Connecting a Subaccount to a bank feed

Happy to have you in the Community today, @cme23. Let's work this out so you can link your subaccount to your bank feeds in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Before anything else, I'd like to ensure we're on the same page. When attempting to link the bank account to your parent account's bank feeds, did you add a colon character to your subaccount's name? If so, you'll want to remove it from the account's name to get through and have it connected to your parent account.

The reason for the error that you've received is that colon character is not in the list of characters that the program acknowledges. If you want to add a special character to indicate you're connecting a subaccount, you can consider using other unique letters or symbols.

 For more information, please see this article: Acceptable characters in QuickBooks Online.

In addition, here's an article to help you manage bank transactions in QBO: Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

You can also check this page to learn more about reconciling an account: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

Please don't hesitate to get back to me if you need further assistance with this. I'm determined to help you get this sorted out as soon as possible. Feel free to leave a comment below, and I'll make sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Take care, and have a nice day!

No, I did not add the colon to either the parent account or the subaccount. QBO added it, and then it says there is an invalid character.

Thanks for getting back here with additional information, @cme23. I want to ensure that you'll be able to connect your subaccount to a bank feed.

As mentioned above, the colon is not an acceptable character in QuickBooks Online, which is why you're unable to connect your subaccount with the parent account.

You'll need to remove it from the account's name or add an acceptable character to get through. See the screenshot below for reference.

I'm receiving the error from the image as well since I've added a colon, but after I changed it to "coma, it linked with my parent account successfully.

You can also visit this article to learn how to use bank rules to automatically categorize transactions from your bank: Set up bank rules in QuickBooks Online.

Should you need further assistance in connecting your subaccount with your parent account, let me know in the comment below. I'm always around to help. Stay safe and have a good one!

So in your example you have Metrobank and MyChecking, as the parent and subaccount. The error is coming up on the colon inserted between (in your example) Metrobank:MyChecking. If I change that to a comma, is that going to start a new entry that will be linked to the bank feed vs the "MyChecking" account that I want it to be connected to? I didn't insert the colon and I don't want to have an additional entry added that I will have to delete.

Hello there, @cme23. Let me join the thread and provide additional information about connecting a sub-account.

Setting up sub-accounts in QuickBooks Online (QBO) requires manual setup. Thus, the error "invalid character" you're getting is due to the colon entered in the Name field. To get this fix, as suggested by my colleagues above, you'll have to remove the colon character from the account name. You can use a comma but it's not going to start a new entry as you're just changing the name.

Then, to validate who entered the subaccount with a colon, you can utilize the audit log feature. By doing so, you'll be able to tell if a user or QuickBooks itself established the sub-account.

To do this, here's how:

1. Click the gear icon, then select Audit Log.
2. From the Events drop-down, choose List.

If it says "System Administration," that means it was QuickBooks that setup the account, but if it's a user, then that's the one who set it up.

For future tasks, here's a great resource about the best practices when reconciling: Reconcile Hub. 

Reach out to us if you have questions when working with your QBO account. We're here to help you in any way. Have a good day

I set up the parent account and the subaccount. Quickbooks concatenates the 2 with a colon to provide the full account - ParentAccount:Subaccount. Is that correct? I do not have the colon on either the parent account or the subaccount, but that colon is the one causing the error.

Even the example that was given earlier has the colon added. My problem is the account name fails because of the colon. I linked previous accounts and they did not fail. This one is failing. Why?

I know the colon is not accepted.

Look at the previous example.

Metrobank:MyChecking,

Who added the colon? Did MaryRoseNicoleN add the colon to that name? If it isn't accepted, why is it in her parentaccount:subaccount name?

Hey, @cme23. 

Thanks for reaching back out to us on this thread. 

If the steps my colleagues provided didn't work for your situation, I recommend contacting our Customer Support Team for further assistance. Here's how: 

1. Go to the Help icon in the top right-hand corner. 
2. Press the Contact Us button. 
3. Enter your question and hit Let's talk. 
4. Scroll down and choose to Get a callback. 

It's that easy! 

Keep us updated on how the call goes. We're always here to have your back. Have a great day! 

I'm reading this thread with great interest since I am having the exact same problem.  QBO created the colon and I cannot link a bank account.

Have you had any success?

Thanks for joining the thread and letting us know that you're experiencing the same issue, @KCozzone.

As mentioned by my colleagues above, a colon is not an acceptable character which has caused the error when linking a bank account. To isolate this, I'd recommend removing the colon or replacing it with an acceptable character such as a comma.

However, if you still can't link a bank account or you weren't able to remove the colon, I suggest contacting our Customer Care Support Team. This will enable them to securely examine your account, talk about the cause of this peculiar behavior, and offer you a permanent fix.

After you connect your bank, here's an article that'll serve as your reference in case you want to review your bank transactions and put them in the correct accounts: Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Should you have any additional questions with regard to linking your bank account in QuickBooks Online, please don't hesitate to tag my name in the comment section. Have a good one.

That was my original question and yes, that worked.

I kept getting scolded for putting in a colon that I didn't.

I guess someone needs to change the check on the bank name after QBO inserts the colon.

I ended up trying something similar.  Thanks so much!!!

I think you are missing the point.  QBO puts the colon in!!!

So in order to solve the problem we have to create an account we don’t want to link it to the bank and then change  the account.  

didn’t used to work this way.  QBO obviously changed something  

clearly when several people have the exact same issue at the exact same time perhaps it’s time to look at what happened in QBO