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8.3. How do I set up the QuickBooks Link in EstiMate?

Note: At this time the QuickBooks link is only compatible with US versions of QuickBooks.  More information can be found by clicking here.

Q:  I've just installed QuickBooks and EstiMate on my computer, how do I set them up so I can send my jobs over to QuickBooks?

A:  Before you setup the QuickBooks link in EstiMate you should first have QuickBooks set up for the way you plan to work.  What is meant by this is that you first need to have some accounts and items set up in QuickBooks, so that you can associate that with what's in EstiMate.

 

The QuickBooks side: 

 

• In QuickBooks you should have at least one Income Account that reflects your sign sales.  For example you could have an Income Account called "Sign Income".

• Next you need to setup some items that you want the information from EstiMate to "funnel" into.  In the Items List in QuickBooks you will need to create a new "Non-Inventory Part", and give it a name.  The name can just be something that reflects the plugin that will be used to create the item in EstiMate.  For example if most of the work you do in EstiMate is done in the Wide Format plugin then in QuickBooks you could name this new item "Digital Printing".  If you also apply vinyl to signs then you may want to create a separate item in QuickBooks called "Vinyl Signs".  You can continue to create items for any other types of work you do that you wish to separate like Screen Printing, Dimensional Items, Retail Items, and maybe even a Miscellaneous Items.  The only fields that need to be complete on the "New Item" screen in QuickBooks are the "Type" (Non-Inventory Part), the "Item Name/Number" (e.g. Digital Printing), and the "Account" (e.g. Sign Income)

• You will then also need to create a new "Sales Tax Item" if you don't already have one in QuickBooks.  This is the item you will be associated with the sales tax in EstiMate.  The fields that need to be set up in this item window are Type (Sales Tax Item), Tax Name (e.g. NC State Sales Tax), Tax Rate (%), and the Tax Agency (e.g. Department of Revenue).

The EstiMate Side:

 
Now that you've set everything up in QuickBooks it's time to associate these items with the items in EstiMate.

 

To Begin:

• Click on the Configure And Manage tab > QuickBooks Link > Configuer QuickBooks Link.

• Confirm that QuickBooks is running and that the company file is open by clicking the checkbox, and the the "Next" button.

• EstiMate will connect to QuickBooks.  You may be asked if you want to allow EstiMate (Unknown Application) to connect to your QuickBooks company file - Just click "Yes, Always".

• Once EstiMate has connected to QuickBooks you will see the "Map EstiMate Items with QuickBooks Items" screen.  This is where you will select from the items you just created in QuickBooks and match them to the correct plugins, or sales tax, or other items in EstiMate.

• On this screen there are two sections.  The one on the left; "EstiMate Items" is all of your materials.  This section is considered *optional*, and you only need to select items from here if you wish to track them in QuickBooks.  More information about this section can be found in the help files by pressing F1.

• The section on the right "Created Associations" is what we will focus on setting up here, so you can export your jobs to QuickBooks after this is complete. 

• The first thing you'll see here is the "Default Association" - click the "+" sign to the left of it.  You will see that to the right of "Default Association" it says [USE DEFAULT].  To change this click twice on the words [USE DEFAULT] and a drop down menu will appear with all of the items you created in QuickBooks.  For this particular item you will want to select something general (e.g. Signs, Miscellaneous) as this association will be used for any items you leave [USE DEFAULT] selected.

• The next section is "Discounts".  If you have any discounts setup in EstiMate then you may want to create an item in QuickBooks called Discounts (the type is also Discount) and also associate that with the account called Discounts (which is an Income account) in QuickBooks. 

• Next is Pricing Plugins.  This is where you will select the items from QuickBooks you want to associate with each plugin.  Like in the example above you would associate Wide Fromat Inkjet with Digital Prints, and Vinyl and Painted Sings with Vinyl Sings.  You may also wish to "lump" Window Graphics, and Ready To Apply Graphics under Vinyl Signs.  You can associate and item from QuickBooks with as many EstiMate items as you want - you don't have to have a separate QuickBooks item from each item in EstiMate.  You also don't need to worry about associating any of the plugins you don't intend to use.

• The last step is the sales tax.  Select the "Sales Tax Item" you created in QuickBooks for your Sales Tax in EstiMate.  If you have more then one sales tax in EstiMate it's usually a good idea to have more then one "Sales Tax Item" in QuickBooks.

• After you have finished setting up all of the items you can click the "Next" button.  You will now see an Additional Settings screen which just asks you if you want to use the QuickBooks numbers or EstiMate numbers.  If you want to use the numbering sequence from QuickBooks for all invoices sent to QuickBooks leave the box un-checked.  If you want to use the invoice numbers from EstiMate check the box and you can also choose to add a prefix to the numbers (EMT = EstiMate).