Relay’s integration with QuickBooks Online (QBO) helps streamline your accounts payable workflow by syncing vendors, importing unpaid bills, and automatically recording payments. With this integration in place, Relay becomes your all-in-one hub to approve, schedule, and pay bills—while keeping your QuickBooks ledger up to date.
This article covers:
- What the QBO integration allows you to do
- How to connect your QuickBooks account to Relay
- How bill syncing and payment updates work
- Common troubleshooting tips and best practices
What the QuickBooks Integration Enables
Once connected, Relay’s QBO integration gives you full visibility and control over your vendor payments:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Import vendors | Sync QuickBooks vendors as payees in Relay |
| Import unpaid bills | Automatically bring in open bills from QBO |
| Sync payment status | Mark bills as paid in QuickBooks after payment is made in Relay |
| Categorize expenses | Use Accounting categories imported from QBO to tag bills and receipts in Relay |
This integration is supported across Grow and Scale tiers.
Steps to Enable Bill Pay with QuickBooks Online
- Sign in to your Relay account.
- Go to Settings → Integrations.
- On the QuickBooks Online tile, click Connect.
-
Under Imports, optionally toggle:
- Automatically import unpaid bills
- Import vendors
- Click Save Changes.
Syncing Bills and Vendors from QuickBooks
Once your QuickBooks account is connected, Relay will:
- Import all unpaid bills from QBO (bills marked as “Open”)
- Sync your vendors as payees into Relay
- Automatically link imported bills to the right payee
You can also manually trigger a sync at any time:
- In Payments > Bills
- On the top right click on Refresh Quickbooks Online
Alternatively:
- Go to Settings > Accounting Integrations
- Click on the Quickbooks Online tile
- Click Sync Now to update bills and vendor records
Relay will only sync bills marked as Open/Unpaid—bills marked as “Draft” or already paid will not be pulled in.
Foreign Currency Bill Support
Relay supports foreign currency bills that are imported from your accounting integration with QuickBooks Online.
- You can edit amounts in Relay after import.
- You cannot change the currency within Relay; this must be updated in your accounting software and will then sync into Relay.
- Bills manually uploaded into Relay currently must be in USD. Support for uploading foreign currency bills directly into Relay is coming soon.
Paying Bills and Updating QuickBooks Automatically
Once your bills are in Relay, you can:
- Review the bill details and assign approval rules (Grow & Scale only)
- Schedule or initiate payment from a Relay checking account
-
Relay automatically:
- Updates the bill’s status to Paid in QBO
- Pushes payment date, method, and memo info back into your QuickBooks ledger
There’s no need to mark payments manually in QuickBooks—Relay does it for you.
Using the Bulk Actions Toolbar
When one or more bills are selected, Relay will display a toolbar at the bottom of the screen showing the total amount and available actions based on your permissions and current tab.
- View bills
- Approve or reject bills
- Initiate payments
- Approve or reject imported bills
Editing a Bill in Relay
Relay now supports editing imported bills directly from within the platform. This feature is currently in beta and rolling out, and may not be available to all customers yet.
- A new interface allows you to update bill details such as amounts and due dates.
- You can also add internal notes to a bill. These will sync with your accounting integration if supported.
Supported Sync Features
| Functionality | Supported? |
|---|---|
| Bill import from QBO | ✅ |
| Vendor import from QBO | ✅ |
| Bills created by email forwarding | ✅ |
| Bills created by uploading | ✅ |
| Payment status updates to QBO | ✅ |
| Accounting categories import | ✅ |
| Partial bill payments | Coming soon |
Best Practices for Using the QuickBooks Integration
- Let Relay manage payments: Don’t mark bills as “Paid” manually in QBO—this breaks the sync.
- Keep vendor names consistent: Clean vendor names in QuickBooks before syncing to avoid duplicates.
- Use the “Payees” tab in Relay to merge any duplicates post-sync.
Troubleshooting
Problem: A bill isn’t showing up in Relay
Fix: Check that it’s marked as “Open” and has a due date in QBO. Then, manually sync from Relay.
Problem: A payment isn’t appearing in QBO
Fix: Go to Settings > Accounting Integrations and click Sync Now. If still not working, try reconnecting your QBO account.
Problem: Duplicate vendors in Relay
Fix: Use Relay’s payee merging tool in the Payments > Bills > Payees section.