Skip to content
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

QuickBooks Expense Sync and Unassigned Expenses in LeanLaw

How to set up QuickBooks expense sync in LeanLaw, how hard costs flow from QuickBooks Online to LeanLaw for invoicing, and how to assign unassigned QuickBooks Online expenses to clients and matters.

LeanLaw connects to QuickBooks Online to sync hard costs — actual out-of-pocket payments made to vendors on behalf of clients — into the LeanLaw billing workflow. Once synced, these expenses appear in LeanLaw ready to be included on client invoices.

📋 Prerequisite: QuickBooks Online must be connected to LeanLaw before expense sync can be configured. 

 

Hard Costs vs. Soft Costs — A Quick Reminder

Type

Origin & Flow

Hard Cost

Entered in QuickBooks Online (checks, bills, credit card expenses). Syncs to LeanLaw automatically once the Advanced Client Costs account is configured. Identified by a green dot in LeanLaw's Expenses tab.

Soft Cost

Entered directly in LeanLaw. Does not involve QuickBooks until the invoice is synced. See Article 1 in this collection.

 

Part 1: Setting Up Expense Sync in LeanLaw

To enable QuickBooks Online expense sync, configure the expense settings in LeanLaw's QuickBooks integration:

  1. Go to Settings → QuickBooks.
  2. In the QuickBooks Integration menu, click Edit Expense Settings to open the Expense Configuration menu.
  3. Review the current configuration. If QuickBooks Online expenses haven't been synchronized yet, click Change Settings.
  4. Select Enable QuickBooks Sync and click Next.

 

Configure the Hard Cost Account

  1. Choose an existing QuickBooks Online account for hard costs from the dropdown — typically 'Advanced Client Costs' or 'Prepaid Expenses.' Alternatively, check Create a new account in QuickBooks to have LeanLaw set one up.
  2. Click Next.
  3. Choose or create a Product/Service for the account. This will be used for hard cost expense line items on invoices.
  4. If syncing from an existing QuickBooks Online account, choose a start date for the sync. Choose a date far enough back to capture any unbilled items, but not so far that it pulls in already-billed expenses.
  5. Click Next.

 

Configure Soft Cost Account Separation

LeanLaw recommends using separate QuickBooks Online accounts for hard costs (from QuickBooks) and soft costs (from LeanLaw) for cleaner reporting:

  • Same account: Both hard and soft costs post to the same QuickBooks Online income account. Simpler setup, less reporting granularity. Select Same and click Save Changes.
  • Different accounts (recommended): Soft costs in LeanLaw post to a separate QBO account from hard costs. Select Different, choose or create the soft cost account, choose or create the Product/Service, and click Save Changes.

💡 Recommendation: Using separate accounts for hard and soft costs gives you cleaner reports in both LeanLaw and QuickBooks. Consult your accountant before changing this setting if expenses are already being billed.

 

Part 2: Entering Hard Costs in QuickBooks Online

Once expense sync is configured, any expense entered in the correct QBO account will automatically appear in LeanLaw. There are three ways to record a hard cost in QuickBooks Online:

Check (Vendor Payment by Check)

  1. In QuickBooks Online, go to New → Check.
  2. Select the payee/vendor.
  3. Select the Bank account (your operating account).
  4. In the Category section, select Advanced Client Costs (or your configured hard cost account).
  5. Enter the description, amount, and client.
  6. Click Save and Close.

 

Bill (Vendor Invoice)

  1. In QuickBooks Online, go to New → Bill.
  2. Fill in the vendor, bill date, and terms.
  3. In the Category section, select Advanced Client Costs.
  4. Enter the amount, description, and client.
  5. Click Save and Close.

 

Credit Card Expense

  1. In QuickBooks Online, go to New → Expense.
  2. Select the vendor and the payment account (your business credit card).
  3. In the Category section, select Advanced Client Costs.
  4. Add the description, amount, and client.
  5. Click Save and Close.

📋 After saving in QuickBooks Online: Open LeanLaw and navigate to the Expenses tab. You may need to refresh the page. The expense should appear with a green dot indicating it originated from QuickBooks.

 

Part 3: Assigning Unassigned Expenses

If an expense was entered in QuickBooks Online without a client assigned — or if the client assignment didn't carry over during sync — it will appear in LeanLaw as an Unassigned Expense.

To assign an unassigned expense:

  1. Go to the Expenses tab in LeanLaw.
  2. Look for the Assign Expenses indicator or filter for unassigned expenses.
  3. Click Assign Expenses to open the unassigned expenses page.
  4. Click on the expense you want to assign.
  5. In the pop-up window, select the client (and optionally the matter).
  6. The expense is now assigned to the client and appears in their billing queue.

⚠️ Important: Unassigned expenses cannot be included on invoices until they are assigned to a client. Review the unassigned expenses list regularly — especially after syncing with QuickBooks Online — to ensure nothing is missed before billing.

 

How Hard Costs Flow Through to Invoices

Once a hard cost appears in LeanLaw (synced from QuickBooks Online and assigned to a client/matter), it follows the same invoicing workflow as soft costs:

  1. The expense appears in the client's billing queue with Ready to Bill status.
  2. When you create an invoice for that matter, the expense is available to include as a line item.
  3. Once invoiced and the invoice is synced back to QuickBooks, the expense line cancels out the original outgoing cost in the Advanced Client Costs account — confirming the expense has been billed and recouped.

📋 The full expense pipeline: Money goes out via QuickBooks Online (recorded as a cost) → syncs to LeanLaw for billing → included on client invoice → invoice syncs back to QuickBooks Online → expense is reconciled in the Advanced Client Costs account.