Configure the Emburse QuickBooks Online Connector
Use this article to configure the Emburse QuickBooks Online connector. After you authenticate the connection, configure which records are imported into Emburse Spend and how approved expenses and corporate card data are exported back to QuickBooks Online for accounting and reporting.
This article is intended for administrators who manage accounting integrations and system configuration in Emburse Spend. Familiarity with your organizationʼs QuickBooks Online configuration, approval workflows, and chart of accounts is recommended.
Access the QuickBooks Online Accounting Integration Settings
To configure these customizations:
- Go to Company Settings in Emburse Spend.
- Select Accounting Integration.
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Select CONFIGURE SETTINGS.
QuickBooks Online Configuration General Settings
Use the General Settings section to control which core QuickBooks Online records are imported into Emburse Spend.
General QuickBooks Online Synchronization Settings
Use the table below for detailed behavior and configuration details for syncing core QuickBooks Online records into Emburse Spend. These settings control which tracking lists and currency options are imported and how they map to non-editable fields in Emburse Spend.
| Setting | Optional? | What It Does | Notes / Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Yes | Imports QuickBooks Online classes into Emburse Spend. |
Maps to a Team field with a fixed value.
|
| Location | Yes | Imports QuickBooks Online locations into Emburse Spend. |
Maps to a Team field with a fixed value.
|
| Currencies | Yes | Enables multi-currency expense support. | Allows syncing and exporting expenses in currencies other than your Home Currency. |
Manage Team Field Visibility
Admins can control whether a Team Field is visible for users during expense submission.
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Go to Company Settings > Team Fields, then select Edit next to the field.
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Set User Editable to Yes and select Save.
QuickBooks Online Configuration Users Settings
The QuickBooks Online Configuration User Settings define how employee and vendor records are created, mapped, and managed as users in Emburse Spend. These settings are used by administrators during initial onboarding, when syncing users from QuickBooks Online, or when updating ongoing access rules, and they control whether employees or vendors can submit expenses.
Synchronize your Emburse user list from Intuit QuickBooks as either Employees and/or Vendors during the Configuration Sync process. When a user is linked through the integration a hidden ("Integration ID") is established, so that changes on the QuickBooks Employee or Vendor will be updated accordingly without breaking the link.
User Synchronization Settings
Use the table below for detailed behavior and configuration details for syncing QuickBooks Online employee and vendor records as users in Emburse Spend. These settings define which records are imported, how user IDs are mapped, and how manager relationships and roles are assigned.
| Setting | What It Controls | How It Works | Notes / Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sync Employees as Users | Imports QuickBooks Online employees into Emburse Spend as users. | When enabled, employee records are synchronized during the configuration sync process. | To qualify for user integration, an employee must be active and include a first name, last name, and email address. |
| Sync Vendors as Users | Imports QuickBooks Online vendors into Emburse Spend as users. | When enabled, vendor records are synchronized during the configuration sync process. | To qualify for user integration, a vendor must be active and include a first name, last name, and email address. |
QuickBooks Online Configuration Customers & Projects Settings
The QuickBooks Online Configuration Customers & Projects Settings control whether QuickBooks Online customers and projects are available for expense tracking and reporting in Emburse Spend. Administrators use these settings when employees need to code expenses to customers or projects, track billable spend, or restrict which customers or projects are available for selection.
Customer and Project Synchronization Settings
Use the table below for detailed behavior and configuration details for syncing QuickBooks Online customers and projects into Emburse Spend. These settings control which customers and projects are available for expense coding, how records are filtered, and how availability is limited based on status or custom fields.
| Setting | What It Controls | How It Works | Notes / Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sync Customers | Imports QuickBooks Online customers into Emburse Spend. | When enabled, parent customers from QuickBooks Online are synchronized into Emburse Spend. | Use this setting to make customer values available for expense coding and reporting workflows. |
| Sync Projects | Imports QuickBooks Online projects into Emburse Spend. | When enabled, QuickBooks Online sub-customers and jobs are synchronized as projects. | Use this setting when project-level expense coding is required. |
QuickBooks Online Configuration Expenses Settings
The QuickBooks Online Configuration Expenses Settings section defines how expense data exports from Emburse Spend to QuickBooks Online, including category mapping, currency handling, approval behavior, and export formats. Administrators update these settings when configuring the accounting workflow, adjusting approval handling, or controlling how reimbursable and company-paid expenses post to QuickBooks Online.
