How to connect your bank & credit card accounts to QuickBooks Online
This video goes over how to connect a bank or credit card account to QuickBooks and choose how far back you want QuickBooks to pull your transaction history.
Linking QuickBooks Online to your bank accounts is one of QuickBooks’ most efficient features, and it's by far my favorite.
The “bank feeds” feature saves time and effort by dramatically reducing the amount of data entry that needs to be done and the errors that might happen along with it. It also helps ensure that your accounts are always up-to-date, and you'll be able to see all of your recent credit card and bank account transactions, including sales and expenses, right away.
You can connect QuickBooks Online to your bank account, credit cards, and PayPal account very easily.
Here are the steps to connect your bank feeds.
Add or Search for Your Bank
You can use the Add Account button to search for supported banks either by name or with the URL.
Go to the Banking Tab and select Connect Account if this is your first time connecting. Choose Add account or Link account if you've already created one.
Search for your bank on the list. You can find most banks, as QuickBooks supports over 20,000 local and international banks.
Select Continue, then enter the username and password for your online bank account in the pop-up window and click Connect (use the same username and password that you use when you bank online).
Follow any onscreen steps that your bank gives you. The process takes a few minutes.
Choose the type of account you are adding (checking, savings, or credit card). If you're connecting multiple credit cards from the same bank, choose the account type for each card you are connecting. These will correspond to accounts on your chart of accounts in QuickBooks. (If you don't have an account set up for the bank or card you are linking, select +Add New to create a new account on your chart of accounts).
Since some banks use different websites depending on which type of account or card you have, using the full URL may be a good option as well.
If you can't log in to the bank’s website to connect it with QuickBooks, and you are sure that you are using the same login that you use with your bank account online, check to make sure your login works there. If you still can't find your bank or connect to it after doing some troubleshooting, you can upload files manually.
Choose Number of Days to Import
Once you're connected, you'll select how far back you want to download transactions. Some banks let you download the last 90 days of transactions, while others will go back as far as 24 months. If you want to start importing only new transactions from this point onward, you could pick "0" days.
You may want to base your choice on when the bank was last reconciled in QuickBooks. If you're not sure when the accounts were last reconciled or how far you want to go back, you can just exclude the transactions that you don't want when you're reviewing them later.
Click the link and select an option from the drop down menu.
Select Connect, and QuickBooks will then download the transactions recorded by your bank.
Entries already in QuickBooks will be matched, and QuickBooks will add new records for downloaded transactions not yet recorded.
You'll be able to approve how QuickBooks adds, matches, and categorizes your accounts, which although it's an easy process, and fun for me, it could be a reason why you may not want 90 days worth of transactions that you have to prevent from trying to match or be added to a reconciled period.
QuickBooks will display the duration since the last update to the most recent hour, so you don't have to to stay on the page while it updates.
Use File Upload if Necessary
If you need more than 90 days of transactions, or if you can't connect to your bank, you can import transactions by downloading your bank data into a csv, .qbo, .qfx, or .ofx file and then uploading it to QuickBooks Online.
Click the drop down arrow on the update button
Choose File Upload.
Accounts that are uploaded this way will show a $0 bank balance and will need to be manually updated. QuickBooks will display the number of days its been since the last upload.
Use the Update Button
Make sure that your connected banks have the latest data by clicking the update button in the upper left corner of the Banking page to refresh the feeds by having QuickBooks will pull in any new data.
Doing this is also a good step in troubleshooting issues with connecting to your bank.
Tip: You Can Rearrange Your Accounts!
If you'd like to watch one of your accounts closer than the others or keep them organized in a certain way that makes sense to you, you can change the order they are displayed in.
Go to the QuickBooks Online Dashboard (home page).
Click the pencil icon in the upper right of the Bank Accounts list.
Drag and drop your accounts in the order you want them.
Click save.
Sources & Disclosures
Some content and images adapted from Intuit / QuickBooks source materials, including support websites; QuickBooks Blog; Firm of the Future, & Intuit Developer Blog. Information may be abridged and therefore incomplete. This document/information does not constitute, and should not be considered a substitute for, legal or financial advice. Each financial situation is different, the advice provided is intended to be general. Please contact your financial or legal advisors for information specific to your situation.