Manually upload transactions into QuickBooks Online

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.

For a better experience, open this article in QuickBooks Online. Launch side-by-side view

To watch more how-to videos, visit our video section.

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 . Then, select Chart of accounts (Take me there).
2. Find the account you want to upload the transactions into. Then, select View register.
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 your bank's instructions on how to download CSV files of your transactions to your computer.
   Note: Every financial institution has different steps. Here are steps for Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo.
3. Check the date range for the download. It should be at least one day before the date of your oldest transaction.
4. Download your transactions. Save the file somewhere you can easily find it, like your computer's desktop.

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 zeros (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.

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 from file.
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 like to import. Then select Continue.
8. Select Yes.
9. Select Done.

If you see an error message, here’s how you can fix errors when you upload transactions.

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

Step 5: Categorize the transactions

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