The QuickBooks Link allows for the seamless exchange of data between Catalyst Manufacturing® and QuickBooks®. The interface allows for enhanced synchronization of your manufacturing and financial data by sending customer, vendor, bill, and invoice records to QuickBooks as records are updated in Catalyst. The transfer occurs in real-time if a QuickBooks company is open locally or in batch mode for updates that occurred either while QuickBooks was closed or a local copy does not exist.

The inventory items in Catalyst may be exported to QuickBooks as a mass update or one at a time. If an item does not already exist in QuickBooks when a customer or vendor invoice is exported, the item is added to QuickBooks at that time. Catalyst serves as the inventory system of record between the two systems for raw material, intermediate-level/WIP, sub-assemblies, and finished product inventory; however, the inventory balances and values can be exported to QuickBooks with the click of a button. This allows QuickBooks to reflect the current quantity and value of the different inventory asset accounts at any given time making it easier to report and review financials at period end or any time in between.

After the initial import of chart of accounts, sales tax codes, payment terms, customers, vendors, and items from QuickBooks, the standard order fulfillment process occurs as follows:

• Create a customer order in Catalyst or import sales orders from QuickBooks. During the order creation process, a shop order may be linked to order lines for make-to-order items.

• Review material and capacity availability, order raw materials, schedule production of sub-assemblies and perform other activities to support production as required.

• Release shop order to production to build finished product. After reporting completion of final product, the end item is placed in inventory for shipping.

• Prepare shipping documents and enter shipment confirmation to relieve inventory. If QuickBooks is open, the customer invoice is created in QuickBooks during shipment confirmation. Otherwise, invoices are exported to QuickBooks in batch mode at the end of the day or shift.

• QuickBooks is used to receive payments against the invoice and generate financial and accounting journal entries and reports of the business activity.

• Similarly, vendor bills are exported to QuickBooks when the vendor invoice is entered in Catalyst. The vendor bill is then used as the basis for processing vendor payments and updating the relevant expense and liability accounts.