Dubsado QuickBooks Integration Guide [2026 Updated]

If you manage your client projects in Dubsado but handle your accounting in QuickBooks, you already know the frustration of manual data entry. Keeping your invoices, payments, and client information consistent across both platforms takes time and invites errors. This guide will show you exactly how to connect Dubsado and QuickBooks to automate your financial workflow, save hours of administrative work, and keep your books perfectly in sync.

Why Integrate Dubsado with QuickBooks?

Connecting your client management system directly to your accounting software does more than just save you a few clicks. It creates a more efficient and accurate financial backbone for your business.

• Eliminate Double-Entry: When a client pays an invoice in Dubsado, the integration automatically creates a corresponding sales receipt or payment record in QuickBooks. You no longer have to manually enter every single transaction, which frees up valuable time and dramatically reduces the risk of typos or missed entries.
• Get Real-Time Financial Clarity: An automated connection means your QuickBooks account always reflects the latest financial activity. You can generate accurate financial reports, check your cash flow, and understand your business's financial health on-demand, without waiting for a manual catch-up session.
• Streamline Bank Reconciliations: With payments from Dubsado flowing directly into QuickBooks, matching them to your bank deposits becomes much simpler. Your P&L and Balance Sheet remain accurate with less manual effort.
• Ensure Consistent Client Data: The integration can automatically create a new customer in QuickBooks when you add a new client to Dubsado. This keeps your client lists aligned and ensures invoices are always tied to the correct customer record.

Ultimately, a proper integration turns two powerful but separate tools into a unified system, allowing client management activity to flow effortlessly into your official financial records.

Understanding Your Integration Options

The first thing to know is that Dubsado does not offer a built-in, native integration with QuickBooks. This means you won’t find a simple “Connect to QuickBooks” button in your Dubsado settings. But don’t worry—connecting them is still straightforward using a third-party automation platform.

These tools act as a bridge, listening for activity in one app (like a new invoice in Dubsado) and telling another app to perform an action (like creating that same invoice in QuickBooks). Here are the primary methods:

• Third-Party Connectors (Recommended): Platforms like Zapier or Make are the most popular and user-friendly way to connect Dubsado and QuickBooks. They offer a visual, no-code interface that lets you build automated workflows (called "Zaps" in Zapier) without any programming knowledge. This guide will focus on using Zapier because of its widespread adoption and extensive documentation.
• Custom API Integration (Advanced): Both Dubsado and QuickBooks have APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that allow developers to build custom connections. This method offers complete control and flexibility but requires technical expertise and is typically reserved for businesses with unique requirements and access to development resources.

For the vast majority of freelancers and small business owners, Zapier is the ideal solution. It strikes the perfect balance between power and ease of use.

Step-by-Step Guide: Connecting Dubsado and QuickBooks with Zapier

Ready to build the automation? This detailed walk-through will show you how to create a Zap that automatically creates a Sales Receipt in QuickBooks every time a payment is received on a Dubsado invoice. This is one of the most valuable workflows you can build.

Step 1: Get Your Accounts Ready

Before you begin, make sure you have active accounts for all three services:

• Dubsado: A Starter or Premier plan.
• QuickBooks Online: Any paid plan (Simple Start, Plus, etc.).
• Zapier: A free Zapier plan allows you to build simple, one-step Zaps. For multi-step Zaps (e.g., finding a customer before creating an invoice), you’ll need a paid plan.

Step 2: Start a New "Zap" in Zapier

Log in to your Zapier account and click the "Create Zap" button. This will take you to the Zap editor, where you'll build your workflow step by step.

Step 3: Set Up Your Dubsado Trigger

The trigger is the event in Dubsado that starts your automation. In this case, it’s a payment being applied to an invoice.

1. Search for and select "Dubsado" as your trigger app.
2. In the "Event" field, choose "New Payment Received." This tells Zapier to watch for any new payment confirmations in Dubsado.
3. Click "Continue" and follow the prompts to connect your Dubsado account. You'll need to sign in to Dubsado and authorize Zapier to access your data.
4. Once connected, Zapier will test the trigger by looking for a recent payment in your Dubsado account. It’s helpful to have a recent, real transaction to use as sample data.

Step 4: Configure Your QuickBooks Action

The action is what you want Zapier to do in QuickBooks once the trigger fires. Here, we'll create a sales receipt to record the income.

1. Click the "+" button to add a new step and select "QuickBooks Online" as the action app.

2. In the "Event" field, choose "Create Sales Receipt." A Sales Receipt in QuickBooks both records income and marks the invoice as paid in one step, making it ideal for payments received immediately.

