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Categorise online bank transactions in QuickBooks

by Intuit81 Updated about 11 hours ago

Learn how to categorise transactions uploaded to QuickBooks Online. When you connect your bank to QuickBooks, transactions are automatically downloaded. QuickBooks suggests categories based on how you've categorised similar transactions in the past.

Note: QuickBooks Online won’t download pending transactions.

This article is for customers who use QuickBooks Online and the QuickBooks mobile app.

Downloading the latest bank and credit card transactions

QuickBooks usually refreshes your bank and credit card transactions every 24 hours. If needed, you can manually update your bank feed to get the most recent transactions.

  1. Go to Transactions and select Bank transactions (Take me there).
  2. Select Update.
  3. If prompted, complete any additional authentication steps. Some banks require this for extra security.

Note: QuickBooks automatically recognises and adds new suppliers from your bank feed. To turn this off, from the Bank transactions page, go to Settings ⚙ and turn off Add new suppliers.


Review and categorise downloaded transactions

You can also quickly review and accept bank transactions, then categorise them from any mobile device using the QuickBooks mobile app.

  1. Go to Transactions and select Bank transactions (Take me there).
  2. Select the account you want to review.
  3. Select the For review tab.
  4. For each transaction:
    • Select Add if the suggested category is correct.
    • To change the category, use the dropdown or create a new one.
    • If the transaction already exists in QuickBooks, select match or view multiple matches.

Note: You can use bank rules to automatically categorise transactions. To turn off suggestions, from the Bank transactions page, go to Settings ⚙ and uncheck Enable suggested categorisation.

Downloaded transactions appear in the For review tab. QuickBooks suggests a category for each, but you can change it or match to existing records.

  1. From the Menu ☰, select Banking.
    • Note: On the iPad, if you have multiple accounts, select the drop-down ▼ arrow to see your list of bank accounts, then you can choose the one you want.
  2. Select New Transactions.
  3. Select Recognised to review transactions QuickBooks Online has already recognised, categorised, and matched for you.
  4. If the transaction is correctly categorised and matched, swipe right to accept it. If the transaction is incorrectly categorised and matched, select the transaction and make the necessary changes.
  5. Select Accept.
  6. Select All to see any remaining, uncategorised transactions.
  7. Select the transaction, then review and add categories as necessary.
  8. Select Accept.
  1. From the Menu ☰ , select Transactions.
  2. If multiple banks are connected, select the bank you want to work with.
  3. Select the transaction you want to categorise.
  4. Depending on your mobile device:
    • iOS: Tap > beside a field then select an option. Select Accept.
    • Android: Under Category, tap >. Select a category and then select Confirm.
  5. Select Accept.

Choose the right category

Correct categorisation keeps your records accurate. Use these guidelines to help decide whether a transaction is income or an expense.

Use these categories for money received from:

  • Sales
  • Customer payments
  • Refunds
  • Sale of fixed assets
  • Bank loans 
  • Owner investments

Use these categories for money paid to others, such as:

  • Office Supplies 
  • Meals
  • Payroll 
  • Taxes
  • Fixed assets

If you use QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced, you can track expenses by item. This is useful if you manage stock or job costing.

  1. Go to Settings Settings gear icon. and select Account and settings.
  2. Select Expenses.
  3. Select the Image of the edit icon. edit icon next to Bills and expenses, then turn on Show Items table on expense and purchase forms.
  4. Select Save.

Note: Item tracking is required for using some reports in QuickBooks Online Advanced. Ask your accountant if you're not sure about using item tracking.


Recording expenses with a product or service

When recording an expense from the bank feed, you can assign it to an account, a product or service, or both. If you use both, you’ll need to split the transaction.

  1. Go to Transactions and select Bank transactions (Take me there).
  2. Under the For review tab, find and select the transaction.
  3. From the Product/service ▼ dropdown, select the item.
    Note: To use both the Product/service and Account, you'll need to split the transaction.
  4. Select Add.

Money received is automatically recorded as a Bank Deposit. If it's for a sale, match it to an invoice or record it as a sales receipt.

  • If you receive a payment for an invoice, match the payment in your bank feed.
  • If no invoice exists, record it as a Sales receipt, and select the item in the Product/service ▼ dropdown.

Split sales receipts across different products or services for better tracking.

  1. Go to Transactions and select Bank transactions (Take me there).
  2. In the For review tab, select the transaction, then select Split.
  3. In the Product/service ▼ dropdown, select items to split the transaction into.
  4. (Optional) Enter the quantity (QTY) and the Amount for each item.
  5. Select Apply and accept.

If products or services don’t appear in the Product/service dropdown, they may be missing an income or expense account.

  1. Go to Sales and select Products & services (Take me there).
  2. Find the item, then select Edit.
  3. In the Sales and Purchasing sections, set up the income or expense accounts respectively.

This ensures your sales and purchase transactions are tracked correctly.

If a transaction covers more than one type of expense or income, you can split it between categories.

  1. Go to Transactions and select Bank transactions (Take me there).
  2. In the For review tab, select the transaction.
    Note: If the option is Match, change it to Categorise.
  3. Select Split to open the Split transaction window.
  4. From the Category ▼ dropdown, select the categories for the split.
  5. Enter an Amount for each category so the Difference shows GBP £0.
  6. Select a Supplier or Customer name for each split.
  7. Select Apply and accept.

Duplicate transactions may appear if your bank feed updates after you manually upload transactions. You can exclude these duplicates to keep your records accurate.

  1. Go to Transactions and select Bank transactions (Take me there).
  2. In the For review tab, select the checkbox next to each duplicate.
  3. Select Exclude.

Excluded transactions move to the Excluded tab and won’t be added to QuickBooks. To reverse this, go to Excluded tab and select Undo.


Categorise personal transactions on a business account

If you use your business account for personal transactions, you can still categorise them correctly:

  • Spending business money personally or owner's draw.
  • Adding personal money to a business or owner's investment.

Viewing cheque images

QuickBooks works with select banks to display cheque images for cheque transactions in your bank feed. You’ll see a link if the image is available.

  1. Go to Transactions and select Bank transactions (Take me there).
  2. In the For review tab, find and select the transaction.
    Note: Transactions with an image show a number in the Attachments Attachments paper clip icon column.
  3. Select the image name to view it in the Explore sidebar.

Note: Cheque images disconnect once matched to a bill and turned into a bill payment. If your bank isn’t supported, cheque images won’t appear—but may in the future.


What's next?

If you're unsure how to review, match, or categorise transactions—or need help uploading them manually—sign in to QuickBooks and start a discussion with a qualified QuickBooks Expert in the community.



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