Troubleshooting QuickBooks Desktop Sync Errors

A complete reference of QuickBooks Desktop sync error messages in FieldPulse and the exact fix for each — customers, invoices, payments, items, and accounts.

Who uses this: An admin resolving records that failed to sync; the sync itself runs on its own. Availability: Requires QuickBooks Desktop + the sync connector.

When a record fails to sync with QuickBooks Desktop — a customer, invoice, payment, or item — you can use the in-app troubleshooting tool to see the exact error and fix it. Select the Failed Sync button next to the record to open a page listing every sync error for that record. This page is the full error reference: find your error message below and follow the matching action.

Overview

Every failed record in FieldPulse carries a Failed Sync button that opens a dedicated page listing all sync errors for that record. Most errors come down to a field that’s too long, a special character QuickBooks rejects, a duplicate name, a closed accounting period, or a referenced record that isn’t synced yet. Fix the cause named in the error and the record re-syncs. To see which records failed and when the sync last ran, use the Statistic page covered in How to Manage QuickBooks Desktop After Syncing.

Common issues

Field length limits

QuickBooks Desktop enforces a maximum length on many fields. Shorten the field in FieldPulse to the limit shown, then re-sync.

Error message	What to do
”Name length (#) more than allowed (31)” / “The string # in the field ‘Name’ is too long.”	Shorten the name to 31 characters or fewer.
”FirstName length (#) more than allowed (25)” / “The string # in the field ‘FirstName’ is too long.”	Shorten the first name to 25 characters or fewer.
”LastName length (#) more than allowed (25)“	Shorten the last name to 25 characters or fewer.
”Phone length (#) more than allowed (21)” / “The string # in the field ‘Phone’ is too long.”	Shorten the phone number to 21 characters or fewer.
”AltPhone length (#) more than allowed (21)“	Shorten the alternate phone number to 21 characters or fewer.
”Email length (#) more than allowed (1023)“	Shorten the email address to 1023 characters or fewer.
”Desc length (#) more than allowed (4095)“	Shorten the description to 4095 characters or fewer.
”Memo length (#) more than allowed (4095)“	Shorten the memo to 4095 characters or fewer.
”Notes length (#) more than allowed (4095)“	Shorten the notes to 4095 characters or fewer.
”BillAddress_Addr1 length (#) more than allowed (41)“	Shorten billing address line 1 to 41 characters or fewer.
”BillAddress_Addr2 length (#) more than allowed (41)“	Shorten billing address line 2 to 41 characters or fewer.
”BillAddress_PostalCode length (#) more than allowed (13)“	Shorten the billing postal code to 13 characters or fewer.
”BillAddress_State length (#) more than allowed (21)“	Shorten the billing state to 21 characters or fewer.
”ShipAddress_Addr1 length (#) more than allowed (41)“	Shorten shipping address line 1 to 41 characters or fewer.
”ShipAddress_Addr2 length (#) more than allowed (41)“	Shorten shipping address line 2 to 41 characters or fewer.
”ShipAddress_PostalCode length (#) more than allowed (13)“	Shorten the shipping postal code to 13 characters or fewer.
”ShipAddress_State length (#) more than allowed (21)“	Shorten the shipping state to 21 characters or fewer.

Special or non-ASCII characters

QuickBooks Desktop rejects special and non-ASCII characters in names. Remove them, then re-sync.

Error message	What to do
”Name value has non-ASCII characters”	Remove special characters from the name field.
”FirstName value has non-ASCII characters”	Remove special characters from the first name.
”LastName value has non-ASCII characters”	Remove special characters from the last name.
”CompanyName value has non-ASCII characters”	Remove special characters from the company name.

