This article outlines how transactions such as invoices and bills are exported from Alvys to QuickBooks Online (QBO), including how subsidiaries, customers, vendors, and drivers are linked. It also covers how exported transactions can be modified and updated while maintaining data integrity.

When setting up the QBO integration, the user normally selects which subsidiary QBO accounts to connect. This section explains which connected QBO account will receive the exported invoices and/or bills.

The Invoice As field represents the billing subsidiary responsible for issuing the customer invoice. This determines the legal entity name that appears on the invoice. All Accounts Receivable (AR) transactions are exported to the QBO subscription tied to this subsidiary.

Example: If a load’s Invoice As field is set to Alvys Brokerage, the invoice exports to the QuickBooks subscription linked to Alvys Brokerage.

The Tender As field identifies the subsidiary responsible for dispatching the load and paying the carrier. It also determines the trip type:

Carrier bills are exported to the QBO subscription linked to the subsidiary selected in the Tender As field.

For carriers with dual authority, operational mode is automatically set based on the Tender As subsidiary. Users can manually update operational mode to Carrier or Broker, which may affect QBO exports.

Each driver profile has a Subsidiary field representing the subsidiary the driver is tied to.

When generating driver statements, the QuickBooks subscription receiving the bill depends on the driver’s subsidiary.

Example:

Load invoiced as Alvys Inc, tendered as Alvys Brokerage Driver subsidiary assigned to Alvys Inc Driver bill exports to the Alvys Inc QuickBooks subscription

This section describes how Alvys identifies and links customers and brokers in QuickBooks Online (QBO), how new customer records are created when no match is found, and how key accounting fields such as customer names, invoicing details, and payment terms affect invoice exports and data synchronization.

The customer’s External Accounting Name is used to identify a customer or broker in QuickBooks Online (QBO). When exporting an invoice Alvys first searches for an exact match in QBO using this field.

If a matching customer exists, the invoice is linked to that customer. If no match is found and the External Accounting Name is set on the customer profile, Alvys will automatically create a new customer in QBO using the External Accounting Name. For tenants where the External Accounting Name is not set, Alvys attempts to match using the Customer Name. If no match is found, a new customer is created in QBO using the Customer Name. It is important to note that the External Accounting Name takes priority. If the External Accounting Name differs from an existing QBO customer name, even if the Customer Name in Alvys matches, Alvys will create a new customer using the External Accounting Name.

The Invoicing Name determines how the customer or broker appears on invoices generated in Alvys. It does not affect the customer record created in QBO.

When creating customers in QBO, Alvys uses the following fields from the customer or broker profile:

Alvys is the source of truth for these fields. If a customer is created in QBO by Alvys and a user later update the information directly in QBO, these changes will be overridden the next time an invoice is synced from Alvys. To ensure consistency, any updates to these fields should always be made within Alvys.

The Payment Terms field specifies the agreed-upon period within which a customer must pay an invoice, calculated from the invoice date. In Alvys, this can be set to any value between 0 and 365 days.

These terms determine the due date on the load as well as the invoice due date exported to QuickBooks Online

This section explains how Alvys links carriers and drivers to QuickBooks Online (QBO), how vendor records are created when no match is found, and which accounting fields control bill synchronization.

The carrier’s External Accounting Name is used to identify a vendor in QuickBooks Online (QBO). When exporting a bill, Alvys first searches for an exact match in QBO using this field.

If a matching vendor exists, the bill is linked to that vendor. If no match is found and the External Accounting Name is set on the carrier profile, Alvys will automatically create a new vendor in QBO using the External Accounting Name. For carriers where the External Accounting Name is not set, Alvys attempts to match using the Carrier Name. If no match is found, a new vendor is created in QBO using that name.

It is important to note that the External Accounting Name takes priority. If it differs from an existing QBO vendor name, even if the Carrier or Driver Name in Alvys matches, Alvys will create a new vendor using the External Accounting Name.

