Syncing Trade2Base with QuickBooks
Trade2Base integrates with QuickBooks Online UK to automatically push invoices, customers, and payments across — so your bookkeeping stays accurate without any manual data entry. This guide covers connecting your QuickBooks account, what syncs, VAT handling, historical invoices, and how to fix sync errors.
Trade2Base only supports QuickBooks Online UK. QuickBooks Desktop (the installed Windows application) is not compatible with this integration. If you're on QuickBooks Desktop, you can export data from Trade2Base as a CSV and import it manually — see our export guide.
Connecting QuickBooks to Trade2Base
The connection uses Intuit's secure OAuth 2.0 flow. You'll need Admin access in Trade2Base and a QuickBooks Online account with Company Admin or Accountant permissions.
- Go to Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks in Trade2Base.
- Click Connect with QuickBooks. You'll be redirected to the Intuit sign-in page.
- Sign in to your QuickBooks Online account and select your company.
- Click Connect to grant Trade2Base access.
- You'll return to Trade2Base, where a green Connected badge will confirm the link is active.
Make sure your QuickBooks company is set to the UK region. If it was set up as a US or other region company, VAT handling will not work correctly and you should contact Intuit support to correct the region.
What Syncs Automatically
All data flows one way: from Trade2Base into QuickBooks. Edits made directly in QuickBooks are not reflected back in Trade2Base.
Invoices
When an invoice is marked Sent in Trade2Base, a matching invoice is created in QuickBooks with the same invoice number, line items, amounts, and due date. Marking it Paid in Trade2Base automatically records the payment in QuickBooks.
Customers
When syncing an invoice, Trade2Base checks QuickBooks for an existing customer with the same email address. If none is found, a new QuickBooks customer record is created using the name, email, and address from Trade2Base.
Payments
Payments collected through Trade2Base (including card payments via Stripe) are synced to QuickBooks as payment records against the corresponding invoice. The payment method, date, and amount are all carried across.
VAT Handling for QuickBooks UK
Trade2Base automatically maps its VAT rates to the standard QuickBooks Online UK VAT codes:
- 20% Standard → QuickBooks 20.0% S
- 5% Reduced → QuickBooks 5.0% R
- 0% Zero-rated → QuickBooks 0.0% Z
- Exempt → QuickBooks Exempt
- Outside scope → QuickBooks No VAT
If your QuickBooks setup uses custom VAT codes, remap them at Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks → VAT mapping. Incorrect VAT mapping is the most common cause of sync failures on first setup — always verify this before raising your first synced invoice.
Mapping Account Codes
You can control which QuickBooks income account each type of Trade2Base invoice line posts to. Go to Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks → Account mapping. For each Trade2Base category (e.g. Labour, Materials, Call-out), select the matching QuickBooks income account from the dropdown. Click Save mapping.
Line items with no explicit mapping fall back to the default income account configured in your QuickBooks chart of accounts.
Handling Invoices Created Before the Integration
Trade2Base only syncs invoices created (or updated) after the QuickBooks connection was set up. Invoices that already existed in Trade2Base before you connected are not synced automatically.
To sync a historical invoice, open it in Trade2Base, click Actions, and select Sync to QuickBooks. You can also do this in bulk from the Invoices list: select the invoices you want, click Bulk actions, and choose Sync to QuickBooks.
If historical invoices are already in QuickBooks, do not sync them again from Trade2Base — this will create duplicates. Instead, match them manually or leave them as-is and start the integration from a clean date going forward.
Troubleshooting Sync Errors
Sync failures appear in the Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks → Error log. Common causes and fixes:
Token expired
QuickBooks access tokens expire after 100 days. Go to Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks and click Reconnect to refresh the token.
VAT code not found
The VAT code in the sync does not exist in your QuickBooks company. Check your VAT mapping in Trade2Base and ensure the QuickBooks codes match exactly.
Duplicate invoice number
An invoice with the same number already exists in QuickBooks. Either delete the existing QuickBooks invoice or change the invoice number in Trade2Base before retrying.
Company not found
The connected QuickBooks company has been deleted or you no longer have access to it. Disconnect and reconnect with the correct company.
Disconnecting QuickBooks
Go to Settings → Integrations → QuickBooks and click Disconnect. This removes Trade2Base's access but does not delete any data from QuickBooks or Trade2Base. Invoices created after disconnection will not sync until you reconnect. You can reconnect at any time using the steps above.
Using Xero instead of QuickBooks? See our Xero sync guide.
Still need help?
Contact our UK support team via live chat or email support@trade2base.com.