Duplicate names and records

Error message	What to do
”Duplicate Name Exists Error - The name supplied already exists. : Another customer, vendor or employee is already using this name.”	Use a unique name that isn’t already in use in QuickBooks.
”Duplicate Name Exists Error”, “The name supplied already exists. : null”	Use a unique name that isn’t already in use in QuickBooks.
”The name # of the list element is already in use.”	Choose a different name; a record with this name already exists.
”There is a duplicated records in FieldPulse database!”, “Matched records ids: #, #, # …”	Correct the duplicates in FieldPulse before syncing.
”There is already synced record present in FieldPulse database related to another instance on QuickBooks Desktop side”, “Record id: # (name = #)“	Correct the duplicates in FieldPulse before syncing.
”There was an error when modifying a Customers list, element ‘[QuickBooks Desktop ID]’. QuickBooks error message: Cannot merge list elements.”	Check that no other customer has the same name and that all fields are filled out correctly, then update again.

Closed accounting period

The record’s date falls in a period your books have closed. Change the date to after the closing date, or ask a QuickBooks admin to adjust the closing-period settings.

Error message	What to do
”An attempt was made to modify a Estimate with a date that is on or before the closing date of the company…”	Change the estimate date to after your closing date, or ask your admin to adjust the setting in QuickBooks.
”An attempt was made to modify a Invoice with a date that is on or before the closing date of the company…”	Change the invoice date to after your closing date, or ask your admin to adjust the setting in QuickBooks.
”An attempt was made to modify a ReceivePayment with a date that is on or before the closing date of the company…”	Change the payment date to after your closing date, or ask your admin to adjust the setting in QuickBooks.
”There was an error when modifying a Estimate. QuickBooks error message: You may not create or edit a transaction dated on or before the dividing date.”	Update the estimate date or the closing-period settings in QuickBooks.
”There was an error when modifying a Invoice. QuickBooks error message: You may not create or edit a transaction dated on or before the dividing date.”	Update the invoice date or the closing-period settings in QuickBooks.
”There was an error when saving a Invoice. QuickBooks error message: You may not create or edit a transaction dated on or before the dividing date.”	Update the invoice date or the closing-period settings in QuickBooks.
”Account Period Closed, Cannot Update Through Services API…”	Your books are closed for this period, so changes can’t be made through FieldPulse. Log in to QuickBooks directly to update this record.

Missing or empty required fields

Error message	What to do
”CustomerRef required but missed!”	Link this record to a customer before saving.
”InvoiceLine required but missed!”	Add at least one line item to the invoice.
”SalesOrPurchase required but missed!”	Add the missing account reference to continue.
”SOPAccount # sync failed!”	Add the missing account reference to continue.
”Required param missing… Required parameter ExpenseAccountRef or IncomeAccountRef is missing in the request”	Add the missing account reference to continue.
”There was an error when saving a Estimate. QuickBooks error message: The transaction is empty.”	Add line items to the estimate before saving.
”There was an error when saving a Invoice. QuickBooks error message: The transaction is empty.”	Add line items to the invoice before saving.
”There was an error when saving a ReceivePayment. QuickBooks error message: The transaction is empty.”	Specify a payment amount before saving.

Tax codes and sales tax

Error message	What to do
”Sales Tax Code # sync failed!”	Fix the sales tax code before syncing.
”Related TaxRate # sync failed!”	Fix the tax rate setup before syncing.
”There is no correct Tax Code available to be assigned to this item”	Assign a valid tax code to this item.
”There is an invalid reference to QuickBooks Item Sales Tax # in the Invoice. QuickBooks error message: Transaction Sales Tax is currently disabled by preferences.”	Turn on Sales Tax in QuickBooks before syncing.
”There was an error when modifying a Invoice. QuickBooks error message: The Transaction Sales Tax field cannot be left blank…”	Assign a sales tax code to this invoice.
”There was an error when saving a Estimate. QuickBooks error message: The Transaction Sales Tax field cannot be left blank…”	Assign a tax code to the estimate before saving.
”There was an error when saving a Invoice. QuickBooks error message: The Transaction Sales Tax field cannot be left blank…”	Assign a tax code to the invoice before saving.

