How the QuickBooks Export Works
Access requirements. Setting up the export needs the "Settings" permission set to "Edit," plus "Integrations" set to "Edit" for that store. Running the export needs "Purchase orders" set to "Edit" for that store.
It's a file, not a live connection. Scotch creates a file that you import into QuickBooks yourself. QuickBooks Online gets a .CSV file and QuickBooks Desktop gets an .IIF file. Nothing is sent to QuickBooks automatically.
You set it up once per store. For each store, you choose your QuickBooks version and match each Scotch department to a QuickBooks cost account.
Each bill is one invoice, or one purchase order. By default, each distributor invoice becomes one bill. If you pay against purchase orders instead, you can make each purchase order one bill.
Bills are grouped by account, not by product. Each bill has one line per cost account, with all the products in that department added together. Your bills follow your chart of accounts, not your product list.
Only completed deliveries are exported. A delivery still being received isn't included. With the default one-bill-per-invoice setting, a delivery also needs an invoice number to be included.
You are only able to export a month's worth of POs at a time
If you export a file and it's missing data, check to see if you are configured to have bills based on invoices. If so, it's likely a PO in the export wasn't received with an uploaded invoice. You may want to change to have bills based on POs if you don't always upload invoices to Scotch.
Important: Account names in Scotch must match your QuickBooks chart of accounts exactly. If they don't, QuickBooks creates a new account when you import instead of using the one you meant.
Where to Access Each Feature
To… | Go to |
Set up or change a store's QuickBooks settings | Settings → Stores → the store → "Integrations" tab → QuickBooks |
Export bills | Stock management → Purchase orders → "Export for QuickBooks" |
Add or rename departments | Products → Departments |
Enter an invoice number or payment due date | Stock management → Purchase orders → the receiving session, before it's completed |
Before You Start
Make sure your products have departments. Each bill line is built from the departments of the products you received. Products with no department go to your fallback account.
Finish receiving each delivery. Only receiving sessions marked "Completed" are exported.
Enter the invoice number on each delivery. It's read from the uploaded invoice during receiving. While the session is still in progress, you can type or correct it under "Invoice number." If the delivery has uploaded invoice pages, expand "Invoice number" to see one field per page. If you enter a "Payment due" date before completing the session, it becomes the bill's due date.
Have your QuickBooks chart of accounts open, so you can copy account names or numbers exactly.
Note: Once a receiving session is completed, its "Invoice number" and "Payment due" can't be changed. If the session has uploaded invoice pages, you can still correct the invoice number read from each page by expanding "Invoice number" on the session.
Setting Up the QuickBooks Export for a Store
Step 1
In Back Office, click "Settings" in the left-hand menu, then click "Stores," and open the store.
Step 2
Click the "Integrations" tab.
Step 3
Under "Available integrations," find QuickBooks and click "Set up export."
Step 4
Under "QuickBooks version," choose "QuickBooks Online" or "QuickBooks Desktop." The rest of the page stays locked until you choose one.
Step 5
In the "Department accounts" table, type a "Cost account" for each department, exactly as it appears in QuickBooks. The "Products" column shows how many products are in each department, so you can see which ones matter most. Leave a department blank to send it to your fallback account.
Step 6
Enter a "Fallback cost account." This is required. It's used for products with no department, departments you left blank, miscellaneous adjustments on a purchase order, and any difference between the bill's lines and the invoice total.
Step 7
Under "Order data," choose a "Bill basis":
"One bill per invoice" is the default. Each distributor invoice becomes one bill, numbered by the invoice number, with the purchase order numbers in the memo.
"One bill per purchase order" makes each received purchase order one bill, numbered by the PO number, with the invoice numbers in the memo. Use this if you pay against purchase orders rather than invoices.
Step 8
Enter an "Accounts payable account." This is required. In a QuickBooks Desktop file, every bill posts to this account. QuickBooks Online files don't include it, so QuickBooks Online uses its own default accounts payable account when you import.
Step 9
If you chose QuickBooks Online, choose a "Type": "Item Details" or "Category Details." Choose "Category Details" if your QuickBooks company tracks departments as accounts, or "Item Details" if it tracks them as products or services.
Step 10
Click "Save changes." You'll see "Saved configuration changes."
Click "Back to integrations." QuickBooks now appears under "Your integrations," with your QuickBooks version and how many departments are mapped.
Copying Settings From Another Store
If another store already has its QuickBooks export set up, you can copy its settings instead of typing them again. The "Copy from another store" button only appears when another store is already set up.
Step 11
On the QuickBooks settings page, click "Copy from another store" above the department table.
Step 12
In the "Copy export settings" window, choose the store to copy from, then click "Copy mappings."
Step 13
Check the table, then click "Save changes."
Copying brings over the cost accounts, the accounts payable account, the fallback cost account, the bill basis, and the type. It doesn't copy the QuickBooks version, and departments the other store never mapped are left as they were.
Changing the Settings Later
Step 14
Go to the store's "Integrations" tab. Under "Your integrations," find QuickBooks and click "Manage export." If there's no button, click the QuickBooks card itself.
Step 15
Make your changes and click "Save changes." Switching between QuickBooks Online and Desktop, or between bill bases, keeps your department accounts.
If you try to leave with unsaved changes, you'll see "You have unsaved changes. Leave without saving?" Reloading or closing the browser tab doesn't ask, so save first.
Exporting Bills
Step 16
Click "Stock management" in the left-hand menu, then click "Purchase orders." Make sure the right store is selected.
Step 17
Click "Export for QuickBooks," just above the purchase order table.
Step 18
If you have more than one store, choose the store in the "Store" dropdown.
Step 19
Set the "From" and "To" dates. They start at 7 days ago through today. You can export up to 4 weeks at a time. For a longer period, run more than one export.
