Connect QuickBooks Online: Setup Guide
Install the QuickBooks Online app in Settings, sign in to Intuit, choose your default accounts, and POM keeps customers, items, invoices and payments in sync.
Connecting QuickBooks Online to Pool Office Manager takes about five minutes: install the app, sign in to Intuit, pick your company, and choose the accounts POM should use. From then on customers, items, invoices and payments sync between the two.
Watch: connect QuickBooks Online, start to finish (1½ minutes).
Before you start
- Back up QuickBooks first if you already have customers or invoices in POM. The first sync writes to your QuickBooks company, and we can't undo that for you. Intuit's instructions: back up and restore your QuickBooks Online company. (POM backs up its own data twice a day and can restore POM to any point in the last 60 days. We cannot restore your QuickBooks data.)
- Have the QuickBooks Online login for the company you want to connect. If you're signed in to a different company in another tab, sign out of it first — QuickBooks connects whichever company is open in your session.
- Know which income and expense accounts you want POM to use for new items (for example "Maintenance and Repair" and "Cost of Goods Sold"). If you're not sure, read Understanding Default Income & Expense Accounts first.
Step 1: Install the QuickBooks Online app
- In POM, go to Settings → Apps.
- Next to QuickBooks Online, click Install.
- Sign in to Intuit with your QuickBooks Online login.
- Check the company name QuickBooks shows, then click Connect.
Wrong company showing? Click No thanks, switch companies in QuickBooks, and click Install again. QuickBooks connects to the company that's open in your QuickBooks session, not the one you last used in POM.
Step 2: Configure the connection
- Back on Settings → Apps, the QuickBooks Online row now shows Configure and Uninstall. Click Configure.
- Pick a Default income account. When POM creates an item in QuickBooks that doesn't exist there yet, this is the income account it gets.
- Pick a Default expense account, used the same way for the cost side.
- Decide on the three boxes below (table).
- Click Save.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Custom transaction numbers | Leave it off unless you number invoices yourself. When it's on, POM doesn't assign the next QuickBooks invoice number — the number is left blank for you to fill in. |
| Enable automated taxes | QuickBooks works out sales tax on each invoice from your company's address and the customer's shipping address, using QuickBooks' tax rates. |
| Accept ACH / Accept Credit | Which payment methods QuickBooks offers on the invoices POM sends. |
Step 3: Bring your existing data across
Under the QuickBooks Online app you'll see two import buttons:
- Import customers — brings your active QuickBooks customers into POM so you can schedule and invoice them.
- Import inventory — brings your QuickBooks items into POM so service reports and invoices use the same items.
If you're starting with data already in POM instead, see QuickBooks Online: Data Import for how the first sync treats existing records and how to avoid duplicates.
What syncs, and when
| What | When it syncs |
|---|---|
| Customers | Whenever a customer profile is saved or updated, in either POM or QuickBooks. |
| Items and inventory | Whenever an item is saved or updated, in either platform. |
| Invoices | When you create an invoice in POM, from a customer profile or the Billing page. It appears in QuickBooks straight away. |
| Payments | When a payment is received against a synced invoice. |
If it isn't working
- It connected to the wrong company. Go to Settings → Apps, click Uninstall, switch companies in QuickBooks, and install again.
- Invoices aren't appearing in QuickBooks. Open Configure and check both default accounts are set and saved. Then see QBO Invoicing Troubleshooting and Codes for the error codes POM shows.
- Invoice numbers are blank. Custom transaction numbers is on. Turn it off in Configure and save.
- Duplicate customers after connecting. See Merging Customers in POM + QBO.
Common questions
Can I change the accounts later?
Yes. Settings → Apps → Configure is always there. New settings apply to items created after you save; existing QuickBooks items keep the accounts they already have.
Can I disconnect?
Yes. Settings → Apps → Uninstall. Data already in QuickBooks stays there; POM just stops syncing.
What if I use QuickBooks Desktop?
The direct connection is QuickBooks Online only. Desktop users export from the Billing page instead — see QuickBooks Desktop: Converting Service Reports to Invoices with ZedAxis or Export to QuickBooks with SaasAnt.
Still need a hand? Email help@poolofficemanager.com or call 614-710-0074.