QuickBooks Payment Gateway

Receive online payments through credit and debit cards from your attendees for their event registrations using QuickBooks.

View quick links for this payment gateway →

Installation

This payment gateway is a plugin for WordPress and can be installed through your WP dashboard (WP-admin).

Download the latest version of the QuickBooks payment gateway for Event Espresso 4 from your Event Espresso account page.

Then login to your WordPress dashboard (WP-admin) and go to Plugins. Next, click on Add New –> Upload and browse to the plugin on your computer. Then select the zip file and begin the upload process. Wait for the plugin to upload and then click on Activate.

Locate your Credentials for QuickBooks

Getting QuickBooks setup requires multiple steps including creating an app through the Intuit Developer portal, entering the credentials for your merchant account in the payment methods screen for Event Espresso, and then authorizing the app to allow processing of payments.

We recommend that you first read through the steps below before getting started. This will help ensure that your QuickBooks payment method is set up correctly.

Begin by going to the Intuit Developer website: https://developer.intuit.com

1) If you have an existing login for the Intuit Developer dashboard, then go ahead and login to the Intuit Developer website. If you do not have an existing login, then register and complete that process entirely and then login to your new account.

2) Look for the button that says Create new app and click on it

3) A window will then appear with two options. Look for Just Start Coding and click on the Select APIs button.

4) You will see another screen with two more options. Look for the Accounting option and the Payments option and place a checkmark next to each option and then click on the Create app button

5) Your app will be created within a few seconds and then you’ll see the dashboard screen for your app.

Update your Account Profile

Look for your account name / email address in the top right area of the screen and click on it and then click on Profile. Now update the information and save changes by clicking on the Save button. If your email address has not yet been verified, then go ahead and verify it.

Your merchant account with QuickBooks should already be approved for accepting live payments. If you are not sure, then we recommend that you check with the support team at QuickBooks to confirm the status of your merchant account.

Create your Development (Testing) App

1) Click on the Development link from your Intuit Developer screen and then click on Settings. From this page, we’ll update some important information. Take your time to carefully update this information.

2) Click on APIs and place a checkmark next to QuickBooks and then Payments. Both should be checked. Then click Save.

3) Click on App Info and change the Application Name to something more memorable and easy to recognize such as “Testing app for QuickBooks” and click Save.

4) Now click on App URLs and then enter the information about your website. You should update the Host Domain, Launch URL, and Disconnect URL and then click Save.

Here are suggestions for the URLs to use:

Host Domain → Your actual domain name (e.g. yourwebsite.com)
Launch URL → Your actual domain name (e.g. yourwebsite.com)
Disconnect Landing URL → Your actual domain name (e.g. yourwebsite.com). Your app can be disconnected and reconnected through your QuickBooks payment methods page within your WordPress dashboard.

Connect your Development (Testing) App to Event Espresso

We recommend testing QuickBooks before accepting payments in live / production mode. Follow the steps below to connect your testing app to Event Espresso.

1) Click on the My Apps link, click on the app, then click on Keys. Your API keys are listed on this page.

2) Open a new browser tab and login to your WordPress dashboard (WP-admin) and go to Event Espresso –> Payment Methods and then click on QuickBooks. Then click the button to activate the payment method for QuickBooks

3) Look for the Debug Mode On? setting and set it to Yes

4) You’ll set the OAuth version option on the Event Espresso > Payment methods page to OAuth 2.0. You’ll copy from and paste to the Client ID and Client Secret fields.

Then under Redirect URIs, you’ll add a URL and copy and paste your website URL into the Redirect URI field. For apps in development, the URI can be localhost and can use HTTP.

5) Switch to your other browser tab that has the Event Espresso > Payment methods page for QuickBooks and then scroll down and click on the Update Payment Method Settings button

6) The page will refresh and you’ll see a note about establishing the app connection. Look towards the top area of the payment methods settings area for a green and white QuickBooks button and click on it

7) A window will appear and ask you to log in. If you do not see a window, then your web browser may be blocking the pop-up window. Allow pop-ups in your web browser and try again. If you still do not see the pop-up, then try logging into your WP dashboard and returning to the payment methods screen for QuickBooks through an alternative web browser (e.g. Chrome, Opera, Firefox).

