10 Ways to Automate QuickBooks with Zapier to Improve Your Business Operations, Fast

QuickBooks is one of the oldest and most successful accounting software tools ever created. Despite the rapid evolution of technology and the loss of many brands along the way, QuickBooks kept pace, paved the way, and has become one of the best cloud-based invoicing solutions even for those who don’t want a full software suite installed. 

Today, QuickBooks has several iterations, as well as versions with different feature sets and price ranges, which makes it a great choice for any business that wants a scalable, affordable invoicing tool. Plus, you can take your technology even further by automating workflows and integrating your other tools through Zapier, one of the leading productivity apps designed to help automate every single tool in your tech stack. 

Zapier currently works with over 3,000 apps and software platforms, offering hundreds of pre-built workflows and triggers that you simply “plug and play” as you like. Plus, it offers an impressive API that also allows you to customize these workflows or even build your own from scratch to get the automation that you need out of your routine tasks. When it comes to getting rid of the billing busywork, Zapier and QuickBooks are a dynamic duo, for sure. 

So, how can you best use these tools together to improve business? Well, for starters, there are several different options there. It depends partly on which other software tools and apps you use, as well as on what your intentions are. Fortunately, Zapier has you covered with tons of different options. Below, we’ll cover 10 of the best automations that will change the way you work for the better to help get you started. 

First, though, let’s talk a little more about what automation is going to do to help improve your business operations. 

Why automate?

Modern technology has given us a whole new suite of tools that can be used for improving business, including the evolution of automation tools and solutions. Automation, by its very nature, makes things quicker and more efficient. However, it also frees up a lot of human capital in your business and gives you the chance to enjoy several other perks, too. Of course, beyond the benefits, it just makes good sense to automate where you can. 

Automation can:

• Help provide a better level of quality and consistency for your brand, whether that’s regarding your product(s) or just a service that you provide. When a person does the same thing 20 times, there’s bound to be a slight bit of variation in their efforts each time. When a machine does it, though, the results will be the same every single time. 

• Reduce the cost of human errors. When you don’t have people at the helm, you don’t get as many careless (or even well-meaning) mistakes. AI and machine learning have come a long way and when you set it to work for your brand, you can count on this improvement, among others. 

• Save time, money, and resources. When you have workflows in place to handle the daily tasks that get mundane or repetitive, you will save yourself a small fortune in the way of resources and the money spent on them. You'll also spare yourself tons of free time, which means you’ll be able to focus on your business or even take a little break to enjoy life for a minute. 

• Free up more of your time. You’ll be operating more efficiently than ever before, giving you the chance to get more done in less time. That means your team can spend more time on things that matter or even just cut down the workweek so that no one is overworked or feeling pushed to the limit. Plus, when your team is doing less busywork, they’ll be better prepared for the important stuff. 

• Get rid of busy work and boost morale. When you are getting rid of the tedious tasks, your employees will notice, and they will appreciate it. No more busywork means more free time, but it also means a better company culture and morale for everyone involved. There’s no reason to make anyone do all the little things that could be handled by AI, so why not embrace automation and embrace a new culture while you’re at it?

‍

In addition to these perks, automation has also proven to increase safety in the workplace, reduce workweeks, reduce lead times, and even increase production rates while still maintaining that standard of quality, consistent results. 

Speaking of consistent results, you should ask how our virtual receptionists can provide that level of service for your phone answering and live chat needs, helping to automate more of your business while still keeping the human connection. We’re available 24/7 and we can take care of all of your mission-critical services so you can get back to business. 

And now, let’s talk about those Zapier automations for QuickBooks Online. 

1. Generate receipts in QuickBooks for Stripe charges    

Stripe is one of the fastest-growing payment platforms, so it’s great to see how many integrations Zapier offers. This one makes it easy for any Stripe charges to be turned into receipts and billable invoices right in your QuickBooks application. You can have this in place so that every time a customer pays through Stripe, it creates a receipt in your QuickBooks. You can also add customers or generate invoices in QB for the Stripe customers that come your way, as well. Simply set up the integration and when a charge occurs, the workflow will trigger a receipt to be automatically created.

2. Create receipts for WooCommerce orders in QuickBooks    

If you use WooCommerce for ecommerce, you’ll be happy to know that this integration can save you a lot of time on billing and accounting. Forget manually syncing accounts or even having to do the work of transferring the data yourself because this Zap sets up a great workflow. Simply generate a trigger for each transaction on WooCommerce, and then have it generate a receipt in QuickBooks. As with Stripe, you can also add contacts or create invoices instead of receipts, depending on what you need. 

