This article explains how to use the QuickBooks integration to automatically sync paid bills from QuickBooks to Guesty as expenses. You'll learn about the data matching requirements, how to configure the settings, and how the sync process works.
When you record a bill payment in QuickBooks, Guesty creates matching expenses from the related bill’s line items. This keeps your owner statements and trust accounting aligned without you having to re-enter the same spending.
Prerequisites and data matching
Before you enable the workflow, make sure of the following:
- You are using Guesty Accounting with its expense management features.
- QuickBooks is connected via Guesty Connect.
- "Class tracking" is turned on in QuickBooks Online, and each bill line that should sync has a "Class".
For a paid bill to sync successfully from QuickBooks to Guesty, the information must match between the two platforms:
- Vendors: The vendor name on the QuickBooks bill must exactly match a vendor in Guesty (typically the vendor’s "Company name"). If a matching vendor doesn't exist in Guesty, the system skips the sync for that bill. Learn more about managing vendors.
- Categories: The item or account category name on each bill line in QuickBooks must exactly match an expense category name in Guesty. That same category name must also appear in your integration settings as either a "PMC Charge" category or an "Owner Charge" category.
- Amount: Each bill line must have an amount. Guesty creates one expense per qualifying line using that line's amount.
- Property listings: The "Class" name on the QuickBooks bill line must exactly match the listing "nickname" in Guesty. The "Class" should identify the listing, not the owner name, guest, or street address.
Tip:
Use the same naming convention as the purchase sync: one QuickBooks class per listing, with the class name identical to the Guesty listing nickname.
Assign charge categories
When you configure the QuickBooks integration, you'll need to set up two settings that determine how Guesty assigns financial responsibility for an expense.
PMC charge categories
- Data to enter: A comma-separated list of category names, such as "Cleaning Supplies, Office Rent, Repairs". Copy existing category names from Guesty or create new ones matching your QuickBooks categories.
- System outcome: If a paid bill line from QuickBooks has a category that is on this list, Guesty records it as a "PMC expense". Learn more about creating expenses and owner charges.
- Financial breakdown: The PMC pays the vendor. Guesty records it as a 100% payment share to the PMC and a 100% revenue share to the vendor.
Owner charge categories
- Data to enter: A comma-separated list of category names, such as "Plumbing Emergency, New Linens, Pest Control". Copy existing category names from Guesty or create new ones matching your QuickBooks categories.
- System outcome: If a paid bill line from QuickBooks has a category that is on this list, Guesty records it as an "Owner charge". Learn more about creating expenses and owner charges.
- Financial breakdown: The property owner reimburses the PMC. The system records it as a 100% payment share to the owner and a 100% revenue share to the PMC.
You must fill in at least one of these lists. A category that appears on neither list won't create an expense in Guesty, even if the vendor, class, and amount are valid.
To activate the paid bill sync
- Sign in to your Guesty account.
- In the side navigation menu, click
Integrations to open the dropdown menu. - Select Marketplace.
- Locate the QuickBooks integration and click Configure.
- Switch to the "Configuration" tab.
- Toggle on the workflow titled "BIll Payments from QB To Guesty".
- Enter the relevant categories in the "PMC Charge Categories" and "Owner Charge" fields (comma-separated).
Expenses synced from paid QuickBooks bills appear in the posting journal for each property according to the categories you entered. You can learn more about how expenses are handled in the posting journal.
What syncs and what does not
| Syncs | Does not sync |
|---|---|
| New bill payments in QuickBooks (when a bill is paid) | Unpaid bills (bill created but not yet paid) |
| One Guesty expense per qualifying bill line | Bill or payment edits, voids, or deletes after the payment is created |
| Account-based and item-based expense lines on the paid bill | Historical backfill of older paid bills |
| Lines with matching vendor, category (on a charge list), amount, and class | Creating missing vendors, categories, or listings in Guesty |
This workflow is one-way: QuickBooks → Guesty. It does not push Guesty expenses back to QuickBooks.
Understanding the data workflow
The integration follows a multi-step process to verify and sync each paid bill from QuickBooks to Guesty.
- The trigger: The process begins when a new bill payment is created in your QuickBooks account.
- Load the paid bill: The system reads the bill payment, then loads the related QuickBooks bill and its line items.
- Vendor verification: The system checks that the bill is linked to a vendor whose name exactly matches a vendor in Guesty. If no match is found, the process stops for that bill so incomplete data is not created in Guesty.
- Fetching categories and listings: The integration retrieves expense categories and property listings from Guesty.
- Line and property matching: The workflow processes each bill line to match the QuickBooks account or item name with a Guesty category, and the QuickBooks class with a Guesty listing nickname.
- Cost share assessment: The system checks the matched category against your configured "PMC Expense Categories" and "Owner Charge Categories" lists to determine whether Guesty should create a PMC expense or an owner charge.
- Creation in Guesty: Guesty creates an expense for each qualifying line using the mappings below.
Data mapping from QuickBooks to Guesty
| QuickBooks data | Guesty expense field |
|---|---|
| Bill transaction date | Expense date |
| Matched category | Category |
| Line amount | Chargeable amount |
| Bill currency | Currency |
| Matched vendor | Vendor |
| Bill document number | External reference ID |
| Line description | Description |
| Matched class (listing nickname) | Listing |