Relay’s integration with QuickBooks Online (QBO) simplifies bookkeeping by syncing transactions — along with receipts, notes, categories, and vendors — directly into your QBO ledger. You control when transactions sync, ensuring your accounting software stays clean and organized without manual entry.
This article walks you through how to connect Relay to QuickBooks Online, map accounts, and start syncing expense data.
What the QuickBooks Integration Does
Once connected, Relay can:
- Sync transactions directly into QBO
- Include receipt attachments, memos, categories, and vendors
- Match Relay accounts to your QBO chart of accounts
- Keep Relay in sync with your vendor and category lists
Transactions only sync when you choose — Relay won’t auto-push unless you tell it to.
Requirements
Before you connect:
- You must be a Relay Administrator or Manager
- You need access to the relevant QuickBooks Online account
- You must log into Relay on desktop (setup is not available on mobile)
- We highly recommend to sync your Relay bank feeds to Quickbooks Online. For more information, view Integrating with QuickBooks for Bank Feeds
Fields Synced During Integration
When you integrate Relay with QuickBooks Online, certain fields are required for each expense or bill that you sync:
- Categories and Vendors are required fields. Relay automatically pulls your Chart of Accounts and Vendor list from QBO to help you categorize your expenses properly.
In addition to required fields, Relay also pulls in optional fields to give you even more control and reporting flexibility:
- QuickBooks Online: Classes, Locations, and Customers
Tip: Toggling additional fields makes it easier to classify transactions for more accurate financial reporting—saving you (and your accountant) time during month-end close.
How to Connect Relay to QuickBooks Online
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In QuickBooks Online:
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Go to Banking → Link account.
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Search for Relay and connect each relevant checking account.
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Make sure Relay accounts are linked to the appropriate QBO bank registers.
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Sign in to your Relay account on your desktop.
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On the QuickBooks Online tile, click Manage.
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Scroll to the Expense Management section and toggle it on.
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Use the Account mapping panel to match Relay accounts to QBO GL accounts.
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Under Control which details appear in Relay and sync to QuickBooks, manage:
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Categories, Vendors, Classes, Customers, Locations
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Set each field as visible, required, or hidden.
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Click Save Changes.
If Relay accounts aren't linked from the QBO side, Expense Management sync won't work properly.
Mapping Relay Accounts to QuickBooks
Relay will prompt you to map each of your accounts to QuickBooks accounts:
| Relay Account | QBO Account | |
|---|---|---|
| Team Debit Card | → | Team Expenses (Last 4 digits of card) |
| Operating Checking | → | Operating Checking (Last 4 digits of account) |
This step ensures transactions land in the right accounts in QuickBooks.
Categories and Vendors: How They Sync
- Relay pulls in your Chart of Accounts and Vendor list from QBO
- You’ll see your QBO categories and vendors in the dropdown menus in the Expenses > Category column.
- If you update these lists in QuickBooks, just hit Refresh data in Relay’s settings to see the latest version
How to Sync Transactions to QBO
- Go to the Expenses tab in Relay
- Filter or select the transactions you want to sync
- Click Sync to QuickBooks
Relay will send:
- Amount
- Date
- Category
- Vendor
- Memo
- Attached receipt(s)
Synced transactions will show and move to the Archive tab.
Troubleshooting Sync Issues
Can't connect to QBO?
- Make sure you’re signed into the correct QuickBooks company file
- Clear your browser cache or try a different browser
Account or vendor not showing up?
- Click Refresh data under integration settings
- Make sure your chart of accounts in QuickBooks is up to date
Can’t add an additional vendor?
- Click Refresh data under integration settings
- The vendor may have already been added. Duplicate vendors cannot exist
Transactions won’t sync?
- Confirm all required fields (category, vendor) are filled in Relay
- Make sure Relay accounts are mapped correctly to QBO accounts
What’s Next?
After your integration is live, you can:
Still have questions? Our team is ready to help! Talk to our Customer Experience team