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Manually upload transactions into QuickBooks Online

by Intuit•1• Updated 1 month ago

Learn how to manually upload transactions from your bank or credit card in QuickBooks Online.

When you connect your bank and credit card accounts, QuickBooks automatically downloads transactions up to a certain date. However, you can manually upload transactions if you want to enter old transactions, can’t find your bank, or connect it to QuickBooks.

Step 1: Pick a start date

To avoid entering duplicates, you need to know the date of the oldest existing transaction currently in the account:

  1. Go to Settings Settings gear icon.. Then, select Chart of accounts (Take me there).
  2. Find the account you want to upload the transactions into. Then, select Account history.
  3. Find the oldest transaction, then write down the date.
    Note: Usually, the oldest transaction is the opening balance.

Step 2: Get transactions from your bank

To get transactions from your bank, you need to download CSV files of your transactions.

  1. Sign in to your bank or credit card's website.
  2. Follow the instructions on 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 begins 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.

Step 3: Review the file format and size

Review the file you download from your bank and make sure it's in the correct format before you upload it. Here are the things to check to prevent errors:

Note: The maximum file size is 350 KB. You can shorten the date range and download transactions in smaller batches if the file size is too big.

  • 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.

Step 4: Manually upload the transactions

  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, then select Upload from file.
    Note: If your account is not connected yet to online banking, select Upload transactions.
  4. Select Drag and drop or select files and 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 create 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. Select Done.

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

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

Step 5: Categorise the transactions

Now that your transactions are in QuickBooks, it's time to match 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.

Step 6: Reconcile the transactions

Reconcile the transactions that you uploaded. This is to make sure that all transactions are recorded correctly in QuickBooks.

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