Before You Start

This guide assumes you have an active Expensify account, an active QuickBooks Online subscription, and a basic understanding of expense tracking.

Overview

45 min
Setup Time
Intermediate
Difficulty
Ongoing
Maintenance

What You’ll Learn

  • How to prepare your QuickBooks for seamless expense syncing
  • Connecting Expensify with your QuickBooks Online account
  • Mapping expense categories and vendor accounts correctly
  • Automating expense report submissions and approvals
  • Reconciling Expensify transactions with bank feeds in QBO

1. Preparation Steps

Before connecting Expensify, ensure these foundations are set in QuickBooks:

Required QBO Setup

  • Appropriate Expense accounts (e.g., Travel, Meals, Office Supplies)
  • Vendor accounts created for common suppliers
  • Users with necessary permissions for expense entry

Recommended Expensify Setup

  • Expense Policies configured (approval workflow, spending limits)
  • Employees added with correct roles
  • Default categories reviewed

2. Understanding Expensify & QBO Sync Options

Expensify offers a robust direct integration with QuickBooks Online, handling much of the complexity automatically.

Method A: Expensify’s Direct QBO Sync

This is the recommended and primary method for integration.

Pros:
  • Automated export of approved reports.
  • SmartScan for receipt capture.
  • Detailed categorization and tagging.
  • Eliminates manual data entry.
Cons:
  • Requires careful initial setup.
  • Premium features may incur costs.
  • Reliance on user adherence to policies.

Method B: Manual Export & Import (Legacy or Specific Cases)

While not recommended for daily use, direct export is an option for specific needs.

Expert Tip: For most businesses, Expensify’s direct integration is superior. It treats expenses as bills or journal entries, ensuring accurate tracking against vendor accounts and streamlining bank reconciliation. Avoid manual exports unless absolutely necessary.

3. Step-by-Step: Setting Up the Integration

Here’s the high-level workflow for connecting Expensify to QuickBooks Online.

The integration process typically involves authorizing Expensify to access your QuickBooks Online data, followed by mapping specific accounts and settings.

Here is a sample data structure that Expensify might send to QuickBooks for an approved expense report.

{
  "report_id": "EXPN-2025-001",
  "employee_email": "john.doe@example.com",
  "total_amount": 250.75,
  "currency": "USD",
  "export_date": "2025-10-29",
  "expenses": [
    {
      "date": "2025-10-20",
      "vendor": "Starbucks",
      "category": "Meals & Entertainment",
      "amount": 15.50,
      "description": "Coffee with client"
    },
    {
      "date": "2025-10-22",
      "vendor": "Amazon",
      "category": "Office Supplies",
      "amount": 235.25,
      "description": "New printer ink"
    }
  ]
}

4. Configuring Expensify & QuickBooks

  1. 1

    Initiate QBO Connection in Expensify

    From your Expensify account, navigate to Settings > Workspaces > Group > Connections. Select QuickBooks Online and follow the prompts to authorize.

  2. 2

    Map Categories to QBO Accounts

    Match your Expensify expense categories to the correct Expense accounts in your QuickBooks Chart of Accounts. Ensure all necessary accounts are present in QBO first.

  3. 3

    Configure Export Settings

    Decide how expense reports will export to QBO (e.g., as Bills, Journal Entries, or Vendor Credits). Typically, approved reports are exported as Bills or Journal Entries.

  4. 4

    Map Users and Vendors

    Ensure Expensify users are linked to corresponding QuickBooks employees or vendors, and that common vendors are recognized for streamlined data entry.

Common Error: Uncategorized or Mismatched Expenses

Ensure every Expensify category has a corresponding QuickBooks account. Uncategorized expenses will prevent smooth syncing and require manual intervention.

5. Testing & Ongoing Reconciliation

Integration Test Checklist

  • Process a small test expense report in Expensify
  • Verify the report exports successfully to QuickBooks Online
  • Confirm correct categorization and amounts in QBO
  • Check that employee reimbursements are properly recorded
  • Ensure bank feeds in QBO can be matched to Expensify expenses

Need Help?

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Struggling with your Expensify and QuickBooks integration? Our experts are here to help streamline your expense management.

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