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Major Milestone: Background Integration (per ChatGPT)

1) ~~Scheduler & job runner~~ - DONE

  • ~~Use a daily cron (Render Cron Jobs) to kick off a “Stripe Payout Sync.”~~
  • ~~The job iterates enabled clients only (from Client Admin).~~

2) Per-client context (inputs)

From each client’s settings file (per-client path):

  • stripe_account_id (or connection ref)
  • QBO mapping (clearing, fees expense, income, bank deposit acct)
  • timezone, default_currency
  • Feature flags: auto_post_to_qbo, dry_run, notify_on_post, etc.

3) Sync state (DB, per client)

  • last_synced_at (UTC)
  • last_stripe_cursor (for pagination)
  • last_qbo_export_id (optional)
  • A table for export log (status, errors, QBO txn IDs, idempotency keys)

4) Webhook-first, poll-second

  • Best: Subscribe to Stripe payout.paid (and fallback to daily cron).
  • Fallback: On cron, fetch Stripe payouts since last_synced_at (or via balance transactions).

5) Payout → JE recipe (deterministic)

For each new payout:

  1. Pull Stripe balance transactions that comprise the payout window (charges, refunds, fees, adjustments).
  2. Compute:
    • Gross revenue
    • Stripe fees
    • Net payout
  3. Build a single Journal Entry (or a Bank Deposit, if your mapping prefers) against:
    • DR: Stripe Clearing (for gross)
    • DR: Fees Expense (fees)
    • CR: Revenue (or split by income streams if enabled)
    • CR/DR: to Bank or Undeposited Funds depending on your practice
  4. Idempotency key = client_id|payout_id|yyyymmdd so retries never duplicate.

6) QBO posting rules

  • If dry_run: true → create a preview record + log; do not post.
  • If auto_post_to_qbo: true → post immediately; else queue for manual review.
  • On success: store QBO txn id, timestamp, and the idempotency key in qbo_export_log.

7) Robust error handling

  • Per-client try/catch; never let one failure stop others.
  • Classify errors:
    • Auth (expired QBO/Stripe tokens) → mark client “needs re-auth,” notify.
    • Mapping (missing account IDs) → mark client “settings incomplete,” notify.
    • Transient (rate limits, network) → retry with backoff; keep idempotency.

8) Notifications (optional but helpful)

  • Daily summary: “X clients synced, Y posted, Z errors” with client links.
  • Per-client error email/Slack message with a one-click link to fix settings.

9) Reconciliation guardrails

  • If QBO bank feed shows the payout deposit, prefer Bank Deposit workflow; otherwise JE + transfer to bank.
  • Currency mismatch or multi-currency? Log and pause for review.
  • Partial payouts/negative adjustments → flag to review queue.

10) Observability

  • Admin page: filters by date/client/status; link to Stripe payout and QBO txn.
  • Counters: payouts discovered, posted, retried, failed.
  • Export CSV of logs for audit.

Settings vs DB for this background flow

  • Settings (per client): stripe_account_id, QBO account IDs, feature flags (auto_post_to_qbo, dry_run, timezone/currency).
  • DB (per client): sync_state (timestamps/cursors), qbo_export_log (status, ids, errors), optional income_stream_breakdowns, and oauth tokens (encrypted).

UX flows aligned with your priorities

  • Client Admin first-class: From each client page:
    • “Stripe Settings,” “QBO Settings,” “Test Run (dry),” “View Logs”
    • Toggle “Auto-post to QBO” on/off
  • Tools Hub card = gateway (not a dashboard):
    • Click → Client picker → “Settings / Logs / (optional) Dashboard”
    • If you only care about automation: the card can jump straight to “All Clients → Logs”

When you later make it public (customer self-serve)

  • Same engine; different tenant boundary (their own client record).
  • Onboarding wizard:
    1. Connect Stripe
    2. Connect QBO
    3. Pick accounts (mapping presets)
    4. Toggle “auto-post” + choose schedule
  • They get the fancy dashboard; you keep the same scheduler + log plumbing.

Major Milestone: Background Integration (per Windsurf)

Your Background Integration Roadmap - My Analysis:

Overall: This is EXCELLENT. ChatGPT laid out a solid, production-ready plan. Here's my breakdown:

✅ ~~Already Done:~~

  1. ~~âś… Daily cron scheduler (Zapier hitting your endpoint)~~
  2. ~~✅ Per-client iteration (your /api/cron/daily-sync endpoint)~~
  3. ~~âś… Multi-tenant client context (client-specific databases, Stripe keys)~~
  4. ~~âś… QuickBooks account mappings per client (in database)~~

🎯 High Priority - Do Next:

#5: ~~Payout → JE recipe - This is the core logic you need~~ DONE!

  • ~~You already have payout data and transaction data~~
  • ~~You need to build the Journal Entry from it~~
  • ~~This should be your next milestone~~

#3: Sync state tracking - Essential for reliability

  • Add last_synced_at, last_stripe_cursor to database
  • Prevents duplicate processing
  • Do this alongside #5

💡 Smart Additions:

#6: Dry run mode - LOVE THIS

  • Test with real data without posting to QBO
  • Perfect for onboarding new clients

#7: Error handling per client - Critical

  • One client's failure shouldn't break others
  • You already have this structure

#8: Notifications - Nice to have

  • Daily summary emails would be great
  • Can use Zapier for this too

⚠️ Complexity Warnings:

#4: Webhooks - Don't do this yet

  • Webhooks add complexity (need public endpoint, signature verification, retry logic)
  • Daily cron is fine for MVP
  • Add webhooks later if you need real-time

#9: Multi-currency - Defer

  • Most clients won't need this
  • Add when you get a multi-currency client

#10: Observability - Build incrementally

  • Start with basic logging
  • Add admin UI as you go

Phase 1 (Next 2 weeks):

  1. Build payout → JE logic (#5)
  2. Add sync state tracking (#3)
  3. Add dry_run flag (#6)
  4. Test with Test Business LLC

Phase 2 (Following 2 weeks):

  1. Add error classification (#7)
  2. Build admin log viewer (#10 - basic version)
  3. Test with Rachel

Phase 3 (Future):

  1. Email notifications (#8)
  2. Webhooks (#4) - only if needed
  3. Multi-currency (#9) - only if needed

This plan is solid. Let's build Phase 1! 🚀