Importing estimates into QuickBooks Desktop

Overview of importing estimates

In QuickBooks Pro desktop (up to Enterprise) an Estimate is a transaction used to act as a bid or proposal of a future sale to a current or prospective customer. Using Zed Axis you can import estimates from text files, Excel spreadsheets or IIF files directly into QuickBooks desktop.


Steps to import into QuickBooks desktop

Follow these steps:

  1. Open your QuickBooks company file as Administrator and open Zed Axis
  2. Select your text file or spreadsheet which contains the estimates that you want to import.
  3. Set up the a Mapping of the columns in your estimates import file to the corresponding fields in QuickBooks
  4. Click Import and your estimates will be directly added to your QuickBooks company file:

More help?

For more information about importing estimates into QuickBooks, search the Knowledge Base, watch the movies in the Learning Centre, or raise a ticket with Zed Support

Sample Estimate File

Watch a demonstration of importing estimates into QuickBooks desktop




Where the fields appear in QuickBooks

import estimates into QuickBooks

 Detailed descriptions of the fields you can map

QuickBooks fieldTypeDescription
Customer Name Str 209MANDATORY FIELD - Customer Full Name as appears in QuickBooks ie ACME Inc:Project 101:Job A ,colons are used as a separators. If Axis cannot find a Customer then it will create a new customer record.
CurrencystrThe name of the currency (ie Canadian Dollar, Euro, British Pound Sterling, Australian Dollar) to be used if Axis needs to create a new Customer, do not map if not using multi currency more here
Class Ref Str 159 Full class name
Template Ref Str 31 Refers to one of the QuickBooks templates
Txn Date Date Date of the transaction
Estimate Ref Number Str 11 Reference number for the estimate - MANDATORY
Bill Address...... Str Billing address block see importing addresses
Bill Note Str 41 Note that appears at the bottom of the billing address
Phone Str Customers phone number
Fax Str Customers fax number
Email Str Customer email address
Ship Address..... Str Shipping address block see importing addresses
Ship Note Str 41 Note that appears at the bottom of the shipping address
Is Active Bool Whether the estimate is active or not. (true of false)
PO Number Str 25 Purchase Order Number
Terms Ref Str 31 Payment terms for the customer must match what is in the QuickBooks list
Due Date Date Date the estimate is due
Sales Rep Str 5 Abbreviated Sales Rep, must match QuickBooks
FOB Str 13 Free on board
Item Sales Tax Ref Str 31 Sales tax used for the whole estimate
Memo Str 4095 Memo appears on estimate not on printed form
Customer Msg Ref Str 101 Customer message must match list in QuickBooks
Is To Be Emailed Bool Whether item is to be emailed (true or false)
Is Tax Included Bool Whether the amount included tax or not (CA, UK AU only) (true or false)
Customer Sales Tax Str 3 Sales tax code for the customer
Exchange Rate Float Exchange rate if using multicurrency
Item Ref Str Full item code of the item being sold
Description Str 4095 Description of the line item being sold
Quantity Quan Quantity sold
Unit Of Measure Str 31 Unit of measure used
Rate Price Rate or price of item sold
Line Class Str 159 Class used at the line level (must match QuickBooks class)
Amount Amt Amount of item sold
Inventory Site Ref Str 31 Inventory location of the item sold (must match QuickBooks list)
Sales Tax Code Str 3 Sales tax used for the item
Markup Rate Price Amount item marked up
Markup Rate Percent Percent Percentage the item is marked up
Price Level Ref Full NameStr 31Name of the Custom Price Level to be applied to the item on the estimate
Custom Field 1...5 Custom fields to appear on the estimate line, you can specify up to 3 more here
Item Group Full Name Name of the Group Item to import on the Estimate more here
Item Group Quantity Quantity of the Group Item
Item Group UOM Unit of measure of the Group Item
Item Group Inventory Site Site of the Group Item
Inventory Site Location Ref Full Name Full Name of the Bin location of the Group Item
Item Group Custom Fields 1...5 Custom fields for the Group Item rows
Other 1 Other 1 field used to record custom labels at line level
Other 2 Other 2 field use to record custom labels at line level