QuickBooks Desktop: Supported Features and Recommendations

Please Note: The ClickTime Connector for QuickBooks Desktop is a legacy tool that is still supported for existing connector users.

If you are an existing customer using this connector and looking for assistance with an inquiry, please use this article or reach out to us at support@clicktime.com.

The ClickTime Connector for QuickBooks is an application you use to synchronize your ClickTime data with your QuickBooks Company File.

Supported Features
Unsupported Features
Recommendations
Payroll Settings
QuickBooks Classes
Installation and Setup

Supported Features

The integration is supported for the following:

• All US, Windows versions of QuickBooks Desktop, 2019 through 2024. (While our Connector is compatible with older versions, QuickBooks has ceased providing service updates to QuickBooks 2018 as of May 31, 2021 (more details here). Canadian and United Kingdom editions will likely work but not are not officially supported.
• The QuickBooks Company File and ClickTime Connector are installed on the same physical machine (for assistance with hosted versions of QuickBooks, please contact one of our hosting partners, which are listed here)
• .NET Framework 3.5 must be installed
• The Connector should work on all supported Windows operating systems. TLS 1.2 must be enabled
• Approved Expenses paid with a reimbursable Payment Type will be exported to a Vendor account as USD
• Time Off can be linked to one of two Payroll Items but QuickBooks Payroll is required. You will also need to enable Leave Type List Controls on the Company --> Preferences page here in order to export Time Off entries
• The ClickTime account can synchronize time and expenses to a single QuickBooks Company File. While you may be able to use the Connector with more than one account (or more than one Company File simultaneously), our Support Team will not be able to support that workflow if any issues occur
• Time will be associated with the linked ClickTime employee and associated with the linked ClickTime Client, Project, and Task. Client/Projects in ClickTime will need to be linked to a QuickBooks Customer/Job, and Tasks in ClickTime will be be linked to a QuickBooks Service Item. Please note that your account terminology for these objects may differ
• People, Projects, and Tasks in ClickTime can only be linked to one corresponding Employee, Customer:Job, and Service Item in QuickBooks. You will not be able to link multiple options in ClickTime to the same option in QuickBooks, or vice-versa
• You must be a ClickTime Administrator to log into the Connector - and your ClickTime login credentials will be the same ones used to login to the Connector
• You must be be logged into Windows as an Administrator when installing / accessing the Connector
• You will need to be a QuickBooks Administrator using QuickBooks in single-user mode to process the synchronization
• Time-tracking must be enabled in QuickBooks, and your ClickTime accounting application (on the Company --> Preferences page here) must be set to QuickBooks
• Class information can be exported - more details below
• The Connector can be used to create People/Clients/Projects/Tasks in ClickTime or Employees/Customers/Jobs/Service Items in QuickBooks. However, we encourage you to review these sections of QuickBooks later and edit them further as needed
• In order to synchronize time, you will need to make sure that every employee in QuickBooks is set to "Use time data to create paychecks"

Unsupported Features

The Connector is not designed to support the following:

• Organizations that "require" accessing ClickTime with a Single Sign-On method (more details here)
• Multi-user mode QuickBooks files
• Exporting sub-project data
• Exporting to multiple QuickBooks files at one time
• Exporting expenses in a currency other than USD
• Exporting expenses that were submitted with a non-reimbursable Payment Type
• Exporting time off associated with the Company Holiday Leave Type
• QuickBooks sub-classes
• Classification of Overtime. ClickTime will export time entries from ClickTime, but if you need to use QuickBooks to determine Overtime, that will need to be configured in QuickBooks
• Exporting Billing Rates from ClickTime - invoicing is expected to be done in QuickBooks once the time entries have been synchronized to QuickBooks
• Changes made in ClickTime while the Connector is open. If anything changes in ClickTime during your session, please restart the Connector to ensure the most recent data moves over
• Mapping objects outside the scope of the Connector schema (ie. trying to map a Person record in ClickTime directly to an Invoice in QuickBooks)
• QuickBooks Company Files that are stored on a virtual machine. If you are interested in working with an official ClickTime QuickBooks hosting partner, please see a list of partners here

Recommendations

For best results:

• We recommend thoroughly reviewing all documentation on this integration and reviewing the Installation and Setup instructions (here) in full to be sure your setup is supported before proceeding to install and use the Connector
• If possible, we recommend creating new Clients/Projects/Tasks in ClickTime first and then using the Connector to "map" them with QuickBooks
• If you are having difficulty exporting time for many people for many days, please try using the Connector to export time for a single person for a smaller date range. This can be helpful in isolating a problematic time entry or other setting
• A complete list of troubleshooting tips can be found here
• Running regular QuickBooks (application) or payroll updates from Intuit, can help alleviate technical problems and keep your company file functioning properly. Please refer to your QuickBooks help documentation or contact Intuit support for any questions on this
• As always, we encourage customers to contact us if they have any questions or issues: support@clicktime.com

ClickTime also recommends regularly backing up your QuickBooks file. You can consult your QuickBooks user manual or contact Intuit directly for assistance with backing up and restoring your QuickBooks data. 

Payroll Settings

If you are using QuickBooks payroll, you will want to make sure to do the following before attempting to synchronize:

• In ClickTime, Enable "Leave Type List Controls" on your Company --> Preferences page here.
• Also on the Company --> Preferences page, set QuickBooks as both your accounting and payroll application:

• If your employees are either Salary or Hourly (with a fixed wage), create these two payroll items in your QuickBooks® account. They need to be created exactly as "Salary" and "Hourly Regular Rate". You can define the "Payroll Type" in ClickTime on the Person Details page. Whatever this field is set to when the time entries are saved to the timesheet will be the Payroll Type associated with the time entries.

• ALSO: make sure all employees are setup for payroll/time syncing in QuickBooks. To do so, go to the "Employees>Employee Center" menu, then open the Employee record and navigate to the "Payroll Info" section. From there, check and then un-check the "Use time data to create paychecks" box, and then close out of the Edit Employee:

QuickBooks Classes

ClickTime supports exporting time data into QuickBooks and associating that time with QuickBooks Classes. Through the use of a custom field in ClickTime, you can define the QuickBooks Class for people, clients, jobs, tasks or divisions. Class information can be exported using The ClickTime Connector. NOTE: in order for this to work correctly, you'll want to enable/configure "Class Tracking" in QuickBooks.

To include class information in your QuickBooks exports, you will need to create a custom field to the item that corresponds to your classes by following these steps:

1. Sign in as a ClickTime administrator and go to the Company --> Preferences --> Custom Fields page.
2. Click the "Add Custom Field" button.
3. Enter "QB_Export_Class" as the custom field name.
4. Enter a display name that describes your class values (For example: profit center, location, etc.).
5. Set the 'type' as 'Pop-down list'
6. Enter values for your Pop-down list (see example below)
7. Select the association (Client, Project, Task, Person, Division, Company, or Timesheet Entry).
8. Click the "Save" button in the upper-right of the page

In the example above, any time entries that include a "Austin" selection for a custom field on time-entry, will be marked with "Austin" in QuickBooks.

More information about Custom Fields can be found in this article.

Installation and Setup

Click Here for the Installation and Setup Article