Once Dext is connected to QuickBooks Desktop, you can publish items directly from the Dext web app. Dext Connect must be running on the computer used to set up the integration - any Admin user or accountant/bookkeeper can publish from the web app as long as that computer is online.
Important: Admin users, including accountants and bookkeepers accessing a client account, can publish by default. Standard users need additional publishing permissions. See Roles and permissions in Dext for more details.
Before you publish
To publish items to QuickBooks Desktop, make sure:
Dext Connect is running on the computer used to set up the integration
For paid items, the payment method is linked to a bank account in QuickBooks Desktop - see How to link a payment method to a bank account
Note: Auto-publish isn't supported for QuickBooks Desktop. Items must be published manually from Dext. To automate how items are coded before publishing, see Rules and automation in Dext.
Publish cost items
To publish a cost item, open it in your Costs inbox and review the item details. Use the Publish to field to set the publishing destination, or leave it to apply the default set in your integration settings. When you're ready, select Publish.
Publishing destinations
Cost items can be published as one of four transaction types. The default is set in Business settings > Connections > Manage (next to QuickBooks Desktop) > Settings. You can override it per item using the Publish to field.
Bill - for invoices, receipts, and credit notes tracked in Accounts Payable
Credit Card Charge - for items paid by credit card. Credit notes/refunds publish as Credit Card Refund/Credit
Cheque - for items paid by cheque from a bank account
Debit Card - for items paid by debit card. Uses the Write Cheques form in QuickBooks Desktop with "Debit" in the number field
If the item is paid, toggle Paid to Yes and select a payment method. The payment method must be linked to the correct account type: a bank account for Bill, Cheque, and Debit Card; a credit card account for Credit Card Charge. Selecting an incompatible combination shows a warning in Dext before you publish.
What transfers across
Dext publishes the supplier, date, category, net amount, tax code, class, and description to QuickBooks Desktop. The description field also carries a link to the document image. Document reference transfers to the Ref. No. field for Bills and Credit Card Charges - see Document reference numbers for the full breakdown.
Without line items, data lands in the Expenses tab of the transaction. With line items, data lands in the Items tab instead, with each line's Product/Service, description, quantity, net amount, class, and tax rate transferring individually.
Billable expenses
To mark a cost item as billable in QuickBooks Desktop, both of the following must be true in Dext:
The main item has Mark as rebillable turned on, and a customer assigned
Each individual line item also has a customer assigned
If the main item has a customer but line items don't, the billable flag won't carry through to QuickBooks Desktop. For items without line items, only the main item needs a customer assigned.
Where published cost items appear
Bill - Bill Tracker; Vendor Centre > Transactions tab > Bills; Vendors > Pay Bills
Credit Card Charge - credit card account register; Vendor Centre > Transactions tab
Cheque / Debit Card - bank account register; Vendor Centre > Transactions tab
Publish sales items
Sales items publish to QuickBooks Desktop based on their document type. There's no Publish to destination to select - each type maps directly to its QuickBooks Desktop equivalent.
Dext document type | QuickBooks Desktop transaction |
Sales invoice | Invoice |
Sales receipt | Sales Receipt |
Sales credit note | Credit Memo |
Only Product/Service applies to sales items - Category is not used for sales.
Dext publishes the customer, date, Product/Service, description, net amount, class, and tax code. The description field also carries a link to the document image if Image Sharing is turned on in Business settings > Exports.
Document reference transfers to the Invoice # field for Sales Invoices. For Sales Receipts and Credit Memos, the number field is auto-generated by QuickBooks Desktop - see Document reference numbers.
Sales Receipts are always published as paid. The payment method must be linked to a bank account in QuickBooks Desktop - this becomes the Deposit To account on the Sales Receipt.
Line items transfer across for all sales document types.
Published sales items appear in the Customer Centre under the relevant customer's Transactions tab.
Publish expense claims
Expense claims always publish to QuickBooks Desktop as unpaid Bills, regardless of whether the claim is marked as paid in Dext or what's selected in the Publish to field.
The Vendor on the Bill is controlled by the Claim supplier field in Dext:
Use claim owner name (default) - the employee the claim is made for becomes the Vendor
Specific supplier - that supplier becomes the Vendor. Use this when reimbursements are tracked through a single supplier or account in QuickBooks Desktop rather than per employee
Each item in the claim publishes as a separate line in the Expenses tab of the Bill, carrying the supplier name, image link, category, net amount, tax code, and class. The claim description publishes to the Memo field on the Bill header.
Document reference numbers
The Document reference field in Dext transfers to QuickBooks Desktop differently depending on the transaction type.
Transaction type | QuickBooks Desktop field | Behaviour |
Bill | Ref. No. | Transferred from Dext |
Credit Card Charge | Ref. No. | Transferred from Dext |
Cheque | No. | Auto-generated by QuickBooks Desktop |
Debit Card | No. | Fixed as "Debit" |
Sales Invoice | Invoice # | Transferred from Dext |
Sales Receipt | Sale No. | Auto-generated by QuickBooks Desktop |
Sales Credit Note | Credit No. | Auto-generated by QuickBooks Desktop |
Secondary Tax Extraction
Secondary Tax Extraction isn't supported for QuickBooks Desktop. If your documents include two separate tax rates, select a combined tax rate as the default in the Dext Connect App under Integration settings > Taxable items code, and publish using Extracted Amount.