Expenses Export Settings
Use the table below for detailed behavior and configuration details for exporting expense data from Emburse Spend to QuickBooks Online. These settings define how expenses are formatted, approved, categorized, and posted in QuickBooks Online, including handling for reimbursable expenses, company-paid expenses, currencies, and attachments.
| Setting | What It Controls | How It Works | Notes / Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export Reimbursable Expenses | Controls whether reimbursable expenses are sent to QuickBooks Online. | When enabled, you choose whether to export reimbursable expenses as expense transactions or export them as journal entries. | Applies to reimbursable expenses submitted by employees and vendors. |
| Export as Expense Transactions (Reimbursable) | Defines transaction-based export for reimbursable expenses. | Exports reimbursable expenses based on the type of user who created the expense. | Supports checks and bills under reimbursable export settings. |
| Checks (Reimbursable) | Exports reimbursable employee transactions as checks. | When enabled, employee transactions export to QuickBooks Online as checks. | Includes Check Number Prefix and Payment Account fields. |
| Bills (Reimbursable) | Exports reimbursable transactions as bills. | When enabled, reimbursable expenses are exported as bills assigned to the submitting user vendor. | Includes a Bill Number Prefix field. |
| Post as Journal Entries (Reimbursable) | Exports reimbursable expenses directly to the general ledger. | Bypasses employee and vendor mapping and exports directly to GL accounts. An offset account must be selected. | Select the General Ledger offset account used for journal entry expense lines. Use this option when journal entry export is required by your accounting workflow. |
| Export Company Paid Expenses | Controls whether company paid expenses are sent to QuickBooks Online. | When enabled, you choose whether to export company paid expenses as expense transactions or export them as journal entries. | Applies to corporate card and other company paid expenses. |
| Export as Expense Transactions (Company Paid) | Defines transaction-based export for company paid expenses. | Posts company paid expenses as QuickBooks expense transactions based on your configuration. | Supports Expenses and Bills under company paid export settings. |
| Expenses (Company Paid) | Exports company paid credit card charges as expenses. | When enabled, credit card charges export to QuickBooks Online as expenses. | Use when your accounting process maps card activity to expense transactions. |
| Bills (Company Paid) | Exports company paid expenses as vendor bills. | When enabled, company paid expenses export to QuickBooks Online as vendor bills. | Expenses are mapped to bill records during export. |
| Post as Journal Entries (Company Paid) | Exports company paid expenses directly to the general ledger. | Posts approved company paid expenses to QuickBooks Online as journal entries. An offset account must be selected. | Select the General Ledger offset account used for journal entry expense lines. Use this option when your accounting workflow requires direct GL posting. |
| Export Expense Attachments | Controls whether receipt attachments are sent to QuickBooks Online. | When enabled, attached receipts are exported with expense transactions. | Helps preserve audit documentation in QuickBooks Online. |
| Synchronize Expense Categories | Imports QuickBooks expense categories and assigned accounts into Emburse Spend. | Uses QuickBooks categories and their account mappings for expense coding and export. | Keep this setting enabled to maintain category alignment between systems. |
Validate your Emburse QuickBooks Online Connector
Use this section to validate your configuration and activate the Emburse QuickBooks Online Connector.
From this page, you can run a test sync using your current configuration to validate your setup and confirm that your QuickBooks Online connection is working as expected.
Select Check Your Configuration to run a validation test.
If the test is successful, your configuration will be activated, and data will be available to sync to Emburse Spend.
If the test fails, no data will be synced. Update your configuration or make any required changes in QuickBooks Online, then run the test again.
A confirmation message will display once your configuration has been successfully validated.
After you validate the connector, configure the remaining accounting settings in Emburse Spend. For step-by-step instructions, see Customize QuickBooks Online Integration Settings in Emburse Spend.