Before You Start

This guide assumes you have an active Etsy seller account and a QuickBooks Online subscription. Basic understanding of accounting principles is helpful.

Overview

35 min
Setup Time
Intermediate
Difficulty
Monthly
Maintenance

What You’ll Learn

  • How to prep your QuickBooks accounts for Etsy syncs
  • Connecting Etsy to QuickBooks for automated daily syncs
  • Mapping Etsy sales, fees, and taxes correctly
  • Reconciling Etsy Payments payouts with bank deposits

1. Preparation Steps

Before linking anything, ensure these accounts are set up in QuickBooks:

Required Accounts

  • Etsy Sales (Income)
  • Etsy Fees (Expense)
  • Etsy Payouts (Bank/Asset)
  • Sales Tax Payable (Liability)

Optional (but recommended)

  • Etsy Refunds (Expense)
  • Etsy Discounts Given (Income Reduction)
  • Etsy Gift Cards (Liability)
  • Etsy Shipping Labels (Cost of Goods Sold/Expense)

2. Choosing Your Sync Method

Several options exist, ranging from manual entries to automated solutions.

Method A: Manual Entry / CSV Uploads

This involves manually recording sales and fees or importing CSV reports.

Pros:
  • It’s free.
  • Full control over entries.
  • Good for very low volume shops.
Cons:
  • Time-consuming and tedious.
  • High risk of errors.
  • Difficult to reconcile complex payouts.

Method B: Third-Party Connectors (Synder, PayTraQer)

These are paid apps that offer automated and granular control.

Expert Tip: We strongly recommend using a third-party connector like Synder or PayTraQer. These tools use the “payout” method, which perfectly matches the bank deposits from Etsy Payments, making reconciliation a streamlined process.

3. Step-by-Step: Automated Sync with Synder/PayTraQer

Here is the high-level workflow for a clean setup.

For a clean Etsy accounting setup, data should flow from your Etsy shop, be accurately processed by a dedicated integration tool like Synder or PayTraQer, and then be sent to QuickBooks Online. This ensures all sales, fees, refunds, and taxes are categorized correctly and match your Etsy Payments deposits.

Here is a sample code block to show how an API call might look for an Etsy transaction.

{
  "transaction_id": "ETSY12345",
  "type": "Sale",
  "amount": 45.99,
  "fees": {
    "listing_fee": 0.20,
    "transaction_fee": 2.29,
    "processing_fee": 1.70
  },
  "buyer_username": "etsy_shopper",
  "items": [
    { "item_sku": "ETSY-ART-001", "quantity": 1, "price": 45.00, "tax": 0.99 }
  ]
}

4. Setting Up Your Connector (e.g., Synder)

  1. 1

    Connect Etsy to Synder/PayTraQer

    Authorize the connector to access your Etsy shop data. Use the email associated with your QuickBooks account.

  2. 2

    Connect Synder/PayTraQer to QuickBooks

    Link your QBO account within the connector’s settings. Grant admin access when prompted.

  3. 3

    Map Your Accounts

    Assign your Etsy sales, various fees (listing, transaction, processing), refunds, and payouts to the correct QBO accounts. Configure sales tax handling according to your nexus.

Common Error: Mismatched Payouts

Ensure your connector is set to process Etsy Payments as bank deposits, not individual sales transactions. This prevents duplicate income entries and ensures simple reconciliation with your bank feed.

5. Testing Your Setup

Test Import Checklist

  • Import a test payout from a recent month
  • Verify all sales amounts match Etsy statements
  • Check fee categories (listing, transaction, processing) are correct
  • Confirm bank deposit amounts align with your bank statements
  • Review sales tax recorded accurately and mapped to the correct liability account

Need Help?

Get Support

Having trouble setting up your Etsy-QuickBooks integration? Our team specializes in e-commerce accounting and can help troubleshoot your specific workflow.

Contact Us