Productive Computing University

No. In fact, many people have learned how to perform integrations between FileMaker and QuickBooks using the FM Books Connector plug-in just by using our free tools such as the documentation and demo files. However, this course was created to significantly save you time - especially if you've never done anything like this before. This course will track your progress and train you step-by-step, even if this is your first time using a plug-in. There are a great many people who prefer to learn by way of video training versus reading the documentation​ or reverse engineering demo files. We see this method of training as a growing trend on how people prefer (and now expect) to learn.

​If you've done several integrations with the FM Books Connector, you may find this course more of a review and less of a revelation. However, there are foundational knowledge points that will be covered and even for the most experienced integrator, there are things to be learned (and​ better understood) by taking this course.

We recommend that you know how to work with relationships and scripts before signing up. There are plenty of courses on-line to learn FileMaker. This course is designed for the intermediate to advanced FileMaker developer, ​but it's not required that you know anything about plug-ins. If you have never worked on a Windows machine because you've always used a Mac, we have you covered there as well because there are optional lessons included that show you steps to set up a Windows environment. Access to a Windows OS is required for this course.

You could take the course using nothing more than a 30-day demo of the FM Books Connector. However, it would be far more convenient to use a fully licensed version of the FM Books connector. Ultimately, any user who plans on doing QuickBooks integration from their own desktop will need a fully licensed version of the plug-in. Note: the demo expires after 30 days and also becomes disabled 2 hours of continuous use. You can reset the hourly clock by quitting FileMaker and getting back in.

The course will be an ever-evolving offering that starts with the basics at first and then later throughout each year, more content will be added. More modules will be identified and discussed (such as Purchase Orders, Sales Receipts, Payments, timers, etc.) Advanced lessons will be made available such as working with inventory, multiple QuickBooks files, pulling records in batches, working directly with QuickBooks reports and accessing custom fields. There will be fresh content periodically (typically at least annually).

This course will be continuously evolving, updating and improving. Between new versions of FileMaker, QuickBooks, the operations systems, and the FM Books Connector plug-in itself, there are always going to be items to update and refresh. In addition to the updates, we plan to continue to add content and explore additional QuickBooks areas that FileMaker can communicate with by adding modules and lessons periodically. We realize that some will want to keep their subscription renewed every year for the reasons just mentioned, while others may not renew.​

Yes and no. All questions will be read by the instructor where a determination will be made if help can be provided immediately (for free) or if the issue involves a much more labor intense answer therefore possibly requiring paid support. In general, help is always available from Productive Computing to answer the simplest question or to go further by providing professional consultation or even assist with the full integration. It has been our experience that it's not unusual for even the most advanced developers to ask for a helping hand every now and again.​

While it's true the plug-in has functionality only with QuickBooks Desktop edition for windows, you can still do most of your programming on a Mac by using our Macintosh compatible plug-in template. You can find this template directly on the Productive Computing website under the FM Books Connector plug-in section.