Making Changes in QuickBooks Instead of Fishbowl: Why It’s a Risk You Can’t Afford to Take

As a tax accountant at Robert Half, I’ve seen firsthand how manual adjustments in QuickBooks can wreak havoc on a company’s financial records, especially when those changes bypass the processes established for integration with Fishbowl Inventory. Maintaining harmony between Fishbowl and QuickBooks is crucial for accurate reporting and compliance. Yet, many businesses fall into the trap of manually editing transactions in QuickBooks instead of properly recording them in Fishbowl and exporting the data.

This article highlights the risks of making changes directly in QuickBooks, the importance of disciplined workflows, and best practices to keep your accounting error-free. By avoiding these pitfalls, your business can maintain clean, reconcilable records and eliminate unnecessary troubleshooting.

Why Changes Should Start in Fishbowl Fishbowl is designed to be the source of truth for inventory and transaction management, while QuickBooks is the accounting and reporting hub. To keep the systems aligned, nearly all inventory-related transactions should originate in Fishbowl and flow seamlessly into QuickBooks. When this process is disrupted, discrepancies arise.

Example Scenario: Manually Adjusting an Item Receipt in QuickBooks Imagine your team receives inventory, and an item receipt is created in Fishbowl. Instead of completing the reconciliation in Fishbowl and exporting the data, someone decides to manually change the item receipt to a bill in QuickBooks. Now, Fishbowl doesn’t know about the change, leading to misaligned records between the two systems. This seemingly minor adjustment can spiral into bigger problems during reconciliation.

Troubleshooting Tip: If this happens, you’ll need to compare Fishbowl and QuickBooks data line by line to find the discrepancy. Avoid the headache by reconciling transactions in Fishbowl first, ensuring that QuickBooks always reflect accurate and complete data from Fishbowl.

Unauthorized Editing: Why Supervision Matters Changes to QuickBooks should always be done under the supervision of an accountant—preferably one familiar with Fishbowl and QuickBooks integration. Unauthorized edits by untrained employees can create significant issues, often requiring professional intervention to resolve.

Example Scenario: Warehouse Workers Editing Journal Entries Consider this: a warehouse employee, attempting to fix an inventory issue, deletes or adjusts a journal entry in QuickBooks. This action not only disrupts the balance sheet but also breaks the connection between Fishbowl and QuickBooks data.

Best Practice: Limit QuickBooks access to authorized personnel, such as accountants or financial managers. All edits should be documented and approved by someone who understands the potential ripple effects on both systems.

The Risks of Backdating Transactions There are times when backdating transactions in Fishbowl is appropriate, such as entering an invoice with a prior date. However, frequent backdating, especially for periods that have already closed, can create reconciliation issues. This is particularly problematic for tax reporting and financial audits.

Example Scenario: Backdating After Closing a Month Let’s say you’ve closed your December books and prepared financial statements. If someone backdates a transaction to December after the month is closed, it won’t show up in your QuickBooks reports, even though it appears in Fishbowl. This leads to discrepancies that can be difficult to trace.

Troubleshooting Tip: Only backdate when necessary and always communicate these changes with your accountant. Make it a practice to document any backdated transactions and adjust your QuickBooks reports accordingly.

Ensuring a Smooth Go-Live and Ongoing Reconciliation When implementing Fishbowl and QuickBooks, it’s critical to verify that the starting balances in both systems match. Without this foundational alignment, discrepancies will arise, making reconciliation an ongoing challenge.

Example Scenario: Skipping Reconciliation Imagine your team skips reconciliation for a few weeks, assuming the systems will “catch up.” Later, during tax season, you discover discrepancies between inventory values in Fishbowl and the general ledger in QuickBooks. Now you’re stuck trying to track down months-old errors, wasting time that could’ve been avoided.

Best Practice: Schedule automatic exports from Fishbowl to QuickBooks daily and save key reports, such as inventory valuations and profit-and-loss statements, at the same time. These snapshots provide a clear trail to pinpoint discrepancies if they occur.

Discipline and Expertise Are Key As a tax accountant at Robert Half, I’ve seen how easily minor process deviations can lead to major financial headaches. To avoid these pitfalls, remember:

1. Record transactions in Fishbowl first and export them to QuickBooks—don’t bypass this workflow.
2. Restrict QuickBooks access to trained professionals, and ensure all changes are supervised by an accountant.
3. Minimize backdating transactions, especially in closed periods, to prevent reconciliation issues.
4. Reconcile accounts regularly and start with matching balances when going live with both systems.

If your business is struggling with discrepancies or process challenges, don’t hesitate to seek professional help. At Robert Half, we’ve worked with countless businesses to streamline accounting systems and resolve issues between Fishbowl and QuickBooks. Additionally, independent consultants can provide expert guidance, training, and resources like video tutorials and troubleshooting guides to keep your team on track.

By adhering to best practices and leveraging expert support when needed, your business can maintain accurate financial records, simplify reconciliation, and avoid unnecessary stress. After all, a disciplined process today saves time and money tomorrow.