Back in November 2017, I wrote a couple of articles related to Intuit's work on the development of API-V4 for QuickBooks Online. The critical change was called the 'rest' or 'staged transactional' API.
Not long after that, Insightful Accountant Contributing Author Liz Scott gave you a glimpse into what Intuit's emerging 'Connect to PayPal' app (then still in Beta) was in May 2018. Intuit's senior engineer for the app touted that "the new App syncs PayPal transactions to QuickBooks Online more reliably than ever, in part because it puts you (the user) in the driver's seat using the staged transaction technology afforded by API-V4."
Well, all of that is more than six years in the past, and during that time, hundreds of thousands of transactions have undoubtedly been synchronized between PayPal and QBO. Yet, users didn't stick with Intuit's Connect to PayPal app because if they had, we would have seen the type of app connector explosion in the market to synchronize PayPal transactions with QBO.
More than a dozen such apps purportedly provide this synchronization, each claiming to have functionality or capabilities that the others don't. This is one reason you should attend Insightful Accountant's eCommerce App Comparison in about a month.
Whether it was just time to use the latest technology or to enhance the functional capabilities of 'Connect to PayPal,' Intuit launched the Beta test version of PayPal Connector by QuickBooks within the last few months. This new app replaces 'Connect to PayPal' and provides a more straightforward way to bring PayPal transactions into QuickBooks.
With a direct connection to PayPal, the new app will retrieve and display transactions under the Apps transactions tab, which can be accessed from the Transactions menu item of the QuickBooks left-hand navigation bar.
This app lets you auto-import and review your transactions before they are posted to your accounting. Once connected, transactions like sales, fees, purchases, and transfers can be reviewed. With the click of a button, you can add, match, exclude, and undo transactions just like you do for bank feed imports.
You can configure the app to ensure that your PayPal fees are added to a separate expense account. This will save you valuable time by eliminating the need to enter them manually.
This app lets you auto-import and review your transactions before they hit your accounting. Once connected, transactions like sales, fees, purchases, and transfers can be reviewed. With the click of a button, you can add, match, exclude, and undo transactions just like you do for bank feed imports.
You can configure the app to automate your financial reporting by detecting and recording your PayPal fees with the associated payment transactions and posting them according to your designated accounts. That means accurate and timely financial records and considerable time savings by no longer needing to enter them manually.
You can also set up the new app to provide greater detail about your transactions. For example, you can capture line-item details of sales receipts (where available), including your items sold, discounts, shipping and tax.
PayPal Connector by QuickBooks can detect transactional tax rates to ensure that the taxes are correctly posted within QuickBooks Online.
You will also be able to capture all the information from your sales and record transactional details on a customer, item, or consolidated (daily or period) sales basis.
This means that using PayPal as part of your operation will give you better insights into how your business runs.
And right now, PayPal Connector by QuickBooks is 'free.' For more information, see the QuickBooks Online App Store App Web card.