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Using WiseCost before you connect QuickBooks Online

Start WiseCost with local employees and classes and connect QuickBooks Online later. Local records do not merge with the synced ones; they coexist.

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You can start using WiseCost before you connect QuickBooks Online. WiseCost lets you create local employees and local classes, so your team can begin logging time, and you connect QuickBooks Online later. One thing to know before you do: records created locally do not merge with the ones that later come from QuickBooks Online. Both sets live side by side.

Who can do this: an Administrator.

Start with local records

  1. In Company Setup → Employees, click Add Employee and create the people who will log time.
  2. In Company Setup → Classes, click Add Class and create the contracts, awards or cost categories they will charge time to.
  3. Set up your payroll frequency and time entry form as in the setup checklist.
  4. Invite your team. See Inviting your team.

While QuickBooks Online is not connected, the pages under Company Setup show a banner to connect and the Re-Sync button is hidden.

What changes when you connect

When you connect, WiseCost imports your QuickBooks Online employees, classes and the rest of your lists. The local records stay as they are. If the same person or class exists in both places, you will see two records: the local one and the one from QuickBooks Online.

To keep things clean:

  • If you know you will connect soon, create only what you need to start.
  • After connecting, link users and assign new time to the QuickBooks Online records.
  • A class that exists only in WiseCost cannot be sent to QuickBooks Online as a time activity. See A class that only exists in WiseCost.

Companies on QuickBooks Online Essentials

QuickBooks Online Essentials has no Classes. Those companies can connect and keep working with local classes in WiseCost as their contracts.

Common questions

Will my local employees merge with my QuickBooks Online employees when I connect?

No. Local records and QuickBooks Online records coexist. Nothing is merged.

Can I run Labor Distribution without QuickBooks Online?

Posting the journal entry needs the connection, because the entry is posted to QuickBooks Online.