What syncs between WorkZen and QuickBooks

Once QuickBooks is connected, you never trigger a sync by hand for day-to-day work. This article is the reference for what crosses over, how fast, and what to do when something does not.

What syncs

Record	Direction	When
Clients	WorkZen to QuickBooks (as Customers)	Automatically, when created or changed
Invoices	WorkZen to QuickBooks	Automatically, when created or changed
Estimates	WorkZen to QuickBooks	Automatically, when created or changed
Payments	WorkZen to QuickBooks	Automatically, when recorded or changed

Sync is one-way. WorkZen is the source of truth: it pushes to QuickBooks, and nothing flows back. An invoice edited inside QuickBooks does not update in WorkZen, and the QuickBooks version will be overwritten the next time that invoice syncs. The rule of thumb: do the work in WorkZen, read the books in QuickBooks.

How fast it syncs

WorkZen waits until you finish editing before it pushes, so QuickBooks never receives half-edited records. A record syncs about five minutes after its last change. The integration page shows this live: a "changes waiting to sync" banner with an "Auto-sync in ~X minutes" countdown.

In a hurry? Click Sync Now on the integration page to push everything pending immediately.

Two safety nets run every night: a health check validates your tax mappings and connection token, and a catch-up job finds any record that slipped through without syncing and pushes it.

Reading the sync status

The integration page counts every record in three buckets:

Status	Meaning	What to do
Synced	In QuickBooks and up to date	Nothing
Pending	Changed recently, waiting for the auto-sync	Wait a few minutes, or click Sync Now
Failed	QuickBooks rejected it, or validation blocked it	Fix the cause, then click Retry Failed

Fixing failed syncs

The two common causes, in order of likelihood:

Unmapped tax rates. WorkZen validates every invoice before pushing. An invoice using a tax rate with no QuickBooks tax code mapping is blocked, not sent, so your books never receive wrong tax data. Open Tax Mappings on the integration page, complete the mapping (create the tax code in QuickBooks first if it does not exist, then Refresh), and hit Retry Failed.

Duplicate client names. QuickBooks requires every customer to have a unique display name. When two WorkZen clients share one, WorkZen automatically tries variants built from the client's phone or email. If none is unique either, the sync fails with a clear message: merge or rename the duplicate clients in WorkZen, then retry.

Tip

After any fix, you do not need to hunt down the affected records. Retry Failed on the integration page re-pushes everything that failed, and the counter on the button tells you how many that is.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Sync is one-way from WorkZen to QuickBooks. Make your edits in WorkZen and they push to QuickBooks; edits made in QuickBooks stay in QuickBooks and will be overwritten if that record syncs again.

Records you create or edit after connecting sync automatically. A nightly catch-up job also finds anything created since connection that missed its sync and pushes it.

WorkZen validates every invoice before pushing it. The usual cause is a tax rate that is not mapped to a QuickBooks tax code. Complete the mapping under Tax Mappings on the integration page, then use Retry Failed.

QuickBooks requires unique customer display names. If several WorkZen clients share a name, WorkZen tries variations using their phone or email to make them unique. If it still cannot find one, merge or rename the duplicate clients in WorkZen, then retry.

Not currently. Record payments in WorkZen and they push to QuickBooks. A payment recorded directly in QuickBooks does not appear in WorkZen.