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How to Upload AP Bills to Tofu and Sync Them with QuickBooks Online

This guide shows how to upload AP bills to Tofu, keep data in sync with QuickBooks Online, and manage updates efficiently between both systems.

Written by Reth Sabay
Updated over 2 weeks ago

1. Turn on AP Bills as an Extraction Type

Before uploading AP bills, make sure the extraction type is enabled.

  • Go to Entity Settings โ†’ Features.

  • Under Document Extraction Types, toggle AP Bills ON.

Once enabled, Tofu will extract supplier details, bill numbers, dates, amounts, tax, and line items from every AP bill you upload.


2. Configure AP Bill Settings for QuickBooks Online

Set up how AP bills sync between Tofu and QuickBooks Online.

  • Go to Settings โ†’ Integrations โ†’ QuickBooks.

  • Open the QuickBooks configuration panel.

  • Go to AP Bills, choose your preferred settings, then click Activate to save.

๐Ÿ’ก Recommended Settings

  • Auto-Publish ON
    Automatically send AP bills from Tofu to QuickBooks Online.

  • Auto-Import ON
    Pulls updates from QuickBooks Online back into Tofu, including:

    • Bill status changes (e.g. paid or partially paid)

    • Supplier updates

    • Line item corrections (amounts, descriptions, tax)

    • Account, class, or tag changes

  • Self-Prompt
    For newly added entities, Tofie learns from your accounting data and applies your rules automatically.

Note:
For existing entities that already have a QuickBooks integration, Self-Prompt wonโ€™t appear in the QuickBooks configuration panel. To update it, go to:
โ€‹Settings โ†’ Entity Knowledge Base โ†’ Select AP Bills โ†’ Click Self-Prompt

These settings help keep your AP bill data consistent between Tofu and QuickBooks Online.


3. Upload an AP Bill

You can upload AP bills manually or automatically via a cloud integration.

  • Go to the Source Documents column.

  • Click Upload document.

  • Select your AP bill file.

Choosing an extraction type during upload

  • If multiple extraction types are enabled for your entity, youโ€™ll be asked to choose an extraction type when uploading.

  • Select AP Bills to ensure the document is processed correctly.

  • Selecting the wrong extraction type may result in incorrect extraction or publishing issues.

๐Ÿ’ก Recommended: Connect cloud storage

For a smoother workflow, connect Google Drive, SharePoint, Dropbox or Email. Once connected, new files added to your chosen folder will automatically sync into Tofu.


4. Review the extracted data and verify

After extraction:

  • Go to the Extractions column.

  • Open the AP bill and review the extracted data, including:

    • Supplier

    • Bill number

    • Bill date

    • Due date

    • Line items (description, quantity, amount)

    • Tax and accounts

๐Ÿ’ก Tip:

To show Account Type automatically next to account names:
1. Go to Entity Settings โ†’ Features โ†’ Accounting
2. Enable Account Type
3. Return to review โ€” Account Type will show automatically.

If this setting is disabled, click the โ€œ+โ€ icon in the Account column to view Account Type.

Before verifying or publishing to QuickBooks Online, make sure:

  • Supplier is assigned and valid.

  • Bill Date is not empty.

  • Due Date is not earlier than the Bill Date.

  • Line items are complete and mapped to the correct accounts.

  • Tax is correct (especially if tax override is enabled).

Edit any incorrect or missing fields directly in Tofu. Once everything looks correct, click Verify.


5. Publishing AP Bills to QuickBooks Online

Publishing behavior depends on your Auto-Publish setting:

  • Auto-Publish ON
    AP bills are automatically sent to QuickBooks Online.

  • Auto-Publish OFF
    Click Publish to manually send the AP bill to QuickBooks Online.

After publishing, a link to the QuickBooks bill will appear in Tofu.

๐Ÿ’ก For more details, see Understanding Auto-Publish & Auto-Import in Tofu.


6. Editing AP Bills and keeping them in sync

If you need to make changes:

  • Open the AP bill in Tofu.

  • Make your edits (including bulk edits for line items).

  • Click Save Draft to save all changes.

Publishing behavior after edits:

  • Auto-Publish ON
    Saving the draft automatically updates the bill in QuickBooks Online.

  • Auto-Publish OFF
    Click Publish after saving the draft to push updates to QuickBooks.


7. Understanding Publish Status and warning icons

You can always check whether your AP bill is fully synced by looking at the Publish Status in Tofu.

Possible statuses

  • Published
    All changes have been successfully published to QuickBooks Online.

  • Edited After Publish
    Changes were made in Tofu but havenโ€™t been sent to QuickBooks yet.

  • Publish Error โš ๏ธ
    The bill failed to sync with QuickBooks Online.

What to do if you see a Publish Error

  • Open the AP bill to identify what needs fixing (for example: missing supplier, invalid account, or tax issue).

  • Correct the fields in Tofu.

  • Click Save Draft.

  • If Auto-Publish is enabled, the bill will attempt to publish again automatically.
    If not, click Publish to retry.

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