Connecting QuickBooks Online

Connect QuickBooks Online when you are ready to copy accounting data into GrantLink for grant linking, allocations, and reporting. The connection uses Intuit's authorization flow; GrantLink does not receive your QuickBooks password.

This workflow keeps three controls separate:

1. Connection: authorizes GrantLink to read one QuickBooks company.
2. Sync: copies supported company data into GrantLink's local mirror.
3. GrantLink classification: links and allocates the copied records for grant reporting.

Current product boundary: Connecting and syncing do not change QuickBooks company data. Although Settings > Permissions displays organization modes and operation permissions, all QuickBooks company-data writebacks are currently disabled globally. GrantLink allocations and links can still change inside GrantLink.

Before You Start

Confirm that:

• You are in the intended GrantLink organization. A viewer cannot start the connection flow.
• Your Intuit account is allowed to authorize apps and access the intended QuickBooks Online company.
• You know the company name you expect to connect. Do not authorize a test, accountant, or sibling company by mistake.
• Pop-ups and redirects to Intuit are permitted in your browser.
• You understand that connection does not choose which QuickBooks Customers, Projects, Classes, or Locations belong to each grant. That is a later, per-grant workflow.

Connect the QuickBooks Company

1. Open Settings.
2. Under QuickBooks, select Sync. The page heading is QuickBooks Sync.
3. In Connect QuickBooks Online, select Connect to QuickBooks.
4. Sign in on Intuit's site if prompted.
5. Select the correct QuickBooks company and approve the requested access.
6. Wait to return to GrantLink. Do not close the authorization window while completion is in progress.

If you cancel at Intuit, the connection is not created. If GrantLink says the attempt expired, start again from Settings > Sync; authorization state is intentionally short-lived.

Verify the Connection

On Settings > Sync, review the Connection card before importing data:

Field	What to verify
Company	Matches the legal or operating company you intended
Realm ID	Identifies that QuickBooks company; retain it when support must distinguish companies
Environment	Is the expected production or sandbox environment
Connected on	Shows when authorization was established

Then verify the data flow:

1. If the status says No sync yet, select Run first sync. Otherwise, select Sync now.
2. Keep working while the page says Syncing right now; the job runs in the background.
3. Wait for All caught up or review any partial or failed result.
4. In Recent activity, confirm the newest row's Mode, Status, Read, Upserted, and Duration.
5. Spot-check a known QuickBooks account, Customer, Class, vendor, and recent transaction in GrantLink. Read is the number fetched; Upserted is the number written to GrantLink's mirror, not the number changed in QuickBooks.

The sync includes reference data such as accounts, Customers, Classes, Locations/departments, vendors, and items, followed by supported posting and operational transactions. Projects are also attempted through QuickBooks' Projects interface; availability depends on the connected company's QuickBooks capabilities, and a Projects failure can produce a partial result without invalidating every other entity.

After the First Sync

Create or open a grant, then use its QuickBooks links to select the QuickBooks records that identify Expenses and Money received for that grant. Sync makes source records available; it does not decide their grant.

Turn Automatic syncing on if GrantLink should refresh daily and when QuickBooks sends supported webhook events. Leave it off if updates must be pulled only with Sync now.

Reconnect or Disconnect

Use Reconnect QuickBooks when GrantLink specifically asks for renewed authorization, including the notice Reconnect QuickBooks for custom-field access. Reauthorization restores or expands access; it does not correct source coding or assign transactions to grants.

Use Disconnect in the Connection card to stop future reads. GrantLink attempts to revoke the Intuit token and marks the local connection revoked even if Intuit's revocation call fails. Disconnecting does not erase previously mirrored GrantLink data, fix allocations, or change the QuickBooks company.

For refresh modes and their allocation effects, see Understanding the Sync Process. For failures, see QuickBooks Connection and Sync Troubleshooting.