How AI suggestions help match and categorise bank transactions

QuickBooks Online comes with a powerful set of AI features that help you automate your accounting. These save you time and keep your records more accurate, backed by AI.

AI-powered banking page features

QuickBooks has a new AI-powered bank transactions page that all QuickBooks Online customers can use. Continue reading for more details on how AI suggestions work.

Matching suggestions

QuickBooks can suggest a match for any transaction that comes in from your bank. Previous versions of QuickBooks Online relied on there being a near-exact match between the record from your bank and the corresponding record it matched. This needed a narrow date range and amount. QuickBooks will still show you exact matches. But now, using AI, QuickBooks can identify more potential matches, including partial and combined matches. Select the match listed in the table to see more information about the match.

Category suggestions

When you have pending bank transactions, QuickBooks suggests matches or categories based on your past work and transaction details. This can help you keep more consistent and accurate records in your accounting.

If there are no matches, QuickBooks will try to help you categorise the transaction. Suggestions are based on info in the full bank description and your transaction history. Select a row to expand the view and see more suggestions and details.

Example: QuickBooks might find a customer or supplier name in the bank description for a transaction. QuickBooks will suggest the categories you usually use for that supplier or customer, and it will show a snapshot of your history with them. If you don't have them tracked in the From/To column on previous transactions, QuickBooks will show how you categorised similar transactions in the past. If you don't have past transactions that seem similar, QuickBooks can also recommend categories based on categories you might use with that supplier or customer.

Transactions with a "top suggestion"

You'll see the Suggested by AI icon when there's an AI-powered category suggestion for you. The category will be filled out for you in the table if QuickBooks has enough information to suggest a single category as the most likely one you might use.

Select the icon to see more about why that category was chosen as the "Top suggestion." You can always change the category if you need to, and QuickBooks will learn for next time.

Tip: Fill out the From/To column for each transaction to improve future category suggestions.

Transactions with a "Consider" suggestion

Even if a transaction doesn't have all the information needed for QuickBooks to suggest a top category that stands out as the most likely, you will often still see categories to consider. These won't be filled in for you on the table like a top suggestion though.

Select the Suggested by AI icon to see these categories to consider, plus an explanation for what information was used to identify them.

Supplier and customer suggestions

If QuickBooks suggests a customer/supplier that is already one you've added to your customer list or supplier list, you'll see their name filled out for you next to the Suggested by AI icon in the From/To column.

If a customer/supplier isn't tracked in your lists yet, you'll see the Suggested by AI icon, but no pre-filled name. Select the icon to see a generated description for the potential supplier or customer. QuickBooks will include a link to their website if it can find one.

Identifying a potential customer/supplier can be very helpful when trying to determine what a transaction might have been for. QuickBooks does this with generative AI and uses information found in the full bank description. If there isn't enough information to go on, no suggestion will appear.

Accounting Agent features

The Accounting Agent adds even more AI-powered features to help you automate your accounting. Ready to post and Requests for more information both help with efficiently managing transactions and gathering details for transactions.

Learn about these and other Accounting Agent features. The Accounting Agent is available for QuickBooks Online Essentials and higher plans.