The simple operating model

Three systems, three jobs. Ascend owns the load. QuickBooks owns the books. Square or QuickBooks Payments owns the money movement. This page documents how the existing setup is wired — refer back to it when something looks off.

Setup background & reference

The CB Loads environment is already wired up. The pages below document how it was configured — Products & Services, customers/vendors, the Ascend ↔ QBO mapping, and the payment connections. Use this section to verify a specific setting or audit a change, not as a list of things to do.

AQuickBooks Products & Services — current state

Each Ascend pay item is configured in QBO as a Service item with both Sales and Purchasing info enabled, so the same item drives invoice income and bill expense. Per-load amounts are entered per transaction (price/rate left blank).

Recommended QBO item mapping

BQuickBooks customers and vendors — current state

Customer display names in QBO are normalized to match the shipper names used in Ascend. Carrier and driver vendors are created during mapping. Missing customers are added through Customer Hub before any large export.

CAscend TMS integration mapping — current state

Ascend is authorized against QBO from the Accounting / QuickBooks area. Pay-item mapping, customer mapping, and vendor mapping have all been reviewed.

DPayment setup — current state

Both payment connections are available depending on which route the finance user follows for a given invoice. The bank feed is connected for matching.

Daily pipeline: load to paid invoice

The full loop, six steps. Create the load in Ascend, export the financial record to QuickBooks, send or collect payment, then match the deposit in QuickBooks.

1. 1
   In Ascend TMS

   Create and complete the load

   • The broker or dispatcher creates the load in Ascend TMS.
   • Include the customer/shipper, carrier/driver/vendor, pickup and delivery details, agreed charge, carrier pay, and the correct pay items.
   • Use the standard pay items only: Deadhead, Extra Stops, Flat Rate, Fuel, Lumper, Mileage, Misc., Tolls.
   • Do not export until the invoice/bill amounts are ready to be reviewed by accounting.

   References: S1S2
2. 2
   In QuickBooks Online

   Confirm the customer exists in QuickBooks

   • Before export, the finance user checks that the shipper/customer exists in QBO or is mapped in Ascend.
   • If the customer is missing in QBO: go to All apps → Customer Hub → Customers → New customer.
   • Enter the Customer display name. Add email, phone, billing address, and internal notes if useful.
   • Save the customer, then return to Ascend and map the customer if needed.

   References: S4S1
3. 3
   Ascend → QBO

   Export the customer invoice from Ascend to QuickBooks

   • In Ascend, go to Account → Invoices/Bills.
   • Select the invoice that needs to be exported. Multiple invoices can be selected if processing a batch.
   • Select Export Invoice to QB.
   • Choose Export to QuickBooks Online.

   Expected: the invoice appears in QBO under Sales/Get paid → Invoices.

   Reference: S1
4. 4
   In QuickBooks Online

   Check the invoice in QuickBooks

   • Open the exported invoice in QBO.
   • Confirm the customer, invoice date, due date, terms, load reference, and total amount.
   • Confirm the line items show the correct QBO Services, such as Flat Rate, Fuel, or Tolls.
   • If the item or account looks wrong, fix the QBO Product/Service mapping before exporting more loads. Do not continue with a broken mapping.

   References: S5S3
5. 5
   Ascend → QBO

   Export the carrier/vendor bill from Ascend to QuickBooks

   • In Ascend, go to Account → Invoices/Bills.
   • Open the Bills tab.
   • Make sure the received bill is recorded first in Ascend.
   • Select the bill or bills to export.
   • Select Export to QB.

   Expected: the bill appears in QBO under Expenses/Bills and posts to Carrier/Driver Pay (COGS).

   References: S1S2
6. 6
   Pick a payment route

   Send the payment request or collect payment

   • If the company uses QuickBooks Payments, the finance user sends the QBO invoice with online payment options turned on. See Route A.
   • If the company continues using Square, the finance user collects payment through Square and matches/applies it in QBO. See Route B.
   • The same invoice should not be collected through both Square and QuickBooks Payments.

   References: S5S6S8

Route A — QuickBooks Payments

1. A1

   Connect QuickBooks Payments — once

   • A QBO admin signs in to QuickBooks Online.
   • Go to Settings → Account and settings → Payments.
   • Select Connect your QuickBooks Payments account or Activate payments, depending on the account view.
   • Choose the payment/deposit account and complete the setup steps.

