What Gets Synced
Customers
Your StartProto companies (customers) and QuickBooks customers are linked by name. Once linked, you can push customer records in either direction.
StartProto → QuickBooks: Company name, billing address, shipping address, notes
QuickBooks → StartProto: Customer name, addresses, and primary contact (if a first name is present in QuickBooks)
Parts & Items
StartProto part types and services map to QuickBooks items.
StartProto → QuickBooks: Part name, part number (SKU), item type (inventory or non-inventory), and current inventory quantity (if inventory sync is enabled)
QuickBooks → StartProto: Item name, SKU, unit price (creates a selling price in StartProto), and starting inventory quantity
When syncing inventory-tracked items, you'll assign QuickBooks GL accounts for income (revenue), expense (COGS), and inventory asset. StartProto uses these accounts on all transactions that reference the item.
Sales Orders → Estimates
Sales orders in StartProto sync to QuickBooks as Accepted Estimates.
Line items (parts, services, and miscellaneous charges) map to estimate line items
The linked customer and all referenced items must be synced to QuickBooks first — StartProto handles this automatically when you push a sales order
Direction: StartProto → QuickBooks only
Invoices
Invoices in StartProto sync to QuickBooks as Invoices.
Line items (parts, services, and miscellaneous charges) map to invoice line items
Same dependency rules apply: customer and items must be linked first
Direction: StartProto → QuickBooks only
Note: Invoices that pull from multiple sales orders are not yet supported due to how QuickBooks handles taxes and discounts on multi-order invoices. Single-SO invoices sync without issue.
Purchase Orders
Purchase orders in StartProto sync to QuickBooks as Purchase Orders.
Line items and miscellaneous charges map to PO line items
Vendors are matched by name in QuickBooks — no persistent link is stored, so vendor names must match exactly
Direction: StartProto → QuickBooks only
How Syncing Works
Syncing is manual by default — nothing moves between systems until you trigger it. You initiate syncs from the QuickBooks section of each record or from bulk-action views.
Dependency Handling
When you push a sales order, invoice, or PO to QuickBooks, StartProto automatically checks whether the referenced customer and items are already linked. If they aren't, it will:
Look for a QuickBooks record with a matching name and link to it automatically
If no match exists, create the record in QuickBooks first, then link it
You don't need to manually pre-sync every part before pushing an order.
Inventory Sync
If inventory tracking is enabled (requires a QuickBooks plan that supports inventory), StartProto pushes updated quantity-on-hand to QuickBooks whenever inventory changes in StartProto.
Connection & Authentication
The integration uses OAuth 2.0 via Intuit's official API. Tokens are refreshed automatically on an hourly basis. If the connection ever drops (expired refresh token, revoked access), the integration will show as disconnected and you'll need to reconnect from Settings.