Zapier + QuickBooks: Accounting automation workflow ideas

Automation in accounting? A game-changer! Imagine invoice processing costs dropping to just $1.42. That's why accounting automation is among the hottest trends today.

QuickBooks Online is a powerhouse in accounting, but pair it with Zapier's automation magic, and you get an unstoppable duo. You can connect QuickBooks with over 5000+ apps — no code needed. Create an invoice from a form submission on your site? Check. Notify your team via Slack when an invoice gets posted? Done.

Many more such workflow automation are possible when you combine QuickBooks Online, Zapier, and AI-powered OCR tools like Nanonets. The possibilities are endless once you set up the triggers and events, and the data flows seamlessly between different platforms.

Five workflow ideas to automate accounting with Zapier and QuickBooks online

QuickBooks Online does offer a decent amount of automation capabilities within its platform, but its true power to automate accounting workflows comes to light when integrating with Zapier and Nanonets. This trio unleashes a new world of possibilities, transforming your accounting workflows into a highly automated, efficient, and error-free system.

Here are a few workflow ideas to help you get started:

Invoice processing

Processing invoices manually can consume much time and is susceptible to errors. By automating invoice processing with Zapier, QuickBooks Online, and Nanonets OCR, you can streamline the process, saving time and improving accuracy.

The workflow begins with a trigger in Zapier that detects when a new invoice is received. It monitors sources such as email, Dropbox, or form submissions. The invoice data is then sent to Nanonets, which uses AI-powered optical character recognition to accurately extract relevant information from the invoice. You can set up validation rules and approval routing hierarchy to ensure the invoice can processed with minimal manual intervention. After that, you can set up another Zapier trigger to automatically create a new invoice in QuickBooks Online, populating it with the extracted data. It can then be moved on for further processing and payment.

Automating the workflow can improve efficiency, ensure accurate data entry, and have a streamlined invoice approval and payment process. This leads to faster invoice processing, better vendor relationships, and improved financial management.

Expense reporting

Simplify and streamline your expense reporting process by automating expense collection, categorization, and submission. With automated workflows, you can save time, improve accuracy, and enhance expense management.

Set up a trigger in Zapier to detect new expenses, whether it's a receipt submission, form submission, or any other source. Automate the process of capturing and validating expense data with Nanonets OCR. Then, send the extracted information directly to QuickBooks Online. This will allow you to automatically create a new expense entry, categorize it, and assign it to the appropriate account. You can also set up an automatic reimbursement process if the employee needs to be reimbursed. 

This will speed up the expense reporting process and ensure that each expense is accurately recorded, validated, and reimbursed.

Three-way matching

The three-way match is an essential process in accounting that verifies the purchase order, receipt, and invoice before an invoice is paid. Automating this process can help reduce errors, prevent fraud, and streamline payment.

Set up Zapier to automatically pull documents from various sources such as emails, scanned documents, digital files/images, cloud storage, and ERP and send them to Nanonets. It then classifies and sorts these documents appropriately as invoices, POs, and receipts.

The system then accurately reads and captures data from invoices, POs, and receipts. It reconciles fields, expenses, balances, and SKU-level information across the related invoices, POs, and receipts, making sure they match. Any discrepancies that breach tolerance levels are flagged, and invoices that pass the three-way match are sent for further approval. QuickBooks Online can then generate a payment for the matched and approved invoices.

Vendor onboarding

Vendor onboarding can be time-consuming, collecting and validating information from tax forms, export forms, and other documents.

To streamline the vendor onboarding process, you can upload vendor documents such as tax forms or contracts to Nanonets. Nanonets offers AI-powered document processing capabilities that automatically extract important vendor information such as name, address, tax ID, and contact details.

The information can then be used to create vendor profiles quickly on QuickBooks, easily update SKU-level details, and match GL codes. This process ensures that the vendor information is centralized, accurate, and validated, and transactions are correctly tagged and tracked for future reference.

Inventory management

Inventory management involves tracking and managing stock levels, generating sales orders, and initiating purchase orders. Automating it can save time, increase accuracy, make accurate forecasts, and help maintain the right stock levels.

When a new sales order is placed on your WebFlow website form, Zapier can be set up to detect this and trigger an automatic process. The order details are sent to Nanonets, which accurately extracts the relevant data such as product details, quantity, and customer information. This data can then be compared against the existing inventory details in QuickBooks Online. Set up Zaps to create a new sales order in QuickBooks Online with the extracted data. If the order quantity exceeds the current stock level, a purchase order can also be generated automatically for restocking. 

Real-time inventory tracking through this automation helps to minimize the chance of overstocking or understocking. This, in turn, leads to quicker order processing and improved customer satisfaction.

Final thoughts

The integration of Zapier and QuickBooks streamlines accounting workflows by providing a seamless and efficient automation solution. Businesses can efficiently perform invoice processing, expense reporting, three-way matching, vendor onboarding, and inventory management. This saves valuable time, reduces errors, and enhances overall efficiency and accuracy in financial management. 

With the addition of Nanonets' AI-powered OCR, data extraction and validation can become even more robust, ensuring seamless synchronization with QuickBooks. This powerful combination empowers businesses to take control of their accounting processes, improve employee morale, reduce compliance risks, and achieve audit readiness. It will enable enterprises to unlock new productivity levels and drive success in today's fast-paced and competitive landscape. Start automating your accounting processes today and experience the transformative impact of workflow automation.