Sutton and QuickBooks each have a clear job. Sutton runs your inventory and operations. QuickBooks keeps your financial books. Data moves between them only when you send a transaction or run an import or export, so you always know what changed and why.
ℹ️ Note: Sutton does not sync records automatically in the background. Editing a customer, vendor, or item in one system does not update the other. This keeps unrelated or old records out of both systems and prevents one team’s edit from overwriting another’s.
What moves, and when
Use this table as a quick reference. Each section below explains the details.
Data | Sutton → QuickBooks | QuickBooks → Sutton |
Customers and vendors | When an invoice or bill needs them, or when you click Export | Only when you click Import |
Items | When an invoice or bill needs them, or when you click Export | Only when you click Import |
Sales orders | Sent as an invoice when you click it in the Invoice column | Not synced |
Purchase orders | Sent as a bill when you click it in the Bill column | Not synced |
Deleted invoices and bills | Not synced. Void them in QuickBooks yourself. | Unlinks the invoice or bill in Sutton |
Customers and vendors
From Sutton to QuickBooks
Sutton sends a customer or vendor to QuickBooks in two situations:
When you send an invoice or bill. Sutton looks for a matching customer or vendor in QuickBooks. If it finds one, it links to it. If it doesn’t, it creates a new one.
When you export. Use Export in your integration settings to push your customers and vendors to QuickBooks at any time.
Changes you make to a company in Sutton after it’s linked, such as a new address, are not sent to QuickBooks. Update the record in QuickBooks directly.
From QuickBooks to Sutton
Customers and vendors come into Sutton only when you import them. Edits made in QuickBooks don’t flow back automatically. To pull in changes, run the import again. The import brings in all records, not just the ones that changed.
How Sutton matches records
Sutton matches by the unique name QuickBooks uses for each record:
QuickBooks Online: the Display name as field.
QuickBooks Desktop: the Vendor Name or Customer Name field.
Sutton does not read or write the Company name field in QuickBooks. If only the Company name matches, Sutton will try to create a new record, and QuickBooks will reject it with “The name is already in use.”
📘 Sutton Tip: QuickBooks keeps one shared name list for customers, vendors, and employees. If a vendor has the same name as an existing customer, Sutton creates the vendor with (v) added to the end of its name. Sutton also won’t link to an inactive or archived record, but QuickBooks still reserves that name.
✅ Best practice: Before your first invoice or export, make sure each company name in Sutton matches the Display name (QuickBooks Online) or Vendor/Customer Name (QuickBooks Desktop) exactly. This is the most reliable way to avoid duplicate records.
Items
From Sutton to QuickBooks
Like customers and vendors, items are sent when an invoice or bill includes them, or when you click Export.
New items that Sutton creates in QuickBooks are added as Non-inventory products. If Sutton links to an item that already exists, it doesn’t change the item’s type.
Only the item name and the invoice or bill account are sent.
New items use the accounts set in your integration’s Account mapping.
Items that already exist in QuickBooks keep their accounts. Sutton does not overwrite them.
To change accounts or taxable status on many products at once, see Bulk Editing Products and Services in QuickBooks Online.
From QuickBooks to Sutton
When you import items, Sutton brings in Inventory, Non-inventory, and Inventory assembly products by name only.
Imported items keep the status they have in QuickBooks.
Inventory assembly items can be imported, but changes to them in Sutton are not sent back to QuickBooks.
Sales orders and invoices
Sales orders become invoices in QuickBooks only when you send them. Go to the Sales orders table and use the Invoice column to invoice all items or only what’s left. QuickBooks creates the invoice as a draft, so you can review it before sending. For the full steps, see Create QuickBooks Online Invoices and Bills.
When an invoice is created:
The due date is based on the payment terms, such as Net 15. If Sutton can’t determine the terms, the due date is 30 days from the date the sales order was created.
QuickBooks Online uses the addresses saved on the customer in QuickBooks. QuickBooks Desktop uses the addresses on the sales order.
Partial invoices get a suffix such as -1 or -2. To learn why, see Why Does My Invoice Number Have a Suffix?
⚙️ Setting: By default, you can only invoice items that have shipped. To invoice before fulfillment, for example, for a deposit, turn on Allow invoicing unfulfilled sales orders in your QuickBooks Online integration settings.
What carries over to the invoice
Sales order field | Sent to QuickBooks? | Notes |
Items, quantities, and rates | Yes |
|
Customer PO number | Yes |
|
Billing and shipping addresses | Yes | QuickBooks Online uses the customer’s saved addresses. |
Ship date | Yes |
|
Carrier and tracking number | Yes |
|
Shipping amount | Sometimes | Only if Allow Shipping is on in QuickBooks Online, and the fee is more than $0. |
Tax | No | Sutton does not send tax amounts or tax codes. |
Discounts and payment adjustments | No |
|
Purchase orders and bills
Purchase orders become bills in QuickBooks only when you send them from the Bill column on the Purchase Orders table. You can bill all items or only the items you’ve received.
The due date is 30 days after the purchase order was created.
Sutton does not send discounts, taxes, or payment adjustments.
Deleting invoices and bills
Deleting in QuickBooks
If you delete a linked invoice or bill in QuickBooks, Sutton unlinks it and sets the sales order or purchase order back to Not invoiced or Not billed. This can take up to 10 minutes. You can then edit the order and send it again.
Deleting in Sutton
Deleting an invoice or bill in Sutton does not remove it from QuickBooks.
⚠️ Heads up: When you delete an invoice or bill in Sutton, also void or delete it in QuickBooks. Otherwise, it stays open in your books.
Import or export records on demand
To move customers, vendors, or items between systems yourself:
Go to Settings and click Integrations.
On the QuickBooks Online card, click Settings.
Under Importing and exporting data, choose Import to pull records from QuickBooks or Export to push records from Sutton.
Click Save.
📘 Sutton Tip: For a full walkthrough of the integration settings, see Connecting QuickBooks Online to Sutton: A Step-by-Step Guide. Using QuickBooks Desktop? See Integrate Sutton with QuickBooks Desktop.
FAQ
If I update a customer in QuickBooks, will it change in Sutton?
If I update a customer in QuickBooks, will it change in Sutton?
No. Run Import in your integration settings to bring in changes. The import pulls in all records, not only the edited ones.
Why did Sutton create a duplicate vendor in QuickBooks?
Why did Sutton create a duplicate vendor in QuickBooks?
The names didn’t match. Sutton compares its company name to the Display Name (QuickBooks Online) or Vendor Name (QuickBooks Desktop), not the Company Name. Rename one so they match exactly, then delete the duplicate in QuickBooks.
Can I send all my items to QuickBooks at once?
Can I send all my items to QuickBooks at once?
Yes. Use Export in your integration settings to push customers, vendors, and items in one step.
Can I invoice many sales orders at once?
Can I invoice many sales orders at once?
Not at this time. Each invoice is sent from its own sales order.
Your accounting stays clean and intentional
You now know exactly what moves between Sutton and QuickBooks and when. Because nothing syncs in the background, QuickBooks only receives the records your transactions need, and each system stays focused on its job.
If you have additional questions, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager or contact us at [email protected].