SimplePay currently supports integration with QuickBooks Online (QBO). You will be able to import your chart of accounts into SimplePay and then specify mappings from SimplePay’s accounts to your accounts in QBO.
Once you’ve enabled this integration, the Pay Runs screen will contain links for posting finalised pay runs to QBO. After clicking that, you will be prompted to import your chart of accounts and do the mapping.
Preliminary Steps
Before integrating with SimplePay, you will need to ensure that QBO is correctly configured in order to be able to map accounts.
Once you have created the relevant accounts in QBO, you can proceed with the QBO integration.
Initial Setup
This guide will help you set up the integration between SimplePay, the online payroll system, and the QBO online accounting system.
The first step is to tell SimplePay that you’d like to use the QBO integration. Go to Settings > Accounting > Accounting System Integration.
When you click the drop-down menu under Accounting System, you will have three options. Select “QuickBooks Online” and click Connect to QuickBooks.
Note that, so far, no communication between SimplePay and QBO has taken place.
Creating a Pay Run
This step is not specific to the QBO integration, but a general function of SimplePay. Click on Pay Runs.
First, you will need to finalise the payslips for the period. If your screen does not have a 0 under Pending, you may click the Finalise link which will appear under the number of pending payslips, in order to do a bulk finalise. Then click Create Pay Run.
After the pay run has been created, you will see a screen where you can click Send to QuickBooks.
Importing the Chart of Accounts
After performing the above action, you will be prompted to map your payroll accounts to QBO accounts. Under each payroll account, you will find a drop-down list of potential QBO accounts that it can be mapped to.
Because SimplePay does not yet have the list of QBO accounts, click Import now.
You will then authorise SimplePay to access your data on QBO. This authorisation will be remembered in future – it can be revoked at any time from within QBO.
You may be asked by QBO for your login details if you are not yet logged in. Ensure that, if you have multiple companies on QBO, the correct company corresponding to the one you are currently working on in SimplePay is selected. Then click Authorize.
Final Steps
You will now be back on the Account Mappings screen shown above, but this time the list of QBO accounts will be populated. The list of QBO accounts that appear in the dropdown list when mapping payroll accounts will depend on whether the item to be mapped appears under the Debit or Credit section on the Account Mappings screen. For instance, the dropdown list for Basic Salary will show asset and expense QBO accounts, since these are the accounts that are usually debited in accounting. However, you can map to any type of account by clicking on ‘Show More Accounts‘ under the ‘Other’ section in the dropdown list. After mapping the accounts, you will be able to post the journal to QBO.
In future, you will not be asked to map accounts. However, if you’ve started using a new payroll account since the last time you posted data to QBO, e.g. you are now paying sales commission for the first time, you will be asked to map that account. This is because SimplePay only maps accounts that you’ve actually used, saving you the trouble of mapping accounts that you may have on paper but never actually use in practice.
Advanced Options
The above information is applicable in the standard case – where you wish to integrate your company in SimplePay with one company in QBO. This would be applicable to most businesses.
If, however, you use pay points in SimplePay and, therefore, want to link a pay point / company in SimplePay to multiple companies in QBO, please refer to: