Incremental Refresh with QuickBooks Online
Bi4Cloud accesses the QuickBooks Online API, until recently when linked to an QuickBooks Online file we have always done a FULL Sync of the data which pulls ALL historical data from QuickBooks Online. This can take from a few minutes up to an hour, depending on the size of the QuickBooks Online file.
Introduced Incremental Data Sync
In response to this we have developed an Incremental Refresh capability that relies upon the modified datetimes of transactions such that we only extract new or changed transactions NEWER than the last modified datatime. See below for more detailed discussion about how we do this.
This improves sync times in the order of ten times faster. For example a file that takes 60 minutes to full refresh will incrementally refresh in 5 minutes. The more transactions the bigger the improvement because it only extracts the changes, not everything.
How Accurate is the Incremental Sync?
We have taken a number of steps to ensure the Incrementally Refreshed data is accurate and these steps include checks comparing trial balances of on-file data vs API data. We also interrogate the Change Data Capture endpoint that provides detail on transaction adds, changes and deletions and take action accordingly.
If these checks fail then we can force a full sync of the data to ensure everything is picked up.
How does this affect you ?
The Incremental data sync happens automatically each night or when you request a refresh and does not require your intervention.
However, if the QuickBooks Online file has data exported and imported or the data file is rebuilt the datetime stamps may not be accurate and then we may not detect these changes and this could result in the wrong result in the synced report data
So if you are making wholesales changes using import or other utilities then you need to signal that the next sync needs to be a FULL sync by following the steps in Force a FULL Sync below.
What if my data doesn't look correct?
In spite of the safeguards we have made, sometimes data we get from incremental syncs may drift and we may not detect this. If you believe this is the case you can force the next refresh to be a Full Sync and thereby refresh all of the data. The Force FULL Flag will be actioned on the next refresh whether you initiate the Refresh OR if it is the overnight scheduled refresh. If data integrity errors keep occurring, please advise us by visiting our Help Desk and click on Submit a Request.
If you perform an Import of Items, Customer, Vendors/Supplier or Employees or major updates of your data file then we recommend you set to force a FULL sync
Force Full Sync
To force a Full Sync, go to the Bi4Cloud Admin page and against the company you wish to force a full sync select the setup button.
The screen below will be displayed if your company is QuickBooks Online. Locate the Force full sync checkbox and click it and save the settings using the disc icon 
How we does the Incremental Sync work
We understand that for many users a long refresh time will impact your workflow and that at times the reports need to reflect the current data in QuickBooks Online.
With Incremental Refresh any transactions that have a Modified datetime in their endpoint can be incremental synced. These include Invoices, Bills, Purchases, Purchase Orders.
Contact information contains a last date and time of update and so Customers, Vendors/Suppliers and Employees are also extracted based upon the last update date and time.