Connecting Relay to QuickBooks Online lets you import vendors and unpaid bills, pay from a Relay checking account, and sync each payment back to your QBO ledger automatically.
What you need before you start
A Relay account on the Grow Plan or Scale Plan (QuickBooks Online for Bill Pay is not available on the Starter Plan)
Admin access to the QuickBooks Online company file you want to connect
Vendor names in QuickBooks cleaned up if you know duplicates exist, so they do not import twice
At least one Relay checking account you want to pay bills from
How do I connect Relay to QuickBooks Online?
Connect Relay to QuickBooks Online from your Relay integrations settings in about five minutes.
Sign in to your Relay account at app.relayfi.com.
Go to Settings, then Integrations.
On the QuickBooks Online tile, click Connect.
Sign in to QuickBooks Online and authorize Relay to access your company file.
Under Imports, toggle on the options you want:
Automatically import unpaid bills
Import vendors
Click Save Changes.
Once the connection is saved, Relay begins pulling in vendors and open bills in the background.
What does the QuickBooks Online integration do?
The integration syncs vendors, unpaid bills, and payment status between QuickBooks Online and Relay so your accounts payable workflow lives in one place.
Feature | What it does |
Vendor import | Syncs your QuickBooks vendors as payees in Relay |
Bill import | Pulls open bills from QBO into Relay for review and payment |
Payment status sync | Marks bills as paid in QuickBooks after you pay them in Relay |
Expense categorization | Imports Accounting categories from QBO to tag bills and receipts |
Foreign currency bills | Supports foreign currency bills imported from QBO (edit amounts in Relay, change the currency in QBO) |
Bill Pay with the QuickBooks Online integration is available on the Grow Plan and Scale Plan.
How does Relay sync bills and vendors from QuickBooks?
Relay pulls open bills and vendor records from QuickBooks Online automatically, and you can trigger a manual sync any time you need fresh data.
Automatic behavior once connected:
Imports every bill in QBO marked as Open (unpaid)
Syncs vendors as payees in Relay
Matches each imported bill to the correct payee
To trigger a manual sync from the bills view:
Go to Payments, then Bills.
In the top right, click Refresh QuickBooks Online.
To trigger a manual sync from settings:
Go to Settings, then Accounting Integrations.
Click the QuickBooks Online tile.
Click Sync Now.
Relay only syncs bills marked Open or Unpaid in QBO. Bills in Draft status or already marked paid stay in QuickBooks and do not import.
How do I pay a bill and update QuickBooks automatically?
Pay a bill from a Relay checking account and Relay updates the bill's status in QuickBooks Online for you.
Open the bill in Relay and review the amount, due date, and payee details.
Assign approvers if your workflow requires them (available on the Grow Plan and Scale Plan).
Schedule or initiate the payment from your chosen Relay checking account.
When the payment sends, Relay pushes the payment date, method, and memo back into QuickBooks Online and marks the bill as Paid.
You do not need to mark the bill paid in QuickBooks manually. Relay handles that update through the sync.
Can I edit imported bills inside Relay?
Yes, you can edit imported bills directly in Relay through a beta feature that is rolling out gradually.
Update bill details such as the amount or due date from a new in-app editing interface.
Add internal notes to a bill, which sync back to your accounting integration where supported.
The editing feature is in beta and may not be enabled on your account yet. If you do not see edit options on your imported bills, the rollout has not reached your account.
Which sync features are supported?
Bill Pay with the QuickBooks Online integration supports the sync features below.
Feature | Supported? |
Bill import from QBO | Yes |
Vendor import from QBO | Yes |
Bills created by email forwarding | Yes |
Bills created by uploading | Yes |
Payment status updates to QBO | Yes |
Accounting categories import | Yes |
Partial bill payments | Coming soon |
What are the best practices for the QuickBooks integration?
Follow these practices to keep your Relay bills and your QBO ledger in sync.
Let Relay manage payments. If you mark a bill paid manually in QuickBooks Online after Relay imported it, the sync breaks for that bill.
Clean up vendor names in QuickBooks before you connect. Consistent vendor names in QBO prevent duplicate payees in Relay.
Use the Payees tab in Relay to merge duplicates after sync. Payees in Payments > Bills > Payees has a merge tool for cleanup.
Common issues
Bill is not showing up in Relay. Confirm the bill is marked Open in QuickBooks Online and has a due date, then trigger a manual sync from Payments > Bills > Refresh QuickBooks Online.
Payment is not appearing in QuickBooks. Go to Settings > Accounting Integrations and click Sync Now. If the payment still does not show, disconnect and reconnect your QuickBooks Online account from the same page.
Duplicate vendors are appearing in Relay. Open Payments > Bills > Payees and use the merge tool to combine duplicate records.
Currency cannot be changed on an imported bill. Change the currency in QuickBooks Online first, then sync. Currency is set upstream in QBO, not in Relay.
Manually uploaded bill is rejected because of currency. Bills uploaded directly into Relay must currently be in USD. Foreign currency uploads are coming soon.
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