Export timesheet data to QuickBooks Desktop

Audience: Payroll admins, accountants, and managers who export timesheet hours from WorkEasy Software and import them into QuickBooks Desktop.

What you will learn: How to generate the QuickBooks Desktop export, download the .iif file, preview it in Notepad, and import the file into QuickBooks Desktop for payroll.

Step 1: Generate the QuickBooks Desktop export

1. Go to Exports in the left navigation.

2. Select QuickBooks Desktop from the exports list.

3. In the Execution panel, under General, choose:    

   • Use pay period, then pick the pay period and dates, or

   • Use date range and select custom dates.

4. (Optional) Open the filter drawers like Job costing filter, Employee general, Employee groups, or Employee custom fields to narrow the export.

5. Click Preview to review the lines.
   

6. If all looks correct, click Run.
   

Step 2: Download the .iif file

1. When the task completes, click the Tasks bell in the top bar.
   

2. Open the latest Export task entry and select File to download.
   

3. Locate the downloaded file in your browser downloads list. The file name looks like QBD_Timesheet_MM-DD-YYYY.iif.

Step 3: Open and review the file in Notepad

1. Double-click the downloaded .iif. If prompted, choose Notepad or another text editor.
   

2. The file begins with a header like !TIMEACT DATE JOB EMP ITEM PITEM DURATION PROJ NOTE XFERTOPAYROLL BILLINGSTATUS followed by one time activity per line.
   

Step 4: Import the .iif into QuickBooks Desktop

1. Open QuickBooks Desktop and the correct company file.

2. Go to File then Utilities then Import then IIF Files.

3. Browse to the exported .iif file and select Open.

4. Review the confirmation. If QuickBooks reports issues, download the error report, correct the lines, and import again.

This process loads the time activity lines into QuickBooks so they are available for payroll and reporting.

Best practices

• Keep the original .iif file unchanged as your source of truth.

• Validate totals in WorkEasy reports before import.

• Confirm service items and payroll wage items are mapped consistently between WorkEasy and QuickBooks.

• If your QuickBooks Desktop is 2019 or later, use the improved IIF import flow for better error checking.

Troubleshooting

• Import errors about list names: Ensure employee, customer or job, and service item names in the file exactly match names in QuickBooks.

• Time is missing after import: Recheck your date range or pay period in WorkEasy, rerun the export, and import the new file.

Sources

• Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Help: Export, import, and edit IIF files

• Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Help: Improved IIF Import in QuickBooks 2019 and later

• Intuit QuickBooks Desktop Help: IIF overview, import kit, sample files, and headers

If you have questions, please call us at (888) 783-1493, email [email protected], or submit a ticket