Integrating QuickBooks with Fishbowl: What You Need to Know

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You might be familiar with QuickBooks as a means of handling accounting information. By integrating QuickBooks with Fishbowl, you can more easily manage both your inventory and your accounting, allowing for more productivity in your business.

You can integrate your business accounting with either the QuickBooks software or QuickBooks Online. Let’s go over some of the information you need to know to create a proper integration between Fishbowl and QuickBooks.

How Do I Prepare to Integrate Fishbowl and QuickBooks?

First, note that you need to have .NET 4.0 or higher on your computer in order to integrate QuickBooks with Fishbowl. Also, the beginning stages of integrating Fishbowl and QuickBooks require you to have accurate information in your QuickBooks.

Therefore, review every detail to make sure it’s correct. If there are errors, they will end up transferring into Fishbowl. So be sure to check inventory, vendor information, and customer information.

What’s more, you should count all of your inventory before you begin the integration so you can start your new program with the most up-to-date information.

Ensure Values Match in Fishbowl and QuickBooks

Another important thing you need to do is to make sure the values in Fishbowl and QuickBooks will match after your integration.

So go to Fishbowl’s Inventory Valuation Summary, and see that it matches your Inventory Asset Account in QuickBooks. This check will allow you to make any adjustments so as to match your real world inventory.

Next, change all your inventory values in Fishbowl zero. Then, when you import your QuickBooks inventory information, Fishbowl will update its values to match.

Close All Purchase and Sales Orders

An equally important task is to close all purchases and open sales orders in QuickBooks.

You have two options for how you can transition this information to Fishbowl. One option is to manually input the orders from QuickBooks into Fishbowl, and then delete the information off of QuickBooks.

The other option is to fulfill all the orders in QuickBooks first, and then integrate it with Fishbowl.

The problem that can occur if you don’t close orders on QuickBooks and create the orders in Fishbowl is that you will end up with duplicate invoices in QuickBooks.

What Happens After I Integrate Fishbowl and QuickBooks?

After you’ve integrated QuickBooks with Fishbowl, Fishbowl will then manage all of the inventory.

This means you should turn off all purchase orders and inventory in QuickBooks after your integration. From this point forward, Fishbowl will create all sales orders and purchase orders. Also, Fishbowl will send invoices and bills to QuickBooks when orders are fulfilled and exports are completed.

The one thing that QuickBooks will still control will be bill payment. When Fishbowl takes payments through Merchant Services, it will send a sales receipt to QuickBooks.

Fishbowl will also adjust the cycle count account, the sales order account, and the purchase order account, among others.

How Does the QuickBooks Integration Wizard Work?

The QuickBooks Integration Wizard is designed to help you integrate QuickBooks and Fishbowl. It will help you with importing data and selecting accounts.

The first step to having your integration be successful is to install QuickBooks on the server computer. You should also install Fishbowl on both the server and the client computer.

Once you’ve done this, log onto Fishbowl Client as an admin on your server computer. Then, also as an admin, log onto QuickBooks in the single-user mode. In the accounting integration module, select the Configure tab, and then click on the QuickBooks Connection button.

Map Your Accounts

You’ll then be given recommendations for mapping your accounts. You’ll also see a list of all the accounts that you need to map.

From here, review and decide on the accounts in QuickBooks that you want to be referenced in QuickBooks. Create any new accounts you want in QuickBooks before you proceed to the next step.

Create Users

Next, you’ll be asked to create a user in QuickBooks. This will be used when Fishbowl exports to QuickBooks.

To create a user, navigate to the Company Menu and choose the option “Users.” Next, click on “Set Up Users and Roles.” Make sure the new users you create have names you can recognize as associated with your Fishbowl.

After you’ve decided on the first user name, assign “Full Access” to that user. To ensure it’s secure, you can create a password for it.

Connect to the Right Database

For the next step, have your QuickBooks open and connected to the right database. In the Accounting Integration Wizard for the QuickBooks File step, you’ll see an option to use the file currently opened in QuickBooks or use a specified file name.

Click on the option for the file currently opened in QuickBooks.

Choose Access Options

As you go to the next step, Fishbowl will start the process of connecting to QuickBooks. Allow Fishbowl to access your company file if you see a prompt to allow access on the screen. You can choose to always allow access, only allow access when the QuickBooks company file is open, or be prompted each time to decide if you want to allow access.

For more ease of use in the future, choose the option to always allow access. This way, you won’t need to have QuickBooks open on the same computer to export to QuickBooks.

Set Up the Default Accounts to Use

Next, go back to Fishbowl and select your QuickBooks file, choose to use the file currently open, and move to the next step. Then, you’ll be asked if you want to use the default accounts on Fishbowl or your existing accounts on QuickBooks.

It’s best to have an accountant to help you with this step. However, if you encounter errors in the future, you’ll still be able to make changes to the account.

Finish the Integration

Finally, you’ll choose the items you want to import from QuickBooks to Fishbowl. When the import is complete, click Finish, and your integration will be complete.

From this point forward, Fishbowl will control inventory and purchase orders, so you should turn those features off on QuickBooks.

Better Manage Both Inventory and Accounting by Integrating Fishbowl and QuickBooks

Integrating Fishbowl and QuickBooks can make the process of managing both your accounting and your inventory easier.

Before you begin, research the pros and cons to see if integrating QuickBooks with Fishbowl is the best option for you. You can learn about Fishbowl’s services at this link: https://lilypadforfishbowl.com/

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