Expense, Invoice, Time, and Payables Error Resolutions Follow
How do I fix the error "Windows cannot open this file: vt_bill.iif or vt_pay.iif" after clicking open when exporting invoices or payables?
When exporting Invoices or Payables, instead of opening SpringConnect automatically, you either view the exported text as a web page or receive the following error message:
"Windows cannot open this file:
File: vt_pay.vsf OR vt_bill.vsf
To open this file, Windows needs to know what program created it. Windows can go online to look it up automatically, or you can manually select from a list of programs on your computer.
What do you want to do?
Use the Web service to find the appropriate program
Select the program from a list"
For non-Windows Vista Users:
- Open and then close SpringConnect
- Export the information again from SpringAhead (from Invoices or Payables, click Previous)
Note: You do not need to synchronize, just opening SpringConnect fixes the issue.
For Windows Vista and Windows 7 Users:
- Click Select the program from a list
- Click OK
- Browse to the SpringConnect folder (typically found in "C:\Program Files\SpringConnect")
- Select the SpringConnect.exe file (look for the clock icon)
- Ensure Always use the selected program to open this kind of file is checked
- Click OK
Reason: When updating QuickBooks, the SpringConnect ".iif" file association gets deleted by Intuit.
How do I fix the error "Expense Type ‘X’ cannot be billable (account must be type ‘Expense’)" when submitting an expense?
You are trying to use an Expense Type that uses an account that is type Cost of Goods Sold (or other non-expense account type) and mark it as billable to a customer. QuickBooks does not allow non-expense accounts to be marked billable, so SpringAhead prevents this from being entered on an expense report.
In QuickBooks Versions 2010 or older, QuickBooks does not allow Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) accounts to be marked as billable (this is not an issue for QuickBooks Online). However, there is a work-around in QuickBooks, which is to use items instead of accounts - you can assign the same account to the item, and QuickBooks will allow it to be billable – even a COGS account.
To make this work in SpringAhead:
- Create an item in QuickBooks
- Assign the account to the item for expenses (purchase transactions). If this isn’t an option, be sure that “This service is used in assemblies or is performed by a subcontractor or partner” is checked
- Resync your items to SpringAhead
- In SpringAhead, first edit the expense type, clear the account, and assign the item
- Re-submit the expense report
How do I fix the error "Error Adding Timecards" when importing time into QuickBooks?
This message occurs when you have a timesheet open in QuickBooks when you’re importing. You should first close any open timesheet in QuickBooks before clicking import again.
When I export Invoices or Payables, my browser gives me the warning 'To help protect your security, Internet Explorer blocked this site...'
If SpringAhead is not included in your Trusted Site list, you will receive the following message when syncing data with QuickBooks: "To help protect your security, Internet Explorer blocked this site from downloading files to your computer. Click here for options..."
Add the SpringAhead website to your Trusted Sites list by doing the following:
- Start Internet Explorer
- Under the Tools menu, click Internet Options
- Click on the Security tab
- Click on the Trusted Sites icon "Sites..." button
- Enter "*.springahead.com" without quotations as the website address
- Uncheck Require server verification (https) for all sites in this zone
- Click the Add button
- Close the window
If you are using Internet Explorer Version 7.0 or higher:
- From the Security tab, click the Custom Level... button
- Scroll about 1/3 way down, under the Downloads section, make sure both Automatic prompting for file downloadsand File download are set to Enable
- Click the OK button
- Click OK again
Internet Explorer will now acknowledge that SpringAhead is a trusted site by displaying "Trusted Sites" at the bottom of each window instead of "Internet".
How do I fix the warning "Error in Credit Card Charge: Vendor or Other Name does not exist in QuickBooks"?
When a payee is entered on an expense report that is paid for with a corporate credit card, SpringAhead will attempt to assign the expense to a vendor in QuickBooks. If a match isn't found, the warning message is generated.
Reports of credit card expenditure by vendor will remain available in SpringAhead. To implement this setting:
- Open SpringConnect
- Click Options, then Settings
- Click Advanced
- Check Auto blank unknown credit card charge payees
- Click OK
How do I fix the error message "Error: employee 'Name' is unspecified for 'Use time data to create paychecks''?
When importing time into QuickBooks, you get the message:
"Error: employee 'Last, First' is unspecified for 'Use time data to create paychecks.'
This will prevent timecards from importing for this employee.
This value can be 'No' or 'Yes', and unspecified most likely means 'No'.
Would you like to set it to 'No' now?"
If you use QuickBooks Payroll to pay your employees based on timecard data, click NO.
If you do not use QuickBooks Payroll to pay your employees based on timecard data, click YES.
Note: This error arises during SpringConnect's validation process if you had turned on the advanced setting "Validate all employees 'Use time data to create paychecks'". This allows SpringConnect to attempt to fix it.
How do I fix the error "Employee or Vendor [name] does not exist in QuickBooks" when exporting data?
SpringAhead generates this error message when a matching employee or vendor cannot be found in QuickBooks. There are two common reasons for this:
- The employee or vendor exists in SpringAhead but does not exist in Quickbooks
- The First and Last Name settings are reversed in QuickBooks and SpringAhead
To correct these errors, follow these instructions:
- Check to ensure that the employee or vendor exists in QuickBooks
- If the employee or vendor name is in QuickBooks, ensure that it matches the name in SpringAhead perfectly (including middle initials and spaces before and after each name)
- If the employee is a contractor, ensure that the Type field under Additional Info in QuickBooks matches the Employee Type field in SpringAhead (found in Settings/People)
If any of the conditions above were not met, fix them, resync your data, then try to export it again.
To avoid future discrepancies between SpringAhead and QuickBooks, ensure that employees and vendors are only created in QuickBooks. You can then sync the data to SpringAhead by using SpringConnect. Not only will this ensure accuracy, but it will also eliminate redundant data entry.
If the steps above did not resolve the problem, check to ensure that the first and last name conventions are the same between QuickBooks and SpringAhead:
- First check the settings in QuickBooks. The settings are found under Preferences > Payroll & Employees > Company Preferences
- Now check SpringAhead to ensure the settings are in agreement by going to Settings, then My Company
- Ensure that the settings are consistent (both have Last Name first or First Name first). Save the settings and then resync