How to connect LMN and QuickBooks Desktop

Learn how to connect Landscape Management Network (LMN) to QuickBooks Desktop.

LMN uses a QuickBooks integration tool to sync your data to QuickBooks. Using the tool, LMN can sync your estimates, customers, jobs, invoices, and employee/contractor time into QuickBooks. Then, you can do things like:

• Turn estimates into invoices in QuickBooks.
• Track expenses using purchase or sales orders.
• Create paychecks in QuickBooks using time tracking from LMN.

Here’s how to set it up.

Step 1: Add list items in QuickBooks to match LMN list items

Before you sync LMN and QuickBooks, you need to create list items in QuickBooks that match LMN list items. Add the following list items to both LMN and QuickBooks so the integration tool can match them:

• Sales Tax - LMN uses tax codes. These tax codes add the tax rates to the Estimates and Invoices. QuickBooks uses sales tax codes in a different way. When added to a customer, the tax code will make that customer taxable or tax exempt. More sales tax codes can be created, which will be either taxable or not. These sales tax codes don’t have tax rates associated with them like the tax codes in LMN. By default, QuickBooks has two tax codes, "Tax" (Taxable) and "Non" (Non-Taxable). Here’s how to set up sales tax in QuickBooks so it's ready to sync with LMN. If you’re going to use only Tax and Non–tax, you can ignore the set up steps.
• Classes: You need to create classes in QuickBooks (if applicable).
• Service Items: You need to add all service items in QuickBooks. LMN has a small number of Cost Codes that should be set up as parent items in QuickBooks that link to income accounts. LMN doesn’t use SubItems, but does have Labor, Equipment, Materials, and other types of items that can be added to estimates and Invoices. These items will be then linked to QuickBooks items that are subs of the parent items (Cost Codes). For example, “Snow removal” will be a sub-item of the parent “Snow + Ice”.
• Wage Items: If you use QuickBooks Payroll, this needs to be set up in QuickBooks and added to the employees.

Employees, Customers, Customer:Jobs, Estimates, Invoices, and Time Tracking will be imported into QuickBooks from LMN and added automatically if they’re not there already.

Step 2: Download the QuickBooks integration tool

Download the QuickBooks integration tool from LMN. You’ll need to do an initial set up to match LMN to your company file. Make sure to sign in to QuickBooks as an admin.

1. From LMN, select QuickBooks, then Setup.
2. Select Click here to download the LMN QB Sync Desktop App.
3. Open the file, then follow the onscreen prompts.

Step 3: Set up your import/exports in LMN

The import/export process is done in LMN. Once you’ve connected your company file, LMN will walk you through matching:

• Tax items
• QuickBooks items to LMN Cost Codes
• Classes to LMN Cost Codes

The Labor, Equipment, Materials, and other types of items in LMN are not mapped to QuickBooks sub items.

LMN then creates the Customers, Jobs, Estimates, Invoices (not linked to the Estimate), and Employee times that can then be exported into QuickBooks.

Note: Employees times will show the Customer:Job, but will not be marked as Billable. This doesn’t have to be changed since the estimated labor times are on the Estimates. The imported Times will show in payroll, on Time sheets and Employee wage times.

Step 4: Edit your estimates, invoices, and time sheets

Estimates: LMN will add any Customers and Jobs that aren’t in QuickBooks. The Customer information, Estimate number, Class and dollar amount will sync to the estimate in QuickBooks. After your estimates sync to QuickBooks, you need to change the item class code. This item will be on the estimate in LMN, and will show in the Description field of the exported estimate.

Invoices: Invoices can be created in LMN, then exported to QuickBooks. The Item will need to be changed from the Parent Item (Cost Code) to the actual Item. The Class will then need to be added back as well. Then you can use LMN's automated invoicing from timesheets and Quickbooks and quickly generate and create Quickbooks invoices.

Time sheets: When you create your paychecks using Quickbooks, it will automatically jobcost the cost of each employees' wages and hours to the jobs that were clocked into in LMN Time.

Time sheets can be exported from LMN Time into QuickBooks. This will have the Customer:Job, service item and the wage item. The Time is not set as Billable, since the Estimate or Invoice will have the Labor on it already. The service item, like the Estimates and Invoices, will have the Parent Item (Cost Code). While you don’t need to change this, it’s recommended if you’re using Job Costing.