Connecting QuickBooks Online

The QuickBooks Online (QBO) integration is available on Pro and higher plans. Once connected, TrailerBase keeps your customers, invoices, payments, and expenses in lockstep with your books — no more double entry, no more end-of-month reconciliation marathons.

Step 1: Start the connection

1. In TrailerBase, go to Settings > Connectors > QuickBooks.
2. Click Connect to QuickBooks.
3. A new tab opens to the Intuit OAuth screen. Sign in with the QBO account that owns the company file you want to sync.
4. Choose the QBO company if you have more than one.
5. Click Connect to authorize TrailerBase.

You will be redirected back to TrailerBase, and the status will switch to Connected.

Step 2: Map your accounts

TrailerBase posts activity into specific QBO accounts. In Settings > Connectors > QuickBooks > Account Mapping, map:

• Rental revenue — usually an Income account like "Rental Revenue."
• Fees & add-ons — e.g., cleaning fees, late fees, delivery.
• Sales tax — the QBO tax account or agency, if you charge tax.
• Deposits received — a current liability account for security deposits.
• Deposits returned — the offset when you refund deposits.
• Promotional discounts — usually a contra-income account.
• Bank deposits — where Stripe payouts land. This is typically a "Stripe Clearing" bank account in QBO.
• Fees expense — where Stripe processing fees are posted.

Do this once; TrailerBase remembers it forever unless you change it.

Step 3: Map your items

Items in QBO represent what you sell. You can either let TrailerBase auto-create an item per trailer class, or map manually. We recommend mapping by class (e.g., "Dump Trailer 7x14", "Cargo Trailer 5x8") rather than per unit — it keeps your QBO item list clean.

Step 4: Choose sync direction and frequency

Pick what syncs and how often:

• Customers — two-way by default. A new TrailerBase customer shows up in QBO; updates flow both directions.
• Invoices — one-way (TrailerBase to QBO). Every closed rental creates a QBO invoice.
• Payments — one-way. Stripe payments appear against the right invoice automatically.
• Expenses — you can optionally pull QBO expenses in as read-only for margin analysis.

Sync runs every 15 minutes by default. You can change to hourly or daily in settings, or click Sync Now to force immediate.

Step 5: Initial historical sync

On first connect, TrailerBase offers to backfill. Options:

• No backfill — only new activity from today forward syncs. Good if your QBO already has historical data.
• Last 90 days — a nice middle ground for reconciliation.
• All history — syncs every rental ever. Takes longer and can create duplicates if you already keyed some of it manually, so use with care.

Pick the option that matches your situation and click Start Sync.

Troubleshooting

• 401 errors / "Authorization expired": Intuit tokens expire after a long period of inactivity. Go to Settings > Connectors > QuickBooks and click Re-authenticate. You do not lose your mappings.
• Duplicate customers: use the Merge tool in QBO. TrailerBase will match the winning record on next sync.
• Invoices not appearing: confirm the rental has actually been closed. Open rentals do not create invoices.
• Payment not attaching to invoice: usually a timing issue — wait 15 minutes and refresh.

Best practices

• Connect to your QBO production company only after you have tested the flow in a sandbox.
• Run a full reconciliation in the first month to catch mapping mistakes early.
• Keep Stripe's "Stripe Clearing" account in QBO — do not bypass it.
• Review the Connector Activity Log weekly for any failed syncs that need your attention.