# Sync External Payments This article explains how Sync External Payments helps keep your QuickBooks and ConnectWise payment records in sync. *** {% hint style="warning" %} **Prerequisite:** This feature requires **both** a QuickBooks Online integration **and** a ConnectWise integration to be connected and active. {% endhint %} ### **What is an External Payment?** An external payment is any payment recorded directly in QuickBooks Online that was not created through Alternative Payments. This can include payments entered manually by your accounting team, payments imported through bank feeds, or payments created through other integrations or accounting workflows. When these payments are created in QuickBooks, Alternative Payments automatically detects them and creates a matching payment record in ConnectWise. *** #### Sync External Payments Requirements Before using this feature, please make sure the following requirements have been met. **Both integrations are connected and active:** * QuickBooks Online integration * ConnectWise integration **Invoices are synced:** * The invoice being paid exists in both QuickBooks and ConnectWise * The invoice information is identical in both integrations * The invoice exists in Alternative Payments, either created through the Partner Dashboard or synced via the Sync Tool *** #### Setup Steps #### 1. Enable Payment Syncing If you are not using the Sync Tool, the first step is to enable the Payment Sync preference. 1. Login to your Alternative Payments Partner Dashboard 2. Navigate to **Integrations > Preferences** 3. Locate the **Enable external payments sync** toggle 4. Turn the toggle **ON**
{% hint style="info" %} **Note:** This global setting controls whether payment syncing is enabled for your organization. When disabled, no external payments will be synced regardless of other configurations. {% endhint %} #### 2. Configure Sync Mode (only when Sync Tool is enabled) Next, configure **how** external payments should be synced: 1. Go to **Integrations > Sync Invoices**, then select **Preferences**
2. Find the **External Payments** section
3. Select your preferred sync mode: **Sync Mode Options** * **Disabled** – No external payments will be synced.\ Use this if you want to keep payment records separate between systems. * **All Invoices** – Syncs external payments for **all invoices** that exist in both QuickBooks and ConnectWise.\ Use this for comprehensive payment tracking across all invoices. * **Synced Invoices Only** – Syncs external payments **only for invoices** that were previously synced using the Sync Tool.\ Use this for controlled synchronization of manually-selected invoices. {% hint style="warning" %} **Synced Invoices Only** mode requires that invoices were originally synced through the Alternative Sync Tool. Invoices created through other methods will not have their payments synced. {% endhint %} #### 3. Save Your Configuration 1. Review your selected sync mode 2. Click **Save changes** Your external payment sync configuration is now active! *** ### Details Included in the Payment Sync When a payment is synced from QuickBooks to ConnectWise, the following information is transferred: * **Payment Amount** – The exact amount paid * **Payment Date** – When the payment was received * **Invoice Reference** – Links the payment to the correct ConnectWise invoice *** ### **Verifying Synced Payments** Follow these steps to confirm payments were synced successfully: 1. Log in to your **ConnectWise** account 2. Navigate to the invoice that was paid 3. Check the **Payments** section 4. You should see the payment with the amount and date matching QuickBooks *** ### **Best Practices** 1. Avoid manually entering payments in ConnectWise for invoices that also exist in QuickBooks. This helps prevent duplicate payments from being created. 2. Make sure both integrations remain connected and active. If either integration is disconnected, external payment syncing will stop. *** ### **GL Account Mapping (ConnectWise + QuickBooks Online)** This section applies to partners using the **ConnectWise + QuickBooks Online sync tool**. The sync tool offers two modes for handling time entries, and the mode you choose directly affects which GL accounts are credited in QuickBooks Online. #### The Two Sync Modes **Sync each time entry as an individual line-item (line-item mode)** In this mode, each ConnectWise time entry is sent to QuickBooks Online as a separate invoice line mapped to a QBO product/service item (for example, "Technician"). The income account that gets credited is whatever is hardcoded on that QBO item — the sync tool does not consult ConnectWise's GL mapping table. Board-type-based overrides configured in ConnectWise Setup Tables have no effect on where the revenue lands in QuickBooks Online. **Sync time entries grouped as GL entries (grouped GL entries mode)** In this mode, the sync tool groups invoice lines by ConnectWise's dynamically calculated GL accounts — the same logic that drives the GL Entries tab in ConnectWise (work role × board type × work type from ConnectWise Setup Tables). This effectively replicates ConnectWise's GL Account Mapping logic and produces summary entries per GL account rather than one line per time log. #### Known Limitation in Line-Item Mode The sync tool does not replicate ConnectWise's Setup Tables GL Account Mapping logic when running in line-item mode. If a QBO item such as "Technician" is hardcoded to an income account like "Technical Services," all time entries mapped to that item will post to "Technical Services" regardless of the board type or work type on the ConnectWise ticket. This is a known platform limitation. #### Workarounds for Mismatched Accounts in Line-Item Mode If you need different ConnectWise contexts (for example, Service tickets vs. Project tickets) to post to different income accounts in QuickBooks Online while staying in line-item mode, you have two options: * **Update the QBO item's income account directly** — change the hardcoded income account on the existing QBO product/service item to the account you want all entries of that type to use. * **Create separate QBO items per context** — for example, create "Technician-Project" mapped to one income account and "Technician-Service" mapped to another. This also requires corresponding product setup changes on the ConnectWise side so that the correct item is referenced per ticket type. #### Correcting Already-Synced Invoices Invoices that have already synced with incorrect GL account assignments cannot be corrected by re-syncing. The correct fix is to enter manual journal entries in QuickBooks Online to move the amounts to the right accounts. #### Recommendation Partners who use ConnectWise as their system of record for time entries and do not need individual line-item detail in QuickBooks Online should use **Sync time entries grouped as GL entries** mode. This setting matches ConnectWise's own GL Entry calculation and avoids the income-account mismatch described above. You can change the time entries sync mode in your sync tool preferences under **Integrations → Sync Preferences → Time Entries**. **Love our platform?** Rate us on [Channel Program](https://channelprogram.com/v/alternativepayments) and check out our [Referral Program page](https://www.alternativepayments.io/referral-partners/)! --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. 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