Drivers, including company drivers and owner-operators, may operate as 1099 drivers. These drivers have additional tax detail fields on their profiles, such as:

When generating driver statements, if these fields are set and the accounting integration is configured to create vendors using 1099 details, Alvys will create the vendor using the tax information (company name and address). If this setting is not enabled, the vendor will be created using the driver’s name.

The Carrier Payment Terms field defines the agreed-upon time frame for paying a carrier. This is configured on the company profile for each subsidiary.

If a driver is associated with a subsidiary that has this payment terms configured, the bill due date will be calculated based on that subsidiary’s terms.

For external carriers, the due date is determined using the Carrier Payment Terms from the company profile of the subsidiary specified in the Tender As field on the trip.

This section provides an overview of the areas within Alvys from which customer invoices can be exported from and the key validations required to ensure successful export to QuickBooks Online.

Generating a customer invoice from the Load Details page triggers its export to QuickBooks Online. To ensure a successful export, all relevant configurations and data must be verified before the invoice is generated.

Ensure the customer being invoiced is correct. Verify that the External Accounting Name is set correctly for the customer. If no External Accounting Name is configured, ensure the standard customer or broker name exactly matches the customer record in QuickBooks Online.

Also verify the customer’s Invoice settings for the subsidiary which is used as the invoiced as subsidiary on the load. The Invoice As subsidiary used on the load must correspond to the subsidiary configured for the QuickBooks Online integration, as this determines which QuickBooks company receives the invoice.

Once these conditions are satisfied and the load is in Released status, generating the invoice automatically initiates the export to QuickBooks Online.

After the invoice is exported to QuickBooks Online, it can be located using the search field by entering the load number. If an invoice prefix is configured, the prefix should be included along with the load number. The invoice is also available in the Sales Invoices list, where users can browse all invoices and apply date filters to narrow the results. In both cases, the invoice appears under the corresponding customer

The Batch Invoicing page in Alvys is located under accounting, then Invoice in the left navigation menu or directly at https://app.alvys.com/#/accounting/invoicing.

This page enables users to create invoices for multiple loads across one or more customers simultaneously. Each selected load is processed as an individual invoice, and exporting to QuickBooks Online is triggered automatically when the invoices are generated. This approach enables faster and more efficient invoicing while ensuring accurate transaction records for each load.

From the Released tab, select the loads for which you want to generate invoices. Ensure that the selected loads meet the following requirements. The customer being invoiced must be correct. If an External Accounting Name is configured, it must exactly match the corresponding customer record in QuickBooks Online. If no External Accounting Name is configured, the standard customer or broker name must match the customer record. The Invoice As subsidiary on each load must be properly configured to export revenue transactions to QuickBooks Online.

After verifying these details, invoices can be generated using the Generate Invoice option, which creates the invoices and exports them to QuickBooks Online. Alternatively, the Create and Send option generates the invoices, exports them to QuickBooks Online, and sends them to the customer according to the invoicing method configured for that customer.

Once exported, the invoices are recorded in QuickBooks Online under the corresponding customer and can be located using the search field or within the Sales Invoices list.

Summary invoicing consolidates multiple loads for a customer into a single invoice. The Summary Invoicing page can be accessed from Accounting then Summary Invoicing. For more information on configuring customers for summary invoicing, see https://help.alvys.com/en/articles/12159947-summary-invoicing.

The invoice export is triggered when the consolidated summary invoice is generated, creating a single invoice that reflects the total amount for all loads included. Only customers configured with the summary invoice type will appear when selecting a subsidiary. Ensure that the subsidiary is correct, as this determines the QuickBooks Online company where the invoice will be sent.

On the Summary Invoicing page, from the Loads Not Invoiced tab, select the loads to include and add them to a draft summary invoice. Once the draft is prepared, generating the invoice will create the summary invoice and export it to QuickBooks Online.

After the invoice is exported, it can be located in QuickBooks Online using the search field by entering the summary invoice number e.g. S1000048. The invoice is also available in the Sales Invoices list, where users can browse all invoices and apply date filters to narrow results.

