Issue with charges CommitCRM - Quickbooks link

[natrat]

Hi,

I’ve just bought the CommitCRM -> Quickbooks link. It looks great however I seem to have come across one issue.

In a charge in Commit, if I enter a charge using a charge item then do one or both of the following:

* change the amount of the charge
* give a discount

Neither the changed charge amount or the discount are shown in Quickbooks when i create the invoice. It enters the charge as the default item price regardless of changes I have made in CommitCRM for the charge.

Is this normal behaviour and if so, why? Not having discounts automatically applied means the time saving feature is reduced, and due to the nature of my business my charges for an item like “Technical work, workshop” vary quite drastically. I cant enter a charge item in CommitCRM and QB for every amount i may charge a client.

Help!
--
Nathan Woodcock
N-Tech Solutions - Integrity. Skill. Communication.
IT Sales, Support & Consulting
Office - (07) 53093379 Fax – (07) 31034092 Mobile - 0422 247730
nathan@n-techsolutions.com.au
http://www.n-techsolutions.com.au/

[Support Team]

Hi natrat,

When setting a discount for a charge, this does get reflected in the QuickBooks invoice. You should see the total price after discount in the invoice line, as expected.

The behavior you describe is not the expected behavior, and I suspect this may happen in case the charge changes were not saved before you created the invoice. Please make sure you save the change you make in the charge prior to creating the invoice (click the Save button in the Charge window).

Hope this will do the job...

Ethan

[natrat]

No thats not the problem. It happens for every single charge that I have changed from its default value, even ones that were entered in CommitCRM some days ago.

The whole process appears to work initially, on the initial CommitCRM screen where it shows the items to be put into Quickbooks it reflects the correct amount, but then when you get to the final screen that shows you the quickbooks invoice details in CommitCRM it has the wrong amount, and if you go into Quickbooks and check the invoice it has created the amount as the default item amount in Quickbooks, not the amount that was on the charge line inCommitCRM.

Discounts are not working either as mentioned, even in properly saved charges. The discount amount is ignored.

I'm using the Australian version of Quickbooks (QBi 2008-2009) with the latest service pack.

nathan

[Support Team]

Thanks for the additional details, nathan. This sounds strange indeed and I can tell you that usually this works well, and the charge total price after changes or discounts is transferred to QuickBooks. I'm not sure what exactly goes wrong in this case, and we want to look further into this. Please send us (via email to the support) some screenshots demonstrating this situation (we may find something from looking at the details), and also the log files from Help > Technical Support menu. We will look into this and see what may have happened there.

Thanks,

Ethan

[natrat]

Hi, have sent a word doc with screenshots of the whole process to the support email address.

cheers
nathan

[Christian M]

Hi,

I'm just wondering if this issue was ever resolved?

We've just started using CommitCRM and also have it synching with the Australian version of QuickBooks. Any price changes or discounts entered with the charges in CommitCRM seem to be ignored when the invoice is created and the default QuickBooks price is used instead.

Cheers
Christian

[natrat]

No, its not been resolved. I still have the issue with latest CommitCRM and latest Australian Quickbooks. There must be some small difference in the Aus API compared to other countries. I wish they would patch it though, it takes away from an otherwise brilliant time saving feature.

[Christian M]

Thanks for the update Nathan.

I too wish it would be fixed because this creates so much opportunity for errors to occur with invoice pricing. We're just going to have to be very careful.

Hopefully it can be fixed one day soon, particularly because the QuickBooks interface is an add-on product and the Australian version of QuickBooks is listed as being tested and supported in the CommitCRM wiki.

I am loving most of the other features though. We've been using CommitCRM for less than two weeks but I am sure it is going to prove to be a very valuable tool for us.

[natrat]

Yeah its awesome. I had CommitCRM team logon to my PC and play around for an hour or so but they couldnt fix the issue and without runing the oz version of Quickbooks they can't re-create it.

Out of interest can you let me know the details below? I've listed mine, maybe there is some similarity.

