Syncing data to QBO is largely not necessary. When setup correctly, a vacation rental property management accounting system does NOT require syncing data to QBO.
The QuickBooks Online Sync allows Lodgix subscribers to sync guest invoice and payment data with QuickBooks Online (QBO). We do not sync rental expense or owner statement data with QBO.
Many property managers are under the assumption that trust accounting is best done within the software application they are using to manage their rentals. The reality is that third party applications like Quickbooks Online and others do it much better, the question is how to do it?
We have just what you need, a course designed by a property management accounting expert to show you from the ground up how to structure and use a trust accounting system.
Automate your VRM Accounting a course by VRM Empire
The course is hosted at Teachable and can be found here:
It's a little pricey, but for $500 you will get the guidance and help from James that you need to setup your accounting correctly and without the need for a specialized sync.
If you decide to not take the course and use the QBO sync, please be aware of the following:
To avoid messing up your QuickBooks company file it's important to understand the purpose of the sync, what data is sync'd, how it's sync'd and why it's sync'd.
To avoid messing up your QuickBooks company file it's important to understand the concept of Garbage In, Garbage Out. If your invoices in Lodgix have not all been brought to a zero balance, then all the sync'd invoices in QuickBooks will not have a zero balance and you'll have a mess.
We recommend testing the sync first on a blank QuickBooks Online company file. Sign up for a throwaway QuickBooks Online account. The trial is free and it's a risk free way of seeing how the sync works without putting your real company file at risk. Once you've had some time to acclimate to the sync, you can then use it with a live company file.
Most companies who decide to use the sync, will spend $500 or more in consulting fees doing such things as reviewing your current bookkeeping processes, establishing your chart of accounts, mapping your chart of accounts to Lodgix accounts, setting up classes within QuickBooks and mapping properties to classes in Lodgix and flushing out any errors that result from the initial sync.
QuickBooks Online (QBO) is the only supported Intuit platform. Lodgix has no plans to extend the sync to QuickBooks Desktop (QBD).
Cost and How to Access
Adding the QuickBooks Online Sync module to your Lodgix account is as simple as going to Modules > QuickBooks within Lodgix. The monthly cost of the module will vary in accordance with your primary subscription. Pricing is outlined under the Optional Modules section here:
How Does The Sync Work? Are There Any Limitations?
Lodgix syncs all invoice and payments to QuickBooks If an invoice is updated, deleted or canceled within Lodgix, that change will sync to QuickBooks the next time the sync is initiated.
Sales Tax Reporting
Lodgix syncs invoice taxes as line items within QuickBooks. This is because a typical reservation can be subject to many different taxes. Local taxes, city taxes, state taxes and then some items within the invoice can be taxed while others are not. This does not work well within a typical QuickBooks invoice where all items are summed and then taxed. Because of this we have to sync Lodgix invoice taxes as line items within a QuickBooks invoice. The repercussion of this is that the more advanced sales tax reporting features of QuickBooks online can't be used. It's not a big deal, but it's important to note.