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Import bills into QuickBooks Online

The columns in the MaterialPro bills CSV, what to map them to, and how to import the file.

The QuickBooks Online bills file has one row per bill line. Rows that share a Bill No make up one bill, so a supplier invoice with five lines becomes five rows. The column names follow QuickBooks Online's sample bills file.

Before you import

  • Every vendor in the file exists in QuickBooks with the same display name. To add missing vendors, export your vendor list from the Vendors page in MaterialPro and import it into QuickBooks first.
  • Every Account value is an account in your QuickBooks chart of accounts. Lines without a cost-code mapping use the default expense account you enter when you export.
  • Every Terms value exists in your QuickBooks terms list. Net 30 and Due on receipt are built in; month-end terms such as Net 30 EOM have to be created under the same name.
  • If you use Customer:Job, the customer and project exist in QuickBooks with the same names.
  • Class and Currency only import when class tracking and multicurrency are turned on in QuickBooks. Otherwise, leave those columns unmapped.

Column mapping

Columns appear in the file in this order. Files from US workspaces use Vendor and have no tax column; files from workspaces outside the US use Supplier and add Line Tax Amount.

  • Bill No

    The supplier's invoice number.

    Map it to: Bill no.

  • VendorUS workspaces only

    The vendor's display name: its English name if one is set, otherwise its name.

    Map it to: Vendor

  • SupplierWorkspaces outside the US only

    The supplier's display name: its English name if one is set, otherwise its name.

    Map it to: Supplier (what QuickBooks calls vendors outside the US)

  • Bill Date

    The invoice date. MM/DD/YYYY in US workspaces, DD/MM/YYYY elsewhere.

    Map it to: Bill date

  • Due Date

    The invoice due date. If the invoice has none: the invoice date plus the PO or vendor terms; without terms, your workspace's default terms, or else 30 days.

    Map it to: Due date

  • Terms

    The PO's payment terms, or else the vendor's, as a QuickBooks term name such as Net 30 or Due on receipt.

    Map it to: Terms

  • Memo

    The PO number.

    Map it to: Memo

  • Account

    The account mapped to the line's cost code (a project's own mapping wins over the company-wide one), or else the default expense account.

    Map it to: Account (the expense category on the line)

  • Line Description

    The invoice line's description.

    Map it to: Line description

  • Line Amount

    The line amount before tax, as a plain number with two decimals.

    Map it to: Line amount

  • Line Tax AmountWorkspaces outside the US only

    The tax on the line.

    Map it to: Line tax amount. Pick the tax code for the lines on the import screen.

  • Customer:Job

    Client:Project for the bill's project, or the project name alone when the project has no client.

    Map it to: The customer or project field on bill lines, if your import tool has one. QuickBooks' built-in bill import ignores this column.

  • Class

    The line's cost code.

    Map it to: Class, if class tracking is on

  • Currency

    The invoice currency as a three-letter code, such as USD.

    Map it to: Currency, if multicurrency is on

Extra lines on a bill

  • US files: sales tax the supplier charged goes on its own line, described "Sales tax", on the default expense account. US bill lines carry no tax code, so this keeps each bill total equal to the supplier invoice.
  • Any difference left between the lines and the invoice total, such as a discount or a charge on the invoice header, goes on a line described "Invoice adjustment", on the default expense account.

QuickBooks Online Advanced: built-in import

  1. In MaterialPro, open Invoices, choose Export, then QuickBooks Online bills. Enter your default expense account and download the file.
  2. In QuickBooks Online, go to Settings, then Import data, then Bills, and upload the file.
  3. Match each column to its QuickBooks field using the table above.
  4. Review the preview, fix any rows QuickBooks flags, then import.

Simple Start, Essentials or Plus: a CSV importer app

QuickBooks' built-in bill import is only on Advanced. On other plans, use a third-party CSV importer app that can create bills, or enter the bills by hand. Menus differ between apps, but the steps are the same:

  1. Choose Bills as the transaction type.
  2. Upload the file and set the date format: MM/DD/YYYY for US workspaces, DD/MM/YYYY elsewhere.
  3. Map each column using the table above.
  4. Group rows by Bill No, so each supplier invoice becomes one bill with several lines.
  5. Import two or three bills first, and compare each bill total with the supplier invoice before you import the rest.

MaterialPro has no partnership with any importer app and hasn't certified one. Before you subscribe, check that the app can create bills with the fields in the table above.

File format

  • UTF-8 CSV with a byte order mark, the same as Excel's "CSV UTF-8". If your tool asks for an encoding, choose UTF-8.
  • Names are exported exactly as typed, including accents and dashes such as "–", so they have to match QuickBooks character for character.
  • Amounts are plain numbers with two decimals, with no currency symbol or thousands separator.
  • If you open the file in Excel and save it again, save it as CSV UTF-8 so names keep their characters, and check that Excel hasn't changed the date format.

After you import

  • Check each bill total against the supplier invoice.
  • Record bill payments in QuickBooks. Payments in MaterialPro only track status.
  • MaterialPro marks exported bills, so your next export can skip them.

Need help?

Questions about a file? Email support@materialpro.io or read the FAQ.