3. Add new invoices to Google Sheets    

Tracking is essential for every business and the way that you track things will vary. However, several businesses, large and small, use Google Sheets and the entire Google family of products to handle all of their spreadsheet tracking needs. If you’re one of them, you can easily generate a new line in your Sheet every time that you generate a new invoice in QuickBooks. That way, you’ll always have track of your billing and know what’s coming and going. 

4. Add new QuickBooks contacts to Google Contacts    

When you use QuickBooks online with this integration, you will be able to import contacts directly from QuickBooks or your invoices themselves into your Google Contacts app. You can set up this Zap so that it happens every time you generate a new invoice, just for new customers, or under any other conditions that you choose. When the workflow is triggered, new contacts will be transferred into Google seamlessly and without you having to lift a finger. 

5. Generate QuickBooks Online customers from Salesforce    

Salesforce is a great CRM that’s got a lot of impressive features. However, it can’t really do every single thing that your business needs. That's okay, though, because that’s what other tools are for, and QuickBooks can pick up the tab. With this integration, you can easily take your salesforce customers, estimates, and transactions and translate them into QuickBooks entries seamlessly and with zero effort. Simply set the parameters for what Salesforce will share and when, and let automation do the work. 

6. Send PayPal customers or invoices to QuickBooks Online    

PayPal is a great tool for small businesses that need an all-in-one payment solution that’s affordable. It's one of the few payment processors that still doesn’t charge a lot of extra fees, and it’s free to use except in certain situations where you transfer money or process payments, which will cost a small fee. However, the emphasis is on small. With this workflow, you can easily take your PayPal customers and turn them into QuickBooks entries, keeping everything in your own books as well as on the PayPal site. 

7. Add new QuickBooks customers to Mailchimp subscriber lists     

  When you get a new customer, it’s hard to figure out at which point you should add them to your mailing list and start sending them updates. Fortunately, there’s also usually a point where you allow them to opt in for this marketing. When you use this workflow, you’ll be able to target each new customer in QuickBooks and have their information sent to Mailchimp so that they can start receiving your emails right away. Simply trigger the customers you want to add, set the workflow for Mailchimp, and even pick the subscriber list if you want. 

8. Create new estimates in QuickBooks when Pipedrive deals reach a certain stage    

If you’re using Pipedrive, you’ll be happy to know you’ve got your hands on one of the best tools for sales and lead development that’s available today. This integration makes it easy for you to track Pipedrive deals automatically and when they reach a certain point, you can create estimates in QuickBooks so that they’re generated automatically and help carry the process along. You'll be able to set all of the parameters for this workflow, including which deals are affected, what stage needs to be hit, and more. 

9. Add FreshBooks invoices to QuickBooks    

FreshBooks is a great billing and invoicing tool, but if you’re using QuickBooks, you’ll want to take the time to see what kind of workflows you can set up so that you’re not doing double duty on all of your accounting tasks. This Zap allows you to take each FreshBooks invoice that you get and turn it into a QuickBooks invoice, and then bill out accordingly. When you are trying to streamline your invoicing and payments, this is a great feature to have. 

10. Add customers to QuickBooks from your Gravity Forms submissions

Gravity Forms is another popular form filling tool, often compared to the likes of Google Forms or Typeform. With this workflow, you can automatically add customers right from Gravity Forms into your database on QuickBooks, or anywhere else that you’d like. You can even pick and choose the information to import, where it’s going, and more. You can add partial forms or the entire thing and pick and choose which details go where. You can even generate an invoice for a purchase when someone uses Gravity Forms to buy from you, allowing you to keep billing streamlined and not have to invest in another tool. 

Take automation one step further with our virtual receptionists on your side

At Smith.ai, we love the power of automation, and we love being part of what is making your business run better. When you hire our virtual receptionists to do the work, we can be the face of your brand for everything you need, from live website chat to after-hours answering, and so much more. We’ll also help you create the perfect strategy to field all your needs, regardless of what you have in mind. 

Zapier is one of the best tools we use, and we love it because it makes it possible for anyone to create smart workflows between their business software tools. It’s also thanks to Zapier that Smith.ai can integrate with over 3,000 apps, ensuring all calls, chats, and texts are logged in the right business software, from your marketing platform to your CRM, and so much more. 

Check out our apps to explore how we connect to Zapier! Learn more about Smith.ai’s Answering Service app on Zapier, and explore Smith.ai’s Website Chat app on Zapier.

Schedule a consultation to discuss how our virtual receptionists can become the face of your brand for everything from after-hours call answering to live website chat and more. You can also find us at (650) 727-6484 or hello@smith.ai.