MagicCarpet is Biller Genie's cloud-based bridge to QuickBooks Desktop (QBD). Unlike QuickBooks Online, which connects through OAuth from anywhere, QBD lives on your Windows computer and needs a small sidecar application installed alongside it to share data with Biller Genie. MagicCarpet is that sidecar — it sits between your QuickBooks Desktop and Biller Genie's cloud, syncing customers, invoices, payments, refunds, and voids both ways automatically.
This article walks through linking the installed MagicCarpet application to your Biller Genie account. If you haven't installed MagicCarpet yet, start with How to Install MagicCarpet for QuickBooks Desktop first.
Before you start
- MagicCarpet must be installed on the same Windows machine that runs QuickBooks Desktop. See How to Install MagicCarpet for QuickBooks Desktop.
- QuickBooks Desktop must be open with the company file you want to sync. MagicCarpet talks to the running QuickBooks Desktop process.
- You must be signed in to QuickBooks Desktop as an admin user (single-user or multi-user mode both work). The first-time authorization needs admin rights.
- Be signed in to your Biller Genie merchant portal in a browser on any device — you'll grab a unique linking code there.
- Stable internet on the Windows machine. MagicCarpet maintains a persistent connection to Biller Genie's cloud.
Step 1 — Copy the unique linking code from Biller Genie
- In the Biller Genie merchant portal, click Add-ons Marketplace.
- Select the Accounting Software category and click the QuickBooks Desktop tile.
- Click Install.
- Click Connect QuickBooks Desktop to open the MagicCarpet setup screen.
- Biller Genie displays a unique linking code for your account. Click the Copy button next to the code to copy it to your clipboard.
Keep the code private
The linking code authorizes MagicCarpet to read and write to your Biller Genie account. Treat it like a password — copy it directly, don't email or share it.
Step 2 — Open MagicCarpet on the QuickBooks Desktop machine
- On the Windows computer where MagicCarpet is installed, open the MagicCarpet application (it lives in the Windows Start menu under Biller Genie).
- When prompted, paste the linking code you copied from Biller Genie.
- Click Connect. MagicCarpet contacts Biller Genie's cloud and registers itself with your account.
Step 3 — Prepare QuickBooks Desktop for the connection
Before MagicCarpet can read or write data, QuickBooks Desktop has to be ready to accept the connection:
- Open QuickBooks Desktop and open the company file you want to sync.
- Go to Edit > Preferences > Integrated Applications > Company Preferences.
- Make sure Don't allow any applications to access this company file is not checked.
- Switch to single-user mode for the first sync (File > Switch to Single-user Mode). Once the initial connection is approved, you can switch back to multi-user mode.
Why single-user mode for the first sync
Authorizing a new integrated application in QuickBooks Desktop requires single-user mode. After authorization, MagicCarpet works fine in multi-user mode — this is only a one-time requirement during initial connection.
Step 4 — Approve MagicCarpet inside QuickBooks Desktop
When MagicCarpet first reaches out to QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks will pop up the Application Certificate dialog asking whether to allow Biller Genie's MagicCarpet to access your company file:
- When the dialog appears, select Yes, always; allow access even if QuickBooks is not running.
- Choose the QuickBooks Desktop user that should be associated with MagicCarpet's access (typically the admin or a dedicated integration user).
- Check Allow this application to access personal data such as Social Security numbers and customer credit card information. This is required because Biller Genie processes customer payments.
- Click Continue, review the summary, and click Done.
Step 5 — Confirm the connection in Biller Genie
Once you've approved MagicCarpet inside QuickBooks Desktop, switch back to the Biller Genie merchant portal:
- The QuickBooks Desktop tile updates to show the connection is active.
- Biller Genie immediately queues the first sync, which pulls your QuickBooks Desktop customers, invoices, accounts, items, and recent transactions into Biller Genie.
- The first sync runs in chunks (default chunk size is 5,000 records) so large company files don't time out. You'll see live progress updates as records flow in.
- When the first sync completes, your QuickBooks Desktop data is available throughout Biller Genie.
What happens during the first sync
MagicCarpet pulls your QuickBooks Desktop data into Biller Genie in this order:
- Chart of Accounts — income, expense, bank, and receivable accounts.
- Items — your Products & Services, plus the system items Biller Genie seeds for late fees, technology fees, surcharges, refunds, and third-party transactions.
- Customers — including parent/child relationships and customer types.
- Invoices — recent open and recently paid invoices.
- Sales receipts and refund receipts — recent payment activity.
- Deleted records — Biller Genie also captures records you've removed from QuickBooks Desktop so it doesn't try to resync them.
After the first sync, MagicCarpet runs delta syncs automatically — by default every 4 hours, pulling only what's changed since the last sync. You can trigger a manual sync from the QuickBooks Desktop add-on page at any time.
Sync cadence and what flows after the first sync
- From QuickBooks Desktop to Biller Genie: new and updated customers, new and updated invoices, new payments and refunds entered directly in QBD, deleted records.
- From Biller Genie to QuickBooks Desktop: payments collected through Biller Genie (credit card, ACH, APM), refunds, and voids issued through Biller Genie.
- Default sync interval: 4 hours for delta syncs. The merchant portal shows the last successful sync timestamp and the time of the next scheduled sync.
- Manual sync: click Sync Now on the QuickBooks Desktop add-on page anytime you want to pull the latest immediately.
QBDv4 (MagicCarpet) supports full void and refund sync
If you're on the legacy QBDv3 integration, voids and refunds processed in Biller Genie don't write back to QuickBooks Desktop automatically. MagicCarpet (QBDv4) supports full bi-directional sync of voids and refunds. Reach out to SubscriberSuccess if you'd like to migrate from QBDv3 to MagicCarpet.
Frequently asked questions
Does the MagicCarpet computer need to stay on?
Yes — MagicCarpet relies on a live connection from your Windows machine to Biller Genie's cloud. If the computer is off or sleeping, sync pauses. Many merchants run MagicCarpet on the same dedicated workstation that hosts the QuickBooks Desktop company file so it's always available during business hours. Biller Genie's portal will show the connection as "not online" if MagicCarpet hasn't pinged in for more than a few minutes.
Can I run MagicCarpet on more than one computer?
No. Each Biller Genie merchant account links to one MagicCarpet installation and one QuickBooks Desktop company file at a time. If you need to move MagicCarpet to a different computer, install it on the new machine, link it with the same code, and the old installation will be deactivated.
Does multi-user QuickBooks Desktop work with MagicCarpet?
Yes — after the one-time approval in single-user mode (Step 3), MagicCarpet operates fine while QuickBooks Desktop is in multi-user mode. Your team can keep working in the company file while syncs run in the background.
What if my QuickBooks Desktop company file is moved or renamed?
MagicCarpet locks onto the specific company file it was authorized against. If the file is moved, renamed, or replaced, you may need to re-authorize MagicCarpet by opening the new file in QuickBooks Desktop and going through the Application Certificate prompt again. See MagicCarpet Sync Troubleshooting for the recovery steps.
My sync stopped working. What should I check?
Walk through MagicCarpet Sync Troubleshooting for QuickBooks Desktop — the most common causes are MagicCarpet being offline (computer asleep or restarted), QuickBooks Desktop not being open, or the company file having been moved.
Next step
Once the connection is active, your first invoice is just a sync away. Head over to Your First Invoice in Biller Genie for the orientation on what Biller Genie does next.