QuickBooks Integration: Getting Credit Card Processing Data into QuickBooks

There are many processors who are able to offer integration or data export for QuickBooks, eliminating manual transaction entry.

• Types of QuickBooks Solutions
  • Accounting Software
  • QuickBooks Payments
  • Point of Sale Software
• How do I get transaction data into my QuickBooks account?
  • Point-of-Sale System Integration
  • Gateway Plugin
  • Export Data
• Should I just use QuickBooks Payments to process credit cards so that transactions will sync automatically?

Types of QuickBooks Solutions

Firstly, it’s important to understand which QuickBooks programs or systems you want to integrate. Intuit offers several QuickBooks solutions: accounting software, payment processing, and point-of-sale software.

QuickBooks Accounting Software

QuickBooks accounting software is what most businesses are referring to when they talk about QuickBooks. The accounting software is very popular in business, and includes features to manage accounts payable, track sales and expenses, create invoices, create tax reports, and more. Note: QuickBooks Online (QBO) also falls into this category.

Payments

QuickBooks Payments is the payment processing branch of Intuit QuickBooks. You can use it to accept payments online, with a mobile device, or by sending an electronic invoice. Payments allows acceptance of Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. Additionally, you can accept ACH bank transfers. If you use QuickBooks Payments and QuickBooks accounting software, your transactions automatically sync.

QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale Software (End of Life)

Point of Sale is Intuit’s software solution for accepting credit card payments when the customer is present with their card, such as in retail stores or restaurants. However, as of October 2023, Intuit is discontinuing the desktop point of sale solution. The company has partnered with Shopify and suggests users with Quickbooks desktop POS move to Shopify.

For the purposes of this article, we’re going to discuss options available to input card transaction information into your QuickBooks accounting software without manual entry.

QuickBooks accounting software is available in multiple versions. Currently, Intuit offers the following:

• Self-Employed
• Online
• Pro
• Premier
• Enterprise
• QuickBooks for Mac

All of this software provides accounting and management functions. These programs do not allow for payment acceptance by themselves. You will need to have a merchant account with a payment processor to accept card payments.

How do I get transaction data into my QuickBooks accounting software?

There are several options for reconciling sales and transaction data with QuickBooks. You can use:

1. A point-of-sale system that integrates with QuickBooks
2. A payment processor that offers a gateway with a QuickBooks plugin to process from QuickBooks
3. A processor that offers transaction data export to QuickBooks

Let’s explore these options further.

Point of Sale System Integration

A direct integration to QuickBooks through a point-of-sale system is easy, but has the least number of choices in both point-of-sale programs and payment processors. With this type of integration, the point-of-sale software must be compatible with QuickBooks software. QuickBooks promotes its partnership with Shopify, and that is the company’s preferred POS integration. However, others may also be possible, such as integrations with Toast, Stripe, and more. With any integration, there are multiple pieces to think about.

Let’s say you want to open a retail store and use QuickBooks in your accounting department. You choose to use Shopify for your point-of-sale software, and purchase a POS bundle that includes the software on a touchscreen POS system with a cash drawer and receipt printer. You also purchase QuickBooks accounting software. Additionally, you’ll need a merchant account from a processor that supports Shopify. That could be direct through Shopify Payments or a compatible processor.

With an integrated system, inventory and items for sale are set up in QuickBooks and then copied to the POS system to create a cash register-style interface for employees. At the end of shifts, the integrated POS system automatically updates QuickBooks with sales information.

Gateway Plugin

The option of a gateway plugin for QuickBooks provides more choices in payment processors. With gateway plugins, you can pay invoices, generate receipts, process batch transactions view batch reports, and more without exiting QuickBooks. A variety of processors support gateway plugins. Some plugins can  even support swiped card transactions if a compatible encrypted card reader is connected. When choosing a payment processor, you can ask the company’s customer service representative if their gateway offers a QuickBooks plugin.

Export Data

The most common option, exporting data to QuickBooks, is supported by a wide range of processors and services, such as PayPal, Authorize.Net, BigCommerce, Volusion, WooCommerce, Stripe, Etsy, Amazon, Vend, and more.

With the export option, you can easily export data in a QuickBooks-friendly format and import it directly into your QuickBooks software. Some services require you to initiate the export of data from your system into QuickBooks each time you want to reconcile it, while other services (like PayPal) can be configured to automatically import transaction data into QuickBooks.

The process for submitting data to QuickBooks varies, but many services offer a one-click feature to send transaction data directly to your QuickBooks account. Note that some features (such as one-click data export) are only compatible with QuickBooks Online.

While exporting to QuickBooks does require a small amount of time because transactions must be first exported from your payment system and then imported into QuickBooks, the process has become more streamlined and many businesses report the process is quick and easy.

Exporting to QuickBooks provides the most choice of payment processors.

Should I use QuickBooks Payments to process credit cards so that transactions will sync automatically?

The ideal payment processor will vary depending on your specific business needs. If syncing transactions automatically to QuickBooks is a high priority for you, it may make sense to sign up for an account with QuickBooks Payments. However, it’s worth nothing that QuickBooks Payments may be more expensive than your current processor or other available processors. Taking credit cards isn’t cheap, and most businesses don’t want to give away more than they have to. But if paying more to have the ease of automatically synced transactions is a priority, that can be accomplished through QuickBooks Payments.

Not sure about the right option or what rates and fees are realistic for your business? Be sure to request quotes from different processors or sign up for free at CardFellow to compare rates available to you.