   Pro Tip: If you wanted to create an open invoice in QuickBooks first and then apply a payment separately, you could choose "Create Invoice" as the action here. However, "Create Sales Receipt" is more direct for payments that are already complete.

3. Click "Continue" and connect your QuickBooks Online account, authorizing Zapier as you did with Dubsado.

Step 5: Map Your Data Fields

This is the most critical part of the process. You are telling Zapier how to move data from Dubsado into the correct fields in QuickBooks. Click on each QuickBooks field and select the corresponding data point from the Dubsado trigger step.

Here’s a typical mapping for a sales receipt:

• Customer: Select "Client Name" or "Client Display Name" from the Dubsado data. For more robust workflows, you can add a "Find Customer" step first to avoid creating duplicates.
• Sales Receipt Date: Choose "Payment Date" from Dubsado.
• Payment Method: You can select "Payment Method" if Dubsado provides it, or choose a default like "Credit Card" or "Stripe."
• Deposit to Account: Select the bank account in QuickBooks where the funds will be deposited (e.g., "Checking" or a clearing account like "Stripe Payouts").
• Product/Service (in the Line Items section): Select the QuickBooks item that matches the service provided (e.g., "Consulting Services," "Design Fees").
• Description: Map this to "Invoice Title" or line item names from Dubsado for detailed records.
• Amount: Choose "Payment Amount" from the Dubsado data.

Take your time and double-check each field. Correct mapping is the key to accurate records.

Step 6: Test and Activate Your Zap

After you've mapped the fields, Zapier will give you an option to test your Zap by sending the sample data to QuickBooks. Do it! Log in to your QuickBooks account and check that the sales receipt was created correctly with all the right information. Once you've confirmed it works, click "Publish Zap" or "Turn on Zap."

Congratulations! Your automation is now live. Every new payment in Dubsado will automatically create a matched record in your accounting software.

What Data Syncs (And What Doesn’t)?

Understanding the flow of data is key to managing your systems effectively. Through a Zapier integration, you can typically sync the following:

• Clients/Customers: You can set up a Zap to create a new customer in QuickBooks whenever a new project is created for a new client in Dubsado.
• Invoices: Your Zaps can create invoices in QuickBooks when they are sent or approved in Dubsado.
• Payments: As shown in our example, payments received in Dubsado can be recorded in QuickBooks as payments against an invoice or as sales receipts.

However, some data is not typically part of this automated workflow:

• Expenses: Business expenses tracked in QuickBooks will not appear in Dubsado. QuickBooks remains your single source of truth for expenses.
• Client Notes & Contracts: Project-specific details, contracts, forms, and client portal communications stay within Dubsado.
• Workflow and Task Data: Internal project management data like tasks and workflow automations are specific to Dubsado and don't sync.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

Sometimes your automation might hit a snag. Here are a few common issues and their solutions:

• Problem: The Zap created duplicate customers in QuickBooks.

  Solution: This happens if the client's name in Dubsado differs slightly from their name in QuickBooks. To fix this, edit your Zap and insert a "Find Customer" step in QuickBooks before the "Create Sales Receipt" step. This tells Zapier to search for an existing customer first and use them; if no customer is found, it can then proceed to create a new one.

• Problem: My Zap stopped working or is showing an error.

  Solution: The most common reasons are expired account connections or changes made in either Dubsado or QuickBooks. Go to the "My Apps" section in Zapier and test your Dubsado and QuickBooks connections. Reconnecting them often solves the issue. You can also check your "Zap History" to see specific error messages, which can tell you exactly what went wrong.

• Problem: Data is in the wrong fields in QuickBooks.

  Solution: This is purely a field mapping issue. Open your Zap for editing, go to the "Action" step for QuickBooks, and carefully review the mapped fields. Make sure the data from Dubsado (like "Payment Amount") is going into the correct QuickBooks field (like "Amount").

Final Thoughts

Automating the connection between Dubsado and QuickBooks saves you from tedious manual bookkeeping, reduces errors, and gives you a constantly up-to-date view of your business's finances. By using a tool like Zapier, you can build a bridge that makes your client management and accounting systems work together as one.

Tidying up your financial workflow is a big accomplishment, but tax season always brings its own set of challenges. When unique questions arise about multi-state client sales tax, transaction deductibility, or other complex tax matters, finding a reliable answer quickly is key. For those situations, Feather AI delivers instant, citation-backed answers from authoritative IRS and state tax codes, helping you handle advanced tax issues with verified confidence.