This section explains the different methods available in Alvys for exporting bill transactions to QuickBooks Online. It covers external carrier bills, carrier settlements, and driver bill exports, including the configuration requirements that determine when and how each bill is exported.

External carrier bills can be exported directly from individual loads based on the configured external accounting settings. The export is triggered when the customer invoice is generated. Before generating the invoice, ensure the correct external carrier is assigned to the trip. The subsidiary selected in the Tender As field must also be verified, as this subsidiary determines where the carrier bill will be sent. The selected subsidiary must be configured to receive carrier bills through the QBO integration.

When an external carrier is assigned and the trip is released to billing, the system evaluates the Generate Carrier Invoice Separately setting.

If this setting is not enabled, the carrier bill is exported automatically when the customer invoice is generated. However, if enabled, the system verifies whether a document of type Carrier Invoice has been uploaded to the trip. If the document is present, the carrier bill is exported to QuickBooks Online when the customer invoice is generated.

Carrier Invoice number

In Alvys, the carrier invoice number is entered when uploading a document of type Carrier Invoice to a trip. When the carrier bill is exported to QuickBooks Online, this number is automatically appended to the memo field. This allows accounting teams to easily search for, reference, and reconcile carrier bills using the carrier’s original invoice number.

The Carrier Settlements module provides brokers with tools to generate transparent and accurate carrier statements and settlement bills. This page can be accessed from the accounting section of Alvys under Carrier Settlements. Additional details about this feature can be found in the Carrier Settlements Help Center Article.

When carrier settlements are used, the carrier bill is exported when a carrier statement is generated. To allow this export, the Carrier Statements External Accounting setting must be enabled for the subsidiary. If this setting is not enabled, no carrier bill will be exported when the statement is generated.

If this setting is enabled and a user generates a customer invoice for an individual load with an external carrier, the carrier bill will not be exported from the load. In this scenario, the system expects the bill to be exported from the Carrier Settlements module when the statement is generated.

If an error occurs while exporting a carrier bill from the Carrier Settlements module, the error details are displayed directly within the module. Carrier statements cannot be re-sent from the Error Transactions page. All corrections must be made within the Carrier Settlements module, and the statement must be regenerated there.

For tenants that use the Carrier Settlements module but prefer carrier bills to export when the carrier invoice is uploaded on the trip, it is recommended not to enable the Carrier Statements external accounting setting. In this configuration, enabling the generate carrier invoice separately setting and uploading the carrier invoice to the trip then generating the customer invoice will trigger the carrier bill export.

Driver bills can be exported either from the legacy Pay Drivers page or from the newer Driver Settlements module. The export behavior depends on the configured driver billing settings.

The recommended configuration is Single Bill Export. When enabled, multiple trips, deductions, and credits included in a driver statement are consolidated into a single bill and exported to QuickBooks Online. This approach is ideal for tenants operating on weekly or biweekly pay cycles.

The subsidiary used for exporting driver bills is determined by the subsidiary assigned on the driver profile in Alvys.

For tenants still using the legacy Pay Drivers page, driver statements generated from this page may be reverted from the driver profile.

Reverting a driver statement deletes the corresponding driver bill from QuickBooks Online, provided the bill remains open and no payments have been applied.

Driver Settlements replaces the Pay Drivers module and introduces enhancements such as draft statements, predefined pay periods, and bulk actions. Additional details can be found in the Driver Settlements Help Center Article.

For statements generated using the Driver Settlements module, reverting the statement from the Statements tab removes the associated driver bill from QuickBooks Online, as long as the bill remains open and no payments have been applied.

In the QBO accounting integration setup shared billing must be enabled on both the Invoice As subsidiary and the Tender As subsidiary. Each subsidiary must also have its own QuickBooks Online integration configured. If shared billing is not enabled on both sides, intercompany transactions and carrier or vendor bills will not export correctly.

On the load, select:

The subsidiaries must be different for shared billing logic to apply.

Once dispatch and financial details are complete, release the load so it becomes eligible for invoicing. Ensure all required documents are present on the load before attempting to invoice.

Shared billing export is triggered when the customer invoice is generated.

