What Is the Best Way to Sync ConnectWise to QuickBooks Online?

You want to upgrade to cloud accounting but your PSA syncs to your QuickBooks desktop software.  

Software conversions are painful.  You want to make the best possible choice the first time.

If there is a data point we can extrapolate from the pandemic, people are migrating to digital platforms.  Take Zoom for example.  The largely unknown company went from a growing but niche company to a company now used in daily speech before every “call.”  The company has profited because people still need to communicate but without sharing germs.

The trend toward cloud software is accelerating with the pandemic.

Another trend is the migration to the cloud.  Companies rethought how difficult it would be to work from home when companies realized their IT service providers still needed to show up in the office to maintain servers.  Seemingly overnight, the objective for management teams went from keeping people happy in their technology routines to surviving as an organization by switching to a work from home environment.  The software has been immediately replaced and sweeping changes, which would have taken years to approve and implement, have been made in weeks. 

Some employees are still wondering when they can get back to their old software.

The already booming cloud computing small business software has continued to shine.  The two dominant small business cloud options, Xero and QuickBooks Online, have continued to soar as companies realize their accounting staff doesn’t need to risk their lives to run payroll from their office.

The complicating factor for many MSPs is their Professional Services Automation (PSA) has been linked into the QuickBooks Desktop file. 

This has been a great setup for years.  QuickBooks Desktop has provided a stable software for integrating their business and running reports about profitability.  In addition, if you’re using ConnectWise, the connection between the two work smoothly.

If you have this working so well, you may be wondering how to replicate your setup once converting from your desktop file to the online. 

There are a few facts you need to know about connecting ConnectWise to a cloud accounting software package. 

Those old API connections built for the desktop version, and the software used to make those connections, will not work with your new software. 

ConnectWise built a syncing tool from ConnectWise to QuickBooks Desktop which has been well used for many years.  By some estimates, 85% of companies are using this integration to sync the invoices, vendors and others from their PSA to QuickBooks Desktop.

However well it worked for QuickBooks Desktop, it just doesn’t work for QuickBooks Online. 

Fortunately, there are three companies with offerings to help integrate ConnectWise to QuickBooks Online. 

Sync by ConnectBooster

The first option is from a company established for the integration of ConnectWise and QuickBooks Online for some time.  ConnectBooster’s primary software is in the payments space.  ConnectBooster was built to solve customer payment options and better manage accounts receivables for MSPs using ConnectWise and Datto. 

As customers used their payment software, they saw the ability to sync QuickBooks Online and ConnectWise.  This integration app alone was offered by the other two options mentioned here, but it was always part of the ConnectBooster platform.  It was included with the ability to transfer payments which complemented their primary business model. 

As clients saw this ability to sync, MSPs began requesting the sync capability without the payment function.  During the pandemic, ConnectBooster released its sync tool as a standalone product.

One distinction separating Sync by ConnectBooster from the other two options mentioned in this post is it doesn’t sync certain functions from ConnectWise.  This option does not sync inventories, purchase orders or expenses.  While they leave the door open to expanding their options in the future, it currently only syncs customers, invoices, and payments.

Gozynta Mobius

The second option has also seen major changes during the pandemic.  This name may be familiar to you as you may recognize the name “Mobius” from Mobius Connect, a ConnectWise Manage certified app for several years. 

Mobius Connect integrated ConnectWise and QuickBooks Online in 2012.  A standalone sync tool, its sole objective was to serve as a product for those who needed a complete accounting integration between ConnectWise and QuickBooks Online but without providing support for the product.

A subtle change has happened over the past few months as ConnectWise has moved the Mobius Connect to a legacy product, meaning it will no longer be upgraded.  The Mobius Connect is no longer available for purchase but will still be available for current clients.

Here’s what you need to know about Gozynta Mobius.  The name of the software has changed to include the software developer’s name, Gozynta.  The new name denotes the change in the marketplace and the different functionality.

If you are familiar with Mobius Connect, Gozynta Mobius is a significant change from the prior software. 

Gozynta has updated the APIs, modernized the software stack and they will be releasing updates regularly.  This is a big change from the Mobius of the past.

This cannot be overstated. 

Mobius Connect was a simple sync integration built for ConnectWise with the support coming from ConnectWise, not the company who built the integration. 

Gozynta Mobius seeks to both build and support this integration going forward.  To that end, the pricing of the product has transitioned from a one-size-fits-all monthly fee to tiered options based on the service level. 

Unlike Sync by ConnectBooster, Gozynta Mobius (and Wise-Sync below) syncs inventory, purchase orders and expenses to provide a deeper integration than Sync by ConnectBooster.

Unlike both Sync by ConnectBooster and Wise-Sync, Mobius does not offer a payment platform.  (Many of their clients sync to the ConnectBooster payment platform.) 

Wise-Sync

The third option has been around since 2012.  Wise-Sync is a certified Manage app and has been known and used for many years now.  A leader in this space, Wise-Sync had no competition when they started syncing to Xero and enjoyed a first-to-market advantage. 

Like most software, it was built by someone frustrated it didn’t exist.  In 2012, Paul MacNeill, an MSP owner, couldn’t sync his PSA to Xero.  So he built the integration.  Realizing what he stumbled upon, he later marketed it to other MSPs, added QuickBooks Online mapping, and later created Wise-Pay, a payments platform.

Like Gozynta Mobius, Wise-Sync completely maps and integrate all functionality from ConnectWise to QuickBooks Online.  The inventory, purchase orders and expense reports all integrate.

In addition to integrating them, Wise-Sync goes one step farther during the setup and maps the chart of accounts from the PSA to the cloud software.  While there is a setup fee for this, it is a mandatory step to setting up the software.  (Mobius offers an optional one-time setup on their highest tier.)

Their stated goal is “To be the most robust integration to sync accounting data from ConnectWise or Datto Autotask to the Cloud.” 

24/5 support for the product is included with the software according to the tiered pricing packages.

There are big changes in how MSPs integrate their PSA and their software.

The pandemic is a motivating factor forcing everyone to change.  Of this list, two of the three options have brought their offerings to market in 2020.  There are many changes here and this post is just an overview of the three primary options available.

I’d like to hear from you if you’re looking to migrate to cloud accounting software.  What is the most important option you need from the integration?