from today's date. You can modify this date if necessary by entering an alternate due date in the field.
- Memo - This field is for invoice memo/notes. If necessary, enter a memo that will appear as part of the QuickBooks invoice.
After entering the invoice details and selecting the relevant Charges, click Next.
The lines of the invoice are now displayed as they will appear in the QuickBooks invoice.
In this step you can modify the text which will be displayed on the invoice lines. Note that all modifications made to the invoice lines here are not applied to Charges in CommitCRM, and only apply to the QuickBooks invoice lines.
Move Line Up/Down You can use the Move Line Up/Move Line Down buttons or the Advanced Sort button to modify the order of the invoice lines.
Insert Line/s You can also use the Add Blank Line button to include blank lines between the invoice lines in order to space the invoice up and make it more readable
Incl. in Description You can also use the "Incl. in Description" button to include additional information to all invoice line simultaneously, such as:
Click on Incl. in Description and select the data you wish to be added to the description for every invoice line. To add this information to all invoices by default go to Tools > Options > QuickBooks and select the information you want to include in invoice lines.
You can double-click on each invoice line to add or edit the text/description of the selected line.
As mentioned above, these changes will take affect only on the invoice lines in QuickBooks. The original charges will not be affected by these changes.
In the image below, you can see that additional information has appeared in the Description column of the invoice lines.
When the invoice information is complete, click Generate QuickBooks Invoice.
CommitCRM will now verify all the settings with QuickBooks and will add the QuickBooks invoice. Once an invoice has been created, the following unofficial invoice will be displayed. This invoice is just to give you an idea of how the invoice was created in QuickBooks. For complete details, view the invoice details in QuickBooks.
If you wish to create another invoice, click on Create New Invoice'. Otherwise, you can close the window.
The invoice we've created looks like the following in QuickBooks:
Using the Commit-QuickBooks Link
At this stage, where the Commit-QuickBooks Link installation setup is complete, you can start using it.
A few clicks will allow you to sync information between the two programs. Thus saving a lot of time and increasing productivity.
The first stage after the installation is to import Customers, Vendors and Items from QuickBooks into CommitCRM.
Please note that you can easily perform the imports (as explained below).
However, we strongly recommend to backup CommitCRM data prior to the imports.
You should backup <server>\Commit\DB folder including all files while no one is using CommitCRM.
Note: If you are already using CommitCRM for a while and already have all your customers and items record in CommitCRM you should match CommitCRM records with QuickBooks records instead of importing the records (importing the records in this case will only create duplicates in your database and therefore it should be avoided). To learn more about how to link existing records between the two systems see Link Account to QuickBooks Customer/Job/Vendor Record or click here.
Accounts
Your company has ongoing interactions with customers, vendors, business partners, friends, leads, and so on. In CommitCRM, each of these types of contacts is called an Account. You can manage your Account contact data and all other related data in the Accounts window.
In Accounts, related data is any information related to the Account that is presently being managed in CommitCRM, such as scheduled Appointments, open Tasks, Phone Call monitoring, Ticket/incident history, Assets (customer equipment and software licenses), Charges, linked Documents (MS-Word, emails, Excel etc.), Sales Opportunities and so on.
Account information is organized in separate information tabs that display different types of data.
To view all information related to an Account, open the Accounts window, locate the required Account, and browse through its data by clicking on the information tabs.
Accounts can be easily imported from QuickBooks, and changes can be synchronized between both systems.
Learn about the Commit-QuickBooks Link Account Options.
Items
Items in CommitCRM are a catalog of all the services and products you offer. The Items list in CommitCRM acts as your price list.
Each Item has a unique Code, Name, Description and Pricing Setting.
There are three types of Items in CommitCRM:
Parts Items are hardware, software, or any other items you ship to your customer. These items have fixed prices.
Labor Items are services you provide to your customers, such as server installation, network installation, on-site technician visits, etc. Each Labor item can have a fixed price, a fixed hourly rate, or a dynamic hourly rate that varies depending upon the employee who performs the service.
Expense Items are used to charge expenses, such as travel and special deliveries. Expense Items can have a fixed price per unit or a fixed hourly rate.
For each new Charge record, an Item is selected and the relevant Item data is automatically copied to the new charge. This streamlines your data entry process. Also, the selected Item for a Charge in CommitCRM will be the Item that appears on the QuickBooks invoice line when the Charge is transferred to a QuickBooks invoice.
Items can be Active or Suspended. A suspended Item cannot be selected when adding new charges.
Items can be easily imported from QuickBooks, and changes can be synchronized between QuickBooks and CommitCRM.
Learn about the Commit-QuickBooks Link Items Options.
Invoices
With the Commit-QuickBooks Link you can create invoices in QuickBooks based on charges entered in CommitCRM.
This feature allows you to manage all the aspects of your service in one program: CommitCRM. You can manage Tickets, enter Charges, etc. in CommitCRM, while all billing is managed in QuickBooks.
QuickBooks invoices can easily be created from CommitCRM at the customer level, the service contract level and the ticket level.
All invoices created from CommitCRM are based on Charge records added in CommitCRM. Each Charge record is either a labor charge for work performed, a parts charge describing a part that has been used, or an expense charge for expenses spent on behalf of the customer, i.e. for special deliveries.
It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the following terms in CommitCRM:
Tickets – Every incident, problem, or job you handle for a customer is managed in CommitCRM using a Ticket record. Click here to learn more.
Contracts – Contract records are used to manage your service contracts and track their status. Click here to learn more.
Charges – Charge records are used to track all activities that will be charged to customers, such as labor, parts and expenses. Click here to learn more.
Learn about Commit-QuickBooks Link Invoice Creation Options.
Charges
Tracking Charges is a key factor for running your service business well and improving its performance. Most employees, however, consider this to be a nuisance or a burden, which makes it difficult to maximize your full income potential.
Three types of Charges can be tracked in CommitCRM:
Labor Charges for services provided
Expense Charges for expenses such as travel and delivery
Parts Charges for parts or products used
Each Charge record includes a description and information regarding the Account being charged, the charged Item (see the section on Items above), quantity, price, and total amount. Each Charge record can also be linked to a Ticket (optional).
All Charges are entered under one of the Account’s active Contracts. Charges may automatically change the current state of the contract where relevant, i.e. a Charge will reduce the time remaining in a Block of Time contract, reduce the amount of money in a Block of Money contract, etc.
A Charge can be set as Billable or Not Billable. When a Charge is set as Billable it means that you intend to bill the customer for this charge. The default billing status for Charges is determined by the type of contract under which the Charge is being created. See Understanding the Billing Status of Charges below. Not-billable charges can also be included in invoices, however, these charges will display a zero amount and will not affect the invoice total amount.
Once a charged has been included in an invoice, the Charge record is set as Billed, and you can view the QuickBooks invoice reference number in the charge window. This prevents a customer from being billed again for the same Charge.
Adding a Charge is easy and this can be done in CommitCRM’s Main menu, the Tickets window (recommended), the Charges main window, or the Account window. Charges can also be added from anywhere using a web browser and an Internet connection, for this you need Commit Web Interface.
Use Items to speed up the process of entering new Charges. When an Item is selected for a Charge, its description and price are automatically copied into the relevant fields in the Charge record.
Many types of Charge reports are available. These reports are used to bill customers and analyze business performance.
Learn about Commit-QuickBooks Link Charges Options