Invoice As subsidiary:

Each subsidiary will receive only the transactions applicable to its accounting company. This ensures that revenue, expenses, and intercompany balances remain accurate and properly separated.

Invoice As Subsidiary e.g. Alvys Inc

Tender As Subsidiary e.g. Alvys Brokerage

Once a transaction has been exported from Alvys to QuickBooks Online (QBO), all corrections and updates must be made in Alvys and then synchronized to QBO through the regeneration process. Alvys serves as the system of record for all exported accounting transactions. Changes made directly in QBO can result in data inconsistencies and prevent updates from syncing correctly.

This section explains how previously exported transactions can be modified, which changes are supported, and the conditions under which those modifications are allowed.

Previously exported invoices may be modified only while the invoice remains open. An invoice is considered open when a full payment has not been applied in QBO. Once a payment is fully applied and synced, the invoice becomes closed in Alvys and no further modifications are permitted. In these situations, Alvys Support must be contacted for assistance.

Invoice updates are typically synchronized by regenerating the customer invoice after changes are made. However, certain fields automatically update the QBO invoice without requiring regeneration.

Updates to the following load invoice fields are applied automatically to QuickBooks Online without requiring invoice regeneration:

Customer linehaul amount

Customer fuel surcharge

Accessorial charges added, edited, or removed

Invoice Date

Invoice Due Date

To apply these updates, make the changes in Alvys and then refresh the invoice page in QuickBooks Online. The updates should appear immediately without regenerating the invoice. Other changes will require invoice regeneration to sync correctly

The customer associated with a load can only be changed while the load is in a status prior to Invoiced (e.g., Queued). This indicates that the invoice has been generated in Alvys but has not yet been submitted to the customer. Once the invoice has been submitted, the load status updates to Invoiced based on the invoicing mode, and the customer cannot be changed directly. In this case, users must contact Alvys Support to revert the load status to queued, allowing the customer to be updated and the invoice regenerated for synchronization with QuickBooks Online.

The customer’s name displayed on the exported invoice reflects the External Accounting Name.

Steps to Update the Customer on an Invoice:

In the Load Details section of the load, click the Change Customer button.

Select the correct customer to assign to the load and save the change.

Regenerate the invoice in Alvys.

Refresh or reopen the invoice in QuickBooks Online to verify that the customer information has been updated correctly.

Fields such as invoicing address, shipping address, customer email, and customer phone are managed in the customer profile.

Steps to update customer fields:

Changing the Invoice-As subsidiary and regenerating the invoice will automatically remove the original invoice that was already exported to the connected QBO subsidiary. However, to prevent duplicates, ensure that the original invoice is removed; if not, manually delete it after exporting the updated invoice.

Steps to update the Invoice-As Subsidiary:

In the Load Details section, click the Invoice Customer As dropdown.

Alvys does not set customer payment terms on exported invoices. Instead, the payment terms configured on the customer profile are used to calculate the invoice due date.

Any updates to payment terms made directly in QBO will affect the invoice due date. However, if the invoice is regenerated from Alvys, the due date will be recalculated based on the invoice settings in Alvys and may override any manual changes made in QBO.

Modifications to summary invoices that have already been exported can be made depending on the scenario.

In Alvys, the only supported mechanism for adding or removing loads from a summary invoice is to revert the summary invoice. A summary invoice can be reverted only when its status is “Processed”. If the invoice has already been Sent or Paid, further modification requires intervention from Alvys Support.

Procedure:

Loads included in a summary invoice can be edited to add charges or make adjustments. Only summary invoices in the following statuses can be regenerated: Pending, Sent, or Partially Paid. If a summary invoice is fully paid, regeneration is not permitted.

Steps to Modify or Add Charges to Loads:

Confirm that the summary invoice status is not Paid in Alvys. If the invoice is marked as Paid, all loads included in the summary invoice are set to Completed, and any subsequent modifications will not sync to QuickBooks Online for completed loads.

Navigate to the Load Details page for the specific load included in the summary invoice that requires modification.

