Transaction Details

The following chart summarizes the various types of information that BigTime shares with QuickBooks. Every customer is different, and every BigTime installation can be adjusted to fit your specific requirements. So, use this list as a starting point. Then, use the rest of the system guide to drill down into more specifics on each type of transaction.

QuickBooks	BigTime	Description
Clients/Jobs	Projects	Jobs become BigTime "project" records. If you don't use jobs in QuickBooks, then your customer "master project" record is all you'll need. If you'd like, your customer "master record" can also be imported as a BigTime job (so that users can bill time/expenses against it). Job data can be synced between BigTime and QuickBooks manually (by initiating a job list sync) or automatically (by scheduling a job list sync). Job data is imported into BigTime automatically as a part of the initial integration/configuration.
Employees	Staff Members	Employees are called staff members in BigTime, and we bring them into the system automatically when you link to your QuickBooks company data file.
Vendors	Staff Members (consultants)	Each of your staff members (in BigTime) can be linked to a vendor account (from the QuickBooks Data...Staff Integration...Details screen). This allows two things to happen: (a) QuickBooks vendors (e.g. – consultants) can enter time/expenses in BigTime and have those time/expense records posted back to the proper QB vendor account and (b) your QB employees can enter reimbursable expenses in BigTime and have BigTime create a "bill" payable to the proper vendor account automatically.
Items	Labor Codes, Expense Categories, Estimate Line Items	Items are used throughout the system. Some of them are "shared" (e.g. – service items become "budget/billing codes" in BigTime) but most are simply imported (e.g. – "Inventory"/"Non-Inventory" items, "Other Charge" items, and "Discount" items). You'll continue to maintain your item lists in QuickBooks.
Timesheets	Time Entries	Time entries are typically created, submitted and reviewed in BigTime. Once those time entries are approved, you can post them to the proper QuickBooks timesheet so that you can see them in your QuickBooks file as well. You can also import timesheet history from QuickBooks into BigTime manually. Once time is posted/imported, we don't share changes between the two systems.
Bills (Employee)	Expense Reports	Each of your BigTime employee expense reports can be posted to QuickBooks as a bill "payable" to the appropriate staff vendor account. In order to do this, each of your staff members needs to have a corresponding vendor account in QuickBooks.
Bills (Vendor)	Vendor Expenses	BigTime will automatically check your QuickBooks file for new vendor expenses as a part of the nightly sync. Those vendor expenses will show up as "read only" items in your list of project expenses in BigTime. If you'd like to, you can actually import them into BigTime so that they can be included in draft invoices as well.
Invoices	Invoices	Invoices are usually drafted in BigTime and then posted to QuickBooks. This lets you take advantage of BigTime's advanced rate and fee calculators. You can also import invoice history from QuickBooks into BigTime manually. Once invoices are posted/imported, we don't share changes between the two systems.
Estimates	Estimates	Your most recent estimate from QuickBooks can be imported into BigTime so that you can take advantage of BigTime's job tracking features.

In the sections that follow, we'll take a look at each transaction in detail. The remainder of this chapter is meant to provide a detailed reference for BigTime system administrators. If you'd like some basic step-by-step instructions on how to share data (like timesheets or expenses) with QuickBooks, then refer to the specific chapters in the System Guide which talk about the type of data you're sharing. Each chapter has user-centric "how to" information on linking with QuickBooks.