Purpose
Once QuickBooks Online is connected and your accounts are mapped, each approved payroll can post to QBO as a journal entry, either automatically or when you click a button. This article covers the two sync modes, how the entry is dated, what happens on a cancelled or voided payroll, and how to read and fix a failed sync.
Who can do this: any Employer Portal user with payroll access.
Automatic or manual
You choose the mode on the Settings tab of the QuickBooks Online screen (Integrations > Quickbooks Online > Manage).
| Mode | What happens |
|---|---|
| Automatically sync with QuickBooks Online on payroll approval | UZIO posts the journal entry as soon as you approve the payroll. Nothing to click. |
| Manually click "Sync to QuickBooks Online" on the payroll approval page | After approving, click Sync to QuickBooks Online on the payroll's summary page. You can also sync later from Payroll History. |
- The sync button appears only once Settings and Mappings are both saved.
- Automatic mode applies to payrolls approved after you switch it on. Earlier payrolls must be synced manually.
- Adjustment, Void, and Tax Reconciliation payrolls sync automatically whenever the integration is connected, even in Manual mode. Manual mode governs regular and special payrolls, and contractor payments.
When you click Sync to QuickBooks Online, UZIO confirms before sending:
"If you proceed, data of this payroll will be synced to your QuickBooks Online, and journal entry will be created. You can check the sync status in Payroll History after a few minutes."
Syncing runs in the background. Allow a few minutes, then check Payroll History.
Re-syncing
After a payroll has synced once, the button changes to Resync to QuickBooks Online. You can resync as often as you need, but every resync creates a new journal entry in QBO. The earlier entry stays. UZIO warns you:
"This payroll's data has already been synced at [date and time]. If you proceed, data will sync again, and a new journal entry will be created in your QuickBooks Online."
Use resync after fixing a mapping error, then reverse or delete the superseded entry in QBO yourself.
Choosing the journal entry date
The date on the journal entry decides which accounting period the amounts fall into. A pay date of March 30 lands in Q1; a pay period end date of April 1 lands in Q2. You set the rule on the Settings tab:
| Option | The date UZIO uses |
|---|---|
| Pay Date | The date employees are paid |
| Pay Period End Date | The last day of the pay period |
| Payroll Approval Date | The date you approved the payroll |
Note: 1099 contractor payments have no pay period. If you choose Pay Period End Date, contractor entries are dated with the pay date instead.
Cancelled and voided payrolls
Cancelling a payroll that already synced. The journal entry in QBO is not removed. UZIO tells you at the point of cancelling:
"If you cancel all entries will be deleted. Also, this payroll's data has been synced with your QuickBooks Online account. You will need to reverse the journal entry of this payroll in your QuickBooks account manually. Do you wish to cancel?"
Cancelling also does not reverse direct deposits that are already in motion; those are handled separately with UZIO Support.
Voiding a payroll. UZIO creates a new Void payroll with the amounts reversed, and that void payroll syncs to QBO automatically as a reversing journal entry: the whole payroll if fully voided, or one consolidated entry for just the voided paychecks. The confirmation reads:
"Once you proceed further, a new payroll will be automatically created by the system with the below details voiding all the selected vouchers. Also, the payroll data will be synced to your QuickBooks Online, and journal entry will be created. You can check the sync status in the Payroll History after a few minutes."
QBO does not link the reversing entry to the original. Match them yourself by amount and by the memo note. The original entry stays; delete it manually only if your accountant prefers that to a reversal.
Warning: Voiding a payroll from a previous quarter can affect tax filings already made. UZIO warns you before proceeding. Confirm with your tax contact that the quarter's filings are not final before you void. See Payroll History.
Checking sync results in Payroll History
Once QuickBooks Online is connected, the Payroll History list replaces its Cut Off Date column with a QBO Sync Status column showing whether each payroll's sync succeeded or failed, and when. On a failed row, the Actions menu offers Download Sync Error Log. The log lists one line per problem; the next section tells you what each line means.
Common problems
Why did my sync fail?
Download the error log from Payroll History > Actions > Download Sync Error Log and match the line:
| Line in the error log | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The journal entry is not balanced. Please balance your debits and credits. | One or more items in the payroll has an account on only one side of the entry. Common cases: an earning with no expense account; employee taxes, deductions, or a net-pay line with no liability or bank account; an employer tax, contribution, or workers' compensation line mapped on the debit side but not the credit side (or the reverse) | Open Mappings and complete the missing side. Check both net-pay lines (direct deposit and check). Then resync |
| A class or location error naming a QBO class or location | The class or location mapped in UZIO was deleted or made inactive in QBO | Reactivate it in QBO, or change the mapping in UZIO. Then resync |
| An account error naming a QBO account | The account mapped in UZIO was deleted or made inactive in QBO | Reactivate it in QBO, or change the mapping in UZIO. Then resync |
| The employer settings for QBO sync are missing. | Settings or Mappings were never saved, or were cleared by a mapping-type change | Open Integrations > Quickbooks Online > Manage, save Settings, complete and save Mappings. Then resync |
| Could not connect to QBO for Journal Entry creation. | UZIO could not reach QuickBooks Online, or its authorisation has expired or been revoked | See the next question |
| The paycheck is no longer in an approved state | The payroll was cancelled or changed between the sync request and processing | Check the payroll in Payroll History. If it is approved, resync |
| The paycheck could not be found. | The payroll was removed before the sync processed | Nothing to sync. If the payroll was re-run, sync the new one |
| No Employee data found for [employee code] | With department or division tracking on, an employee in the run has no employee-data record for that dimension | Complete the employee's department or division on their record. Then resync |
| Any other text | QuickBooks Online returned an error UZIO does not translate. The log shows Intuit's message verbatim | Resolve it in QBO (the message usually names the account or setting), then resync |
The log says "Could not connect to QBO"
UZIO renews its QuickBooks Online authorisation every night. If the renewal failed, or someone revoked UZIO's access from inside QuickBooks Online, syncs fail with this line. UZIO does not alert you when this happens and the tile still shows Connected, so the failed sync is your first sign. Fix: expand the Quickbooks Online tile, click Disconnect, then Connect and authorise again with a QBO administrator login. Your mappings are kept. Then resync the payroll.
The payroll approved but no entry appeared, and there is no error
You are in Manual mode. Open the payroll's summary page and click Sync to QuickBooks Online, or check whether Settings and Mappings were both saved (an unsaved mapping gives the "employer settings" error rather than silence). If the sync ran a moment ago, wait a few minutes and refresh Payroll History.
There are two entries for the same payroll in QuickBooks
The payroll was resynced. Every resync creates a new entry. Reverse or delete the superseded one in QBO.
The void created a reversing entry, but the original is still there
That is expected. UZIO never deletes or edits an entry in QBO. Keep both (they net to zero) or remove the original manually.
Still stuck?
If a sync keeps failing after you have fixed the cause named in the log, if reconnecting does not clear "Could not connect to QBO", or if the log shows an Intuit message you cannot act on, please reach out to us at support@uzio.com or call +1-571-601-1752. Send your company name, the payroll's pay date and type, the downloaded sync error log, and a screenshot of the Payroll History row. Questions about the accounts, classes, or permissions inside QuickBooks go to Intuit support or your accountant.
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