How Etsy Data is synched into QuickBooks

User Guide - Etsy → QuickBooks Sync

Overview

The Etsy to QuickBooks sync automates your Etsy shop accounting by automatically creating transactions in QuickBooks Online. All sales, fees, and refunds are synchronized daily.

What Gets Synchronized

1. Sales (SalesReceipts)

Each payment received on Etsy generates a SalesReceipt in QuickBooks:

Customer: Buyer's name (or "Etsy Customer" if anonymous)
Date: Payment date
Amount: Total amount paid by customer (including shipping and taxes)
Items: Product details with quantity and price
Deposit Account: Etsy Payment Account (clearing account)

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Never delete the "Etsy Payment Account". It is essential for sync operations and contains the complete history of all your Etsy transactions.

Accounting flow:

Debit: Etsy Payment Account +$50.00 Credit: Sales Income -$50.00

2. Refunds (RefundReceipts)

Each refund issued generates a RefundReceipt in QuickBooks:

Customer: Name of the refunded buyer
Date: Refund date
Amount: Refunded amount
Deposit Account: Etsy Payment Account

Accounting flow:

Debit: Sales Income +$50.00 Credit: Etsy Payment Account -$50.00

3. Transaction Fees (Purchases)

Fees charged by Etsy on each sale generate a Purchase:

Vendor: Etsy Inc
Date: Sale date
Amount: Transaction fees (5% + 0.20€) + processing fees (3% + 0.25€)
Category: Transaction fees (expense account)
Payment Account: Etsy Payment Account

Accounting flow:

Debit: Transaction fees +$2.50 Credit: Etsy Payment Account -$2.50

4. Daily Fees (JournalEntries)

Daily Etsy fees (listing fees, ads, etc.) generate JournalEntries:

Negative fees (charges)

Purchase for outgoing fees:

Debit: Listing fees +$0.20 Credit: Etsy Payment Account -$0.20

Positive credits (refunds)

JournalEntry for credits/refunds:

Debit: Etsy Payment Account +$0.65 Credit: Listing fees -$0.65

Synchronized fee types:

Listing fees
Renewal fees
Shipping labels
Etsy Ads
Offsite Ads
Regulatory fees
VAT (on fees)

5. Onboarding Fee

The one-time onboarding fee of $15 generates:

Purchase for the fee:

Debit: Onboarding fees +$15.00 Credit: Etsy Payment Account -$15.00

JournalEntry for the compensatory payment:

Debit: Etsy Payment Account +$15.00 Credit: Bank Account -$15.00

Net result: The fee is recorded but offset by the direct bank debit.

The "Etsy Payment Account" Clearing Account

Concept

The Etsy Payment Account is a clearing account (transit account) that represents your available balance on Etsy before bank transfers.

⚠️ CRITICAL WARNING: This account is automatically created during the first sync and must NEVER be deleted. Deleting it would break the entire synchronization and you would lose the complete history of your Etsy transactions in QuickBooks.

How It Works

Inflows (+):

Sales received
Fee refunds
Onboarding fee payment (compensation)

Outflows (-):

Customer refunds
Transaction fees
Daily fees
Bank transfers (future)

Example Flow

Date Transaction Etsy Payment Account ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dec 7 Sale $50 +$50.00 = $50.00 Dec 7 Transaction fee $2.50 -$2.50 = $47.50 Dec 7 Listing fee $0.20 -$0.20 = $47.30 Dec 8 Sale $30 +$30.00 = $77.30 Dec 8 Refund $50 -$50.00 = $27.30 Dec 10 Bank transfer $20 -$20.00 = $7.30

Initial Balance

If you activate synchronization on an existing shop, you can configure an initial balance so the clearing account reflects your actual Etsy balance at startup.

During the first sync:

All transactions from the start date are synchronized
The system calculates the resulting balance
An adjustment JournalEntry is automatically created to align the QuickBooks balance with your actual Etsy balance

Example:

Actual Etsy balance on December 1st: $150.00
Synchronized transactions (Dec 1-10): +$120.00
Automatic adjustment: +$30.00
Result: QB Balance = $150.00 ✓

Configuration

Required QuickBooks Accounts

Automatically Created Accounts

On first sync, the system automatically creates:

Etsy Payment Account (Bank - Clearing Account)

Type: Bank
Subtype: Clearing Account
Used for: All Etsy transactions

Etsy Inc (Vendor)

Vendor for all Etsy fees

Customizable Categorization Accounts

You can configure your own accounts to categorize revenues and expenses:

Revenue (Income):

Sales Income (default): Sales revenue
Shipping Income: Shipping revenue (optional)

Expenses:

Transaction fees: Etsy transaction fees
Processing fees: Payment processing fees
Listing fees: Listing fees
Advertising: Etsy advertising (Etsy Ads, Offsite Ads)
Shipping expenses: Shipping labels
Onboarding fees: One-time onboarding fee
Regulatory fees: Regulatory fees
VAT on fees: VAT on fees

Sync Settings

Start Date (from_date)

Date from which to synchronize transactions
Default: 90 days back
Recommendation: Beginning of current month

Initial Balance (initial_balance)

Balance of Etsy Payment Account at start date
Optional but recommended for existing shops
Check your available balance on Etsy Payments

Shop ID

Your Etsy shop identifier
Automatically retrieved during OAuth connection

Sync Frequency

Automatic: Once per day (night)

What To Do In Case of Error?

Sync Stuck

If the dish stays in "working" state:

Contact support
The system automatically switches to "ready" after each sync

Missing Transactions

If transactions are missing:

Check the start date of synchronization
Verify that OAuth connection is active
Wait for the next automatic sync (following night)

Incorrect Balance

If the Etsy Payment Account balance doesn't match:

Check the configured initial balance
Verify that no transactions were manually deleted in QuickBooks
The system automatically creates an adjustment during the first sync

⚠️ WARNING: Never manually delete Etsy transactions in QuickBooks, this would cause inconsistencies in the clearing account balance.

Support

For any questions or issues:

Email: support@sushio.io
Technical documentation: /doc/ETSY_SYNC_IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md