How can I update my data?

Refreshing your QuickBooks data in Google Sheets with LiveFlow is super easy, and you even have a couple of different ways to do it, depending on your preferences.

Method 1: Hit Refresh All Reports

Great to update ALL of your QuickBooks reports simultaneously. Click Refresh All Reports from the LiveFlow menu, and all your reports will update right away.
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Method 2: Set up an hourly refresh

Great if you are looking for complete automation of your reporting. Instead of clicking on Refresh All Reports yourself, we’ll do it all for you. We will refresh your reports with the latest data from your QuickBooks account(s) every hour. This method is ideal if you want to create real-time dashboards.
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Method 3: Refresh all reports whenever you open your spreadsheet

Great if you need a little reminder that it’s time to refresh your reports. We will automatically remind you every time you open or reload your spreadsheet.

Method 4: Refresh each report from your Manage Reports tab

Want control of each of your QuickBooks reports and when and how they are updated? No problem. Go into your Manage Reports tab, and hit refresh whenever you want a specific report to update in your Google Sheets.
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LiveFlow also has a great library of templates, such as free Consolidated Profit & Loss template, Google Sheets Budgets vs Actuals template and a free Marketing P&L template. You can use LiveFlow's Financial Dashboard template for Google Sheets too.

Try out our Google Sheets Add-on for free to import live data into Google Sheets here. 

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Why connect QuickBooks to Google Sheets?

Who likes to waste time on tedious manual work? Very few! That’s why automation is critical, especially between two so frequently used apps like QuickBooks (or QuickBooks Online) and Google Sheets.

Both applications are bread and butter for financial reporting, and each one of them does a core job in making financial management, accounting, and KPI reporting easier.

But while both apps work well in their own ways, connecting data between them can be challenging, and it can end up eating up a lot of valuable hours of work. 

Connecting QuickBooks to Google Sheets will allow you to bring key financial reports from QuickBooks into a familiar spreadsheet format like Google Sheets where you can customize and personalize your reports to your or your clients’ specific needs.

You’ll be able to connect vital financial reports like the Profit & Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, Accounts Payables, and Accounts Receivables in a format that everyone can understand and work together on.

Getting your colleagues to log in to QuickBooks is hard, if not impossible, if they’re not already working in the finance department or at least have a strong sense of how QuickBooks works, and that’s why bringing in your financial reports from QuickBooks to Google Sheets can make your life 10x easier as an accountant or finance manager.

When you import your financial reports from QuickBooks to Google Sheets, you will also benefit from creating custom dashboards on top of your existing reports.

Imagine you import a Profit & Loss report from QuickBooks to Google Sheets, but you only want to look at your Gross Profit. Well, since you have the numbers in your Google Sheet, you can quickly write a formula that takes only your Gross Profit and brings it into another sheet tab and visualize your Gross Profit in there. We have already created custom Google Sheets and Excel Templates that you can download completely free of charge here.

A slight hiccup you often find in the Profit & Loss report you get inside QuickBooks is that it does not contain Gross Margin or Operating Margin.

Those are crucial business metrics to track closely and always watch, but they don’t exist in the QuickBooks P&L report. When you connect QuickBooks to Google Sheets with LiveFlow, you can bring in a P&L and add a Gross Margin row (or any other personalized row that you like) without breaking the report.

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Why connect QuickBooks to Google Sheets with LiveFlow?

Okay, now the question poses - so why on earth connect QuickBooks to Google Sheets with LiveFlow?

Why not just export a report to Excel and then import it to Google Sheets, as you’ve already done many times probably?

Well, there’s a good answer for that!

Here are some of the problems with manually exporting QuickBooks reports to Google Sheets by exporting them to Excel and manually adding them to Google Sheets:

1. The reports are poorly formatted: The report will come in a not pleasant format for either the eye or the productivity when you have to make all that look presentable.
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2. You export the report as an Excel file but import it to Google Sheets: An .xlsx file is different from a Google Sheet file, and when you convert one to another, there are often formulas or formatting that get lost on the way. Learn more about the pros and cons of Excel and Google Sheets.
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3. Your data is always outdated: Ok, you’ve now imported a QuickBooks report to Google Sheets manually, but what about when you need the data to refresh? Well, guess what, you will have to do it all over again. Download, export, format, clean, rinse, upload... does that sound appealing to you? What if it was, import, refresh, done?

The list of problems by doing manual exports is endless, but we’ll stop here for now!

Let’s instead tell you about some of the benefits of automating your QuickBooks to Google Sheets workflows with LiveFlow’s integration:

1. Set it up and forget about it: Ever tried having total flow in your work? Well, that’s the feeling you’ll get with LiveFlow - it’s a feeling of accomplishment that you can achieve more and alleviate the stress from time-consuming manual tasks. Just set up your integration between QuickBooks and Google Sheets once, choose the QuickBooks reports you’d like to bring into your Sheet, and then see the magic happen!
   
   
2. Update your reports on your schedule: Want the data to be up-to-date? Just hit Refresh or set up an automatic scheduled refresh, so your reports automatically update every hour - without you doing a thing!
   
   
3. Connect to multiple QuickBooks companies at once: Working with numerous clients or between multiple internal corporate entities? There is no need to log in to each QuickBooks client (or entity) to download a report! With LiveFlow, you can connect them all into one unified interface that lets you toggle between your companies in one click.

There are many more benefits of using LiveFlow to connect QuickBooks and Google Sheets, which you can read more about here and learn more about why our customers rate us 5/5 stars across G2, Capterra, Google Apps Marketplace, and the QuickBooks App Store.

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How can I directly connect QuickBooks to Google Sheets?

Unfortunately, there is no way to connect QuickBooks to Google Sheets directly - without any third-party application, though you can export data from QuickBooks Online Advanced to Google Sheets by following the steps described in the next section. This is the reason why people are seeking for a better solution to integrate Google Sheets with QuickBooks as you are.

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How to import data from QuickBooks to Google Sheets

Preparation

If you are a QuickBooks Online Advanced user, you can export your QuickBooks data to Google Sheets as one of functions provided by QuickBooks. When you export data for the first time, ensure that you have a Google account and enable pop-up windows from QuickBooks Online in your web browser settings.

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How to export data to Google Sheets

1. Log in to your QuickBooks Online account

2. Navigate to "Business Overview" from the left bar and choose "Reports"

3. Open the report you want to export to Google Sheets

4. Select the "Export to Google Sheets" option from the Export drop-down list

5. You will receive a verification code to confirm your access and identity

6. Enter the verification code that was sent to you

7. Click "Allow" in the pop-up if you review and agree with the permissions information

8. Sign in to Google, once your Google account is open

9. Google Sheets will link to your QuickBooks Online account and allow for data export.

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How to manage downloaded data in Google Sheets

You need to be careful that the data exported in Google Sheets is not linked to the original data in QuickBooks Online. Once the data is exported to Google Sheets, any changes you make in the data will be saved in your Google Drive and will not be reflected in QuickBooks, and vice versa. Also, note that you can't import back your data in Google Sheets to QuickBooks Online.

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Are there any other ways to integrate QuickBooks with Google Sheets?

Although we believe LiveFlow is the best product and service to solve your issue while adding value of removing manual work from your work process, yes, there are other applications that allow you to connect your QuickBooks data to Google Sheets. We discuss the pros and cons of other applications here: Best Financial Reporting Apps for QuickBooks and Google Sheets, where you can learn LiveFlow while comparing it with other third-party software and applications.