Client OS: Vista (SP2, same issue with SP1)
CommitCRM Server OS: Windows SBS2008
CommitCRM version: 5.2.0.3
Quickbooks Database/Company file location: local Vista workstation

cheers
nathan

[Christian M]

Our setup is as follows:

Client OS: Windows Vista SP2 and Windows 7
Server OS: Windows Server 2008 R2 (64 bit)
CommitCRM Version: 5.2.0.3
QuickBooks Version: QuickBooks Premier 2009-10
QuickBooks data file location: Stored locally on CommitCRM server (terminal server)
CommitCRM Database Type: SQL

I don't think Server 2008 R2 or QuickBooks 2009-10 are supported. Our situation was that we installed the trial on our terminal server (2008 R2) and it worked so we left it there. As for QuickBooks, we had to move from MYOB as part of the implementation of CommitCRM and I couldn't get the 2008-09 version. I would be happy to change the configuration if it might make a difference though.

It's a little frustrating given we changed to QuickBooks for the sole reason of the ability to integrate withCommitCRM. Having said that QuickBooks is a far superior product to MYOB so it was worth us changing (and it was only a matter of time before we got away from MYOB) and there are plenty of benefits we will get from CommitCRM that make the whole implementation worthwhile, it would just be that little bit better if we could get this working (and if the Outlook sync could occur in the background - but that's another issue already addressed by a few other users).

[Christian M]

I've just been thinking the problem could have something to do with how GST is handled in the Australian version of QuickBooks that is different to how taxes are handled in the US version.

I noticed CommitCRM always shows the ex GST price and having default a tax of 10% in CommitCRM doesn't make any tax appear on the charge sheet. It had puzzled me how the GST always seemed to correct itself once the invoice was transferred to QuickBooks, until last night when I realised CommitCRM pricing was being completely ignored.

Thanks very much for posting this topic, otherwise I'd still be pulling my hair out wondering what I'd done wrong.

[Support Team]

Thanks guys for your input on this.
I'd just like to clarify re the taxes and how it works with RangerMSP and QuickBooks. Perhaps this will help somehow.

Basically, when working with taxes in RangerMSP, this only affects charge reports in RangerMSP. This has no effect whatsoever on the tax calculation in QuickBooks Invoices. All taxes in invoices are handled by QuickBooks only, according to the taxes settings in QB.

In some cases, you can define in QuickBooks special tax settings per customer, and this can affect the tax calculation in QuickBooks. Again, this has nothing to do with the tax settings in RangerMSP.

We're about to run another testing round on the new Australian QuickBooks edition integration, and I hope we will be able to reproduce this behavior in our labs, as it doesn't happen here at the moment. If you have any input on this which can help, feel free to send it to us at Support @ . Thanks, we appreciate your help!

Sheli

[Christian M]

Hi Sheli,

Thanks for the clarification on how taxes work inCommitCRM.

The fact you haven't been able to reproduce the problem is promising. That must mean it is something to do with my configuration.

Nathan, have you ever used QuickBooks 2008-09 withCommitCRM? I noticed you mentioned you were using the latest version of CommitCRM and QuickBooks, so I presume you are currently running 2009-10 like me. This is a long shot as I am guessing back in March 2009-10 probably hadn't been released.

If the problem only occurs in 2009-10 then that would be quite reasonable as it isn't officially supported yet.

[Billy Gareth]

Hi Folks,

We are also running the Oz version of QB 09/10 and have the same problem. The discounts are simply ignored when the invoice is created in QB.

It is rather annoying as we have to keep remembering to check the invoices and if we have an admin doing the invoice who doesn't know that there should be a discount we get cranky calls. Not a good look.

Any news on this folks?

[natrat]

The not transferring the correct line item prices when they are changed in CommitCRM from the default in Quickbooks happened in the 2008/2009 Australian version and also happens in the 2009/2010 version. This is the major issue for me, the discounts having to be manually entered I'm not too worried about but if the other country versions discounts work too then that would be great to have fixed as well.

I had CommitCRM support log in remotely and try and fix it for an hour or so on my PC with no luck. This would have been a year ago or so. Its purely an oz Quickbooks integration issue. I suspect there aren't enough CommitCRM users in Australia using it for it to be high on the fix list but i would really love it fixed as it really destroys a large part of the benefit of the link if you have to go into nearly every invoice you create and adjust the prices.

CommitCRM support - do you need one of us to send you a copy of the current Australian CDs so you can see it happen and re-produce it?

Are there any Australian users using the link without seeing this issue? For what its worth i have the same issue on Vista and Windows 7. Not tried XP, not going to bother as even if it worked that wouldnt help.

nathan

[Support Team]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for sending this in.
We believe that we've made some progress in diagnosing this behavior between RangerMSP and QuickBooks AU.

