Integrating Alvys with QuickBooks Online (QBO) involves the following steps: logging in, configuring settings, mapping accounts, and verifying exports. This section walks you through the initial setup and connection process.
Setup
Navigate to the Alvys Integrations Page by clicking your username in the bottom-left corner and selecting Integrations, or by copying and pasting the following URL into your browser: https://app.alvys.com/#/manage/integrations.
From the list of integration types, select Accounting.
By default, the first subsidiary in your list is selected. If needed, choose a different subsidiary to add the integration to.
Click the ✏ (edit) icon next to QuickBooks Online to open the integration dialog box.
Select the subsidiary you want to connect to QuickBooks Online, then click Save.
In the dialog box, click Login. You will be redirected to Intuit (QuickBooks Online) to sign in using Admin-level credentials.
⚠️ If each subsidiary uses a separate QuickBooks Online subscription, you must complete the integration one subsidiary at a time. After completing setup for one subsidiary, return to the Integrations page and repeat these steps for the remaining subsidiaries.
Connecting to QuickBooks Online (QBO)
Enter the Admin user’s email or user ID and password, then click Sign In.
Select the appropriate QuickBooks Online company from the list and click Next.
Click Connect to authorize data sharing between QuickBooks Online and Alvys.
Once authorization is successful, you will be redirected back to Alvys and the QuickBooks Integration dialog will reopen so you can continue the setup process. Click Next to proceed.
💡 You may close the original Integrations tab and continue in the newly opened one.
Configuration Settings
After successfully connecting to QuickBooks Online (QBO), you must configure which transactions are exported from Alvys and map those transactions to the appropriate accounts in QBO. These settings determine what data is sent, when it is sent, and how it appears in QuickBooks Online.
Transactions Type
There are two transaction types available for synchronization:
Revenue This option determines whether revenue transactions are synchronized with QBO. When enabled, income related financial data such as customer invoices will be exported to QBO.
Expense This option determines whether expense transactions are synchronized with QBO. When enabled, cost related financial data such as driver pay and carrier bills will be exported to QBO.
💡 Your selection here takes precedence over all other configuration settings. These options determine the type of financial data that will be integrated. Enable only the options you intend to export to QBO. Once selected, additional settings are available to further control how transactions are exported.
Ignore Driver Bills
This setting allows users to prevent the export of all driver bills, including company drivers and owner operators, to QuickBooks Online (QBO). When enabled, bills associated with drivers will not be exported, giving users greater control over which transactions are sent to external accounting systems. This option is commonly enabled when driver pay is managed outside of QBO, such as through a payroll system or a separate driver settlement solution. Please note that even when this setting is enabled, external carrier bills, subsidiary carrier bills, and company expenses such as fuel and tolls may still be exported if those options are configured.
Single Bill for Driver Statement
This setting controls how driver bills for company drivers and owner operators are exported to QuickBooks Online (QBO). It is used to consolidate all charges and transactions related to a driver, including trips, fuel, tolls, and other expenses, into a single bill per driver statement.
When this setting is enabled and a driver paystub or statement is generated, a single bill is exported to QuickBooks Online for the total net amount of the paystub. All components of driver pay are consolidated into this bill, including trip pay, accessorials, deductions, credits, reimbursements, and any other adjustments. Each component appears as a separate line item on the bill, providing detailed visibility while keeping the accounting export grouped into one transaction. This option is commonly used when driver pay is processed on a scheduled basis, such as weekly or biweekly payroll cycles.
When this setting is disabled, generating a customer invoice will also export the driver bill for the individual trip. Each trip or delivery is exported as a separate bill. When a paystub is generated, multiple bills are exported for each transaction type on the paystub, including separate bills for credits, deductions/reimbursements.
Generate Carrier Invoice Separately
This setting applies to brokerage-type trips where an external carrier and its assets are assigned to a load. When enabled, the system checks for an uploaded carrier invoice before exporting the carrier bill to QuickBooks Online (QBO). Specifically, when a brokerage trip is delivered or released and the user uploads a document of the type carrier invoice, the system will export the carrier bill to QBO. This can also be triggered when a user generates the customer invoice for a load; the system will verify that a carrier invoice has been uploaded, and if no carrier invoice is found, the carrier bill will not be exported to QBO. This setting should only be enabled when carrier invoices are required as part of the workflow prior to exporting external carrier bills for payment.
If this setting is disabled, generating the customer invoice for a trip with an external carrier will automatically export the carrier bill to QuickBooks Online, even if the carrier invoice has not been uploaded.
