Connecting Intuit QuickBooks

Intuit QuickBooks provides accounting software which MotorDesk connects with to automate your accounting processes. MotorDesk's integration with QuickBooks offers what we call live synchronisation - typically after creating or editing an invoice in MotorDesk you can expect the invoice to have been created or edited in QuickBooks within a few seconds.

Connecting QuickBooks

To connect your QuickBooks account simply go to the Business -> Connect Services -> Accounting section, then select the 'Connect QuickBooks' button and follow the process to authorise the connection. Note your QuickBooks account must be configured for VAT before being connected.

Once connected you can choose to 'Synchronise All' existing invoices, this feature should be used with caution but it does enable you to restore your accounting data with ease and even switch between accounting software.

QuickBooks Items & Account Codes

MotorDesk uses QuickBooks Items, these can be configued in the 'Products & services' section of QuickBooks where you can associate your items with the desired accounting codes.

When you first connect MotorDesk it will create two DD-Invoice and DD-Purchase items which will be used as the default items - DD references DealerDesk, the original name for MotorDesk. You can copy these items to create new items and then adjust the default items used by MotorDesk in the Business -> Connect Services -> Accounting section.

When you add new items in QuickBooks please go to the Business -> Connect Services -> Accounting section in MotorDesk and select the QuickBooks 'Edit Settings' button, this will provoke MotorDesk to retrieve your current QuickBooks Items which will then be available to select in the 'Options' section when creating and edit invoices and purchase invoices, and also when creating and editing contacts.

Connection Options

In the Business -> Connect Services -> Accounting section of MotorDesk you can customise how MotorDesk interacts with QuickBooks.

Synchronise Purchase Invoices controls whether purchase invoices will be synchronised.

Synchronise Draft Invoices controls whether draft invoices/purchase invoices will be synchronised, when disabled invoices won't be synchronised until they are issued in MotorDesk.

Finance Adjustments controls whether finance amounts should be sent to QuickBooks, these can be excluded when you have separate invoices for the finance payments such as the Finance Provider Invoices generated by MotorDesk.

Marginal VAT Adjustments controls whether MotorDesk should adjust your invoices for marginal VAT automatically. When enabled marginal VAT invoices will have two invoice lines for each vehicle sold enabling VAT to be applied on the profit, leaving the purchase value without VAT. For this to work correctly you must ensure you accurately record your vehicle purchase prices, and to comply with the marginal VAT second-hand goods scheme you must ensure the customer is only provided with the MotorDesk invoice, and not the QuickBooks invoice. When enabled additional notes are added to the QuickBooks invoice to clarify why the invoice is being created in this way, and to provide a paper-trail to the MotorDesk sales invoice.

Managing Customers/Contacts

All customers and contacts created in MotorDesk should be managed from MotorDesk, and it is important you do not remove customers from QuickBooks which have been created by MotorDesk.