19.2. Quickbooks integration
The Kartris support for QuickBooks is partially complete. It
will not handle orders with promotion discounts or coupons. These may
be addressed in future versions.
QuickBooks is an accountancy program from Intuit. There are
various versions offered with different levels of features and with
specific country-related features. The country versions include the USA,
UK and Canada. The different country versions have much in common, but
have specific support for certain localized features. For example, the
UK version supports VAT (value added tax), whereas the US and Canadian
versions support the different types of sales taxes that operate in
those countries.
19.2.1. QuickBooks Web Connector
In order that QuickBooks can 'talk' to online systems such as
shopping carts, Intuit developed the QuickBooks Web Connector (QBWC),
an extra piece of software. This is available as a free download from
Intuit:
http://marketplace.intuit.com/webconnector/
The QBWC runs on the same computer on which QuickBooks is installed, and acts as middleware between QuickBooks and a special web service on your Kartris web site.
The QBWC supports a wide range of different QuickBooks versions, including the different country versions. For this reason, you don't need a specialized version of the QBWC for your specific version of QuickBooks. Check Intuit's documentation if you are not sure whether your version of QuickBooks is supported by the QBWC.
http://marketplace.intuit.com/webconnector/
The QBWC runs on the same computer on which QuickBooks is installed, and acts as middleware between QuickBooks and a special web service on your Kartris web site.
The QBWC supports a wide range of different QuickBooks versions, including the different country versions. For this reason, you don't need a specialized version of the QBWC for your specific version of QuickBooks. Check Intuit's documentation if you are not sure whether your version of QuickBooks is supported by the QBWC.
19.2.1.1. Installing the QBWC
If you are using an older version of QuickBooks (more than
one year old) then you may get an error when using the QBWC. This
seems to be because newer versions of the QBWC assume your system
has some software installed that is installed by newer versions of
QuickBooks, but not by older ones. In this case, you should
uninstall the QBWC, sign up to the Intuit Developer network and
download the SDK (Software Development Kit). Install this, and
then re-install the latest QBWC and it should fix the
problem
The QBWC must be installed on the same machine on which you
run QuickBooks.
Ensure that you have QuickBooks running, the QBWC running and that your Kartris web site is accessible and running.
In QuickBooks, go to chart of accounts, and add a new account called 'Kartris Store' – make it an 'income' account.
Then add a new non-stock inventory item called 'Kartris Order Item', and set it to belong to this account.
Now, in Kartris, go to 'Configuration > QuickBooks Integration'. In the QBWC Password field, enter your choice of password (this can be anything, but the longer the better for security purposes). Hit the update button to set this config setting.
Then you can enter a Poll Interval too – in minutes. The QBWC will check for new orders or information on this schedule.
The final step on Kartris is to click the button to generate a .qwc file and save this to your computer. In the QBWC interface, push the 'Add an Application' button at the bottom and browse to the .qwc file you just made.
Some confirmation screens will popup up – accepting these should create the link between Kartris and QuickBooks.
Ensure that you have QuickBooks running, the QBWC running and that your Kartris web site is accessible and running.
In QuickBooks, go to chart of accounts, and add a new account called 'Kartris Store' – make it an 'income' account.
Then add a new non-stock inventory item called 'Kartris Order Item', and set it to belong to this account.
Now, in Kartris, go to 'Configuration > QuickBooks Integration'. In the QBWC Password field, enter your choice of password (this can be anything, but the longer the better for security purposes). Hit the update button to set this config setting.
Then you can enter a Poll Interval too – in minutes. The QBWC will check for new orders or information on this schedule.
The final step on Kartris is to click the button to generate a .qwc file and save this to your computer. In the QBWC interface, push the 'Add an Application' button at the bottom and browse to the .qwc file you just made.
Some confirmation screens will popup up – accepting these should create the link between Kartris and QuickBooks.
19.2.2. SSL support
The QBWC is hardcoded to require SSL (secure sockets layer) on
remote domains. This is recommended since it encrypts the information
transfer between QuickBooks and Kartris, which may contain sensitive
information.
The QBWC will work however with any URL that contains 'localhost', presumably so that developers can test using a local web site. We have therefore coded Kartris to append an unused parameter 'localhost' to URLs, in order to permit operation on a live web site that does not have SSL – for testing purposes for example.
While this means that Kartris/QuickBooks integration will work on a live site without SSL, we would urge store owners to consider the benefits of SSL and not to risk using the feature without SSL. Intuit have hardcoded the use of SSL in for a reason after all.
The QBWC will work however with any URL that contains 'localhost', presumably so that developers can test using a local web site. We have therefore coded Kartris to append an unused parameter 'localhost' to URLs, in order to permit operation on a live web site that does not have SSL – for testing purposes for example.
While this means that Kartris/QuickBooks integration will work on a live site without SSL, we would urge store owners to consider the benefits of SSL and not to risk using the feature without SSL. Intuit have hardcoded the use of SSL in for a reason after all.