Virtuous is an excellent CRM system that enables you to track your donors' history, generate and send donation receipts, and manage communication with donors to build lasting relationships. But there is far more to your organization's financial picture than just donations received, which is why you'll need to maintain a separate accounting system.
Quickbooks is a popular choice as accounting systems go, with two main versions: Quickbooks Online and Quickbooks Desktop. Organizations using Quickbooks Online can use the Virtuous Connect sync tool to sync data from Virtuous to Quickbooks.
Table of Contents
- Important Sync Notes
- Creating a Sync User Profile
- Quickbooks Login
- Settings
- Features and Mapping
- Best Practice Mapping
- Failed Transactions
Important Sync Notes
- All data between the date the integration set up process is initiated and the date it is turned on will all attempt to sync when the integration is turned on. It's recommended to complete the integration setup process in one sitting.
- If the integration is set up and active, then later disabled, when the integration is turned back on, ALL data between the last sync and present day will attempt to sync. It is NOT recommended to regularly turn the sync on and off to manage the flow of records.
Creating a Sync User Profile
First thing you need to do is create a user that is not linked to any of your current users. To ensure data constantly flows regardless of staffing changes, password issues, and any other number of access hurdles that may arise when using an active staff members Virtuous profile, it's always best to create a new User Profile to act as the pathway between.
To create your new User you'll head to the navigation on the left of the screen then select Settings > Team Settings.
This User should have most privileges within Virtuous AND NOT SSO or two factor authentication. Best practice:
- Should be an admin user, so the Quickbooks Online specific user has access to enter all data into Virtuous.
- OR if that makes you uncomfortable, you can create a unique permission group (Settings > All Settings > Permissions > Create Permission Groups) for the user... it must have the following full permissions:
- Contacts
- Projects
- Gifts
- Recurring Gifts
Configuring the Sync
Before beginning the sync configuration process be sure you are logged in to Virtuous using the alternative user account previously established. Being logged in to this specific account while configuring the sync will tie the integration settings to said User profile.
To setup, review, or manage the details of this integration, select "Integrations" from the left-hand menu. Select "Virtuous Connect" from the available options.
Note: It's recommended to sync with your organization's DBA regarding any modifications needed or errors occurring.
There, you can log in with the same username and password you use to log in to Virtuous CRM.
If your team may need additional support implementing and/or managing the Quickbooks Online integrations, check out the Virtuous App Marketplace.
To access the App Marketplace, select "App Marketplace" from the Integrations menu.
Note: Only Admin Users can access the App Marketplace within VCRM.
To learn more about the Virtuous App Marketplace, check out this Support Article.
In the Virtuous Connect App, you will see some options for various integrations, including Quickbooks.
Quickbooks Login
Settings
You will now be able to configure the settings for this integration. These settings can be changed at a later time, if needed. The first section of Settings dictates how data flows to QuickBooks Online overall.
The first selection of settings options include:
-
Sync Enabled- To enable this integration, check this box
- NOTE: All Gifts entered into VCRM from the moment you select this checkbox will be pushed to QBO.
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Rollup Gifts by Project/Fund- To sync projects instead of individual gifts, check this box
- Sync New Contacts - To sync new contacts, check this box. This feature will create new contacts in QuickBooks if an existing contact with a matching name is not found. If this feature is disabled it will only match with existing contacts.
Next, you'll need to map your Account and Field details from Virtuous to Quickbooks.
The second selection of settings include:
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Account Mapping
- Map to a Single Account- To connect both debit and credits to a single bank account, check this box
- Payment Method- Select the specific payment method to sync for the bank account. You are limited to one Payment Method.
- Bank Account- QuickBooks Login tab will need to be completed prior to bank account information being available; Select the bank account that your payments are debiting from
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Field Mapping
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Virtuous Field- Select the desired gift/payment field to map to Virtuous to QuickBooks
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QuickBooks Field- Select the field that will be the destination of the corresponding Virtuous data
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Features and Mapping
Standard Field Mapping
There are additional options for mapping both Virtuous Standard Fields and Quickbooks Standards Fields.
Best Practice Mapping
Below is a chart of the best practice mapping recommended to use when syncing Gifts between VCRM and QBO. This mapping will populate as the default formatting when initially setting up the integration.
Note: Contact and Individual Custom Fields are not available for mapping.
| Virtuous CRM Field | Quickbooks Online Field |
| Contact Name | Customer Name |
| Gift ID | Payment Reference |
| Gift Date | Sales Receipt Date |
| Gift Amount | Amount |
| Project Code | Class |
| External Accounting Code | Revenue Account |
To add another field to your mapping, simply select the grey plus sign available to the right of the last row of mapping.
Gift Type Mapping
All standard Virtuous Gift Types are listed and a corresponding QuickBooks Bank account can be selected to where the data will credit to via the sync.
Payment Method Mapping
Failed Transactions
The sync will push through approximately every 3 hours if syncing single Gifts. If you select Rollup Gifts by Project/Fund, then it will sync overnight. If a Gift record attempts to sync to QuickBooks Online and does not successfully sync for any number of reasons, these transactions will be placed in a "Failed Transactions" log for review. When this happens, an email will be sent to the Notification Email address, prompting you to review the Failed Transaction.
Once you have reviewed the errors, you will need to create the corresponding Accounts in Quickbooks. While you are doing this, keep in mind that you are not able to re-sync a single transaction. You will need to correct the underlying issues and then re-sync ALL failed transactions.
If there are some transactions that should not be synced to Virtuous at all, select the trashcan icon available to the right of each transaction. This will delete the entry and make it so that specific transaction will NOT re-sync when you retry.
When you have remedied the errors in Quickbooks, select Retry Sync to sync the transactions to the correct accounts.