💡If this setting was previously enabled but no carrier invoice document was uploaded, the carrier bill was not created and therefore was not exported to QuickBooks Online. To resolve this, upload a document of type Carrier Invoice to the trip, then select Regenerate Invoice. This will create the carrier bill and initiate its export to QuickBooks Online.
Process Statement by Tax Category
When enabled, only bills for 1099 drivers are exported to QuickBooks Online (QBO). Bills for W-2 drivers are excluded, allowing users to manage W-2 driver payments in a separate payroll system.
When disabled, bills for both W-2 and 1099 drivers are exported to QBO.
This setting is typically enabled by tenants that handle W-2 driver compensation outside of QBO and want to prevent those bills from being sent to QBO while still exporting 1099 driver expenses.
⚠️ Some settings must be used together, while others should not be enabled at the same time. Refer to the Configuration Dependencies and Incompatible Settings section for guidance.
Pay Subsidiary Carrier
This setting applies to trips involving a subsidiary carrier (i.e., a carrier operating under a subsidiary of the main company) that is assigned alongside the tenant’s internal assets. By default, when a driver statement is generated and assuming the Single Bill for Driver Statement setting is enabled, a bill is exported for the tenant’s driver on the trip.
When Pay Subsidiary Carrier is enabled, this behavior changes: instead of exporting a bill for the driver when a paystub is generated, the system exports a bill for the subsidiary carrier when the load invoice is generated.
⚠️ Certain settings are mutually exclusive and should not be enabled at the same time. The Pay Subsidiary Carrier setting should not be configured together with the Single Bill for Driver Statement setting. Refer to the Configuration Dependencies and Incompatible Settings section for guidance.
Ignore Zero Valued Transactions
When enabled, this setting excludes invoices and bills with a total financial value of zero, meaning transactions that have no overall impact on the accounts will not be exported.
⚠️ If the Ignore Zero Valued Transactions setting was previously enabled and a transaction with a total value of $0 was generated, such as a customer invoice, an issue may occur if that transaction is later updated to a value greater than $0. When attempting to export the updated transaction to QuickBooks Online, the system may encounter a transaction ID or edit sequence error (ID should be a valid number. Supplied value: []). If this occurs, please contact Alvys Support so the transaction can be re-exported.
Create Vendor Using 1099 Tax Company
The “Create Vendor Using 1099 Tax Company” setting allows users to determine whether vendors should be created in QuickBooks Online (QBO) using the tax company details (Tax Company Name and Address) specified in the Tax Information section of the Alvys driver profile (for either company drivers or owner-operators with the tax category of 1099).
When this setting is enabled:
If the vendor does not exist in QBO, a vendor will be automatically created when the driver statement is generated, using the Tax Company Name as the vendor's name and the Tax Company Address as the vendor address.
If the vendor already exists in QBO, the user must ensure that the vendor's name matches the Tax Company Name specified in the Alvys driver profile to avoid conflicts and create duplicates.
Carrier Statements
This setting must be enabled to export carrier statements as bills when generating a Carrier Statement from the Carrier Settlements module.
If you use the Carrier Settlements module to generate statements for external carriers and want these statements automatically exported to QuickBooks Online (QBO) upon generation, this setting must be enabled. This is the only scenario in which this option should be turned on.
If you do not use the Carrier Settlements module and want carrier statements to be exported only when the carrier invoice is manually uploaded for a trip, this setting should be disabled, and the option to generate carrier invoices separately should be enabled.
Alternatively, if you prefer carrier statements to be exported only when the customer invoice is generated on a load, this setting should also be disabled, and the option to generate carrier invoices separately should remain disabled.
Export Company Fuel Expense
The TMS allows users to record fuel transactions, either manually or imported directly from the fuel provider. These transactions can be viewed in the Alvys Fuel Report.
In the fuel report, if a transaction is marked “Deduct Transaction” true, the cost will be deducted from the linked driver during payroll (statement generation). If it is not deducted, Deduct Fuel false (-), the transaction is treated as a company expense.
When the “Export Company Fuel Expense” setting is enabled, fuel transactions where Deduct Fuel is set to false (-) (i.e., fuel costs not deducted from drivers) are exported to QuickBooks Online as bills. This allows the company to track and manage fuel expenses not charged to drivers, such as those for company-owned vehicles. Exports are scheduled daily at 6:30 AM UTC
⚠️ Please note: if a user was not previously configured to export company fuel transactions and later enables this setting, past transactions will not be exported automatically. Additionally, if an export fails for any reason, contact Alvys Support to have those transactions exported.
