Quickbooks & POS Integration

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Integrating Quickbooks Online with Your POS

Using a point-of-sale (POS) system that integrates with QuickBooks software can simplify financial tracking and reporting. Integration should save time spent entering the same information from the POS system to Quickbooks. At Raleigh Accounting & Tax LLC, we have experience in POS integration and selection. We wanted to provide some insight if you are in the process of selecting a POS or integrating a POS. Before we discuss software integration, lets highlight the difference between software.

  • Quickbooks Online (QBO), is accounting software. It allows you to manage the overall business (payroll, expenses, taxes, reporting, invoices, etc).
  • A Point-of-Sale (POS) system, is software to perform a retail transaction. It may provide the ability to scan a barcode, create an order, or print a receipt. It typically includes inventory management, sales reporting, analytics, and may include staff scheduling.
Common POS Systems

There are many POS on the market, these are the major systems in use with our clients.

major non-integration Considerations
  • What does your business need
    • Type of system
      • Mobile, table, terminal, online, self-service, or a combination
    • Features
      • Inventory management, merchandise sales, scheduling, customizations, reporting, invoicing, loyalty programs, multi-store, and integrations
      • Does it offer features you may need in the future
    • Support
      • Do they offer support during the times you need it
      • Is it third party support available if needed
    • Setup
      • Vendor setup or self setup
  • Pricing
    • Software (companies use different pricing structures)
      • Yearly fees
      • Monthly fees
      • Per terminal fees
    • Hardware
      • Lease or purchase
      • Will older equipment work (printers, etc.)
    • Is financing available
    • Is Quickbooks integration included or an additional fee
  • Security
    • PCI compliance
    • Username and password customization
    • Hardware and software maintenance
    • Anti-virus
    • Firewalls
    • Back office computer security
Recommendations

At Raleigh Accounting & Tax LLC we have assisted our clients in using major POS systems for accounting purposes; restaurants in particular. This has allowed us to notice a pattern of common issues that clients experience. Firstly, the integration must be done properly. If accounts are mismatched or missing, the system will report it exactly as setup. This results in incorrect, or worse yet missing income/expenses/COGS in Quickbooks. Secondly, software updates have an effect on integration. An integration may work properly until a software update causes an integration to stop or miss-report accounts. Thirdly, vendor support with integrations is not always available or dependable. Support responses may take weeks, they may be unresponsive, it may be an unrelated third party integration tool, or the issue may not be resolved.

At Raleigh Accounting & Tax LLC we recommend selecting your POS based on your business needs, price, and security. The ability to integrate is present in most major software, and should be a less important consideration in the selection process. There is no benefit to integrating software that does meet your needs. Inability to integrate or integration issues will not prevent entry in Quickbooks, but may increase time. Raleigh Accounting & Tax LLC recommends only first party integration tools. Integration setup and review should be done by a qualified person. At minimum, data exports to Quickbooks should be reviewed monthly to ensure accuracy.

If you are experiencing integration issues, let Raleigh Accounting & Tax LLC resolve that for you. We can provide support, training, or alternate methods to get your data into Quickbooks.