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Send Time to QuickBooks

How to send time entries to QuickBooks as Time Activities.

Updated this week

⚠️ Important: Most users should use Invoice syncing instead of Time Activities.

MinuteDock's invoice syncing gives you better control over formatting, more powerful billing rates, and keeps your reporting data complete.

Only use Time Activities if you have specific QuickBooks requirements listed below.

Do you need Time Activities?

Time Activities should only be used for these specific QuickBooks requirements:

Use Time Activities ONLY if you need to:

  • Run QuickBooks payroll based on time tracked in MinuteDock

  • Generate specific QuickBooks reports that require Time Activity data

  • Use QuickBooks' built-in Time Activity billing features

  • Integrate with other QuickBooks features that specifically require Time Activities

Use Invoice Syncing (recommended) if you want to:

  • Send professional invoices to clients

  • Maintain full reporting capabilities in MinuteDock, including Goals and Budgets

  • Use MinuteDock's powerful billing rate system

  • Track Projects and Tasks with detailed reporting

  • Keep your time data flexible and editable

Not sure which to use? Start with invoice syncing. You can always add Time Activity syncing later and retroactively sync all your historical time if needed.

Understanding Time Activity limitations

Before proceeding, understand these key limitations:

When you sync Time Activities to QuickBooks:

  • Time Entries become locked in MinuteDock (only Admins can unlock)

  • Some MinuteDock data (Projects, multiple Tasks) won't transfer to QuickBooks

  • QuickBooks reports will have less detail than MinuteDock reports

  • You'll need to maintain QuickBooks Employee records for all Users

If these limitations are acceptable for your workflow, continue with the setup below.

Prerequisites

Before sending Time Activities, you must complete these setup steps:

  1. Link MinuteDock Users to QuickBooks Employees

  2. Configure QuickBooks Classes and Service Items (optional)

Send Time Activities to QuickBooks

Once your prerequisites are complete, follow these steps to send Time Entries as Time Activities:

Access the send time feature

  1. Navigate to the Time tab in MinuteDock

  2. Click Send Time in the bottom-left corner

  3. Review the Send Time dashboard showing your sync history

    • Previously sent Time Activities

    • Sync status for each batch

    • Any sync errors that need attention

Select Time Entries to send

  1. Click Send Time to QuickBooks on the right side of the dashboard

  2. Use filters to select which Time Entries to send:

    • By default, all unsent or modified Time Entries are selected

    • Customize by date range, User, Contact, or Project

    • Exclude specific Time Entries as needed

To save your filter settings as the default, click the arrow next to "Send to QuickBooks" and select "Send & save as default search". The default search automatically includes all time that hasn't been sent to QuickBooks or has been changed since it was last sent.

Send to QuickBooks

  1. Review your selected Time Entries

  2. Click Send to QuickBooks to begin the sync

  3. Wait for the confirmation message

  4. Check the sync status in your Send Time history

⚠️ Warning: Once sent, Time Entries are locked in MinuteDock and cannot be edited by regular Users. Only Admins can unlock and modify sent Time Entries.

What happens next

After successfully sending Time Activities:

In QuickBooks:

  • Time Activities appear under the linked Employee and Customer

  • Activities are available for payroll processing

  • Time can be used in QuickBooks reports and billing

In MinuteDock:

  • Sent Time Entries display a lock icon

  • Entries cannot be edited without Admin privileges

  • Time remains available in MinuteDock reports

Troubleshooting

Time not sending for certain Users

  • Verify the User is linked to a QuickBooks Employee

  • Check that the Employee exists and is active in QuickBooks

Sync errors appearing

  • Review the error message in the Send Time history

  • Ensure QuickBooks Customers match MinuteDock Contacts

  • Verify your QuickBooks connection is active

Need to edit sent Time Entries

  • Contact an Admin to unlock the entries

  • Make necessary edits

  • Resend the updated Time Entries

💡 Still not sure? If you're primarily creating client invoices, you almost certainly want invoice syncing instead. Time Activities are only for specific QuickBooks workflows like payroll processing.

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