Connect bank and credit card accounts to QuickBooks Online

Learn how to connect your bank and credit card accounts to QuickBooks Online.

When you connect your online bank in QuickBooks, the transactions automatically download and categorize. This helps you to save time in updating your bank feeds. All you have to do is to review and approve them.

In this article, you'll learn how to:

• Connect a bank or credit card account
• Download recent transactions
• Categorize downloaded transactions

Step 1: Connect a bank or credit card account

Connect your bank or credit card account so you don’t have to manually enter your transactions. You can also connect multiple businesses and personal bank accounts to keep your business information up-to-date in QuickBooks.

1. Go to Transactions and select Bank Transactions.
2. If this is the first bank account you’ve set up, select Connect account. Or select Link account if you already created one.
3. Search for your bank. You can connect most banks, even small credit unions. Note: If you can’t find your bank but still want to add your transactions to QuickBooks Online, you can also manually upload bank transactions.
4. Sign into your bank by entering your banking username and password. Then select Continue.
5. Follow the on-screen steps to connect. Your bank may require additional security checks. It may take a few minutes to connect.
6. Select any accounts you want to connect like, your savings, chequing, or credit card. Then choose the matching account type from your chart of accounts in QuickBooks.
7. If you don’t see the correct account type, from the dropdown ▼, select Add new.

For new bank accounts

1. From the Account Type ▼ dropdown, select Bank.
2. From Detail Type ▼ dropdown, select Savings or Chequing. 
3. Give the account a name, then select Save and Close. You can always change the account name later.

For new credit card accounts

1. From the Account Type ▼ dropdown, select Credit Card.
2. Give the account a name, then select Save and Close. You can always change the account name later.

Select how far back you want to download transactions. Some banks let you download the last 90 days of transactions. Others can go back as far as 24 months. Select Connect, then Done.

Connect bank accounts from chart of accounts

Alternatively, you can also connect bank accounts from your chart of accounts. To do so:

1. Go to Settings and select Chart of accounts (Take me there).
2. Find the account you want to connect to.
3. In the Action column, select the Account history ▼ dropdown. Then select Connect bank.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to connect your bank to QuickBooks (these steps are the same as listed above).

Step 2: Download recent transactions

Refresh your bank feed to automatically download your recent bank transactions.

1. Go to Transactions, then select Bank transactions.
2. Select Update.

Step 3: Categorize downloaded transactions

Review and categorize the downloaded bank transactions to make sure that they are categorized correctly. This helps you to organize your charts of accounts accurately. It also makes it easier to generate reports and file taxes.

If you don't see the correct account type in the dropdown list, select how far back you want to download transactions. Some banks allow you to download the last ninety days of transactions, while others can go as far back as twenty-four months.

Additional resources

If you have problems downloading transactions or see any errors, here's how to fix them.