Items and accounts

Error message	What to do
”Account # sync failed!”	Check your entry, or contact support if the problem continues.
”Income Account # sync failed!”	Resolve the income account issue before syncing.
”Discount Account # sync failed!”	Fix the discount account setup before syncing.
”Assigned discount item not present!”	Make sure the discount item is active in QuickBooks and has a proper value or %.
”Discount Item # not synced yet!”	Make sure the discount item is synced before using it.
”Related Item # not synced yet”	Make sure the item is synced before using it.
”Related Class # sync failed!”	Fix the related class in QuickBooks before syncing.
”Related Customer # sync failed!”	Fix the customer reference before syncing.
”Related Invoice RefNumber:# sync failed!”	Fix the connected invoice before syncing.
”Related Payment Method # sync failed!”	Fix the payment method before syncing.
”Parent Customer # sync failed!”	Resolve the sync issue with the parent customer before retrying.
”Parent Cannot Be Child… This item cant be a sub-item of itself.”	An item can’t be a sub-item of itself.
”There is an invalid reference to a parent # in the Customers list.”	Fix the customer hierarchy before syncing.
”Invalid Type : Item of type Inventory cannot be changed to Noninventory item type”	You can’t change an inventory item into a non-inventory item.
”There is no OtherExpense/CostOfGoodSold account can be assigned to this item”	Assign a proper expense or Cost of Goods Sold account to this item.
”There is OtherExpense account can be assigned to this item”	Assign a valid expense account.
”There is an invalid reference to QuickBooks Account # in the Item Non-Inventory…”	Restore or replace the deleted item to continue.
”There was an error when modifying a ItemNonInventory. Cannot use SalesOrPurchaseMod aggregate when the item is reimbursable.”	This item is reimbursable and can’t be edited this way.
”There was an error when modifying a ItemService. Cannot use SalesOrPurchaseMod aggregate when the item is reimbursable.”	This item is reimbursable and can’t be edited this way.

Deleted, missing, or out-of-date references

Error message	What to do
”Invalid Reference Id : Product/Service assigned to this transaction has been deleted. Before you can modify this transaction, you must restore #“	Restore or replace the deleted item to continue.
”Object # specified in the request cannot be found…”	The referenced record doesn’t exist in QuickBooks. Contact support if it persists.
”The given object ID # in the field # is invalid.”	The referenced record doesn’t exist in QuickBooks. Contact support if it persists.
”The provided edit sequence # is out-of-date.”	Reload the latest version of the record and try again.
”The ‘address’ field has an invalid value #. QuickBooks error message: The parameter is incorrect.”	Correct the address format, or remove the address before syncing.

Permissions, mode, and version

Error message	What to do
”Insufficient permission level to perform this action.”	Your QuickBooks user account needs higher access to complete this action. See the Web Connector permissions.
”There is an invalid reference to QuickBooks Post Account # in the ItemInventory. QuickBooks error message: To change the posting account, you must switch to single-user mode.”	Switch to single-user mode in QuickBooks to make this change.
”This feature is not enabled or not available in this version of QuickBooks.”	Upgrade your QuickBooks plan, or remove the unsupported feature.
”Feature Not Supported Error : … not included in your QuickBooks Desktop Simple Start subscription.”	Upgrade your QuickBooks plan, or remove the unsupported feature.

Credit memos, deletions, and pending records

Error message	What to do
”Credit memo saved as payment can not be synced to QuickBooks Desktop”	Credit memos used as payments can’t be synced to QuickBooks.
”Delete Customer Has Unbilled Expenses Error… This customer cannot be deleted because there are unbilled charges for this customer.”	Clear all unbilled transactions before deleting the customer.
”Pending sync from FieldPulse to QuickBooks Desktop”	This record is waiting to sync. No action is needed unless it stalls.

Still need help?

Reach the FieldPulse support team through in-app chat or at [e-mail].

For the workflow to find and re-sync failed records, see How to Manage QuickBooks Desktop After Syncing. For what does and doesn’t sync in the first place, see Setting Up QuickBooks Desktop Before Syncing.