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Manually upload your transactions, receipts, and bills into QuickBooks Online

by Intuit23 Updated 3 days ago

If your bank or credit card doesn't connect to QuickBooks Online, or if you want to enter past expenses, you can manually upload transactions, receipts, or bills into the system.

This page will take you through the steps to either:

Before you start

Have you checked whether your bank account is eligible for a standard or direct bank feed with QuickBooks Online? Check out our list of banks and their supported bank feed types to find out whether this is an option for you.

Upload your transactions

To prevent duplicating, know the date of the oldest transaction in the account.

  1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Chart of accounts (Take me there).
  2. Find the bank or credit card account you want to upload the transactions into.
  3. Select Account history.
  4. Find and write down the date of the oldest transaction.
    Note: Usually, the oldest transaction is the opening balance.
  1. Sign in to your bank or credit card's website.
  2. Follow your bank's instructions for how to download CSV files of your transactions to your computer. Every financial institution has different steps.
  3. Make sure the date range for the download is at least one day before your oldest transaction.
  4. Download your transactions. Save the file somewhere you can easily find it, like your computer's desktop.

Tip: Your bank may offer a few file formats. If possible, pick the QuickBooks Online data (QBO) format. These are formatted specifically for QuickBooks Online. You can also upload transactions from a CSV file or other supported file types.

The biggest file allowed is 350 KB. If it's too big, change the timeframe and download in smaller batches. Ensure you have the .CSV file in the correct format before you upload it.

  • Remove any zeroes (0) from the file and leave those cells blank.
  • Fix any transactions that show numbers in the Description column.
  • Remove the word “amount” from the Credit or Debit column header. They should only say “Credit” and “Debit”.
  • Make sure that all dates follow the same format. We recommend you use dd/mm/yyyy format.
  • If you’re a Mac user, make sure to save the file as Windows CSV file.
  • Some banks add the day of the week in the Date column (for example, 20/11/2018 TUE). You need to remove the day of the week. To do this, split the date and the day of the week into separate columns.

You can only upload CSV file in QuickBooks that has either 3-column or 4-column format.

CSV formatDescription
3-column formatHas a Date, Description, and Amount column.
4-column formatHas a Date, Description, Credit, and Debit column.
  1. Go to Transactions, then select Bank transactions (Take me there).
  2. Select the blue tile for the account you want to upload the transactions into.
  3. Select the Link account dropdown and then Upload from file.
  4. Select Drag and drop or select files and then select the file you downloaded from your bank. Then select Continue.
  5. In the QuickBooks Account ▼ dropdown, select the account you want to upload the transactions into. Then select Continue.
    Note: If you're new to QuickBooks, you may not have an account to upload the transactions into. If you don't see one, select Add New ▼ from the dropdown to connect a new bank account.
  6. Follow the onscreen steps to match the columns on the file with the correct fields in QuickBooks. Then select Continue.
  7. Select the transactions you would like to import. Then select Continue.
  8. Select Yes.
  9. When you've accepted your transactions, select Done.
  1. Go to Transactions, then select Bank transactions (Take me there).
  2. Select Upload transactions.
  3. Select Drag and drop or select files and then select the file you downloaded from your bank. Then select Continue.
  4. In the QuickBooks Account ▼  dropdown, select the account you want to upload the transactions into. Then select Continue.
    Note: If you're new to QuickBooks, you may not have an account to upload the transactions into. If you don't see one, select Add New ▼ from the dropdown to connect a new bank account.
  5. Follow the onscreen steps to match the columns on the file with the correct fields in QuickBooks. Then select Continue.
  6. Select the transactions you would like to import. Then select Continue.
  7. Select Yes.
  8. When you've accepted your transactions, select Done

If you see an error message, don't worry. Here's how to fix specific bank errors when uploading transactions.

Note: There's a 1,000 line limit per upload.

Now that your transactions are in QuickBooks, it's time to find and categorise them. The transactions go into your accounts after you review them.

QuickBooks Online also enters certain details automatically if you set up any banking rules, or if it recognises transaction descriptions.

Your transactions are now in QuickBooks. The final step is to reconcile them. This ensures your books are accurate and there aren't any duplicate transactions.

If you encounter an error message when uploading your transactions, you can learn how to fix that specific error here.

Upload receipts and bills

Save time on tracking and recording your receipts and bills by uploading them to QuickBooks Online from a computer, phone, or email.

You can use the QuickBooks Online mobile app to snap and upload receipts and bills from your mobile device.

Note: If you haven't already, install the QuickBooks Online app for iOS or Android.

  1. Open the QuickBooks Online mobile app.
  2. Select the Menu ≡ icon.
  3. Select Receipt snap.
  4. Select Receipt camera and snap a photo of your receipt or bill.
  5. Select Use this photo, then Done.
  1. Sign in to QuickBooks Online
  2. Go to Transactions, then select Receipts (Take me there).
  3. Select Upload from computer.

Note: Each image or file should only contain a single receipt or bill.

You can also email your receipt or bill to QuickBooks Online. We’ll extract info from it and create a transaction for you to review.

Follow these steps to manage your transactions after uploading them to keep your books in check and help ensure that everything is in the right place.

Have any other questions for our team?

If any of your questions were left unanswered, we'd love to hear them!
Pop over to our QuickBooks Community's discussion on sales receipts where you can ask your questions, have them answered by qualified QuickBooks Online experts, and hopefully help others with the same questions out in the process.
QuickBooks Online App for AndroidQuickBooks Online App for iOSQuickBooks Online EssentialsQuickBooks Online PlusQuickBooks Online Simple Start

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