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Accounting Invoicing Playbook (QuickBooks Integration)

users/accounting/ACCOUNTING_INVOICING_PLAYBOOK_QUICKBOOKS.md

This guide is for accounting users who run billing in Contact Ground with QuickBooks Integration mode.

It covers:

  • Flight operations data readiness
  • QuickBooks connection and mapping requirements
  • Invoice generation and send behavior
  • Sync locks and correction workflow
  • Payment tracking via QuickBooks

1. Before You Start

1.1 Access and prerequisites

You should have an invoicing-capable role in your organization (owner or accounting). Admin alone does not grant invoice, credits, or credit-request review access.

Invoicing works only when both conditions are true:

  1. Flight Operations Mode is Manual or Automatic (not Off).
  2. Invoicing is enabled in organization settings.

1.2 Where key pages are

  • Organization settings: left sidebar Organization
  • QuickBooks setup and mappings: on the Organization page, in the QuickBooks card click Connect to QuickBooks, then click Configure Mappings
  • Flight Ops time entry management: left sidebar Flight Ops
  • Credit requests queue: left sidebar Credit Requests
  • Invoices list: left sidebar Invoices
  • Generate invoices: on Invoices, click Generate Invoice
  • Credits management: on Invoices, click Manage Credits

2. One-Time Setup Checklist

2.1 Flight operations and invoicing settings

Open Organization from the left sidebar and confirm:

  1. Flight Operations Mode is Manual or Automatic.
  2. Enable Invoicing is checked.
  3. Invoicing Mode is QuickBooks Integration.
  4. Notify members about invoices is set the way your organization wants.
  5. Monthly Member Rate is correct.
  6. Optional: schedule future monthly rate changes if needed.

2.2 Complete QuickBooks integration setup

From Organization, use the QuickBooks card buttons and complete:

  1. Click Connect to QuickBooks.
  2. After connection succeeds, click Configure Mappings.
  3. Member to Customer Mapping:
    • Map every Contact Ground member that will be invoiced to a QuickBooks Online customer.
  4. Line Item to Item Mapping:
    • Map Contact Ground line item types to QuickBooks Online items (flight_time, monthly_fee, instructor_fee, other).
  5. Confirm connection is active and mappings are complete before month-end sends.

Important:

  • Incomplete mapping is the most common reason for failed syncs.

3. Monthly Billing Runbook

3.1 Close flight data first

Before generating invoices:

  1. Review recent entries on Flight Ops.
  2. Ensure all post-flight hours are present for the billing period.
  3. Correct missing or incorrect entries:
    • Edit existing entries, or
    • Use Add Manual Entry for missing flights.

3.2 Process credit requests

Open Credit Requests:

  1. Start with Pending filter.
  2. For each request:
    • Approve: optionally adjust approved amount and add notes.
    • Deny: enter required reason.
  3. On approval, Contact Ground creates an active reimbursement credit for the member.

3.3 Review direct credits and credit memos

From Invoices, click Manage Credits:

  1. Add one-time or monthly credits as needed.
  2. Review existing active credits for accuracy.
  3. Confirm expiration dates where applicable.

Notes:

  • Credits are auto-applied to new invoices.
  • Credits are applied oldest-first (FIFO).
  • In QB mode, synced credits are locked until deleted in QuickBooks Online.

3.4 Generate draft invoices

From Invoices, click Generate Invoice:

  1. Set billing period start and end.
  2. Choose All members or selected members.
  3. Generate invoices.
  4. Contact Ground creates draft invoices and applies available credits automatically.

3.5 Review drafts before sending

Open Invoices:

  1. Draft is the default filter.
  2. Open each invoice detail to verify line items and credits.
  3. Fix data issues before sending.

3.6 Send Behavior with QuickBooks

From Invoices, sending drafts starts in Contact Ground, then each invoice is automatically synced to QuickBooks Online.

What to expect:

  • Individual invoices sync to QuickBooks Online automatically
  • Large batches may take a minute or more to complete
  • Members receive notification when an invoice is sent
  • QuickBooks Online may apply adjustments after sync

4. QuickBooks Sync and Corrections

4.1 Understanding Synced Invoices

Once an invoice is synced to QuickBooks Online:

  • The invoice is locked in Contact Ground
  • You cannot edit or delete it directly in Contact Ground
  • All changes must be made through the correction process

To unlock a synced invoice:

  • Delete the invoice in QuickBooks Online
  • The system will automatically unlock it in Contact Ground
  • You can then edit and re-sync

4.2 Recording Payments

Payment status is managed through QuickBooks Online:

  1. Record all payments in QuickBooks Online
  2. Payment status automatically updates in Contact Ground
  3. Invoice shows as paid when QuickBooks Online balance is zero

Note: In most cases, do not manually mark synced invoices as paid in Contact Ground. Let QuickBooks sync handle the status.

4.3 Correcting a Synced Invoice

If a synced invoice needs changes:

  1. Delete the invoice in QuickBooks Online
  2. Wait for the system to unlock it (usually immediate)
  3. In Contact Ground, cancel and replace the invoice as needed
  4. Correct underlying data (flight entries, credits)
  5. Generate and send a new invoice.

4.4 Correct a synced credit memo

If a synced credit memo needs changes:

  1. Delete the credit memo in QuickBooks Online.
    • Find the credit memo and go to Edit
    • On the bottom edge click More and then Delete.
  2. Wait for webhook processing to unlock it in Contact Ground. Typically this occurs nearly immediately.
  3. In Invoices -> Manage Credits, edit or delete the credit in Contact Ground.
  4. After edit and approved/active, Contact Ground syncs updated values as a new QuickBooks Online credit memo.

5. Troubleshooting

5.1 "Already synced to QuickBooks" message

Meaning:

  • Record is locked because it already synced.

Action:

  1. Delete that invoice or credit memo in QuickBooks Online.
  2. Wait for the data to sync up (~10 seconds).
  3. Retry the adjustment and resend flow in Contact Ground.

5.2 "Sync already in progress" message

Meaning:

  • A sync job is currently pending.

Action:

  • Wait and retry after job completion.

5.3 Invoice or credit created in Contact Ground but not in QuickBooks Online

Common causes:

  • Missing customer mapping
  • Missing or incorrect item mapping
  • QuickBooks Online connection or token issues

Action:

  1. Open Organization, check the QuickBooks card connection status, then click Configure Mappings.
  2. Verify member and item mappings.
  3. Retry from an unlocked state.

5.4 Invoicing options disabled

Meaning:

  • Flight ops mode is Off, or invoicing is disabled.

Action:

  • Enable flight ops (Manual or Automatic) and invoicing in Organization.

6.1 Pre-send checklist

  1. Flight entries are complete for period.
  2. Pending credit requests are resolved.
  3. Credits table reviewed.
  4. Draft invoices generated and spot-checked.
  5. QuickBooks mappings and connection are healthy.

6.2 Send checklist

  1. Send drafts from Invoices using Send Draft Invoices.
  2. Confirm send summary (sent vs failed count).
  3. Monitor for sync errors.

6.3 Post-send checklist

  1. Record payments in QuickBooks Online.
  2. Confirm webhook-driven paid status updates in Contact Ground.