Export Company Toll Expense
The TMS allows users to record toll transactions, either manually or imported directly from the toll provider. These transactions can be viewed in the Alvys Toll Report.
If a transaction is marked “Deduct Toll” true, the cost will be deducted from the linked driver during payroll. If it is not deducted, Deduct Toll false (-), the transaction is treated as a company expense.
When the “Export Company Toll Expense” setting is enabled, toll transactions where Deduct Toll is set to false (i.e., toll costs not deducted from drivers) are exported to the external accounting system as bills. This allows the company to track and manage toll expenses not charged to drivers, such as those incurred by company-owned vehicles. Exports are scheduled daily at 7:30 AM UTC.
Reference number prefix
This setting allows Alvys’ predefined prefixes to be applied to transaction reference numbers, altering how transactions are identified when sent from Alvys to QuickBooks Online (QBO). Different transaction types, such as Load Invoices, Bills from Trips, and Bills from Paystubs, have specific prefixes. For example, an invoice might appear as ALD-100000. Alvys Predefined Prefixes:
ALD – Load
ATP – Trip
APS – Paystub
AEK – E-Check
AFL – Fuel
ADT – Deduction
ATL – Toll
AAC – Accessorial
Users should enable this setting only if reference numbers will help organize and identify transactions originating from Alvys. To locate transactions with prefixes, simply enter the reference number, including the prefix, into the QuickBooks search field.
In addition to the reference number prefix, users can configure a fleet prefix, which applies only to customer invoices exported to QBO. Adding a fleet-specific prefix allows invoices to be easily differentiated across multiple fleets. See the following help center article to configure fleet prefixes
Priority of Prefixes (Reference Number Prefix vs Fleet Prefix):
If both the external accounting setting for the reference number prefix and the fleet prefix are enabled, the fleet prefix takes precedence for invoices and will be prepended to the invoice number. Other transaction types, such as bills, will continue to use the standard reference number prefix.
Custom Field
QuickBooks Online (QBO) Custom Fields are user-defined fields that allow additional data to be captured on transactions, such as invoices, to support reporting, tracking, or other operational needs.
In Alvys, the Custom Field option currently supports mapping only the Load Order Number from a load to a QBO custom field on customer invoices. When enabled this ensures that each invoice exported from Alvys with the load order number set is mapped to the custom field.
The custom field mapping applies only to invoices; it does not affect other transactions such as bills, from paystubs, or other transaction types. To use this feature, a custom field must first be created in QBO and enabled for invoices.
Steps to create and enable a custom field in QBO: Create and edit custom fields
💡 In QuickBooks Online, the maximum number of characters you can enter in a custom field is 30 characters.
Subsidiaries
Alvys subsidiaries can be mapped to QuickBooks Online (QBO) Classes (also called departments) or Locations. This mapping allows you to track transactions and generate reports for each subsidiary in QBO.
Classes (Departments): Use classes if you want to track income, expenses, and transactions at a more detailed, departmental level within a subsidiary. Classes can be assigned per transaction line item or to the entire transaction.
Locations: Use locations if you want to track financial activity at a broader, global level for the entire subsidiary. Locations are applied transaction-wide, not per line item.
⚠️ A subsidiary can only be assigned to either Classes or Locations, not both.
Prerequisites Before Mapping Subsidiaries in Alvys:
Before you map fleets in Alvys, you need to set up the corresponding Classes or Locations in QuickBooks Online:
Decide how you want to track subsidiaries in QBO
Enable Classes or Locations in QBO
Create Classes or Locations in QBO
Use the provided links below to learn more about setting up QBO classes and locations in QBO
How to Map Alvys Subsidiaries to Classes or Locations:
Select the Subsidiaries checkbox, which will create an additional step called Subsidiaries.
Click on the Subsidiaries step.
Use the dropdown menu to choose whether to map the subsidiaries to Classes or Locations.
Proceed by mapping each specific subsidiary to the corresponding option presented in the right-hand dropdown menu.
Fleets
Alvys fleets can also be mapped to Classes or Locations in QBO. This allows your company to track revenue, costs, and other financial activity associated with each fleet individually.
Classes (Departments/Fleets): Ideal if you want to assign each fleet to a separate department or category. Classes can be applied per line item or per transaction, giving granular insight into performance and profitability.
Locations: Can be used if you want to track the fleet’s transactions at a broader, global level, but this is less common for fleets since line-item granularity is usually preferred.
⚠️ Fleets can only be assigned to Classes or Locations, not both.