   Reference: S10
2. A2

   Set company invoice payment preferences

   • Go to Settings → Account and settings → Sales.
   • Find Invoice payments and select Edit.
   • Select the payment methods customers may use.
   • Add simple payment instructions if needed.
   • Save and confirm the Online Delivery setting uses Online Invoice.

   Reference: S6
3. A3

   Send the payment request from the QBO invoice

   • Open the exported invoice in QBO.
   • Select Manage → Payment options.
   • Turn on the methods allowed for that invoice.
   • Select Review and send.

   Expected: the customer receives the invoice email, and the invoice status shows Sent.

   References: S5S6
4. A4

   Confirm the invoice was paid

   • QBO updates the invoice once the payment is processed through QuickBooks Payments.
   • The finance user still reviews the bank feed to make sure the deposit is matched correctly.
   • If QBO suggests a match, review it and select Post after confirming it is correct.

   References: S9S6

Route B — Square remains the payment processor

1. B1

   Connect Square Connector by QuickBooks — once

   • In QBO, go to My integrations → Find integrations.
   • Search for Square Connector by QuickBooks and select Get app now.
   • Log in with the Square account and authorize the connection.
   • Choose the bank account where Square deposits payouts.
   • Choose the start date for Square imports and sync.

   Reference: S8
2. B2

   Keep the Square settings simple

   • Leave Customer tracking ON so Square customer names can match QBO customers.
   • Leave Product tracking ON if Square product/service names are meaningful and match QBO items.
   • Use Square Fees as the fee expense account.
   • Do not turn on full auto-add until the first week of transactions has been reviewed and the matches are clean.

   Reference: S8
3. B3

   Collect the payment in Square

   • The finance user sends a Square payment request or collects the payment through the company's existing Square flow.
   • The reference should include the QBO invoice number and/or Ascend load number.
   • The customer pays in Square.
   • The QBO invoice remains the accounting record that must be paid/apply-matched.

   Reference: S8
4. B4

   Review Square transactions in QuickBooks

   • In QBO, go to All apps → Accounting → Integration transactions.
   • Select the Square tile, then open For review.
   • Handle Payment received transactions first.
   • Match or confirm the payment against the existing QBO invoice when possible.
   • Then confirm the Payout transactions.

   Reference: S8
5. B5

   Match the Square payout to the bank deposit

   • After the Square payout is posted in QBO, go to All apps → Accounting → Bank transactions.
   • Find the Square bank deposit.
   • Review the suggested match. If it is correct, select Post.
   • If no match appears, use Find other match and locate the Square payout/deposit record.

   References: S9S8

Apply and match — plain-English rules

Three words you'll see often. Here's what each one means and where it happens.

Manual apply — use only when automation did not apply the payment

1. 1

   Open Receive payment

   • Select + Create → Receive payment.
   • Choose the customer.
   • Choose the payment method, such as Square, ACH, credit card, or check.
   • Choose the Deposit To account.
   • In Outstanding Transactions, select the invoice being paid.
   • Enter or adjust the amount if the payment is partial.
   • Select Record and close.

   Expected: the invoice status updates and the customer's open balance decreases.

   Reference: S7

Bank match — use when the deposit appears in the bank feed

1. 2

   Match in Bank transactions

   • Go to All apps → Accounting → Bank transactions.
   • Find the downloaded bank transaction.
   • Review any suggested match shown by QuickBooks.
   • If the suggestion is correct, select Post.
   • If it is not correct, select Find other match and search by date, amount, customer, or description.
   • Do not categorize a bank deposit as income when it already has an invoice/payment record. That would duplicate revenue.

   Reference: S9

Dashboard, reports, and review routine

A simple daily view without turning QuickBooks into a load-management system.

Daily finance routine

Weekly management reports

Dashboard guidance

Troubleshooting and controls

Click any issue to see the likely cause and best fix.

Glossary

Plain-English definitions for the terms that appear throughout this guide.

References

Official references used to build this guide. Links were checked during preparation of this document.

Tip: click any source code (like S1) anywhere in this guide to open the source page in a side panel — without losing your place in the instructions. Hover for a quick summary.