QuickBooks for contractors: the right version, real job costing and a sync that keeps the books matched to the jobs

Most small contractors should run QuickBooks Online Plus: it adds projects and class tracking for job costing, and Intuit stopped selling Desktop Pro Plus and Premier Plus to new US buyers in 2024. BRIX syncs customers, invoices and payments with QuickBooks, so every job's billing lands in your books without retyping.

What does the BRIX QuickBooks integration do?

The BRIX QuickBooks integration syncs three things: customers, invoices and payments. When BRIX books a new customer, invoices a finished job and records the payment, those records show up in QuickBooks so your accounts receivable, revenue and bank deposits line up with the work your crews did. Your bookkeeper reconciles; nobody retypes.

That split matters. QuickBooks is excellent at being the books. It was never built to answer a call at 9 p.m., chase an estimate, or remind a homeowner about an invoice. BRIX does the work that happens before and after the invoice, and QuickBooks stays the ledger your accountant trusts.

QuickBooks Online vs. Desktop: which is better for contractors?

For most small and mid-size trades shops, QuickBooks Online is the practical choice in 2026. Intuit stopped selling new subscriptions of QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, Mac Plus and Enhanced Payroll to US customers after September 30, 2024. Existing subscribers can keep renewing, and QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is still sold, including industry editions for contractors. New buyers choosing between the two are really choosing between QuickBooks Online and Desktop Enterprise.

So what's the best QuickBooks version for contractors? If you want to see profit by job and you're not a large commercial builder, QuickBooks Online Plus is the usual answer. Go to Advanced when you need more than five users or estimate-versus-actual reporting. Desktop Enterprise makes sense for firms whose accountant already runs it and who need committed-cost and WIP reporting. Is there a "QuickBooks Contractor Edition"? Yes, as an industry edition of Desktop Enterprise. The old Premier Contractor edition falls under the Premier stop-sell for new US buyers.

How do you do job costing in QuickBooks?

In QuickBooks Online, job costing means tagging every income and cost transaction to a job so you can run profit by job. You do it with projects (one project per job, available in Plus and Advanced) or classes (one class per job type, crew or division), or both. Projects answer "did the Miller kitchen make money?" Classes answer "is our install division more profitable than service?"

1. 1

   Turn on the tools.

   In QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced, turn on projects, and if you'll use classes, turn on class tracking under Settings, Account and settings, Advanced. Decide whether classes apply to the whole transaction or each line.

2. 2

   Set up a contractor chart of accounts.

   Split cost of goods sold into labor, materials, subcontractors and equipment so job reports mean something. Start from our contractor chart of accounts.

3. 3

   Tag income to the job.

   Every invoice goes to the right customer and project. When invoices come from BRIX, they arrive in QuickBooks against the customer, so your bookkeeper isn't guessing.

4. 4

   Tag costs to the job.

   Materials, subcontractor bills and equipment rentals get the project (and class) when they're entered, not at year-end. Mark costs billable if you pass them through.

5. 5

   Get labor onto the job.

   Labor is usually the biggest cost and the one most often missing. Track hours by job and bring labor cost into the project. BRIX's crew timesheets keep job hours on the job record.

6. 6

   Review monthly.

   Run project profitability or profit and loss by class every month and compare against what you quoted.

Step-by-step screens are in how to do job costing in QuickBooks, and the trade-offs are in QuickBooks classes vs. projects. If you bill large jobs in stages, QuickBooks Online supports progress invoicing from an estimate on all plans; if you use projects, add the estimate to the project before creating the progress invoices. See progress billing.

One-way vs. two-way QuickBooks sync: what's the difference?

A one-way sync pushes records from your field software into QuickBooks and never reads anything back. A two-way sync also brings changes made in QuickBooks back into the field software, such as a payment recorded by your bookkeeper. Two-way sounds better, but only if both systems agree on which one owns each record. Otherwise it just copies mistakes in both directions faster. More in two-way sync.

What are the most common QuickBooks sync problems?

The most common QuickBooks sync problems are duplicate customers, duplicate invoices, payments that don't close invoices, and mismatched items or tax settings. Almost all of them trace back to one cause: more than one system, or more than one person, creating the same record.

• Two writers, one invoice. Your field app syncs the invoice, then someone also types it into QuickBooks. Now revenue is doubled. Fix: one system creates invoices; QuickBooks receives them.
• Duplicate customers. "Bob Smith" in one tool and "Robert Smith" in the other. The sync creates a second customer. Fix: clean up names before the first sync and keep creating customers in one place.
• Merging the wrong way. Merging duplicate customers in QuickBooks can break the link an integration uses to match records. Check your integration's instructions before you merge anything.
• Payments recorded twice. A payment is recorded in the field app and the bookkeeper also matches the bank deposit to a new payment in QuickBooks. Fix: match the bank deposit to the synced payment instead of creating a new one.
• Item and tax mapping. Line items and sales tax codes that don't map cleanly land in the wrong income account. Fix: agree the mapping with your bookkeeper at setup.
• Payment terms and due dates. Some integrations don't carry terms into QuickBooks Online, which changes due dates in your aging report. Check after the first sync.

How to connect BRIX to QuickBooks

1. Clean up first. Merge obvious duplicate customers and make sure your QuickBooks is reconciled through last month.
2. Pick the owner of each record. Customers, invoices and payments from BRIX; bills, payroll and bank feeds stay in QuickBooks.
3. Map accounts and items. Decide which income accounts and sales tax settings BRIX invoices should use. Bring your bookkeeper into this step.
4. Connect and test. Connect BRIX to QuickBooks, send one test invoice and payment, and check they land on the right customer and account.
5. Reconcile after the first month. Match deposits to synced payments, check AR aging, and fix any mapping before it compounds.

Setting up QuickBooks from scratch? Read the QuickBooks setup guide for contractors first, then come back here.

Do you need a CRM if you already use QuickBooks?

Yes, if you want to stop losing jobs before they're invoiced. QuickBooks tracks money after a sale. It doesn't answer calls, track leads, follow up estimates, schedule crews or remind customers. A CRM that syncs with QuickBooks handles everything up to the invoice and hands clean records to the books. That's the job BRIX does: the AI receptionist answers, quotes go out on site, invoices get chased, and bookkeeping help keeps expenses categorized and your books tax-ready.

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