Prerequisites Before Mapping Fleets in Alvys:
Before you map fleets in Alvys, you need to set up the corresponding Classes or Locations in QuickBooks Online:
Decide how you want to track fleets in QBO
Enable Classes or Locations in QBO
Create Classes or Locations in QBO
How to Map Alvys Fleets to Classes or Locations:
Select the Fleets checkbox, which will create an additional step called Fleets.
Click on the Fleets step.
Use the dropdown menu to choose whether to map the fleets to Classes or Locations.
Proceed by mapping each specific fleet to the corresponding option presented in the right-hand dropdown menu.
Export Customer Payments
When enabled, customer payments recorded manually against a load or uploaded via a factoring report are exported to QuickBooks Online every five minutes.
The following customer payments are included in the export:
Payments added manually on loads
Payments added through factoring report uploads for factoring loads
Please note:
Uploading a purchase report on the factoring page does not affect payments sent to the external accounting system. Additionally, any factoring fees applied to loads during the purchase report upload are not exported to QuickBooks Online
Only the final payment amount is exported to QBO. If multiple payments are recorded for a load, partial payments are not exported. The payment is sent only when the total paid amount equals the total billable amount.
After enabling this option, you will be prompted to select a deposit account in the setup where customer payments should be recorded. Accounts such as Accounts Receivable are not valid deposit accounts and should not be used for customer payment configuration.
Although exporting payments to QBO is supported, it is recommended to record customer payments directly in QuickBooks Online and allow them to sync back to Alvys.
⚠️ If a payment export is missed or fails for any reason and the payment is not reflected in QuickBooks Online, contact Alvys Support to request a re-export.
Shared Billing/Intercompany Billing
Shared Billing is used when a load is invoiced by one subsidiary (Invoice As) and tendered by another subsidiary (Tender As), and both subsidiaries have separate accounting integrations. This setting ensures that all financial transactions are correctly recorded across the two subsidiaries.
Invoice As Subsidiary (e.g., Alvys Inc)
Creates a customer invoice for the load
Creates an intercompany bill to the Tender As subsidiary (Alvys Brokerage) for the carrier/driver cost
Tender As Subsidiary (e.g., Alvys Brokerage)
Creates an intercompany invoice back to the Invoice As subsidiary
Creates a vendor bill to the carrier or driver for the load
⚠️ Shared Billing must be enabled on both subsidiaries. Without it, the intercompany transactions or carrier/vendor bills will not export correctly.
Configuration Dependencies and Incompatible Settings
Some Configuration settings in the Alvys QBO integration are mutually exclusive (meaning they cannot be enabled at the same time) or render others inactive when enabled. In addition, certain settings may not require configuration at all, depending on the initial selection of Revenue and or Expense transactions
The Revenue Checkbox
If only the Revenue transaction checkbox is selected (customer invoices, etc.), do not configure any settings related to Expenses, including:
Single Bill for Driver Statement
Generate Carrier Invoice Separately
Process Statement by Tax Category
Pay Subsidiary Carrier
Create Vendor Using 1099 Tax Company
Ignore Driver Bills
Carrier Statements
Export Company Fuel Expense (not deducted from a driver)
Export Company Toll Expense (not deducted from a driver)
The Expense Checkbox
If only the Expense transaction checkbox is selected (driver bills, company expenses, etc.), do not configure any settings related to Revenue, including:
Export Customer Payments
💡 Each setting is tied to the type of transaction type it affects. Configuring Revenue-related settings when only Expenses are exported (or vice versa) will have no effect
Single Bill for Driver Statement
Do not configure this setting with:
Ignore Driver Bills
Pay Subsidiary Carrier
Why: Single Bill for Driver Statement assumes that driver bills are being created and exported. If driver bills are ignored (not sent to QBO) this consolidation logic no longer applies and will conflict with the export process. Also, if configured with pay subsidiary carrier bills, the single bill for driver statement will take precedence.
Process Statement by Tax Category
Configuration Dependency:
Single Bill for Driver Statement must be enabled along with this setting
Do not configure this setting with:
Ignore Driver Bills
Pay Subsidiary Carrier Why: This setting depends on driver bill data to separate payments by tax type. If driver bills are ignored or billing is redirected to a subsidiary carrier, tax-based filtering cannot function correctly.
Pay Subsidiary Carrier
Do not configure this setting with:
Single Bill for Driver Statement
Process Statement By Tax Category
Create Vendor Using 1099 Tax Company
Ignore Driver Bills
Why: When this setting is enabled, billing responsibility shifts away from the driver entirely. Any configuration that assumes driver-based billing, or driver vendor creation becomes invalid.
