QuickBooks Webhooks Integration: Connect with 6 Easy Steps

QuickBooks is an exceptional application that enables organizations to manage their accounts, taxes, and business transactions. It minimizes the difficulties of managing numbers and helps in improving the productivity of a company. With the fast-paced development of the business environment, companies require real-time information to enhance their actions further. Webhooks is such a software that enables businesses to do just that.

This article presents information about Webhooks, its benefits, and how this software can be integrated with QuickBooks. But before that, let us learn a few words about QuickBooks.

What is Webhooks?

Webhooks is an application that helps organizations to receive real-time information on other applications. These are automated messages that you will receive when an event is activated inside the application interface.

These messages are called payloads and are sent to unique URLs such as users’ phone numbers or app addresses. Webhooks provide information in the form of SMS which reduces the efforts of transferring information and works faster than polling.

Webhooks use an architecture from software applications that enables the apps to send web-based electronic notifications to the receiver application when an event occurs. Users can modify the call from the Webhooks application interface and connect them to different events. These events could be the placing of an order, the creation of a new user, order shipment or delivery, and such.

Webhooks use the structure of ‘if this then that’ (IFTTT) statements. When an event is activated by the software, Webhooks sends an API call to an external network. It allows the application to send the information to a third-party API and further send it to different destinations. It also connects the enterprise architecture Integration platforms.

HTTP and HTTPS are used by Webhooks to transmit messages and utilize the POST request on a URL. The receiving application’s API interprets this POST data message and the data is sent in either JSON or XML forms.

Webhooks can be effectively used if you build and operate small web applications that accept HTTP requests. Server-side frameworks are used to create such applications. Spark for Java, ASP.NET, MVC for C#, and many others are instances of server-side languages. Web application frameworks like PHP, symphony, and Yii are used as well.

What are the benefits of Webhooks?

Some of the benefits of the Webhooks application are listed below:

• Event-driven changes can be made to create notifications
• Real-time transfer notifications can be received
• Help in synchronizing systems rather than converting processes into batches
• Helps in solving polling processes (The real process involves a few minutes of waiting after the event is notified and then requires a new API to add and start the process. Webhooks simplify it.)

What are the uses and examples of Webhooks?

Webhooks allow easy transfer of information through accessible API to applications to receive real-time communications based on events and related situations. Some of the platforms that support Webhooks are Facebook, Trello, Google Calendar, Github, and Confluence.

Some of the examples of Webhooks uses are as follows:

• Automated daily and repeated email reminders
• All payment confirmations and related information
• Synchronizing customer data with various applications

QuickBooks

QuickBooks is a product of Inuit and an account managing tool that specializes in bookkeeping, inventory management, payroll management, accounting, and many other financial tasks related to businesses. It benefits businesses of all sizes and has a strong user base.

QuickBooks, QB for short, can create custom reports that are based on company requirements. It assists in creating accurate profit and loss statements, which helps determine whether a company is profiting at a given timeframe. All such information is useful in preparing customized statements based on user requirements and preferences while determining unique business footprints.

You can create a complete picture of your business details such as customer information, sales data, project status, product information, and geographic information. Apart from these, you can retrieve GST details, compute taxes, and avoid tax-related issues. When you link your bank details with QuickBooks, you can also track your expenses and payments via the application.

What are the key features of QuickBooks?

QuickBooks is highly popular among small businesses. Some of the key features that help small businesses to excel in their performances are as follows:

1. Accounting reports: QuickBooks helps in creating custom reports that ease monitoring company progress. It stores and manages company information at a single point which can be found anytime. The accounting reports assist in simplifying the tax filing process.
2. Multiple user access: Teamwork is a significant requirement in businesses nowadays. QuickBooks allows users to access accounts with their employees at several levels. It helps in maintaining a collaborative approach between different teams in a company.
3. Payment and cash flow management: Upon submission of invoices or statements, QuickBooks allows faster payments from clients via its online payment system. The bill payments to banks are fast this way as well.
4. Online banking: If the company bank account is synchronized with the application, it allows automatic categorization and uploading of the transactions. It eliminates the hassle of bank statement data inputs.
5. Support: QuickBooks can be confusing sometimes. Therefore, it provides excellent support services to its users. The support team and base respond to all the queries and provide free help. To improve your knowledge of QuickBooks, you can also find video lectures, guides, and seminars on their official page.

You can explore more about QuickBooks on its homepage.

Now that you are aware of the benefits you can get from QuickBooks, let us delve into the meaning and essentialities of Webhooks.

Let us now check the steps to integrate QuickBooks and Webhooks.

What are the Steps of QuickBooks Webhooks Integration?

Step 1. Setting up OAuth 2.0

• You need to set up the OAuth for the application by clicking “set up OAuth 2.0” to run the QuickBooks Webhooks application.

Step 2. Checking Webhooks Implementations

• Webhook implementations are present in various languages such as Java and Node.js.
• You need to select the language that best suits your QuickBooks Webhooks application.

Step 3. Verifying Supported API Entities

• You need to check all the API entities that the QuickBooks Webhooks application supports.
• These include actions like create, update, delete, merge, and void.
• Verify if all the API entities are supported by the application.

Step 4. Configuring Webhook Endpoints

• You require signing in to your developer account of the Webhooks application.
• After clicking on the dashboard option, select the app you wish to connect for webhooks and open it.
• Select QuickBooks.

Note: The two types of QuickBooks Webhooks applications are sandbox and live. The processes are a bit different for the two. To carry out the process, follow the steps that are mentioned below.

For live, in-production applications:

1. In the production section, select the Webhooks
2. Enter the endpoint URL (This is the location that will receive the server’s notification)
3. After clicking the Event frequency, a dropdown menu will appear. Select the necessary time for aggregate events.
4. Press “Show webhooks link”
5. Review the operations and events of the QuickBooks Webhooks application on the next page.
6. Select the essential parameters you need for QuickBooks Webhooks integration.
7. Press “Save.”

For sandbox and developer environments:

1. Go to the Developer section and choose Webhooks.
2. Enter the endpoint URL.
3. Follow steps 4-7 as mentioned for the live QuickBooks Webhooks application.

After completion follow the next steps of integration.

Step 5. Validating webhooks notifications

• Once the endpoints for webhooks are configured, an app-specific token is sent for verification.
• After the verification, you will receive a callback from Inuit.
• To find the verifier token, go to the Production or Developer sections and select Webhooks.
• There, you will see a Verifier Token field.

Note: There are specific steps to use the verifier tokens, follow the below steps!

1. You need to hash the notifications messages using the value as the key with HMAC_SHA256_ALGORITHM.
2. Now convert the intuit-signature header to base-16 from base-64.
3. Compare the intuit-signature header with the original payload from the notification. The values should be the same.

Now continuing with the Webhooks QuickBooks integration process.

Step 6. Verifying the webhooks notifications

Webhook notifications are POSTs with a body in JSON form. The response body contains the below-mentioned fields:

• Name (the name of the entity that is transitioned. Example- Customer, invoices, etc.)
• ID (the ID of the transitioned entity)
• Operation (the type of transition)
• Last updated (the newest timestamp in UTC)
• Deleted ID (the ID of merged or deleted entity; only applicable for merge events)

Final Words

The real-time-based information is now the most valuable requirement for all business types. Therefore, knowing your account-related information is vital for your business growth. QuickBooks Webhooks integration can easily solve problems and can help you gain real-time information access.

The article here clears all the matters that are related to QuickBooks Webhooks integration. But if you still have doubts, feel free to contact our experts. Hopefully, you will be able to carry out the management of your account efficiently with the help of QuickBooks Webhooks Integration.

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