📋 Requirements
Before you begin, make sure:
Your Buildern account is connected to QuickBooks Online.
Accounting Integration has been configured.
Cost Codes, Tax Rates, and Projects are synced between Buildern and QuickBooks Online.
Understanding Client Invoice Synchronization
Buildern | QuickBooks Online |
Client invoice | Invoice |
Date | Invoice Date |
Due Date | Due Date |
Invoice ID | Invoice No. (maximum 21 characters) |
Attachments (first 10 files) | Attachments |
Amounts Are | Amounts Are (Australian QBO only) |
Cost Line Description | Description |
Cost Code | Product/Service |
Quantity | Qty |
Unit Cost | Rate |
Project | Customer |
Invoice Payment | Payment |
Tax rate | GST (Australian QBO only) |
Understanding Cost Codes on Invoice Lines
Invoice lines in Buildern do not always contain Cost Codes.
Cost Codes are assigned only in the following scenarios:
Schedule of Values Invoices - When The project invoice type is Schedule of Values, and the Estimate Grouping option is set to Show by Cost Codes.
Cost Plus Invoices - When timesheet records are included on the invoice.
Custom Invoice Lines - When a custom line item is manually added to the invoice.
Outside of these scenarios, invoice lines do not contain Cost Code information. When synced to QuickBooks, no Item information is sent. QuickBooks sets its own default Item on the invoice.
Configure Automatic Synchronization from Buildern to QuickBooks Online
Buildern can automatically send newly created Client Invoices to QuickBooks Online.
To enable automatic synchronization:
Navigate to Company Settings.
Select Accounting Integration.
Locate the Project Default Settings section.
Enable Client Invoices checkbox.
Once enabled, newly created Client Invoices will automatically be marked for synchronization with QuickBooks Online.
Buildern currently does not support bringing client invoice from QuickBooks Online. Updates on the synchronized transactions flow both ways.
ℹ️ Note - Existing Client Invoices are not synchronized automatically. To sync previously created transactions, edit the transaction and enable Send to QuickBooks manually.
Create and Sync a Client Invoice
To create and synchronize a new Client Invoice:
Navigate to Client Invoice.
Click Create.
Enter the required information, including:
Name
Date and Due Date
Claim Amounts
Attachments
Review the transaction details.
Verify that Send to QuickBooks is enabled in the synchronization section.
Click Save.
Buildern will automatically create the corresponding transaction in QuickBooks Online.
👉 Learn more about How to Create a Client Invoice in Buildern
Verify Synchronization Status
The Sync column in the Client Invoices list displays the synchronization status of each transaction.
When a Bill or Expense has been successfully synchronized:
A QuickBooks Online icon appears in the Sync column.
Clicking the icon opens the corresponding transaction in QuickBooks Online.
Sync an Existing Client Invoice
To synchronize a previously created transaction:
Navigate to Client invoices.
Locate the transaction.
Click the ⋯ (three-dot menu).
Select Edit.
Make any necessary changes.
Scroll to the synchronization section.
Enable Send to QuickBooks.
Click Save.
Buildern will create or update the corresponding transaction in QuickBooks Online.
Resolve Synchronization Errors
Synchronization may fail when related records have not yet been synced with QuickBooks Online.
Common causes include:
New Cost Codes
New Projects
For example, if the Invoice Project has not been synchronized with QuickBooks Online, Buildern will display an error message during synchronization.
When available:
Click Fix Issues.
Review the missing dependencies.
Synchronize the required records.
Save your changes.
Retry synchronization.
Once all required records are synced, the Bill or Expense can be successfully synchronized.
View Synced Client Invoices in QuickBooks Online
To confirm synchronization:
Open QuickBooks Online.
Navigate to Sales > Invoices to review Bills.
ℹ️ Note - You can also use the Search bar within QBO to see latest transactions and use keywords to search.
Transaction Updates and Ongoing Synchronization
After a Client invoice has been synchronized, most updates continue to sync automatically between Buildern and QuickBooks Online.
The following updates made in Buildern are synchronized to QuickBooks Online:
Invoice ID
Project's first client's email address updates
Date changes
Due Date changes
Amounts Are (Australian QBO only)
Payments
Line item updates, including:
Cost Code on custom lines
Tax Rate (Australian QBO only)
Description
The following updates made in QuickBooks Online are synchronized back to Buildern:
Date changes
Due Date changes
Buildern continues to provide tools that simplify project management and improve collaboration.
Happy Building!