Ignore Driver Bills
Do not configure this setting with:
Single Bill for Driver Statement
Process Statement By Tax Category
Create Vendor Using 1099 Tax Company
Why: Each of these settings relies on driver bills being generated and exported. Ignoring driver bills removes the underlying data required for these settings to work.
Create Vendor Using 1099 Tax Company
Configuration Dependency:
Single Bill for Driver Statement must be enabled along with this setting
Do not configure this setting with:
Pay Subsidiary Carrier
Ignore Driver Bills
Why: This option assumes driver-based billing based on tax category. If billing is redirected to a subsidiary carrier or driver bills are excluded, vendor creation using tax data is no longer applicable.
Recommended Settings by Operational Type (Carriers)
Carrier Specific Recommendations
Typically Enabled Settings:
Revenue
Expense
Single Bill for Driver Statement
Export Company Fuel Expense
Export Company Toll Expense
Custom Field
Export Customer Payments
Carrier operations involve managing both income from customers and expenses tied to internal drivers and company assets (fuel and tolls etc.). Carriers would also track the order number for loads on exported invoices. Often, when payments are applied from factoring companies or manually to invoices, carriers would want these transactions exported to QBO as well
Broker Specific Recommendations
Typically Enabled Settings:
Revenue
Expense
Custom Field
Export Customer Payments
From the perspective of a brokerage, it's crucial to monitor income from customers and the expenses incurred from engaging carriers to transport loads. They also need to ensure that received customer payments are recorded and transferred to their external accounting systems. Additionally, brokers often need to track specific details such as Order Numbers for loads on invoices, necessitating the creation of custom fields in their system.
FAQs
Q: Can I connect multiple Alvys subsidiaries to the same QuickBooks account?
A: Yes, but if each subsidiary uses a separate QBO subscription, you must complete the integration one at a time. After setting up one, return to the Integrations page and repeat the process for the next.
Q: What is the difference between "Revenue" and "Expense" transaction types in the setup?
A: "Revenue" enables the export of customer-facing data like invoices. "Expense" enables the export of cost-related data, such as driver pay, carrier bills, and company expenses. You must enable the specific type you want to integrate.
Q: Why would I use the "Single Bill for Driver Statement" setting?
A: This consolidates all components of a driver's pay (trips, fuel, tolls, and deductions) into one single bill in QBO per paystub. It is ideal for companies that process driver pay on a weekly or bi-weekly cycle.
Q: How does the "Generate Carrier Invoice Separately" setting work for brokers?
A: When enabled, Alvys will not export a carrier bill to QBO until a document of the type "Carrier Invoice" is uploaded to the trip. This ensures you only pay carriers once you have their official invoice on file.
Q: Can I exclude W-2 drivers from syncing to QuickBooks?
A: Yes. By enabling "Process Statement by Tax Category," Alvys will only export bills for 1099 drivers. This allows you to manage W-2 payroll in a separate specialized system.
Q: What happens if I enable "Ignore Zero Valued Transactions"?
A: Any invoice or bill with a total value of $0 will not be exported. However, be cautious: if a $0 transaction is later updated to a higher value, you may need to contact Alvys Support to resolve a transaction ID error and re-export it.
Q: Why do my QuickBooks transactions show prefixes like “ALD” or “ATP”?
A: Because the Reference Number Prefix setting is enabled in Alvys. Prefixes identify transaction types, like ALD for loads, ATP for trips, and APS for paystubs. Include the prefix when searching in QuickBooks.
Q: Can I track my different fleets or branches in QuickBooks?
A: Yes. You can map Alvys Subsidiaries or Fleets to either Classes (for detailed departmental tracking) or Locations (for broader global tracking) in QBO.
Q: Does Alvys export customer payments to QuickBooks?
A: Yes, if "Export Customer Payments" is enabled. It syncs manual payments or factoring report uploads every five minutes. However, it is generally recommended to record payments in QBO and let them sync back to Alvys for the best reconciliation.
Q: What is "Shared Billing" and when should I use it?
A: Use this when one subsidiary invoices the customer but another subsidiary actually tenders the load. Enabling this on both sides ensures intercompany invoices and bills are created automatically to keep both sets of books balanced.
Next Steps
⏭️ After completing the Connection and Settings Configuration, continue with QuickBooks Online: Account Mappings to set up your default and specific account mappings for your transactions.
Return to Collection
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