This guide shows you how to connect your QuickBooks account to Programa so your invoicing data syncs automatically, eliminating duplicate entry work. For a full breakdown of what data syncs between the two platforms, see our How Programa syncs with QuickBooks guide.
Connecting your QuickBooks account
We recommend archiving/deleting all obsolete tax rates in QuickBooks before connecting to ensure clean tax rate syncing.
Navigate to Settings > Integrations > QuickBooks
Click Connect and enter your QuickBooks login credentials
Select your company from the dropdown (choose the one linked to your Programa projects if you have multiple)
Click Next
Click Connect to complete the integration
You'll be redirected back to Programa, and your QuickBooks tile will display as connected.
Configuring your QuickBooks settings
Once connected, QuickBooks automatically creates default income and expense accounts with the prefix of 'Programa'. All products or services you add to Programa invoices will link to these accounts by default.
To use different accounts you've already set up in QuickBooks:
Click Settings on your QuickBooks integration tile
Select your preferred accounts from the dropdown fields
Click Save
Controlling when invoices sync to QuickBooks
By default, Programa only syncs invoices to QuickBooks once they reach Issued or Sent status. This is intentional — QuickBooks Online does not have a concept of draft invoices, which means any invoice synced to QuickBooks posts directly to your ledger.
To review or change this setting:
Navigate to Settings > Integrations
Click Settings on your QuickBooks integration tile
Locate the Sync draft invoices toggle
⚠️ Important: Enabling the Sync draft invoices option means your draft invoices will post directly to your QuickBooks ledger. This can affect your accounting records before an invoice is finalised.
Only enable this setting if you fully understand the implications for your books. We strongly recommend discussing this with your bookkeeper before turning it on.
For more detail on how invoice syncing works, see our How Programa syncs with QuickBooks guide.
Importing tax rates from QuickBooks
When setting up your QuickBooks integration, you can also sync your tax rates from QuickBooks to Programa to ensure your tax settings remain consistent throughout the entire process.
Important: Set up your tax rates/codes in QuickBooks before connecting invoices. See QuickBooks' tax rate guide for help.
Navigate to Settings > Integrations
Click Settings on your QuickBooks integration tile
Click +Add Tax rate or Resync tax rates with Quickbooks
Select Sync
Your QuickBooks tax rates will appear instantly with a QuickBooks icon to distinguish them from Programa-created rates.
⚠️ Important: Connecting QuickBooks will archive all of your existing tax rates in Programa. Once connected, only tax rates synced from QuickBooks will be available to use across your Projects, Schedules, and Invoices. Any Programa-created rates will be archived and can no longer be applied. We recommend setting up your tax rates in QuickBooks before connecting. See QuickBooks' tax rate guide for help.
Connecting invoices to QuickBooks
When syncing to QuickBooks, each invoice line item is automatically mapped to a standard Programa category based on its type:
Programa Sales of Product Income — product line items from schedules
Programa Income from services — service and time entry line items (time entries are automatically categorised here)
Programa Generic Income — custom line items
Programa Discount Income — discounts applied to invoices
The income accounts configured in your QuickBooks settings are selected by default for each line item. To override the account for a specific line:
Create a new invoice in Programa
For each product line, click the Income Account dropdown
Select the appropriate QuickBooks income account
Note: The income accounts configured in your QuickBooks settings will be selected by default.
US accounts only: Due to QuickBooks constraints, US-registered accounts must apply tax as exclusive—inclusive tax rates are not supported. Learn more in our tax preferences guide.
Character requirements: QuickBooks requires specific characters for product descriptions. Ensure your descriptions meet these requirements for successful syncing.
Note: Invoices only sync to QuickBooks once they are Issued or Sent. If an invoice is still in Draft status, it will not be sent to QuickBooks unless you have enabled the Sync draft invoices option in your integration settings. See our How Programa syncs with QuickBooks guide for what data is included in each sync.
Viewing synced invoices in QuickBooks
Log into QuickBooks
Click Sales & Get Paid from the left navigation menu
Select Invoices
Click View/Edit next to any invoice to review details
Note: The Product/service field displays the standard Programa category for that line item type (e.g. Programa Sales of Product Income, Programa Income from services). The Description field displays the actual line item description from your Programa invoice. Learn more in our How Programa syncs with QuickBooks guide.
To view income accounts associated with invoice products:
In QuickBooks, go to Sales & Get Paid > Products & services
Click Edit in the Action field for any product
View or change the Income account via the dropdown
Need more help with your QuickBooks integration? Contact our support team via live chat for personalized assistance.