Step 20
Click "Export." The file downloads and the window closes by itself after a few seconds. The file is named after the store and the dates, like "main_street_quickbooks_invoices_20261001_20261028.csv."
Importing the File Into QuickBooks
Step 21
Import the file into QuickBooks:
QuickBooks Online: Go to "Transactions" and use the bill import to upload the .CSV file.
QuickBooks Desktop: Go to "File," then "Utilities," then "Import," then "IIF files," and choose the .IIF file.
Step 22
Review the imported bills in QuickBooks before paying them. Compare them with the deliveries you received for those dates, since Scotch doesn't list which deliveries were left out of the file.
Recording Credits in QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online's bill import can't bring in credits. When a delivery's returns outweigh its purchases, or a distributor sends a credit memo, Scotch leaves it out of the .CSV file. The export doesn't tell you when it does this, so check for credits each time you export. QuickBooks Desktop users can skip this section, since credits are included in the .IIF file.
Step 23
In Scotch, go to Stock management, then Purchase orders, and look through the deliveries completed in the dates you exported. Look for ones where returned items are worth more than what was received, or where the invoice total is negative.
Step 24
In QuickBooks Online, click "+ New," then choose "Vendor credit."
Step 25
Choose the distributor as the vendor. Use the credit memo number, or the invoice number from Scotch, as the reference number, so it's easy to match later. Under "Category details," add a line for each cost account the returned items belong to, using the accounts set in your Scotch QuickBooks settings, and enter the amounts. Then save.
When you pay that distributor's next bill in QuickBooks, you can apply the credit to it.
Note: Don't also enter a credit by hand on QuickBooks Desktop. Desktop files already include credits, so entering them again would count them twice.
What Each Bill Contains
In QuickBooks | Where it comes from in Scotch |
Bill number | The invoice number, or the purchase order number if you chose one bill per purchase order |
Vendor | The distributor on the purchase order |
Bill date | The invoice date read from the uploaded invoice, or the date the delivery was received. With one bill per purchase order, it's always the received date |
Due date | The "Payment due" date on the delivery, or 30 days after the bill date |
Terms | Net 30 |
Memo | The purchase order numbers, or the invoice numbers if you chose one bill per purchase order |
Lines | One line per cost account, with all products in that department added together. Bottle deposits and returns are included in the department's line |
Fallback account line | Any miscellaneous adjustment on the purchase order, plus any difference between the lines and the invoice total |
Which Deliveries Are Included
Included: receiving sessions marked "Completed" and received within your date range.
Returns: a returned product is subtracted from its department's line on the same bill.
Credits on QuickBooks Desktop: if returns outweigh purchases, the bill is exported as a credit instead.
Credits on QuickBooks Online: QuickBooks Online's bill import has no credits, so credit memos and bills where returns outweigh purchases are left out of the file. Enter them as vendor credits instead (see "Recording Credits in QuickBooks Online").
One bill per invoice: a delivery with no invoice number is skipped. So is a delivery with more than one invoice number where some items can't be matched to an uploaded invoice page. If one invoice was received over two deliveries, it becomes one bill.
Bills that add up to nothing: a bill where everything nets to zero is left out.
One bill per purchase order: every received purchase order becomes a bill, even without an invoice number. Items added by hand during receiving go on the delivery's first purchase order.
Troubleshooting
There's no QuickBooks option on the "Integrations" tab, and no "Export for QuickBooks" button: The QuickBooks export isn't turned on for your account yet. Contact Scotch support.
The "Integrations" tab is missing: You don't have the "Integrations" permission for that store. Ask an admin to add it.
You see "Feature not available" after opening a QuickBooks link: The export isn't turned on for your account yet. Contact Scotch support.
The export window says "This store isn't set up for QuickBooks export yet": Click "Set up export" if you see it. If not, you'll see "Ask someone with permissions to set it up under Stores → Integrations."
You see "Check the export details" with "Set up QuickBooks export for this store first.": The store's QuickBooks settings were never saved. Set them up on the store's "Integrations" tab.
You see "The date range can cover at most 4 weeks.": Pick a shorter range, and run more than one export for longer periods.
"Save changes" is grayed out: Either nothing has changed yet or no QuickBooks version is chosen. "Fallback cost account," "Accounts payable account," and, for QuickBooks Online, "Type" must also be filled in.
You see "QuickBooks configuration is already set up, refresh the page to see it": Someone else saved this store's settings at the same time. Reload the page and make your changes again.
QuickBooks created a new account when you imported: The account name or number in Scotch doesn't exactly match your chart of accounts. Fix it under "Manage export," then export and import again.
An invoice is missing from the file: Check that the delivery is marked "Completed," that its received date falls inside your date range, and, with one bill per invoice, that it has an invoice number. If it has more than one invoice number, check that each uploaded page's invoice number is right. On QuickBooks Online, credits are never included in the file.
Bills are numbered by invoice when you expected PO numbers, or the other way around: Check "Bill basis" on the store's QuickBooks settings.
A bill total doesn't match the paper invoice, or there's an unexpected line on the fallback account: The difference between the invoice total and the lines goes to the fallback account. If a delivery had more than one invoice, the invoice number on an uploaded page may have been misread. On the completed delivery, expand "Invoice number," correct it, and export again.
A distributor credit or return is missing from QuickBooks Online: QuickBooks Online files never include credits. Enter it as a vendor credit (see "Recording Credits in QuickBooks Online").
The file only has column headings: No completed deliveries fell inside the date range, or none had an invoice number. On QuickBooks Online, a range with only credits also gives an empty file.
The "departments mapped" count dropped after you deactivated a department: Mappings for inactive departments are kept but not counted. Reactivate the department under Products → Departments to see it again.