Without an integration, every time a store pays you, someone on your team types that payment into QuickBooks by hand: the invoice, the store, the check number. Connect QuickBooks Online to your ShelfSpace vendor portal and that typing goes away. This guide explains exactly what ShelfSpace writes into your books, when it writes it, and how the one-time setup works.
5 steps
one-time guided setup after you connect
2 entries
per payout: the invoice and the payment that closes it
Every morning
ShelfSpace counts which payouts have cleared your bank
What lands in QuickBooks, and when
Consignment payouts
Take one example. Holistic Cannabis Co. approves your weekly payout. Three of your products sold for $1,280.00 and a $40.00 return comes off, so the payout is $1,240.00. Two things post to your QuickBooks:
- An invoice for $1,240.00, with the store as the customer. There's one line for each product that sold, and the return comes off as its own line, so the invoice always equals the check. The invoice number is
SR-plus the payout number, and the payout report is attached. - A payment for the same $1,240.00, posted when the store's check is issued. It carries the check number, is applied to the invoice so QuickBooks shows it as paid, and is deposited to the bank account you pick during setup (or to Undeposited Funds if you leave that blank).
If you picked a bank account, ShelfSpace checks it every morning and counts which payouts have cleared in your QuickBooks bank feed. You'll see the count on the Overview tab.
Wholesale orders
When a store receives your wholesale delivery, an invoice posts for that order (numbered WR-). When the store pays you through ShelfSpace, the payment posts against it. If the store pays you some other way, record that payment in QuickBooks yourself.
ShelfSpace invoices
If you bill stores through ShelfSpace, each invoice goes into QuickBooks when you send it, and every payment you collect is recorded against it.
Your accounting method
Every brand starts on accrual: the invoice goes in when you earn the money, and the payment follows later. On cash, the invoice waits and goes in together with the payment. Your accounting admin can switch to cash on the Settings tab of the QuickBooks card; anyone else, just email us.
Connect QuickBooks
In the vendor portal, go to My Account → QuickBooks Online and click Connect to QuickBooks. If you see Request a consultation instead, request it and we'll set QuickBooks up with you. QuickBooks asks you to sign in and choose your company, then sends you back to a short setup. No step is required: you can skip any of them, and payouts still post with the default choices.
Accounts
Pick the income account your sales land in. The bank account is optional, but pick one so payments are deposited there and checked against your bank feed.
Customers
ShelfSpace matches each store to a QuickBooks customer by name, or creates one. Check them once so nothing lands under a duplicate.
Items
Match your products to QuickBooks items so you can see sales by product. You can leave some for later.
Sync behavior
Two choices: who records payout payments, and what happens to an invoice with an unmatched product.
Done
From here on, everything goes into QuickBooks on its own.
Step 1: Accounts
The income account list shows your QuickBooks income accounts; pick the one your sales should land in. The bank account is where store payments are deposited. It's optional, but without it payments land in Undeposited Funds and ShelfSpace can't tell you which payouts have cleared.
Step 2: Customers
Each store you sell to needs a customer in your QuickBooks. ShelfSpace matches stores to customers by name, and creates the customer when there's no match. Name matching can pick the wrong record when two customers have similar names, so look the list over once and fix anything that's off. Changing a match affects future invoices only; invoices already posted stay where they are.
Step 3: Items
Each product that appears on a payout can be matched to a QuickBooks item. You can pick an existing item, click Auto-create to create the missing ones in QuickBooks, or choose Ignore to roll a product into one default item called ShelfSpace Consignment Sales. New products show up on the Items tab as they start selling.
Step 4: Sync behavior
- How should payments be recorded? "ShelfSpace records payments" (the default) posts the payout payment as soon as the store's check is issued. "I record payments myself" adds only the invoice, and you record the payment in QuickBooks with Receive payment. This choice covers consignment payouts; wholesale and ShelfSpace payments always post.
- What if a product isn't matched to an item? "Create the invoice anyway" (the default) uses the default item. "Hold the invoice until items are mapped" waits, emails you, and posts on its own once you match the product.
After setup: day to day
The QuickBooks card under My Account shows what went in (Synced), anything that failed (Failed), and anything still waiting (Pending). Sync activity lists every entry. Failed entries retry on their own every 10 minutes, and you can push one again yourself with one click. When you add a product, match it on the Items tab; when you start selling to a new store, check it on the Customers tab.
If you connected after you'd already been paid through ShelfSpace, Sync Historical Transactions on the Settings tab pushes past payouts. It's part of ShelfSpace.
Get paid in ShelfSpace once, and your books keep up on their own.
What if my books are closed?
If an invoice or payment would land in a period your bookkeeper already closed, ShelfSpace posts it with today's date instead. You never have to reopen a period. The invoice number and check number stay the same, so your bank feed still matches the deposit.
Troubleshooting in 60 seconds
- An entry shows Failed. It retries every 10 minutes on its own. To retry now, open Sync activity and click Retry (or Push payment on a payment row).
- An invoice went to the wrong customer. Fix the match on the Customers tab. Future invoices follow the new match; edit the posted one in QuickBooks.
- Payments land in Undeposited Funds. No bank account is set. Add one on the Settings tab.
- "Reconnect to QuickBooks" appears. QuickBooks ended the connection. Click Reconnect and sign in again; nothing is lost.
Need help?
Email us at support@shelfspace.pro. The reference version of this guide lives in our docs at Cannabis Vendor QuickBooks Setup.
If you are not on ShelfSpace yet and your retailer is asking about it, see what ShelfSpace does for vendors, or read the retailer-side QuickBooks guide for the other half of the picture.