Transactions from linked bank account: info is truncated. Sometimes only one word of info about the transaction. Not as much as on a printed statement. How to see more?

Let me help you resolve the issue you are experiencing with syncing and obtaining your bank transaction details from Lloyds Bank in QuickBooks Online (QBO), @Beech.

Browser issues and maintenance on the financial institution's website often prevent viewing specific transactions in QuickBooks.

We recommend logging in to your account using the Safari browser or switching to a different browser to isolate the issue, then try to sync this bank. If it works fine, clear the cache in the one that you are currently using. Here are the following keyboard shortcuts:

• Press Ctrl + Shift + N (Google Chrome).
• Ctrl + Shift + P (Firefox).
• Control + Option + P (Safari).

If it is successful, here is the procedure to clear the cache to resolve issues in using QuickBooks Online. Your browser’s cache saves files on your computer to load websites faster on your next visit. But it also gets outdated over time, which can cause issues. After clearing the cache, make sure to restart your browser. If the steps are ineffective, try using a different browser.

After syncing the bank successfully and pulling up new transactions, you can now categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Finally, you can review the article: What to do if bank transactions won’t download or there's a bank error. This article will guide you in identifying common bank errors and their corresponding solutions. Please feel free to read through the article at your convenience.

Hey LollyNino_C
thanks for the quick response.
I think you may have misunderstood my issue so apologies for not being more clear. 
My issue is not that I am unable to link an account or bring in transactions.
the issue is that the Description information is truncated to 17 characters maximum (when I go into the detail of the transaction) , although sometimes to just to one word which is not enough to identify the transaction. I am having to get the bank to send me paper statements so I can read the full description and input it manually. There is nothing in the Payee field (not necessarily a problem as I’m used to this) and the Category is hit or miss. QB will offer up a guess and I will modify it - also fine. I have tried in Safari and Chrome.

Hi there, @Beech. I've got here a set of steps to ensure you'll able to see the complete information of your bank transactions in QuickBooks Online (QBO). 

I appreciate you sharing details about the steps you've performed to resolve this. To fix this, we can configure the settings of your Banking page to see the complete details of the transactions. Here's how:

1. Go to the Banking page and click Banking.
2. Next, select your Lloyds bank account.
3. Then, click the small Gear icon.
4. Under the Transaction details section, turn on the Show bank details option.
5. Once done, click anywhere on the page to close the settings box.

For reference, check out this article: A beginner's guide to online banking in QuickBooks Online.

It's also recommended to reconcile your account regularly to ensure the balance matches your real-life bank statement. For a detailed guide, read this page: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

If you have any other concerns about viewing the information of your bank entries, just leave a reply below. I'd be here to provide assistance to resolve it.

Hi There DivinaMercy_N

Thanks a lot for responding to my query. 

I use Quickbooks online, so maybe your reply applies to a different version of QB as it doesn't match my version.

I don't have a Banking page. The MENU Items down the left hand side available to me are:  Dashboards, Transactions, Sales, Expenses, Customers & Leads, Reports, Payroll, Time, Taxes, My Accountant, Apps.

The closest thing to Banking I can find is under Transactions, the options are: Bank Transactions, Receipts, Reconcile, Rules, Chart of Accounts. So maybe "Bank Transactions" is what you mean?

If I go here and click one of my accounts so it is blue, then click the Gear icon, the dropdown window has: Columns, Groups, Add Automatically, Transaction Details, Page Size.

In the Transaction Details section, there is no 'Show Bank Details' item. There are however 7 tick boxes: 

Show Amounts in 1 Column (off)

Show Tags Field (on)

Editable Date Field (off)

Copy Bank Detail to Memo (on)

Show Suggested Rules (on)

Show Bank Details (off)

Enable suggested categorisation (on).

What is showing in the Description column is the same as what is in the Memo field, is the same as in the Bank Detail, shown below the Memo filed when I look into the detail for a transaction. This is all limited to 18 characters which is often not enough to identify the transaction, so I still need to get paper statements sent to me in the post, where it looks like they can have up to 56 characters of information.

Are we looking at the same QB? And if so do you think if I untick Copy Bank Detail to Memo, it might use the Memo field to show me some more transaction info?

Many thanks 

Hi LollyNino_C

I want to try your suggestion of clearing the cache. If I clear the cache, might I lose any data from transactions which have been downloaded to QBO but are now no longer available from the bank website? I think available transactions only go back for a year or so?

Many thanks for your help.

It's nice to see you back here in the thread, @Beech. Allow me to jump in and explain further how to show the full details of a bank transaction in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

You're already on the right path in locating the Banking page of QBO. To find the Show Bank Details option, you may view it under the Transaction Details in the Gear icon. I'm attaching a screenshot below for your visual reference:

Once done, the Description column will be replaced by Bank Details, which shows the exact information QuickBooks acquires from the bank. It is the transaction you see posted on your bank statement. On the other hand, the Description is a simplified version to make it easier to understand. The reason why your bank information is truncated is that the program displays it by default.

If you untick the Copy Bank Detail to Memo feature, it empties the field, which gives you the freedom to enter your preferred bank description.

Moreover, the concept of cache is storing a web page's temporary internet files to speed up the loading process when you revisit the page. If you clear them, you won't lose your downloaded transactions in QBO. However, it removes misconfigured or damaged files, which resolves common browser issues.

Additionally, you'll be interested in utilizing bank rules to speed up the categorization process of your bank transactions. 

Let me know in the comments below if you have any follow-up concerns about your bank transactions. The Community is available anytime to provide further details. Stay safe and have a good one!

Hi JaeAn_C

Thanks for the reply, I'm definitely making progress here and turning on Bank Details is showing a bit more - but sadly not consistently and still not enough and not as much as I see on the bank's website.

I was going to attach some screenshots comparing QB with my bank screens for a few transactions, but I'm only allowed to attach one file.

 which is a transfer to my Revolut account just shows as from Stuart Wilson to Stuart Wilson (not v useful!) while my bank shows 'to Revolut' which is exactly the info I need.

If I could attach 2 files, You would have seen that 

One takes the overflow of info and puts it in the Memo field which is great and very useful.

Thanks for the tip about freeing up the Memo field for my own notes- very handy.