Troubleshooting Sync Warnings "Invoice...has changed" in QuickBooks Desktop

Sync Warning “Invoice...has changed”

From time to time you may notice a sync warning stating something like:

Warning Invoice The amount of invoice B3350Z has changed from $10.00 in Acctivate to $20.00 in QuickBooks.

Warning Invoice The customer of invoice B3371Z has changed from {OriginalCustomer} in Acctivate to {NewCustomer} in QuickBooks.

Warning Invoice The date of invoice B3371Z has changed from {OriginalDate} in Acctivate to {NewDate} in QuickBooks.

First, it’s important to understand that these are not sync errors, these are sync warnings. The difference is that a sync error is preventative, meaning that the sync was not successful and did not complete for the reason specified in the log. A warning is just informational, in this case, alerting a user that something has changed.

In some cases, the change will remain while in other cases the change may be reverted.

The error above is informing the user that the Total on a Sales Invoice which was created in Acctivate has changed in QuickBooks.

In the screenshot below, notice Invoice B3350Z created in Sales Order A1528T. This invoice shows that the product Button was sold at a price of $1 and a quantity of 10, so the total on the invoice is $10.

2-24-2016 2-23-34 PM

In this next screenshot, take a look at that same invoice in QuickBooks. Notice that the price has been modified to $2, so the total now shows as $20, in QuickBooks.

2-24-2016 2-28-28 PM

This is the cause of the warning in the Sync Log. It’s informing the user that amount of the invoice has changed in QuickBooks. This will not change the amount of the invoice in Acctivate.

Since the invoice was created in Acctivate, it is “owned” by Acctivate. This means that any changes made to the invoice should be done from within Acctivate, then the changes will be synced back over to QuickBooks in the following sync. This warning is important and user action should be taken to ensure that the two systems have matching data, or you could develop discrepancies between Acctivate and QuickBooks.

This is also true for Purchase Invoices (Vendor Bills in QuickBooks). If a purchase invoice is created in Acctivate then modified in QuickBooks, you will notice a warning stating something like:

2016/02/24 13:58:08 Warning POInvoice QuickBooks bill TestPoInvoice (PO 1262): Amount has changed from 25 to 30

QuickBooks Desktop changes supported by sync

QuickBooks Desktop sales invoice changes that give a warning but are not reverted

It is strongly recommended that you make these changes in Acctivate

  • Changes to the invoice quantity 
  • Changes to the invoice detail tax code
  • Changes to the price of the invoice detail
  • Changes to the line amount

QuickBooks Desktop sales invoice changes that give a warning and result in the invoice being changed to match Acctivate

  • If the customer on an Acctivate-created invoice was changed in QuickBooks Desktop, the next sync will change it back to match the invoice in Acctivate.
  • Changes to the Invoice Date in QuickBooks Desktop will be reverted to match Acctivate's invoice date.

QuickBooks Desktop purchase invoice changes that give a warning and result in the vendor bill being changed to match Acctivate

  • Vendor
  • Vendor bill amount

QuickBooks Desktop sales invoice fields that, when changed, will sync back to Acctivate

  • Terms Code
  • Due Date
  • Note
  • QB Class
  • FOB
  • PO
  • Tax Category
  • Tax rate
  • Tax code
  • AR Account
  • Ship date
  • Salesperson

QuickBooks Desktop sales invoice fields which will not give a warning, nor be reverted.

It's strongly recommended that any changes to an Acctivate created invoice be made in Acctivate.

  • Changing Salesperson doesn't give a warning, but the Acctivate invoice will not be updated to the new salesperson
  • Changing Item Code (Product Class) on an Acctivate created invoice in QuickBooks won't give a warning, nor does it result in the Product Class being updated on the invoice in Acctivate.
  • Tax Category changes sync back to the invoice in Acctivate
  • Tax Code (invoice header) changes sync back to invoice in Acctivate