Overview
When a purchase order (PO) fails to sync, QuickBooks Online has rejected it. Nothing is wrong with the PO itself in StartProto. QuickBooks refuses the whole PO if even one vendor, item or line breaks one of its rules. Nothing is created in QuickBooks until every problem is fixed.
The error message starts with "Some necessary QuickBooks actions failed." Look for the Code number in it, then go to the matching section below. One message can hold several codes, so fix every one of them before you sync again.
One exception: a message that starts with "Cannot sync to QuickBooks" comes from StartProto, not QuickBooks. StartProto stopped the sync before sending anything. See "Item name is too long" below.
Code | QuickBooks message | What it usually means | Where you fix it |
6000 | The account associated with this product or service has been deleted | An item on the PO points to a deleted (inactive) account | QuickBooks |
2500 | Invalid reference id / object is inactive | The PO's vendor or an item on it is inactive | QuickBooks or StartProto |
None | Cannot sync to QuickBooks: Item name is N characters | A part or service name is longer than 100 characters | StartProto |
6240 | Duplicate Name Exists Error | QuickBooks already has an item with that name | QuickBooks or StartProto |
In QuickBooks, "deleting" a vendor, item or account doesn't remove it. It makes it inactive. Inactive records are hidden by default, so most fixes start by showing inactive records.
Code 6000: account has been deleted
The account associated with this product or service has been deleted. Please undelete first or pick another one.
What it means:
Every QuickBooks Product/Service is linked to one or more accounts in your Chart of Accounts. One item on this PO is linked to an account that someone deleted (made inactive). QuickBooks won't post a PO to an inactive account. On a PO, these are the item accounts that matter:
Non-inventory and service items: the Expense account.
Inventory items: the Inventory asset account and the Expense (cost of goods sold) account.
How to fix it:
Note which parts, services and misc charges (such as shipping) are on the PO.
In QuickBooks, go to Sales > Products and services and open the item linked to each one.
Look for an account field that is blank or marked "(deleted)". That item is the cause.
Pick one fix:
Reactivate the account: go to Accounting > Chart of Accounts, open the settings (gear) icon, check Include inactive, find the account and click Make active.
Switch accounts: edit the item and choose an active account instead.
Go back to StartProto and sync the PO again.
Tip: if several items share the deleted account, fixing one item only moves the error to the next line. Reactivating the account fixes all of them at once.
Code 2500: a vendor or item is inactive
What it means: the PO points to a record that is inactive in QuickBooks. StartProto still holds the QuickBooks ID of the old record, so the PO refers to something QuickBooks won't use. Check these, starting with the most likely:
The PO's vendor. This is the most common cause, because vendors often get made inactive in QuickBooks.
The item on each line: The QuickBooks item linked to each part, service or misc charge.
The account behind those items. If an expense or inventory account was deactivated, see Code 6000 above.
How to fix it: pick one option.
Reactivate the record in QuickBooks. For a vendor, go to Expenses > Vendors, open the filter, set Status to Inactive (or All), find the vendor and choose Make active. For an item, go to Sales > Products and services, filter by Status Inactive, find the item and choose Make active.
Re-link it in StartProto. Point the StartProto vendor or part at an active QuickBooks record.
Then sync the PO again.
Item name is too long
Cannot sync to QuickBooks: Item name is 129 characters, but QuickBooks allows at most 100. Shorten it in StartProto and try again.
What it means: when a part on the PO isn't yet linked to a QuickBooks item, StartProto creates the item for you, using the part's name. QuickBooks limits item names to 100 characters, so StartProto checks the names first. If a name is too long, the sync stops and nothing is sent to QuickBooks. The message gives the name's length: 129 means you need to cut 29 characters. Services get the same check, with "Service name" in the message.
The message reports only the first long name it finds. If other parts on the PO also have long names, the next sync stops on the next one, so check them all at once.
The part number is sent to the QuickBooks SKU field and doesn't count toward the name limit. Misc charge names (such as shipping) are shortened automatically and never cause this error.
How to fix it:
Find the parts and services on the PO whose names are over 100 characters.
Pick one fix for each:
Shorten the name in StartProto to 100 characters or fewer. Move the extra detail into the description.
Link the part to an existing QuickBooks item, so StartProto doesn't need to create a new one.
Sync the PO again.
Code 6240: duplicate name
Duplicate Name Exists Error. Another product or service is already using this name. Please use a different name.
What it means:
StartProto tried to create a QuickBooks item for a part, but QuickBooks already has an item with that exact name. Every item name in QuickBooks must be unique, and this includes inactive items. The existing item is often one that was "deleted" earlier, so it's hidden from the normal list.
How to fix it:
In QuickBooks, go to Sales > Products and services and set the Status filter to All, so inactive items show too.
Search for the part's name.
Pick one fix:
It's the same part: make the item active if it's inactive, then link the StartProto part to that item.
It's a different part: rename either the QuickBooks item or the StartProto part so the names no longer match.
Sync the PO again.
After you fix it
Sync the PO again from StartProto once every error in the message is fixed. Because QuickBooks rejects the whole PO, a partial fix brings back the errors you haven't fixed yet. Retrying without changes gives the same error.
To avoid these errors in future:
Don't delete vendors, items or accounts in QuickBooks that StartProto still uses. If you must retire one, re-link the StartProto vendor or part first.
Keep part names to 100 characters or fewer. Put the extra detail in the description.
Link parts to existing QuickBooks items before their first PO sync. This avoids duplicate items.
Contact StartProto support if the error persists after these steps. Include the PO number and the full error message.