Can you please look in your QuickBooks company file settings and try adjusting the show sales with/without GST option?

We’ve heard this has corrected this behavior in other Australian systems.

Let us know how this goes.

Regards,
Doron

[Easy I.T.]

dont know if i am the odd one out or what - but just wanted to let you know that I am using Quickbooks Pro 08/09 (Australian) and am not having the problems you guys are having. If you want me to check anything just let me know. (Not sure where the sales with/without GST option is though)

Win 7 & Vista
Sbs 2003

[natrat]

ok its kind of fixed it. The option I changed is under Preferences / Tax / Company Preferences

Changed Sales Figures section to Net, rather than Gross.

However now the amounts I put in in CommitCRM it is treating as not including GST so when the invoice is generated in Quickbooks, Quickbooks is adding the GST to the figure. All the prices I type into CommitCRM in a charge are Sales Tax / GST inclusive. Is there a setting in CommitCRM to reflect that so Quickbooks knows its being sent the GST inclusive figure?

[natrat]

re the above, have tried removing the tax in the item properties (so its blank) but its still adding GST. Should i delete the GST tax from the CommitCRM system entirely?

[Support Team]

Hi Natrat,

Thanks for the update.
When the RangerMSP system passes charge information to QuickBooks, the charge information passed never includes sum amounts, since the invoices created via QuickBooks, use the QuickBooks items themselves.

The way the invoice is created is that RangerMSP passes account identification information, item identification and quantity values.

The QuickBooks system uses this information to locate the correct items and account in the QuickBooks database, and create its own charge using only the QuickBooks account, QuickBooks items, quantities, and QuickBooks tax settings.

This means that RangerMSP would never have any connection with the tax calculations used in your QuickBooks invoices, even if created using RangerMSP.

We suggest testing invoice creation to see if this also happens when you don't use RangerMSP; and if so, then once this is resolved then it should also resolve itself in RangerMSP.

Let us know how this goes.

Regards,
Reno Breen

[natrat]

ok i have added a new tax in CommitCRM called None at 0% and set it as the Tax 1 in the Options under both Accounts and Charges & Contracts section.

I have also set it as the tax code for the stock item i am testing with.

However still when i go to create a invoice via Commit, the invoice creation confirmation screen in CommitCRM is adding 10% GST to the invoice.

help!

[Support Team]

Hi Natrat,

Thanks for the update.
Even if the invoice creation wizard shows the figures with the tax set in RangerMSP, once passed to QuickBooks, the charge would be reprocessed by QuickBooks using the item and tax settings in QuickBooks. This means that tax settings or calculations made in the RangerMSP charge would be irrelevant, since QuickBooks generated the charge again using the settings used in QuickBooks.

If you are generating RangerMSP reports, then you would need to verify that your RangerMSP accounts as well as your RangerMSP items are set with the tax codes that you need.

More information on using taxes in RangerMSP can be found here.

Let us know if this helps.

Regards,
Reno Breen

[natrat]

ok thanks. It would seem that no matter what settings I choose in Quickbooks I can't stop tax from being added to the created invoice. The only way i've found that works is to remove the tax from the item in Quickbooks but this then screws up everything relating to tax collection and reporting. This is extremely annoying as it means all charges i type into CommitCRM I have to run through the calculator to get the ex-GST amount.

What would be good is if CommitCRM charges had an option, like Quickbooks does, to show amounts including or excluding tax when creating the charge in the ticket. Then I could type the charges into CommitCRM including GST but the amount sent to Quickbooks would be the ex-GST amount. I shan't hold my breath though :)

Any other AU Quickbooks users think of any other way around this?

[natrat]

EasyIT, could you advise if you have the same issue as me with the charge amount entered into CommitCRM having GST added to it in Quickbooks? do you need to type all your CommitCRM charges in as ex-GST?

[soho-nz]

Hi all - I'm in NZ and just getting ready to start using QB 2010 Au version.

I'm also having this problem - I need to be able to enter prices that are inclusive of GST in Commit, and have these prices stay the same in QB. -- but show how much GST was charged on the invoice.

I always quote prices to customers that are GST inclusive, so it becomes a real headache when you have to remove the GST before entering the price into Commit, then check the invoice afterwards.

