Setting Up QuickBooks Online
Sync Invoices and Purchases instantly and get rid of double entry!
Benefits of the QuickBooks Online Integration
Streamlined Accounting: Connect Distru and QuickBooks to automate syncing of sales, purchases, payments, and returns
Reduced Data Entry: Avoid repetitive manual entry and mistakes causing mismatched records
Real-Time Financial Data: See updated financials and make better business decisions faster
Automatic Item Sync: QuickBooks items are imported into Distru automatically, keeping your catalog in sync without manual work
Step-by-Step Guide to Set Up
1. Access Integration Settings in Distru
Log in to your Distru account
Go to the main menu and click Settings
From the menu, select Integrations
2. Connect QuickBooks Online
Within Integrations, select QuickBooks Online
Click Connect to QuickBooks Online
You will be prompted to log into your QuickBooks Online account
Once logged in, grant permissions to allow Distru access to your QuickBooks data by following the prompts
💡 Note: As soon as your QBO account is connected, Distru will immediately import all of your existing QuickBooks items. After that initial import, items will continue to sync on an hourly basis.
3. Configure Key Accounts and Preferences
After authorizing the connection, you'll be redirected to configuration settings in Distru. First you'll need to set up your default income, expense, and deposit accounts:
Default Income Account: Select an 'Income' type account from your QBO chart of accounts
Default Expense Account: Choose a 'Cost of Goods Sold' type account
Sales Deposit Account: Pick a 'Bank' type account for sales deposits
Purchase Deposit Account: Select a 'Bank' type account for purchase deposits
If needed, go to QuickBooks to create or adjust accounts before setting them up in Distru.
4. QuickBooks Items and Product Mapping
Once your integration is connected, Distru will automatically import your QuickBooks items. Here's what you need to know:
How the sync works:
Items are imported immediately when you first connect your QBO account, so your full item catalog is available in Distru right away
After the initial import, items continue to sync once per hour to pick up any new or updated items
Inventory items are excluded. Only non-inventory and service items will be synced into Distru
You can still create items directly in Distru. Any item created in Distru will be pushed to QBO nearly immediately
Mapping items to your products:
Go to your Products table in Distru
Edit the product you wish to map
Click the QuickBooks tab at the top of the edit form
Select the appropriate QBO item for both Sales and Purchases
⭐️ Pro-Tip: Use the Bulk Update feature in the Products table to select multiple products at once and assign a QBO item in one step — a big time saver when managing a large catalog!
Creating a QBO Class:
To assign a QuickBooks Class to an item, go directly to a QuickBooks item in Distru, either by editing an existing one or creating a new one:
At the bottom of the item setup, click the QuickBooks Class field
Select the appropriate class and click Submit to save
Keep in mind that the Class will only be sent on each transaction if Class Tracking is enabled in your QuickBooks account. Note that classes cannot be created from within Distru — you must first create the class directly in QuickBooks, and then you'll be able to select it from the dropdown in Distru.
5. Set Up Taxes
Navigate back to Settings in Distru, then select Customize Distru and click on Taxes
Map the Excise Tax (or other relevant taxes) to a specific QBO account, such as an Other Current Liability account, if applicable
6. Sync an Invoice or Purchase!
Try syncing a test invoice or bill to make sure your settings are configured properly. You can see the sync status of your integration by clicking the QB icon in the integrations panel.
⚠️ Important: What Happens When a QBO Item Is Inactivated
If a QBO item is inactivated in QuickBooks, the following will happen automatically the next time Distru syncs:
The item will be deleted from Distru
It will be dissociated from any Distru products it was mapped to (both Sales and Purchase item mappings)
When a product is no longer mapped to an active QBO item, Distru will fall back to default items to ensure your transactions can still sync:
Invoice line items will use the default Distru Sales QBO item
Bill line items will use the default Distru Purchases QBO item
While this ensures syncing won't break entirely, we strongly recommend remapping affected products to the correct active QBO item as soon as possible to ensure accurate categorization in QuickBooks.
⚠️ Before inactivating a QBO item, check which Distru products are mapped to it and remap them first to avoid falling back to default items. Use the Bulk Update feature in the Products table to efficiently reassign multiple products to a new QBO item at once.
Tips for a Smooth Integration
Immediate Item Import on Connect: When you first connect your QBO account, all existing QuickBooks items are imported right away. After that, the sync runs hourly to stay up to date
Inactivating Items Has Consequences: Always remap affected Distru products before inactivating a QBO item. Unmapped products will fall back to the default Distru Sales or Distru Purchases items when syncing
One-Way Accounting Sync: Changes made directly in QuickBooks to invoices, purchases, or payments do not sync back to Distru — always make those edits within Distru for accurate reporting
Handling Pre-Integration Records: Invoices or purchases created in Distru before the integration was set up won't auto-sync. Open each record and save it to trigger syncing
Account Mapping Conflicts: Ensure that Distru's mapped accounts align with QuickBooks to avoid errors
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to items I created in Distru before this change? Items you previously created in Distru that also exist in QBO will continue to work normally. If any Distru items do not have a matching item in QBO, they will be removed from Distru during the next sync.
Can I still create new items in Distru? Yes! Items created directly in Distru will push to QBO nearly immediately. However, to avoid duplicates, we recommend checking whether the item already exists in QBO first and letting it sync into Distru naturally.
Why was my item deleted from Distru? If an item disappears from Distru, it was most likely inactivated in QuickBooks. Check your QBO account under the inactive items list. If this happened by mistake, you can reactivate the item in QBO and it will re-sync into Distru on the next hourly run.
What if my product is no longer mapped to a QBO item? This can happen if the associated QBO item was inactivated in QuickBooks. Go to the QuickBooks tab on the product edit form to select a new active QBO item, or use the Bulk Update feature in the Products table to remap multiple products at once. In the meantime, any invoice or bill line items for that product will fall back to the default Distru Sales or Distru Purchases QBO items when syncing.
Why can't I delete a QBO item from Distru if it's associated with a product? To protect your data integrity, Distru prevents you from deleting an item that is actively mapped to one or more products. You'll need to dissociate the item from all products before it can be deleted from Distru.
Please reach out to our chat team for any extra assistance! 💥