Should I sync Shopify orders as a Sales Receipt or an Invoice?

Helpful information to determine whether to sync Shopify orders to QuickBooks as an Invoice or a Sales Receipt

Written by the MyWorks Team

Updated at July 27th, 2024

A common question we hear as our users consider syncing their orders to QuickBooks is the decision of whether to sync a Shopify order as a Sales Receipt or as an Invoice when using our Shopify Sync for QuickBooks. This setting can be changed in MyWorks Sync > Settings > Order tab.

The best answer to this is to consult your accountant on their recommendation - and/or check your existing QuickBooks company to see how you've been accounting for orders up to this point: whether as a sales receipt, or an invoice + payment.

From a sales reporting point of view, it technically doesn't matter. Using either method, the sale will still be recorded to the same accounts in QuickBooks. However, the information below can help you decide on the best approach for you.

Do all the gateways in your Shopify store collect payment as soon as the order is placed?

  • Yes. You should sync orders over to QuickBooks as Sales Receipts.
  • No. You should sync orders over to QuickBooks as Invoices + Payments.

Here are the main differences between the two settings.

Orders as Sales Receipts

A Sales Receipt is an invoice + a payment all rolled into one. Therefore, syncing an order as a sales receipt will record the sale, and deposit the payment into the correct (mapped) bank account in QuickBooks. This is usually a typical representation of a Shopify order - where the order is placed and paid for all at once. 

This is the default setting for MyWorks Sync but can be changed in our Settings. 

Orders as an Invoice + Payment

An invoice in QuickBooks represents a sale you've made that hasn't yet been paid. The invoice is displayed in QuickBooks as "Open" until a payment is added to the invoice.  

This approach is most helpful if some Shopify orders are placed but unpaid. In this case, MyWorks would sync just an open invoice into QuickBooks.

If the Shopify order were paid, a payment for the invoice would also be synced over along with the invoice to QuickBooks.

If the Shopify order is paid later, MyWorks will sync the payment for the invoice at that point into QuickBooks.