Login securely using the same credentials that you used for the Intuit Developer site where your app was originally created. You may be asked to verify the account through email or another step. Go ahead and verify the account if requested.

8) You will then see a prompt to authorize the connection between your site and QuickBooks. Go ahead and click on the Authorize button. If you have multiple test companies, then select the correct company and complete the authorization.

9) Double-check that you now see a Connected status of green in the Connect to QuickBooks section of the payment methods screen.

You can now begin testing QuickBooks for Event Espresso 4. We recommend creating a real event and then saving it as a draft. Then duplicate it through the event editor and update the name of the event to TEST or something easily recognizable. This will allow you to test out registrations for your event without adding sample/test registration records to your “real” event.

Once you are finished testing, then you can trash the “testing” event.

Important: You will now need to disconnect the testing/development app on the Event Espresso → Payment Methods→ QuickBooks page. There you will click on the Disconnect button.

Then follow the steps in the next section to create your live app for accepting real payments with actual funds.

Create your Production (Live) App

1) Click on the My Apps link, click on the app, then click on Keys. If you completed your account profile and verified your email address, then the Production section will display your API keys.

If you have not updated your account profile and verified your email, then you will a message that says “Your production keys aren’t available until you complete the requirements below:” followed by a link to Complete your profile. Go ahead and update your profile with your information and then save changes. Next, go to your email inbox and click to verify your email address. Once you have updated your profile and verified your email address, then go to step 2 below.

2) From your App dashboard, click on Settings. Change the App Name to something more memorable and easy to recognize such as “Live app for QuickBooks.” Then enter your Host Domain Name (e.g. yourwebsite.com) and then complete the remaining fields for End User License Agreement URL, Launch URL, Privacy Policy URL, and Disconnect Landing URL.

Here are suggestions for the URLs to use:

End User License Agreement URL → Your actual domain name (e.g. yourwebsite.com)
Launch URL → Your actual domain name (e.g. yourwebsite.com)
Privacy Policy URL → A link to your privacy policy on your own site (e.g. yourwebsite.com/privacy-policy/). Need a privacy policy? Try this free WordPress plugin
Disconnect Landing URL → Your actual domain name (e.g. yourwebsite.com). Your app can be disconnected and reconnected through your QuickBooks payment methods page within your WordPress dashboard.

In the next section, leave your country selected and accept the terms and conditions by placing a checkmark in the box. Then click on Save.

Connect your Production (Live) App to Event Espresso

We recommend that you test payments in QuickBooks using your development (test) app. If you have skipped those steps, then we recommend going to the prior section above and setting up a testing app and connecting it to Event Espresso.

Then follow the steps below when you are ready to accept production (live) payments.

1) Click on the My Apps link, click on the app, then click on Keys

2) Open a new browser tab and login to your WordPress dashboard (WP-admin) and go to Event Espresso → Payment Methods and then click on QuickBooks. Then click the button to activate the payment method for QuickBooks. If the payment method is already activated and a Disconnect button is displayed, click on the Disconnect button

3) Set the Debug Mode On option to No

4) You’ll set the OAuth version option on the Event Espresso > Payment methods page to OAuth 2.0. You’ll copy from and paste to the Client ID and Client Secret fields.

Then under Redirect URIs, you’ll add a URL and copy and paste your website URL into the Redirect URI field.
Production URIs must use https, therefore an SSL certificate is required for production mode.

5) Click on the Update Payment Method Settings button

6) The page will refresh and you’ll see a note about establishing the app connection. Look towards the top area of the payment methods settings area for a green and white Connect to QuickBooks button and click on it

7) A window will appear and ask you to log in. If you do not see a window, then your web browser may be blocking the pop-up window. Allow pop-ups in your web browser and try again. If you still do not see the pop-up, then try logging into your WP dashboard and returning to the payment methods screen for QuickBooks through an alternative web browser (e.g. Chrome, Opera, Firefox).

Login securely using the same credentials that you used for the Intuit Developer site where your app was originally created. You may be asked to verify the account through email or another step. Go ahead and verify the account if requested.

8) You will then see a prompt to authorize the connection between your site and QuickBooks. Click on the Authorize button. If you have multiple live companies, then select the correct company and complete the authorization.

9) Double-check that you now see a Connected status of green in the Connect to QuickBooks section of the payment methods screen.

You are now ready to start accepting live payments! If you were previously testing QuickBooks and duplicated a “testing” event then be sure that event is not published or in the trash. This will ensure that it is not available for registration by your registrants/attendees.

App Expiry Date

You can reset the expiry by going to WP-admin (WP dashboard) → Event Espresso → Payment Methods. Then click on QuickBooks and look for the Connect to QuickBooks area and click on the Disconnect button. Then click on the Connect button and then login. You may be asked to verify your account. Go ahead and do so and then click on the name of the company and finally click Authorize.

Afterwards, you should see a green connected status with the updated expiry date. This expiry period of 6 months comes from QuickBooks and is not something that is set by Event Espresso.

Setup and Configuration

A QuickBooks payment account is needed including QuickBooks Online is needed to accept payments through the QuickBooks payment method. Need an account? Sign-up for a QuickBooks merchant account to get started.

A dedicated SSL certificate is recommended to make registration checkout and other areas of your website more secure. https is required for production.

Through this documentation, we’ll be mentioning “QuickBooks” and “Intuit.” Note that QuickBooks is a brand by Intuit. It includes several services including accounting products, payment processing, and more. This payment gateway add-on will allow you to accept credit and debit cards through the QuickBooks payment processing service.

Login to your WP-admin (WP Dashboard) and go to Event Espresso → General Settings → Payment Methods. Once on the Payment Methods screen, click on QuickBooks and click on the button to activate the payment method.

Below are the available fields and explanations for each field.

Name – This is the name of the payment method.
Description – This description is shown during registration checkout.
Admin-Only Name – This is a name of the payment method that will only be shown in the WP Dashboard (WP-admin).
Admin-Only Description – This description is used only in the WP Dashboard (WP-admin).
Debug Mode On? – Enables debugging for this payment method. It should be off (set to no) on a live/production site.
Open by Default? – This sets this payment method to be pre-selected on the registration checkout page.

Client ID – This is generated when you create your app through the Intuit Developer portal.
Client Secret – This is generated when you create your app through the Intuit Developer portal.
Button URL – This is the URL to the image that will be used during the payment process of registration checkout.
Alternative Button URL: http://ee-screenshots.s3.amazonaws.com/2015/07/pay-by-credit-card.png

Usable From? – Select where this payment method should be available for use. This payment method cannot process payments through the WP-admin (WP Dashboard).
PMD Order – The value (number) can be used to sort or arrange this payment option. A lower value means that it should appear first during registration checkout.
Update Settings – Click this button after making any changes to your payment method.
Deactivate Payment Method – Click this button to deactivate this payment method.

Usage

The QuickBooks payment gateway will let you accept payments via major credit or debit cards. ACH (bank transfer) payments are not supported.

This is an onsite payment gateway which means that attendees and registrants will process their payment on your site.

A QuickBooks account is needed to accept payments via QuickBooks and an SSL certificate is required for production mode.

Troubleshooting

I configured QuickBooks and payments are not being processed. Can you help?
Double-check your credentials to make sure that you are using the production / live credentials which are for production mode. Also, ensure that there is no extra spacing before or after the credentials in the payment methods page of Event Espresso.

Are ACH (bank transfer) payments available?
Credit and debit card payments are available through the QuickBooks payment gateway for Event Espresso 4.

How can I set up a recurring payment or subscription through QuickBooks?
Recurring or subscription payments are not currently supported in the EE4 QuickBooks payment gateway.

When I refund a payment, does it also refund through QuickBooks?
Refunds in Event Espresso 4 are currently a two-step process.
1) Apply the refund through the transactional details screen of Event Espresso in your WP-admin (WP dashboard).
2) Then login to your QuickBooks account and process the refund.

Is an SSL certificate needed for QuickBooks?
A dedicated SSL certificate is recommended if you are accepting payments on your website.

Do I need to be PCI compliant?
Compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is required if you are processing, storing, or transmitting credit card data.

View more information on PCI compliance from QuickBooks.