Troubleshooting QuickBooks Online Customer Issues in SynkedUP
This article covers the most common QuickBooks Online customer issues in SynkedUP — including problems during the initial import, the link icon not working during invoicing, and customers not syncing correctly. Start with Step 0 below before trying anything else.
⚠️ Step 0: Verify Your QuickBooks Online Connection First
Many customer linking and import issues are caused by QuickBooks Online not being connected to your SynkedUP account. Before troubleshooting anything else, confirm your connection is active.
How to check:
In SynkedUP, go to System Setup → Integrations.
Look for the QuickBooks Online tile. It should show a green "Connected" status.
If it shows "Not Connected" or no connection at all, click Connect to QuickBooks Online and follow the prompts to authorize the integration.
Why this matters: If QuickBooks Online is not connected, the chain link icon in the invoicing flow won't appear, the "Push this Customer to QuickBooks Online" button won't work, and customer syncing will fail silently. Connecting QuickBooks Online is the fix for most of these symptoms.
The Link Icon Isn't Showing or Clicking It Does Nothing During Invoicing
When you create an invoice in SynkedUP, a small chain link icon appears near the customer name. This icon is how SynkedUP connects a customer to their matching record in QuickBooks Online. If you don't see it, or if clicking it does nothing, here's what to check.
The link icon isn't there at all
This almost always means QuickBooks Online is not connected to your SynkedUP account. Complete Step 0 above — once the connection is active, the link icon will appear.
Understanding the link popup options
When you click the chain link icon, you'll see one of the following:
"Push this Customer to QuickBooks Online" — The customer exists in SynkedUP but not yet in QuickBooks Online. Click this to create them in QuickBooks Online and link the records automatically.
"Link" — The customer exists in QuickBooks Online but isn't linked to this SynkedUP record yet. Click Link, search for the customer name, and select the matching record.
"Unlink" — The customer is already linked. You can unlink and re-link if you need to correct a wrong match.
I only see "Link" but clicking it does nothing
If clicking Link opens a search popup but nothing happens when you select a customer — or the popup doesn't respond — try these steps in order:
Confirm the customer exists and is active in QuickBooks Online. Go to Sales → Customers in QuickBooks Online, search for the customer name, and make sure they are not deleted or marked Inactive. Click the gear icon in QuickBooks Online and enable "Include Inactive" to check.
Check for name mismatches. The search in SynkedUP looks for an exact or close match to the customer name in QuickBooks Online. If the names differ (e.g., "Smith Landscaping" vs. "Smith Landscaping LLC"), search the QuickBooks Online popup by a shorter keyword.
Refresh your QuickBooks Online connection. Go to System Setup → Integrations and disconnect then reconnect QuickBooks Online. This forces a fresh sync and clears stale cache.
On mobile: log out, swipe the app closed, and log back in. This clears any stuck session state before retrying.
If none of the above resolves it, reach out to SynkedUP support with the customer name and job name — we can look at the linked records on the backend.
QuickBooks Online Sync vs. CSV Import — What's the Difference?
SynkedUP offers two ways to bring in your customer list:
QuickBooks Online Sync — Pulls customers directly from your connected QuickBooks Online account. You can choose to import one customer or many. This is the most common method for existing QuickBooks Online users.
CSV Import — Lets you upload a spreadsheet of customers manually. This is useful if you're not using QuickBooks Online or want more control over which customers come in.
If you connected QuickBooks Online and clicked "Import Customers," you used the QuickBooks Online Sync — not a CSV import. The steps to fix issues are different for each method.
Why Are My Imported Customers Showing Only a Phone Number?
This happens when a customer's name is stored in the Company Name field in QuickBooks Online, but the First Name and Last Name fields are blank. When SynkedUP imports that record, it matches to the name fields — and if those are empty, the customer's contact card displays with only the phone number visible.
This is very common for customers who are businesses rather than individual homeowners.
Quick Fix: Change What the Customer List Displays
You don't need to re-import or delete anything. You can change SynkedUP's customer list to display the Company Name instead of the First/Last Name field:
Go to your Customers list in SynkedUP.
Look for the display field selector at the top of the list.
Switch the display field from Name to Company.
Your customers who were stored as companies in QuickBooks Online will now show their company name correctly.
Long-Term Fix: Update the Name Fields in QuickBooks Online
For a cleaner experience going forward, update the affected customer records in QuickBooks Online to include a First and/or Last Name in addition to the Company Name. Re-syncing after that update will pull in the correct name fields.
I Imported More Customers Than I Wanted — Now What?
When syncing from QuickBooks Online, you can select one customer or many — so if you ended up with records you didn't intend to import, it's easy to clean up.
How to Remove Unwanted Imported Customers
If you imported customers you didn't intend to, you have two options:
Delete individually — Open each customer record and delete it one at a time. This is best if only a small number of records need to be removed.
Mass delete all customers — If you want to start fresh, contact SynkedUP support and we can mass delete your entire customer list so you can re-import cleanly. Note: this cannot be undone, so make sure you have a backup or your original QuickBooks Online data to re-import from.
Tips for a Smooth Import
Review your QuickBooks Online customer records first — Before syncing, scan for customers that only have a Company Name and no First/Last Name. Filling those in ahead of time will save cleanup work.
Be selective when importing — Only import the customers you need. You can always come back and add more from QuickBooks Online later.
Avoid syncing the same customers twice — Importing a customer that already exists in SynkedUP can create duplicate records. Check your customer list before syncing again.
Still having trouble? Reach out to the SynkedUP support team and we'll help you sort it out.