If someone has managed this please pipe up!

[Support Team]

Hi Soho-nz,

Thanks for posting this.
Since RangerMSP does not support reverse tax calculations (i.e. tax cannot be calculated in RangerMSP from within a tax inclusive price); RangerMSP reports will not be able to be used in this manner.

We suggest canceling Tax Calculation in RangerMSP; and including a footnote in all RangerMSP charge reports that Taxes are included in all prices.

QuickBooks invoices are issued using accounts and items from the QuickBooks database and not the items you originally charged in RangerMSP; this works with a logical link between RangerMSP and QuickBooks items and accounts, which allows RangerMSP to tell QuickBooks which items to charge to which customer with what taxes; even though you canceled tax calculation in RangerMSP.

This means that once your items and tax settings are set to your liking in QuickBooks; the RangerMSP charges should also have the correct setting.

Let us know if this helps.

Regards,
Doron

[soho-nz]

Hi Support,

I am still fighting to get this to do what I need.

I have switched off all taxes inCommitCRM.
In QB (2010 Australian version), Tax preferences, I have "Sales Figures" set to Gross (Inclusive of GST), default Tax Code set to S.

This is what happens - if "Allow tax inclusive (gross) prices and costs to be entered." is ticked in QB, all the line items appear on the invoice with zero price.

If I untick this field, then GST is added to the price from Commit, which is what I am trying to avoid.

[Christian M]

Hi Soho-NZ,

The catch with CommitCRM seems to be that prices are always tax exclusive. This would suit the US and other markets, but not Australia (and possibly not New Zealand), perhaps the developers are aware of the different regulations we have in Australia. Regardless I’d doubt tax inclusive pricing would be a priority because I don’t think the Australia version of QuickBooks is officially supported.

What I have found is that if the “Amounts include tax” option is ticked on the invoice screen of QuickBooks then all pricing in CommitCRM is ignored. Untick it and then your pricing will come across exactly how you enter it in CommitCRM (excluding tax).

To make things work for us I have setup an account in QuickBooks namedCommitCRM. This is the account that is used for the integration. I logged into that account in QuickBooks and unticked the “Amounts include tax” option on an invoice, then logged out. So now every time CommitCRM generates an invoice the option is un-ticked, but for the rest of our staff (who may need to enter invoices into QuickBooks that don’t relate to Commit) the option remains ticked.

Then when we go to print the invoice that CommitCRM generated in QuickBooks we simply tick the “Amounts include tax” and we get what we are after. Occasionally we may need to make a rounding adjustment (i.e. what was intended to be $1399.00 may become $1399.01) but on the whole it works reasonably well.

The only real inconvenience is that we have to enter the price in CommitCRM excluding tax. What would be great is if CommitCRM had two prices shown on the charge (an inc price and an ex price) and we could set a calculation to be applied. That way we could enter inc prices, but they could be recorded as ex prices and it would save opening up the calculator every time.

On the topic of charges in Commit, another improvement that could be made is the ability to enter multiple product/part charge lines from the one screen. When you have to put anywhere from 5 to 20 lines on an invoice it isn’t fun opening the product/part charge screen every time, in fact it is extremely inefficient.

Hope this information may be of some use.

Christian

[soho-nz]

Christian, - thanks for your post - I have tried what you suggest and this does achieve the correct result.

CommitCRM Support - if you are reading this, I think there are quite a few users who need the ability to enter a tax inclusive price in CommitCRM and have that transferred to Quickbooks. Although I can workaround this problem, it means that I have to:

1) calculate & remove the tax before it is entered intoCommitCRM.
2) amend each invoice before it is sent.

I was hoping that CommitCRM & QB would streamline my billing process, but with these extra steps it won't be much faster, and errors are even more likely. Can something please be done?

[Support Team]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for posting all this for our AU community.
We have been monitoring this thread and all the suggestions made here, and we have taken the necessary notes about using GST with RangerMSP/QuickBooks.

I've copied this feedback into a feature request to have the RangerMSP QuickBooks Link updated, as well as your votes, so that the product management team can review this and add it to the list.

Thanks again.

Regards,
Sherry.

[natrat]

Please please please sort it :)

[peterk]

Yes please.. We need this sorted for GST

[mundycomputers]

Please add my vote