Apply the necessary updates (e.g., add charges, adjust amounts, update notes).

Navigate back to the Summary Invoice in Alvys and regenerate the summary invoice.

Verify in QuickBooks Online (QBO) that the updated invoice amount and associated load details are accurately reflected.

Q: How does Alvys decide which QuickBooks subscription receives an invoice or bill?

A: It depends on the subsidiary fields. Invoice As determines which QBO account receives the customer invoice, while Tender As determines which QBO account receives the carrier bill. For drivers, the Subsidiary field on their driver profile determines where their bill is exported.

Q: How do I find an exported invoice or bill in QuickBooks Online?

A: In QuickBooks Online, use the search field to enter the load or summary invoice number, including any configured invoice prefix, to locate the record exported from Alvys. Exported invoices appear in the Sales Invoices list, while exported bills appear in the Bills list.

Q: What should I enter for External Accounting Name?

A: Enter the customer or vendor name exactly as it appears in QuickBooks Online. This is how Alvys matches records during invoice and bill exports. If the field is not set, Alvys will fall back to the customer or vendor name.

Q: Is External Accounting Name the same as Invoicing Name?

A: No, the External Accounting Name is not the same as the Invoicing Name. The External Accounting Name is used to match the record in QuickBooks Online, ensuring that the integration recognizes the correct customer or vendor. The Invoicing Name, sometimes called the Billing Name, controls how the customer’s name appears on invoices generated in Alvys. You can update the Invoicing Name to change how it appears on invoices without affecting the QuickBooks Online connection, as long as the External Accounting Name remains unchanged.

Q: Can Alvys pull customers or vendors from QuickBooks automatically?

A: No. The integration is push-only, so customers and vendors are not imported from QBO. You must enter the External Accounting Name manually, as this defines the linkage to the QuickBooks customer or vendor, and if no match is found, the customer or vendor is automatically created in QBO.

Q: What happens if Alvys tries to create a customer that already exists as a vendor in QuickBooks?

A: The export will fail. QuickBooks Online requires unique names across customers, vendors, and employees. You must ensure the name isn't already being used by a different record type in QBO.

Q: Does Alvys or QuickBooks act as the "Source of Truth" for customer contact info?

A: Alvys is the source of truth. If you update a customer's address or email in QuickBooks, Alvys will override those changes with its own data the next time that customer’s invoice is synced. Always make contact updates in Alvys.

Q: How does Alvys match a carrier in Alvys to a vendor in QuickBooks?

A: Alvys first looks for an exact match using the External Accounting Name. If that isn't set, it uses the Carrier Name. If no match is found for either, Alvys automatically creates a new vendor in QBO.

Q: Why didn't my external carrier bill export when I generated the customer invoice?

A: This usually happens for one of three reasons:

Q: Where can I find the carrier’s original invoice number in QuickBooks?

A: When you upload a document of type "Carrier Invoice" in Alvys and enter the invoice number, Alvys automatically appends that number to the Memo field of the bill in QuickBooks for easy reconciliation.

Q: Can I modify an invoice that has already been paid in QuickBooks?

A: No. Once a payment is fully applied and synced, the invoice is considered "Closed" and cannot be modified. If changes are necessary after payment, you must contact Alvys Support for assistance.

Q: Which changes to a load update QuickBooks automatically without needing to "Regenerate"

A: Updates to the Linehaul amount, Fuel Surcharge, Accessorials, Invoice Date, and Invoice Due Date sync automatically. You simply need to refresh the page in QuickBooks to see the changes.

Q: How do I change the customer on an invoice that has already been exported?

A: If the status is still "Queued," use the Change Customer button in Load Details, save, and then click Regenerate Invoice. If the status is already "Invoiced," you must contact Alvys Support to revert the status to "Queued" before you can change the customer.

Q: What is the process for adding a missing load to an existing Summary Invoice?

A: You must Revert the summary invoice in Alvys (which changes its status back to "Processed"), add the new loads, and then regenerate.

Q: How does "Shared Billing" handle transactions between two of my own subsidiaries?

A: It creates four distinct records: