QuickBooks Desktop workflow
Turn a timesheet CSV into a reviewable QuickBooks TimeActivity IIF
A practical workflow for mapping time rows, catching blocked records, and reviewing an IIF before importing it into QuickBooks Desktop.
Target outcome
A bounded TIMEACT import file plus a clear list of rows that still need correction before QuickBooks sees them.
Work through the evidence
before the final claim.
- 01
Freeze the source CSV
Keep one untouched copy. Confirm that every row has a person or vendor, service item, date, duration, and the customer or job expected by the receiving company file.
- 02
Map meaning, not column position
A header called Hours may contain decimal hours while another export contains minutes. Record the unit and map each source field deliberately instead of assuming matching column order.
- 03
Block incomplete rows
Do not silently invent names, items, jobs, dates, or durations. Put incomplete rows in a review list so the valid rows and unresolved rows remain distinguishable.
- 04
Review the generated TIMEACT records
Check the IIF header, row count, dates, durations, names, service items, billable state, and memo handling before importing into a copy or controlled QuickBooks workflow.
Example input
A concrete first pass
A CSV export with 184 rows, decimal hours, employee names, customer jobs, service items, and three rows missing a customer job.
Reviewable output
181 reviewable TIMEACT records, three blocked rows with explicit reasons, and a mapping summary that can be reused for the next export.
Separating blocked rows prevents a convenient conversion from becoming an untraceable accounting cleanup task.
Important boundaries
What this workflow does not prove
- An IIF file cannot prove that names and items exist in the destination company file.
- Review in a controlled QuickBooks workflow before changing production books.
- The tool does not provide bookkeeping, tax, payroll, or accounting advice.
Bookkeepers & operators · $29 once
Use TimeIIF for the structured first pass.
Turn timesheet CSV data into a reviewable QuickBooks TimeActivity IIF, with mapping gaps surfaced before export.