QuickBooks Online: FAQs – Hostaway

FAQs

Where to start?
- Not with Hostaway! QuickBooks is a powerful platform, so it’s best to start by getting familiar with its features and confirming if our integration aligns with your needs. QuickBooks provides many resources and support options to help users understand their product, so we advise checking those out if you are not familiar with them.
What versions are supported?
- QuickBooks works across most countries, except for France. QuickBooks users in France will no longer have access to their QuickBooks products (https://quickbooks.intuit.com/fr/). They no longer operate in France.
- Users on the Basic plan won't have the class feature, and they may miss out on additional functionalities. We recommend the Plus and Advanced plans to access the class feature and get the most value from the integration.
Is it for free?
- We plan to start charging per subscribed listing beginning January 15.
- A 50% promotional discount will be available until March 31 and will apply to the first six payment cycles.
What happens if I subscribe to a new listing during the middle of the cycle?
- Listings added mid-cycle will be fully charged for the entire existing cycle at the next payment instance. For this reason, we strongly recommend activating listings at the beginning of a cycle rather than toward the end.
  
  Important Note:
  Subscribing to listings mid-cycle may result in clients paying for more listings than those currently being managed during the next payment instance. This is because newly added listings are carried over and charged for two cycles if they remain subscribed at the beginning of the next cycle
  
  Example Scenario:
  1. January 15 – Subscription starts with 1 listing (A), and it is charged (processing takes 24 hours).
  2. January 25 – A new listing (B) is activated.
  3. January 26 – Listing B is deactivated.
  4. February 10 – Another listing (C) is activated and remains active.
  5. February 16 – At the next payment instance:
    - Active listings: A + C (new subscription).
    - Carried-over listings: B + C (charged for mid-cycle activation).
    - Total charged listings = 4.
  For a visual explanation, please refer to the image below.
Do we support multi-account and multi-company setups?
- Not for now
Is this a final product?
- No! Based on feedback we’ll be adding and adjusting features so please share it with us!
Will QuickBooks be able to retrieve past reservation data from Hostaway?
- Yes! Once you subscribe, you can send data from existing reservations to QuickBooks to help track your historical records
I can’t find classes in QuickBooks, why?
- Classes are only available for Plus or superior QuickBooks plans. Learn more on how to Turn on class tracking and Create and manage classes
- We can still send data to QuickBooks Online without using the classes functionality, and listings or owners can be identified using other features such as the Customer or Custom fields
What happens if we add or change a class or a service after the initial connection?
- No problem! We’ll update those immediately in our system
Where can I see the sync status of a reservation?
- In Financial Reporting → QuickBooks (Manage and Sync QuickBooks Invoices)
What does the status “Validating” mean?
- When we edit a reservation, we need to check if the changes should make the reservation Outdated and then update it automatically, or offer the option for a manual update.
If I disconnect, will I lose previous settings and sync statuses?
- No, if you connect to the same account and company
Are items taxable?
- For now, each tax will work as an individual line item, and items will appear as "not taxable" due to QuickBooks Online limitations
What happens with Cancellations?
- For the time being, we will send the values with a 0, we recommend handling those manually
Why can I only see 3 custom fields when syncing if I have more on QuickBooks online?
- This is a limitation coming from QuickBooks Online. Only the first 3 custom fields will be available via an API connection. We suggest keeping those for the integration with Hostaway (they can be renamed at any time!)
Does QuickBooks integration include any additional data fields, specifically related to expenses, that were not previously accessible through the Hostaway API?
- Hostaway’s QuickBooks integration allows pushing certain financial data, including expenses, but it is limited in scope. We offer a financial field called expensesAndExtras, which contains reservation-specific expenses. These expenses can be pushed to QuickBooks Online as part of the reservation line items
- However, at this time, it's impossible to send all individual expenses from the Hostaway system as bills in QuickBooks, nor can we push owner statement totals (including income and expenses) to QuickBooks. We understand that this is a feature some clients would like, and we continue to evaluate how we can enhance the integration in the future
Is there documentation available that outlines the scope of data shared with QuickBooks and whether any of it can be retrieved via the API?
- Yes, most of our financial data, including expenses, is exposed through the Hostaway public API. However, it’s important to note that not all financial data is transferred directly to QuickBooks Online, due to restrictions within the QuickBooks Online platform
- QuickBooks only accepts specific formats and data types, and configurable settings within Hostaway determine what data is pushed to QuickBooks Online. Property managers can customize which data they want to send (such as custom fields, customer info, and line items)
- To clarify, our integration allows you to either push the same price breakdown we receive from booking channels or a customizable list of line items using Hostaway’s formulas. More details on how to set this up can be found in our integration guide
Does the price include the QuickBooks subscription or integration fees?
- The price does not include a QuickBooks subscription. However, we are currently offering a promotion where the integration is available for $4 per listing per month until March 31st.
How do I reconcile the bank line with the invoice created when Airbnb withholds their commission?
- You can reconcile this by using custom line items. This allows you to pass the Airbnb payout as a single line item or as a combination of accommodation fees, non-withheld taxes, and any other fees.
How is the Airbnb fee (e.g., the 3% or 15% commission) accounted for in this integration?
- You have the flexibility to include or exclude the Airbnb fee in the integration. By sending a custom list of line items, you can adjust how you account for the fee based on your preferences.
Can I use this integration to generate owner statements based on the previous month’s bookings and commissions?
- At this time, the integration only supports pushing data from reservations. It does not support generating owner statements directly. However, you can still use it to track bookings and commissions as part of your manual process.
Does the integration support resolution center funds (e.g., clawbacks or extra earnings)?
- Yes, Airbnb resolution center updates are reported to us when they involve the host. If a reservation is updated due to such a change, it will appear as "outdated" in your system. You can update it either automatically or manually to reflect the new information.
Can I choose which listings to integrate with Hostaway and QuickBooks, rather than integrating all of them? Yes, you can select specific listings for integration.
- Simply subscribe to the listings you wish to include in the integration, and it will apply only to those.

FAQs

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